By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Skeet Reese has been one of the most surprising anglers in the Bass Pro Tour's two-year history, but not in a good way. The former Bassmaster Classic Champion and B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year came to Heavy Hitters at Florida's Kissimmee Chain of Lakes having made just two Knockout Rounds (top-40 finishes) in the circuit's 11 events to date. He finished 62nd out of 80 anglers on the 2019 points list and was mired in 65th after three derbies this year.

The veteran from California started to turn things on his final day of the mid-March tournament a Lake Fork – the last before the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. A 42-pound rally that day left him just one position shy of making the Knockout Round.

He won't fish the Knockout Round at Heavy Hitters, either, but it'll be for a positive reason. As the winner of Group B, he's earned an early berth for Friday's Championship Round. He caught eight scoreable fish (2 pounds or heavier) for 23-09 – all in the first 2 1/2-hour period – during the group's second day on the water to prevail by more than 16 pounds with a 67-01 total.

"I couldn't be happier – that was awesome," he said on the MLF Now! livestream just moments after the final lines-out call of the day had been made. "Not knowing how the morning was going to go, then to jack 23 pounds in that first period and create that gap, it took all the pressure off. It allowed me to go look and some things that I've been curious about and eliminate some stuff, so it was perfect.

"It feels good; it's been two seasons of not catching them real good. That last day at Fork felt like it turned my whole season around right there. I'm making good decisions and getting back to the way I fish – by the seat of my pants and fishing to win."

Mark Rose caught just four fish for 12-03 on the day, but retained the No. 2 position in the group he'd established on Monday. Better than that, the 9-06 brute he'd caught on the group's first day held up, earning him a $25,000 bonus. It's the biggest fish of the event to this point.

The ultra-consistent Jeff Sprague, who's missed just one 40-cut in two years, ended up 3rd with 46-00 after a 27-02 haul for the day. Mark Davis climbed 20 places to 4th with 44-12 via a day-best 37-11 tally on 15 fish. David Walker rounded out the top 5 with 41-14 despite a two-fish, 4-09 day.

Russ Lane was the star of the final period. Sitting just outside the 20th-place cut mark with 25 minutes remaining, he cranked up a 4-12 and then a 6-02 to from discharge areas catapult all the way to 6th place to make his first Knockout Round of the year. With 27-12 on the day, he was the only competitor to get within 10 pounds of Davis' mark – by a single ounce at that.

"I knew I had to come back and fish those pipes and it was awesome," Lane said. "I'd caught quite a few 1-05s and 1-11s, but I knew there was a bunch of fish around there and some dang good ones.

"Throwing that square-bill was fun – that's my kind of fishing. I hope I can do it again tomorrow and make a run at this thing."

Luke Clausen, who won the 2006 Classic at the Kissimmee Chain, claimed the final cut position with 26-00. That was 3 pounds clear of 21st-place Bobby Lane, who was competing on his home water.

Ott DeFoe, who started the event as the points leader, made a furious charge at the cut line that came up just short – he finished 22nd with 20-09. He'd caught just one fish for 2-03 on the group's first day and was buried in 36th place.

Neither Brent Chapman nor Andy Montgomery, who were 2nd and 3rd, respectively, on the points list, advanced to the Knockout Round. Fletcher Shryock, currently No. 4 and moving on as the 14th-place finisher in Group B, has a chance to take over the top spot in the second-to-last points event of the campaign.

Weather Forecast

> Thurs., June 11 – P.M. T-Storms - 89°/71°
- Wind: From the E at 10 to 15 mph

> Fri., June 12 – Partly Cloudy - 89°/72°
- Wind: From the E at 10 to 15 mph



Group B Qualifying Day 2

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish from Qualifying Round)

