By MLF Communications Staff

Pro Stephen Browning of Hot Springs, Arkansas, caught 11 scorable bass totaling 32 pounds, 6 ounces, to win the Qualifying Round for Group B at the MLF Heavy Hitters event on Lake Palestine. Browning’s two-day total of 27 bass weighing 83-10 earned him the round win by a 29-06 margin and advances him straight into Thursday’s Championship Round.

The six-day all-star event showcases the 32 pros who qualified from the Bass Pro Tour competing in the no-entry fee tournament for a purse of more than $500,000.

Russ Lane of Prattville, Alabama, finished the day in second place with a two-day total of 17 bass weighing 54-04, while Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, finished in third with 16 bass weighing 50-05. Period Three brought big moves for Zack Birge of Blanchard, Oklahoma, who slid into fourth with a two-day total of 15 bass weighing 47 pounds even, but Tennessee pro Michael Neal made the biggest jump of the day – moving from 14th place to round out the Top 5,with 17 bass weighing 45-09.

Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, caught the heaviest bass of the Group B Qualifying Round on Sunday, weighing 8-05, to win the Group B Qualifying Round Berkley Big Bass Bonus of $25,000. Another prize of $50,000 will be awarded to the heaviest fish landed Wednesday in the Knockout Round, and $100,000 will be awarded for the single biggest fish in Thursday’s Championship Round.

With the Qualifying Round now complete, the anglers who finished in second through eighth place from each group advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. The Knockout Round will feature 14 anglers competing to finish in the Top 8. Thursday’s Championship Round will feature DeFoe, Browning and the eight advancing anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000, along with the $100,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus.

“It was really nerve-wracking this morning,” Browning said. “Russ (Lane) put a lot of pressure on us right out of the gate, but I just stuck to my game plan to go back to the area where I caught them all on Day 1 and just catch enough to make sure we won the Qualifying Round and could skip straight to the Championship Round – and we did that.”

This will mark the first time Browning has won the Qualifying Round for his group and the berth straight through to the Championship Round.

“I got a little impatient with the slow bite this morning, but I knew there were plenty of fish where I started to accomplish what I needed to do,” Browning said. “Those fish just decided not to bite early, which is typical of true, shallow spawning fish. Once they got fired up late in the first period, we had a great second period and was able to explore at the end of the day to eliminate some areas for the Championship Round.

“That’s the most important thing on this fishery, being able to home in on where you want to be. You need to have a game plan and have an area to fish, but on Lake Palestine you can’t just jump up and run all over the place. You’ve got to have a couple of areas you feel you can catch fish in, and you just have to stick with them. Thankfully we’ve been able to do that.”

Browning said he caught most of his fish on the Z-Man (ChatterBait) Jack Hammer again today and caught a few others on a basic green pumpkin-colored lizard with a chartreuse-dipped tail, on a 3/16-ounce weight.

“I also caught a few later in the day on the Z-Man Big Blade ChatterBait, trying to catch a 9-pounder and chase down Ehrler’s big-bass award,” Browning said. “That’s my go-to bait for big fish, but I didn’t make that happen.

“I feel really good about what I’m doing, though – I feel good about my technique and my setup going into the final round,” he said. “I missed it just a bit on Day 1, but I’ve made a few changes and I’m looking forward to the challenge in the Championship Round.”

Anglers will depart at 7 a.m. on Wednesday from the Villages Marina, located at Big Eddy Road in Flint, Texas. Anglers are allowed to trailer to any boat ramp of their choosing on Lake Palestine, but competition begins with “lines in” at 8 a.m. Each day’s takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

To qualify for Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single-largest bass from each event of the seven 2021 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 32 anglers with the heaviest five big-fish totals from those seven events qualified to compete.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action on each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Stephen Browning -- 51-04 (16) -- 32-06 (11) -- 83-10 (27) -- 5-03

2. Russ Lane -- 25-06 (9) -- 28-14 (8) -- 54-04 (17) -- 5-12

3. Jordan Lee -- 32-14 (10) -- 17-07 (6) -- 50-05 (16) -- 3-15

4. Zack Birge -- 10-09 (4) -- 36-07 (11) -- 47-00 (15) -- 5-06

5. Michael Neal -- 7-10 (3) -- 37-15 (14) -- 45-09 (17) -- 3-07

6. Dustin Connell -- 25-10 (9) -- 17-10 (7) -- 43-04 (16) -- 2-13

7. Jeff Kriet -- 28-02 (9) -- 11-04 (4) -- 39-06 (13) -- 3-06

8. Brent Ehrler -- 26-04 (7) -- 11-10 (3) -- 37-14 (10) -- 4-14

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

9. Cliff Pace -- 7-09 (2) -- 25-05 (8) -- 32-14 (10) -- 5-00

10. Gerald Spohrer -- 22-05 (7) -- 10-01 (4) -- 32-06 (11) -- 3-04

11. Mark Davis -- 13-00 (5) -- 17-09 (5) -- 30-09 (10) -- 4-01

12. Cliff Crochet -- 2-10 (1) -- 25-14 (7) -- 28-08 (8) -- 6-11

13. Tommy Biffle -- 11-10 (4) -- 15-08 (5) -- 27-02 (9) -- 4-10

14. Edwin Evers -- 9-09 (3) -- 17-07 (7) -- 27-00 (10) -- 3-13

15. Britt Myers -- 9-03 (4) -- 17-10 (6) -- 26-13 (10) -- 4-11

16. Josh Bertrand -- 8-05 (3) -- 13-08 (5) -- 21-13 (8) -- 3-01