Hatfield Stays Atop Group B, Moves On To Finals

Friday, August 19, 2022

Photo: MLF/Jody White

Nick Hatfield is catching hefty smallmouth off a mile-long stretch of rock clumps.

By MLF Communications Staff

It was a battle at the top of the unofficial leaderboard for most of the day between several competitors, but Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn. – the 2022 Rookie of the Year (ROY) – maintained his lead atop the field at the MLF Pro Circuit TITLE Championship on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, N.Y. Hatfield shored up the Group B win, punching his ticket straight through to Sunday’s Championship Round with a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 3 ounces, bringing his two-day total to 46-04.

Hatfield finished 2-07 ahead of Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala. , who caught a two-day total of 43-13 to end the Qualifying Round in 2nd.

Here are the totals for the 10 anglers who advanced out of Group B:

1st: Nick Hatfield, Greeneville, Tenn., 10 bass, 46-04
2nd: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 43-13
3rd: Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 10 bass, 41-05
4th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 40-10
5th: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 40-04
6th: Jared McMillan, Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 40-01
7th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 39-12
8th: Casey Scanlon, Eldon, Mo., 10 bass, 39-09
9th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 38-14
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 38-04

Group A (Spencer Shuffield) and Group B (Hatfield) Qualifying Round winners will enjoy a day off on Saturday, while the remaining 18 anglers – nine from Group A and nine from Group B – will compete in the Knockout Round. Weights will be zeroed and anglers will compete to finish in the Top 8 and advance to Championship Sunday.

The Championship Round on Sunday will the final 10 anglers competing in a five-bass-limit shootout for a top prize of up to $235,000.

“I caught a lot of good fish the last two days, but there are a lot of great fishermen right behind me and they were on them as well,” Hatfield said. “I felt like I made some good decisions today and winning this automatic berth to the Championship Round feels good, but I’ve got to get back out there and do it again on Sunday.

“I’m seeing a lot of big fish. I weighed in a 3 1/2 and a 3 1/4 and lost a couple big ones. The wind is supposed to blow on Sunday, but if I can get to my spot and just lean on them, I think I can catch another 23 to 25 pounds.”

The wind could definitely be a factor for Hatfield, who's making an hour and 45-minute run to his primary spot.

“I had some mechanical issues today, but was able to make it back for the weigh-in. I’ll definitely be getting that fixed on my day off and getting everything prepped and ready to go for the final round.”

Hatfield said he knew he’d found something special in practice but is pleasantly surprised at how much the area is producing.

“I have a mile stretch of isolated clumps of rocks that’s really good. There’s a ton of bait in there – perch and gobies – and I’m even seeing some balls of bait,” Hatfield said. “In practice, you don’t really know the extent of what you’ve got, you just kind of catch a couple then leave it alone. So it’s definitely playing out better than I expected it to.

“Some of the bass are in 20 to 30 feet of water, but most are in 35 to 45 feet. I’m utilizing my (Garmin) LiveScope and moving around until I find some, then just pitching a dropshot at them. If I see one big fish, there are usually 4 or 5 right there with it and I’m able to catch at least one of them.”

Hatfield only caught three bass out of his primary spot on Friday, but those bass combined to weigh upwards of 15 pounds. Although he’s basically laid off his fish the first two days of competition, he was still able to finish on top, and said he’s super excited for Championship Sunday.

“I feel really good about what I’m doing and where I’m at,” Hatfield continued. “I know these smallmouth could leave and things could change on Sunday, but I’m just excited to be fishing on the final day and hopefully I can go out there and do what I did today or better.”

Hatfield brought a smallmouth weighing 6-03 to the scale to win the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler in each group that weighs the biggest bass over their two-day Qualification Round.

The tournament features a hybrid format. The 50 anglers were seeded into two groups of 25 – Group A and Group B, based on points earned in 2022 qualifying events – where they competed in Qualifying Rounds over the first four days of the tournament.

Anglers take off at 7 a.m. ET each day from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Hwy 131 in Massena. Weigh-ins are held at the boat launch daily at 3 p.m.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET daily. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! livestream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

1. Nick Hatfield -- 22-01 (5) -- 24-03 (5) -- 46-04 (10)

2. Chris Lane -- 20-15 (5) -- 22-14 (5) -- 43-13 (10)

3. Martin Villa -- 21-04 (5) -- 20-01 (5) -- 41-05 (10)

4. John Hunter -- 20-09 (5) -- 20-01 (5) -- 40-10 (10)

5. Jon Canada -- 19-05 (5) -- 20-15 (5) -- 40-04 (10)

6. Jared McMillan -- 17-12 (5) -- 22-05 (5) -- 40-01 (10)

7. Bobby Lane -- 21-15 (5) -- 17-13 (5) -- 39-12 (10)

8. Casey Scanlon -- 20-10 (5) -- 18-15 (5) -- 39-09 (10)

9. Jacob Wall -- 20-03 (5) -- 18-11 (5) -- 38-14 (10)

10. Justin Lucas -- 19-04 (5) -- 19-00 (5) -- 38-04 (10)

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