1. Skeet Reese -- 12, 43-08 -- 8, 23-09 -- 20, 67-01 -- 5-01

2. Mark Rose -- 11, 38-09 -- 4, 12-03 -- 15, 50-12 -- 9-02

3. Jeff Sprague -- 6, 18-14 -- 7, 27-02 -- 13, 46-00 -- 5-11

4. Mark Davis -- 3, 7-01 -- 12, 37-11 -- 15, 44-12 -- 5-13

5. David Walker -- 13, 37-05 -- 2, 4-09 -- 15, 41-14 -- 4-06

6. Russ Lane -- 2, 5-09 -- 8, 27-12 -- 10, 33-05 -- 6-02

7. Jonathon VanDam -- 7, 20-01 -- 4, 12-12 -- 11, 32-13 -- 4-15

8. Chris Lane -- 6, 19-10 -- 4, 13-03 -- 10, 32-13 -- 4-12

9. Adrian Avena -- 4, 13-08 -- 7, 18-05 -- 11, 31-13 -- 6-00

10. Takahiro Omori -- 5, 18-06 -- 4, 12-14 -- 9, 31-04 -- 5-15

11. Bradley Roy -- 3, 7-15 -- 8, 23-03 -- 11, 31-02 -- 5-07

12. Andy Morgan -- 3, 12-03 -- 4, 18-07 -- 7, 30-10 -- 7-05

13. Mark Daniels, Jr. -- 2, 12-05 -- 7, 18-00 -- 9, 30-05 -- 7-15

14. Fletcher Shryock -- 5, 15-07 -- 4, 14-11 -- 9, 30-02 -- 6-06

15. Jeff Kriet -- 8, 25-00 -- 1, 5-02 -- 9, 30-02 -- 5-02

16. Britt Myers -- 2, 7-10 -- 7, 22-07 -- 9, 30-01 -- 6-10

17. Stephen Browning -- 6, 15-06 -- 5, 13-11 -- 11, 29-01 -- 5-03

18. James Elam -- 5, 19-13 -- 3, 9-04 -- 8, 29-01 -- 6-11

19. David Dudley -- 7, 20-12 -- 2, 7-13 -- 9, 28-09 -- 4-01

The following anglers did not make the cut to the Knockout Round.

20. Luke Clausen -- 3, 11-04 -- 4, 14-12 -- 7, 26-00 -- 5-12

21. Bobby Lane -- 3, 6-14 -- 6, 16-02 -- 9, 23-00 -- 3-14

22. Ott DeFoe -- 1, 2-03 -- 5, 18-06 -- 6, 20-09 -- 4-06

23. Jason Christie -- 5, 15-01 -- 2, 4-04 -- 7, 19-05 -- 4-10

24. Keith Poche -- 3, 9-02 -- 4, 9-13 -- 7, 18-15 -- 3-15

25. Greg Hackney -- 1, 3-10 -- 5, 15-02 -- 6, 18-12 -- 4-10

26. Alton Jones -- 5, 15-06 -- 1, 3-03 -- 6, 18-09 -- 3-14

27. Tommy Biffle -- 2, 8-02 -- 3, 8-02 -- 5, 16-04 -- 5-00

28. Jason Lambert -- 1, 2-10 -- 4, 13-06 -- 5, 16-00 -- 5-02

29. Josh Bertrand -- 2, 5-05 -- 3, 10-04 -- 5, 15-09 -- 3-12

30. Greg Vinson -- 4, 9-10 -- 2, 4-02 -- 6, 13-12 -- 3-00

31. Ish Monroe -- 2, 5-00 -- 3, 7-02 -- 5, 12-02 -- 3-02

32. Randall Tharp -- 0, 0-00 -- 3, 11-03 -- 3, 11-03 -- 4-04

33. Terry Scroggins -- 1, 2-08 -- 3, 8-03 -- 4, 10-11 -- 3-06

34. Paul Elias -- 1, 4-01 -- 2, 5-05 -- 3, 9-06 -- 4-01

35. Andy Montgomery -- 1, 2-10 -- 2, 5-09 -- 3, 8-03 -- 2-14

36. Shin Fukae -- 1, 2-01 -- 2, 6-00 -- 3, 8-01 -- 3-02

37. Brett Hite -- 2, 4-06 -- 1, 2-01 -- 3, 6-07 -- 2-04

38. Cody Meyer -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 3-06 -- 1, 3-06 -- 3-06

39. Timmy Horton -- 1, 2-15 -- 0, 0-00 -- 1, 2-15 -- 2-15