Neal Surpasses 50-Pound Mark On Day 1

Friday, April 9, 2021

Photo: MLF

Michael Neal used a ChatterBait to grab the lead in Group A at Heavy Hitters in Raleigh, N.C.

By MLF Communications Staff

Michael Neal caught 13 scorable bass that combined to weigh 51-15 on opening day of Heavy Hitters on Jordan Lake in Raleigh, N.C. The six-day all-star tournament showcases 40 anglers who qualified from the 2020 season competing for more than $535,000, with a top prize of $100,000 going to the winner of the event, and Big Bass Bonuses during the competition with payouts of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 being awarded for the single biggest fish in the Qualifying, Knockout and Championship rounds.

Neal will bring a 5-03 lead into Sunday’s second day of competition for Group A. In 2nd place is Boyd Duckett with 46-12 (12 fish), followed by Chris Lane with 45-07 (12 fish).

The 20 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday, while the 20 anglers in Group B will begin their initial Qualifying Round on Falls Lake. Group A resumes competition at Jordan on Sunday.

“Today was awesome – everything worked out just like I thought it would,” said the 29-year-old Neal, who has more than $1 million in career earnings. “Not catching a bass in the second period was disappointing, but at the same time I had some other ideas that I thought might work and it allowed me to get those out of the way.

“The fish are still much more pre-spawn than I thought that they would be,” he continued. “The water temperature is over 70 degrees and I would have thought that the fish would be in the backs of the creeks and bays and pockets trying to spawn. But when you look at them, they’re all real fat, healthy, big fish and about to bust. And they’re still on more of what I would call wintertime or early spring jerkbait-type looking banks, and I’m really not sure why they are still there.”

Neal said that every bass he landed Thursday came on a bladed jig.

“I caught everything today, every single one of them, on a 1/2-ounce ChatterBait,” Neal said. “I threw it on a 7-foot, 2-inch medium-heavy Denali Kovert rod with 20-pound Sunline Sniper line. These are big fish and you don’t want to come out here with light line.

“Jordan is a great lake and I can’t wait to get back out here Sunday. It’s going to be another knockdown, drag-out fight all the way to the end. I’ve got a good pattern and I really don’t think it’s going to go anywhere. I’m hoping that the wind will blow a little more like it did this afternoon – it really helped the bite.”

Duckett almost assuredly would have the day-1 lead if he hadn’t lost some key fish.

“It was a very frustrating day for me. I lost a lot of big fish today – I think I lost around 23 pounds, visibly, and that hurts a lot,” Duckett said. “I had a good lead at one point, but that’s how it goes some days. The good news is that I had a great day and I’m right there at it in 2nd place. It’s all going to come down to what happens on Sunday.”

Lane said he had a fun day on the water despite having to fish much slower than usual.

“Anytime you’re in contention to win the round after the first day, that’s a good thing,” Lane said. “I think the biggest for me today was that I had to fish slow and that’s very hard to do when you’re on the clock. I was casting a Bass Pro Shops soft plastic on a 7-foot, 3-inch medium-heavy Duckett rod and just having fun. We were able to catch a lot of really nice fish and I think moving forward it will continue to be good.”

Overall, there were 173 bass weighing 591-10 caught by the 20 pros on Friday, which included two 7-pounders, six 6-pounders and 10 5-pounders.

Gagliardi weighed in the biggest bass of the day, a 7-15 largemouth that he caught flipping a creature bait during Period 2. If Gagliardi’s fish remains the largest bass weighed by Group A after the conclusion of the Qualifying Round on Sunday, he will take home a $25,000 Big Bass Bonus.

The anglers who finish in 2nd through 10th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Shearon Harris, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round on Shearon Harris. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 18 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round, when weights will again be zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.

Attendance is limited to competing anglers, essential staff and media covering the event only. Fans are encouraged to follow the event online through 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 each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MLF NOW! is 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. Michael Neal -- 51-15 (13) -- 7-12

2. Boyd Duckett -- 46-12 (12) -- 6-01

3. Chris Lane -- 45-07 (12) -- 6-04

4. Jeff Sprague -- 41-15 (12) -- 6-15

5. Randall Tharp -- 38-13 (12) -- 5-02

6. Andy Morgan -- 37-06 (12) -- 5-13

7. Zack Birge -- 37-01 (11) -- 5-00

8. Mike McClelland -- 36-12 (10) -- 6-10

9. Ish Monroe -- 34-08 (10) -- 6-02

10. Brent Chapman -- 30-13 (9) -- 4-13