By MLF Communications Staff

Wesley Strader caught 30 scorable bass totaling 73-04 to win the two-day Group B Qualifying Round Monday at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Lake St. Clair in Michigan. Strader’s two-day total of 64 bass weighing 166-08 earned him the round win by a 36-01 margin and advances him directly into Wednesday’s Championship Round.

While Lake St. Clair is widely known as a world-class smallmouth fishery, Strader has done his damage this week targeting solely largemouth.

“Finally! I’m so happy to win one. Golly bum, that is so hard to do,” Strader said in his post-game interview. “I tell you what’s even harder, though – I went against the grain and did it with the wrong species. What a great two days of fishing it has been.”

Like day 1, Strader spent most of his day fishing shallow, alternating between a Z-Man Evergreen Jack Hammer ChatterBait paired with a Zoom Z-Swim and a Neko-rigged Zoom Zlinky.

“I don’t know what’s up with that spot – just more and more fish keep getting on it,” Strader continued. “I know it’s probably going to get played out, but I’m looking forward to getting back out there on Wednesday and seeing how this shakes out.”

Fred Roumbanis caught a two-day total of 45 bass weighing 130-07 to end the round in 2nd place. Zack Birge was 3rd with a two-day total of 41 bass weighing 122-06. Alton Jones Jr. weighed in 37 scorable bass over two days totaling 115-14 to end the round in 4th, while local favorite Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Mich., who qualified for this event via the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, rounded out the Top 5 with a two-day total of 39 bass weighing 107-02.

The remaining 38 anglers – 19 from Group A and 19 from Group B – will now compete Tuesday in the Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed and the anglers will attempts to finish in the Top 8 to advance to the finals. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Group A winner Michael Neal, Group B winner Strader and the Top 8 anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

Birge won the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award Monday with a 5-10 smallmouth that he caught on a crankbait during Period 2. 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.

Anglers will take off from the 9-Mile Ramp, located in St. Clair Shores, at 8 a.m. ET each day of competition. With strong winds being forecast for Tuesday, Bass Pro Tour Tournament Director Aaron Beshears has decided to allow Knockout Round competitors to trailer their boats. Anglers must remain at the ramp until 8 a.m. and then will be allowed to depart to the desired launch of their choosing.

Takeout ceremonies will also be held at the 9-Mile Ramp 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.

The event 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 from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! will be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group B Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Wesley Strader -- 93-04 (34) -- 73-04 (30) -- 166-08 (64) -- 4-14

2. Fred Roumbanis -- 81-00 (29) -- 52-13 (17) -- 133-13 (46) -- 4-11

3. Zack Birge -- 75-14 (27) -- 46-08 (14) -- 122-06 (41) -- 5-10

4. Alton Jones Jr. -- 31-03 (10) -- 84-11 (27) -- 115-14 (37) -- 4-08

5. Scott Dobson -- 44-08 (17) -- 62-10 (22) -- 107-02 (39) -- 5-06

6. Dustin Connell -- 15-10 (5) -- 77-11 (22) -- 93-05 (27) -- 5-06

7. David Dudley -- 33-10 (11) -- 57-16 (19) -- 91-10 (30) -- 5-05

8. Andy Morgan -- 65-03 (23) -- 26-02 (9) -- 91-05 (32) -- 5-08

9. Mark Davis -- 41-00 (14) -- 49-13 (18) -- 90-13 (32) -- 4-11

10. Justin Lucas -- 34-08 (13) -- 56-02 (19) -- 90-10 (32) -- 4-13

11. Scott Suggs -- 39-10 (13) -- 46-14 (16) -- 86-08 (29) -- 4-08

12. Jason Lambert -- 21-11 (7) -- 55-04 (20) -- 76-15 (27) -- 5-00

13. Bobby Lane -- 30-00 (11) -- 43-15 (14) -- 73-15 (25) -- 5-01

14. Matt Lee -- 39-14 (14) -- 33-13 (12) -- 73-11 (26) -- 4-07

15. Alton Jones -- 37-08 (12) -- 32-09 (11) -- 70-01 (23) -- 4-06

16. Dean Rojas -- 33-00 (13) -- 34-11 (12) -- 67-11 (25) -- 4-08

17. Ott DeFoe -- 39-05 (14) -- 27-05 (10) -- 66-10 (24) -- 4-05

18. Brandon Coulter -- 31-01 (12) -- 35-08 (13) -- 66-09 (25) -- 4-06

19. Stephen Browning -- 17-04 (7) -- 44-01 (15) -- 61-05 (22) -- 4-12

20. Mark Rose -- 9-08 (3) -- 48-11 (13) -- 58-03 (16) -- 5-05

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

21. Jordan Lee -- 5-11 (2) -- 50-02 (15) -- 55-13 (17) -- 4-13

22. Greg Vinson -- 28-06 (10) -- 26-14 (9) -- 55-04 (19) -- 4-12

23. Cody Pike -- 27-08 (9) -- 24-08 (6) -- 52-00 (15) -- 4-11

24. James Elam -- 7-06 (3) -- 44-00 (15) -- 51-06 (18) -- 3-12

25. Terry Scroggins -- 6-07 (3) -- 40-06 (14) -- 46-13 (17) -- 4-14

26. Britt Myers -- 29-07 (8) -- 17-06 (6) -- 46-13 (14) -- 4-15

27. Cliff Crochet -- 9-03 (3) -- 35-05 (12) -- 44-08 (15) -- 4-05

28. Cody Meyer -- 17-04 (6) -- 22-06 (7) -- 39-10 (13) -- 4-02

29. Shaw Grigsby -- 21-13 (7) -- 12-12 (5) -- 34-09 (12) -- 4-13

30. Jonathon VanDam -- 20-00 (7) -- 13-01 (5) -- 33-01 (12) -- 4-06

31. Mike McClelland -- 17-08 (6) -- 15-05 (5) -- 32-13 (11) -- 4-06

32. Andy Montgomery -- 18-09 (7) -- 10-06 (4) -- 28-15 (11) -- 3-13

33. Edwin Evers -- 18-00 (6) -- 10-15 (3) -- 28-15 (9) -- 4-13

34. Jeff Kriet -- 15-08 (5) -- 7-11 (3) -- 23-03 (8) -- 4-07

35. John Cox -- 22-13 (8) -- 0-00 (0) -- 22-13 (8) -- 4-06

36. Boyd Duckett -- 10-10 (4) -- 11-08 (5) -- 22-02 (9) -- 3-08

37. Timmy Horton -- 6-09 (2) -- 9-10 (3) -- 16-03 (5) -- 4-04

38. Kelly Jordon -- 0-00 (0) -- 15-01 (5) -- 15-01 (5) -- 3-10

39. Dave Lefebre -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-09 (2) -- 8-09 (2) -- 4-06