By MLF Communications Staff

Brett Hite caught 34 bass totaling a staggering 83-05 in a dominating performance to kick off the Harris Chain Bass Pro Tour event in Leesburg, Fla. The veteran pro from Arizona will bring a commanding 50-09 lead into the second day of competition for Group A on Sunday as he nearly doubled the weight of 2nd-place angler Brent Chapman.

Chapman, who ran neck-and-neck with Hite during Period 1, caught 16 bass weighing 42-12, while Body Duckett tallied 39-12 on 16 fish to settle into 3rd.

The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday, while the 40 anglers in Group B will begin their first day of competition.

Hite was in the same general area throughout the day as several other pros, yet he put on a ChatterBait clinic, shooting ahead on the ScoreTracker early in Period 2.

“I’m in awe of the day – this is one of the type of days that you dream about,” said Hite. “I found a massive area with a lot of fish during practice. I’m fishing the way I love to fish, catching plenty of fish and a bunch of big ones.

“It really came down to two different ChatterBait Jack Hammers that were the bread and butter for me,” continued Hite. “A BHite Delight-colored 1/2-ounce with a metal blade and a green pumpkin-colored Yamamoto Zako, as well as a 1/2-ounce Jack Hammer StealthBlade with a Yamamoto Zako trailer.”

Hite said both baits saw their fair share of action throughout the day.

“This bait looks like it should after a full day – all beat up, with teeth marks and paint coming off – that’s the mark of a good day,” said Hite. “I caught a lot of fish, and an 8-pounder on that ChatterBait. I’m really looking forward to going fishing on Sunday and hopefully making that Championship Round.”

Hite credited his setup of an Evergreen rod, a Daiwa Tatula Elite reel and 20-pound Sunline fluorocarbon for his exceptional start to the event.

Chapman was also thrilled with his Day-1 results, taking advantage of his lead over the majority of the field later in the day to practice and learn more about the water he’s fishing. That practice resulted in three additional fish in the third period.

“To catch that many scoreable bass in a day is just phenomenal,” said Chapman. “I’m familiar with this fishery, but not at this time of year, so I wasn’t really sure how it would fish. I’m really happy with how my practice went this week and it really paid off today.”

Britt Myers won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 9-08 largemouth caught on a bladed jig during Period 2. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

Anglers take off each day from the Venetian Gardens Ski Beach Boat Ramp, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Dr. in Leesburg, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s takeout will also be held at the Gardens, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend, but encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! will be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group A Qualifying Round – Day 1

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round.)

1. Brett Hite -- 83-05 (34) -- 8-08

2. Brent Chapman -- 42-12 (16) -- 4-10

3. Boyd Duckett -- 39-12 (16) -- 5-06

4. Todd Faircloth -- 37-15 (15) -- 6-05

5. Alton Jones Jr. -- 32-14 (12) -- 7-10

6. Paul Elias -- 32-13 (13) -- 6-09

7. James Elam -- 32-07 (15) -- 4-11

8. Dustin Connell -- 31-11 (13) -- 5-14

9. Michael Neal -- 30-00 (13) -- 3-07

10. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 28-12 (11) -- 5-04

11. Kyle Hall -- 26-06 (13) -- 3-11

12. Greg Vinson -- 25-08 (11) -- 5-15

13. Britt Myers -- 25-00 (7) -- 9-08

14. Randall Tharp -- 24-03 (8) -- 6-12

15. Jeff Sprague -- 24-00 (10) -- 4-02

16. Kevin VanDam -- 22-00 (10) -- 4-05

17. Shin Fukae -- 20-00 (10) -- 2-06

18. Brent Ehrler -- 19-04 (9) -- 3-11

19. Jared Lintner -- 17-05 (8) -- 3-01

20. Jacob Wheeler -- 15-12 (7) -- 3-07

21. Jonathon VanDam -- 14-13 (6) -- 3-15

22. Randy Howell -- 14-10 (5) -- 4-04

23. David Dudley -- 14-05 (5) -- 7-03

24. Josh Bertrand -- 14-01 (6) -- 5-02

25. Shaw Grigsby -- 13-12 (6) -- 3-03

26. Dean Rojas -- 13-09 (7) -- 2-07

27. Jeff Kriet -- 11-03 (6) -- 2-05

28. Dave Lefebre -- 10-11 (4) -- 4-01

29. Stephen Browning -- 10-08 (5) -- 3-06

30. Brandon Coulter -- 10-01 (4) -- 3-04

31. Cody Meyer -- 9-02 (4) -- 3-00

32. Cliff Crochet -- 9-01 (4) -- 3-04

33. Edwin Evers -- 7-12 (4) -- 2-12

34. Fred Roumbanis -- 7-07 (4) -- 2-02

35. Casey Ashley -- 7-03 (3) -- 3-14

36. Takahiro Omori -- 6-07 (2) -- 3-14

37. Marty Robinson -- 5-15 (3) -- 2-06

38. Kyle Cortiana -- 5-11 (3) -- 2-07

39. Bradley Roy -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00