By MLF Communications Staff
It was the best opening day of the season at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tenn. The 40 pros in Group A caught a single-day total of 271 bass weighing 806-10 on Thursday – the heaviest weight caught on any Day 1 so far in 2021.
Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala., was firmly in control of the Group A leaderboard after Day 1 concluded, catching 23 bass totaling 70-12 to grab the early lead in the two-day Group A Qualifying Round. Lane will take a 21-06 lead into Sunday’s second day of competition for Group A.
Jordan Lee of Cullman, Ala., the reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY), caught 13 bass weighing 49-06 to end the day in 2md place. Offshore ace Jason Lambert of Michie, Tenn. sits in 3rd place after a 34-pound rally in the third period, just 1 ounce behind Lee with a total of 17 bass weighing 49-05.
The 40 anglers in Group A will now enjoy a day off Saturday while the 40 anglers in Group B will conduct their first day of competition.
“Man, what a day,” said Lane in his post-game interview from the water. “It is so much fun out here when things go right, and they really did today. I’ve got around a 20-pound lead and that is rare territory for me. I’m just enjoying the moment right now and I cannot wait to get back out here again for Day 2.”
Lane said that he mainly targeted Chickamauga’s offshore hydrilla beds and grass flats.
“I’m around them. There are a lot of good ones under the hydrilla, I just have to cover a lot of water,” Lane continued. “I caught them on a 3/4-ounce ChatterBait with a little Big Bite (Baits) (Kamikaze) Swimon trailer with the tails cut down to make it have a little less action so the bait would get down deeper. I had 16-pound-test Sunline Sniper line spooled on a 7:1 (Shimano) Curado reel, and that setup has been doing some work today.”
Lee has struggled so far this season after a stellar 2020 campaign and has not made it out of the Qualifying Round. But after a productive day Thursday, it looks like the 30-year-old may have broken out of his slump.
“It was a really good day for me,” Lee said. “I made some good decisions and things were just going right for me this morning. I haven’t made a cut yet this year, so to get off to a good start today feels really good.
“I caught some nice ones early and then just kept the ball rolling, picking up a few here and there all day. I mixed in a lot of different summertime Tennessee River ledge baits – cranking, a hair jig and a Berkley (Havoc) Bottom Hopper. These fish here get a lot of pressure, so it was important to get off to a good start. Now we’ll regroup and get after them again on Sunday.”
Tommy Biffle of Wagoner, Okla. won Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-07 largemouth caught on a Carolina rig during Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers who finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 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 the top prize of $100,000.
Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Takeouts will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies.
The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! will be 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 bass of the round)
1. Russ Lane -- 70-12 (23) -- 7-10
2. Jordan Lee -- 49-06 (13) -- 8-02
3. Jason Lambert -- 49-05 (17) -- 5-00
4. Wesley Strader -- 44-08 (17) -- 3-12
5. Mark Rose -- 38-14 (11) -- 5-07
6. Matt Becker -- 31-11 (8) -- 7-04
7. Matt Lee -- 29-12 (10) -- 5-10
8. Ott DeFoe -- 27-05 (9) -- 7-00
9. Justin Lucas -- 26-02 (8) -- 5-08
10. Alton Jones -- 23-05 (9) -- 4-05
11. Roy Hawk -- 22-13 (8) -- 4-01
12. Cliff Pace -- 21-10 (8) -- 3-10
13. Jesse Wiggins -- 21-04 (7) -- 4-08
14. Bryan Thrift -- 20-08 (8) -- 3-14
15. Bobby Lane -- 20-04 (7) -- 4-11
16. Adrian Avena -- 20-04 (5) -- 5-07
17. Gerald Spohrer -- 19-05 (7) -- 3-15
18. Andy Morgan -- 19-04 (6) -- 5-09
19. Scott Suggs -- 18-13 (5) -- 5-04
20. Skeet Reese -- 18-12 (7) -- 4-03
21. Timmy Horton -- 18-07 (6) -- 5-09
22. John Murray -- 16-09 (6) -- 5-00
23. Zack Birge -- 16-05 (7) -- 2-11
24. David Walker -- 15-11 (5) -- 4-14
25. Fletcher Shryock -- 15-02 (6) -- 3-11
26. Mike McClelland -- 14-02 (6) -- 2-09
27. Andy Montgomery -- 13-08 (5) -- 4-02
28. John Cox -- 12-09 (4) -- 4-05
29. Luke Clausen -- 11-07 (4) -- 4-02
30. Kelly Jordon -- 10-13 (4) -- 3-11
31. Tommy Biffle -- 10-11 (2) -- 8-07
32. Anthony Gagliardi -- 10-09 (5) -- 2-06
33. Chris Lane -- 10-00 (4) -- 2-14
34. Ish Monroe -- 9-06 (3) -- 5-02
35. Keith Poche -- 8-03 (4) -- 2-02
36. Mark Davis -- 6-04 (2) -- 3-06
37. Gary Klein -- 6-00 (2) -- 3-01
38. Aaron Martens -- 4-10 (2) -- 2-10
39. James Watson -- 2-12 (1) -- 2-12
40. Evan Barnes -- 2-00 (1) -- 2-00
