By MLF Communications Staff

Bryan Thrift caught five scorable bass totaling 17-15 to win the two-day Group B Qualifying Round at the MLF Heavy Hitters event in Raleigh, N.C. Thrift’s two-day total of 18 bass weighing 62-06 earned him the round win by an 11-14 margin and advances him straight into Wednesday’s Championship Round of competition.

“It was kind of a long, frustrating day for me,” Thrift said in his post-game interview. “I’ve been stressed out since lines in this morning at 7:30, but luckily I caught enough and now I get to skip the Knockout Round and go straight to the Championship Round to fish for 200 grand, and that is an amazing feeling.”

The fishing on Monday at Falls Lake was different than competitors faced there on Saturday.

“I only managed to get five scorable bites all day,” Thrift said. “The good thing is that it was enough to extend my lead, and I had a little bit of a cushion all day long. My Plan A – a white frog – only got me one bite. Luckily, I had a little backup plan – fishing rockpiles offshore with a Texas rig in 1 1/2 to 3 feet of water, and I ended up catching four bass doing that and kind of saved my day.

“I’m not sure why, but it was a lot different than day 1. The water came up, and the carp were up spawning and thrashing around in the bushes. I’m not sure if it spooked the bass or what was happening, but I just did the best I could with what we had. I’m so thankful that I had a backup plan with the Texas rig. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure them out again one more day on Shearon Harris.”

Dave Lefebre won the $25,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus award for Group B Monday when he boated an 8-03 largemouth in Period 3 on a soft stickbait. A $50,000 payout will be awarded to the angler who catches the largest bass of the day on Tuesday, and $100,000 will be awarded to the angler who catches the heaviest bass in the Championship Round.

“I caught one bass Saturday on a soft stickbait so I knew that they would bite it, but it definitely was not on my radar before the tournament began,” Lefebre said. “A frog got me most of my bites on day 1, but today with the post-frontal conditions and the bluebird skies, that bite totally died. So I put down the frog and picked up the stickbait and I am so glad that I did.”

Although Lefebre did not divulge the brand name of his worm, he did offer some tips on how he fished it.

“It was green-pumpkin-colored, with red-and-black flake,” he said. “I like to rough them up before I even take them out of the package, especially when I’m fishing in muddier water. I went to a longer rod, just from my experiences on the first day. These fish swim at you 100 miles per hour when they bite, so I’m just trying to make sure I get that hookset in them and that definitely helped.

“I also went down to a lighter weight – 3/16-ounce – and a smaller 3/0 hook,” Lefebre continued. “I didn’t skimp on the line, though. I stayed up there with the 20-pound test. Overall, I’m really happy about how my day turned out and it was a great day of fishing on Falls Lake.”

With the Qualifying Round now complete, the anglers who finished in 2nd through 10th place from each group advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir. The Knockout Round will feature 18. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Qualifying Round winners Fletcher Shryock and Thrift, along with the Top 8 anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

The Knockout Round qualifiers from Group B are Mark Davis, Stephen Browning, Cliff Pace, Lefebre, Jordan Lee, Brent Ehrler, Alton Jones, Jacob Wheeler and Justin Lucas.

Overall, there were 83 bass weighing 268-15 caught on Monday, which included one 8-pounder, one 7-pounder, three 6-pounders and two 5-pounders.

Attendance at the event 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 breaks down the extended action each day of competition from 7:15 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com. and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group B Qualifiying Round Day 2

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

1. Bryan Thrift -- 44-07 (13) -- 17-15 (5) -- 62-06 (18) -- 5-13

2. Mark Davis -- 26-13 (8) -- 23-11 (6) -- 50-08 (14) -- 6-06

3. Stephen Browning -- 37-11 (11) -- 12-04 (4) -- 49-15 (15) -- 4-06

4. Cliff Pace -- 36-10 (11) -- 11-11 (3) -- 48-05 (14) -- 6-06

5. Dave Lefebre -- 21-09 (6) -- 22-08 (6) -- 44-01 (12) -- 8-03

6. Jordan Lee -- 10-02 (3) -- 27-06 (8) -- 37-08 (11) -- 6-01

7. Brent Ehrler -- 29-05 (10) -- 7-07 (3) -- 36-12 (13) -- 6-13

8. Alton Jones -- 18-04 (6) -- 17-15 (5) -- 36-03 (11) -- 6-06

9. Jacob Wheeler -- 18-15 (5) -- 12-07 (4) -- 31-06 (9) -- 5-09

10. Justin Lucas -- 22-09 (7) -- 8-00 (3) -- 30-09 (10) -- 5-10

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

11. James Elam -- 4-03 (2) -- 24-09 (10) -- 28-12 (12) -- 3-02

12. Kevin VanDam -- 19-04 (5) -- 8-05 (3) -- 27-09 (8) -- 6-09

13. Takahiro Omori -- 5-06 (2) -- 21-01 (7) -- 26-07 (9) -- 4-10

14. Cody Meyer -- 13-15 (5) -- 8-00 (3) -- 21-15 (8) -- 3-15

15. Ott DeFoe -- 7-04 (3) -- 14-04 (3) -- 21-08 (6) -- 7-03

16. Bradley Roy -- 10-09 (5) -- 7-01 (2) -- 17-10 (7) -- 4-06

17. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 9-10 (4) -- 6-01 (2) -- 15-11 (6) -- 3-03

18. Josh Bertrand -- 4-08 (1) -- 10-12 (3) -- 15-04 (4) -- 6-00

19. Brandon Coulter -- 6-14 (1) -- 7-10 (3) -- 14-08 (4) -- 6-14

20. Dustin Connell -- 8-10 (3) -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-10 (3) -- 3-15