By MLS Communications Staff

Matt Lee only caught nine scorable bass today totaling 27-11 ounces, but after his astonishing day 1 on Thursday, it turns out he could have taken the day off. Lee’s two-day total of 49 bass weighing 131 pounds even easily earned him the Qualifying Round win for Group A on a weather-delayed day at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Lake Champlain in Plattsburgh, New York.

Competition ran a bit later than expected as lightning in the area caused two pauses in competition during Period 3, totaling 2 hours and 15 minutes. The final hour of competition resumed at 6:15 p.m. ET

Italy’s Jacopo Gallelli, an MLF Pro Circuit angler who qualified to compete in this event via his win in June on the Potomac River, caught a two-day total of 28 bass weighing 81-13 to finish the round in 2nd place, while Bryan Thrift boated a two-day total of 28 bass weighing 81-03 to end the round in 3rd.

Scott Suggs finished the day in 4th place with a two-day total of 24 bass for 80-15. Rounding out the Top 5 was Takahiro Omori, who caught 27 bass for 78-06.

The top 17 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off-day Sunday, while the 39 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition. The Knockout Round, featuring 35 anglers competing to finish in the Top 8, will take place on Monday. Tuesday’s Championship Round will feature Lee, Sunday’s Group B winner and the eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“Man, it feels so good to earn the win,” Lee said in his post-game interview. “This tournament is a long way from over, but now I’ve got Championship Day to try to make it happen. I’ve got a 1 in 10 chance.

“You don’t beat these guys – even when they’re split up in groups – very often. They’re the best in the world. So, to do it, and to have the margin that I had after today … wow,” Lee continued. “It’s been a long day, I tried to practice and find some new stuff, but it was tough. I couldn’t get anything going, just a few. Then I came back over here late and caught them on a topwater.

“It’s been an awesome couple of days and I can’t wait to get back out here on Tuesday,” Lee went on to say. “It’s going to be tough, but we’re that much closer.”

Omori won the daily Berkley Big Bass award with a 5-14 largemouth he caught on a jig during Period 1. Berkley awards $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.

MLF announced earlier this week that the normal 80-angler Bass Pro Tour field would be reduced to 73 for this event, as seven anglers withdrew from competition for undisclosed reasons (primarily COVID-19). After consulting with the MLF Angler Advisory Board, a slight change was made to the Qualifying Round cut lines due to the unbalanced angler groupings.

Anglers take off from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 2 Dock St., at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. Takeouts are also held at the marina beginning at 5 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and SCORETRACKER coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

MLF officials have divided the lake into two zones in which anglers will compete – Zone A (north) and Zone B (south). Anglers choosing to fish in Zone B must go through the normal takeoff procedure at the Plattsburgh Boat Launch and then trailer to a public ramp within Zone B. Anglers will depart the launch at 8 a.m., and competition will start with “lines in” at 9 a.m.

The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass 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.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action each day of competition from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Matt Lee -- 103-05 (40) -- 27-11 (9) -- 131-00 (49) -- 4-04

2. Jacopo Gallelli -- 24-08 (8) -- 57-05 (20) -- 81-13 (28) -- 4-07

3. Bryan Thrift -- 22-00 (8) -- 59-03 (20) -- 81-03 (28) -- 4-13

4. Scott Suggs -- 44-06 (12) -- 36-09 (12) -- 80-15 (24) -- 5-02

5. Takahiro Omori -- 40-08 (14) -- 40-02 (14) -- 80-10 (28) -- 5-14

6. Shin Fukae -- 39-11 (13) -- 36-10 (11) -- 76-05 (24) -- 4-04

7. James Elam -- 36-12 (12) -- 36-15 (11) -- 73-11 (23) -- 4-11

8. Ott DeFoe -- 31-14 (10) -- 41-00 (14) -- 72-14 (24) -- 5-04

9. Michael Neal -- 10-08 (4) -- 60-07 (19) -- 70-15 (23) -- 3-15

10. Dave Lefebre -- 37-05 (12) -- 31-13 (11) -- 69-02 (23) -- 4-12

11. Andy Montgomery -- 42-04 (16) -- 23-07 (9) -- 65-11 (25) -- 4-01

12. Timmy Horton -- 7-14 (2) -- 56-05 (20) -- 64-03 (22) -- 4-09

13. Britt Myers -- 45-12 (18) -- 17-06 (6) -- 63-02 (24) -- 3-12

14. John Cox -- 47-15 (18) -- 14-12 (6) -- 62-11 (24) -- 4-02

15. Aaron Martens -- 38-10 (14) -- 23-14 (8) -- 62-08 (22) -- 4-02

16. Gerald Spohrer -- 30-09 (10) -- 31-15 (11) -- 62-08 (21) -- 3-11

17. Terry Scroggins -- 12-06 (4) -- 46-08 (16) -- 58-14 (20) -- 4-04

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

18. Edwin Evers -- 39-15 (13) -- 18-13 (6) -- 58-12 (19) -- 4-11

19. Tommy Biffle -- 10-03 (4) -- 46-04 (18) -- 56-07 (22) -- 3-12

20. Cliff Pace -- 19-13 (7) -- 34-04 (11) -- 54-01 (18) -- 4-06

21. John Murray -- 11-04 (4) -- 40-02 (16) -- 51-06 (20) -- 3-13

22. Bobby Lane -- 25-15 (8) -- 24-05 (7) -- 50-04 (15) -- 5-02

23. Jared Lintner -- 23-14 (9) -- 26-04 (10) -- 50-02 (19) -- 4-03

24. Jason Lambert -- 31-13 (12) -- 13-12 (4) -- 45-09 (16) -- 4-03

25. James Watson -- 15-05 (5) -- 28-03 (10) -- 43-08 (15) -- 4-00

26. Brent Chapman -- 22-04 (7) -- 18-10 (6) -- 40-14 (13) -- 4-07

27. Fred Roumbanis -- 10-03 (4) -- 29-06 (10) -- 39-09 (14) -- 4-02

28. Randall Tharp -- 2-03 (1) -- 37-02 (12) -- 39-05 (13) -- 4-02

29. Zack Birge -- 16-14 (6) -- 20-12 (7) -- 37-10 (13) -- 3-14

30. David Walker -- 8-09 (3) -- 23-15 (8) -- 32-08 (11) -- 3-07

31. Gary Klein -- 12-02 (4) -- 12-04 (5) -- 24-06 (9) -- 3-10

32. Lawson Hibdon -- 9-01 (3) -- 8-03 (3) -- 17-04 (6) -- 3-10

33. Brett Hite -- 4-11 (2) -- 7-02 (2) -- 11-13 (4) -- 4-00

34. Mike McClelland -- 3-15 (1) -- 2-10 (1) -- 6-09 (2) -- 3-15