Browning Builds Big Lead In Group B

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Photo: MLF/Josh Gassmann

Stephen Browning caught 16 scorable fish on the first day of the Group B Qualifying Round at Heavy Hitters.

By MLF Communications Staff

Arkansas' Stephen Browning, caught 16 scorable bass weighing 51 pounds, 4 ounces to grab the early lead for Group B in the Qualifying Round of the MLF Heavy Hitters event at Lake Palestine in Texas. The six-day all-star tournament showcases the 32 pros who qualified from the Bass Pro Tour competing for a purse of more than $500,000, with a top prize of $100,000 to the winner along with massive "Big Bass Bonus" payouts.

California's Brent Ehrler caught an 8-05 lunker that was the heaviest bass of the day on Sunday. The big fish engulfed Ehrler’s frog midway through the third period. If Ehrler’s fish remains the largest bass weighed by Group B after the conclusion of the two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday, he will take home a $25,000 Big Bass Bonus. The bonuses are awarded throughout 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, respectively.

Browning will take an 18-06 lead over second-place Jordan Lee of Alabama into Tuesday’s second day of competition in the Qualifying Round for Group B. Lee landed 10 scorable bass totaling 32-14, while Jeff Kriet of Oklahoma rounds out the Top 3, catching nine bass weighing 28-02 to end the day in third place.

The 16 anglers in Group B will now have the day off Monday, while the 16 anglers in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round.

“Today was so fun – exactly how I grew up fishing this time of the year on the lower Arkansas River. It just felt like home,” Browning said. “I had several bites, and some quality, and anytime I can put a Z-Man (ChatterBait) Jack Hammer in my hand and they’re biting it, we’re going to hold our own.”

Browning spent most of his day Sunday throwing the vibrating jig and targeting fish spawning on the numerous backwater stumps.

“Some of the water I’m fishing is about 2 1/2 to 3 feet and some of it is only 2 feet,” Browning said. “When I get into that 2-foot range, I put the (Z-Man) DieZel MinnowZ on the back end of it. When I’m fishing a little bit deeper, I can get away with the (Z-Man) RaZor ShadZ. I’m throwing a 3/8-ounce Jack Hammer – bluegill-colored – with my 7-foot 10-inch extra-heavy moderate St. Croix Legend Tournament (Bass) series rod.

“On Tuesday we’re going to go with a little softer rod – probably a heavy-moderate – just to lighten it up a little bit, so when I set the hook on these fish I don’t bring them to the top like I did today,” Browning continued. “We had a little misfortune – one took our bait from us, and I’d missed that fish earlier on a crankbait off that same bush. So, if we can get her to bite before the day is over, we might even give Ehrler a run for his money on that 8-pounder.”

Lee had a very successful first and second period before his day slowed in the afternoon. Lee caught all of his fish Sunday throwing a frog.

“I’m definitely excited about second, but I’m even more excited about how I was catching them today,” Lee said in his postgame interview. “I caught them on a frog – I used a white one early, then switched to a black one when the sun got up. I used my (Abu Garcia) Signature Series Frog rod – it’s a 7-foot, 3-inch heavy – with 50-pound-test Berkley X9 braided line with an (Abu Garcia) Revo Premier reel. And just made casts to where I feel like a lot of guys weren’t throwing a bait.

“It wasn’t automatic, but I had a really good two periods doing that. Overall, I’m excited about what I found and definitely have something to build off of for Day 2,” Lee went on to say.

Kriet mainly fished in the mid-lake area, having a lot of water to himself and catching most of his fish on a worm.

“I started off this morning before the wind got up and I was swinging around a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko with a 1/0 Gamakatsu (G-Finesse) weedless hook,” Kriet said. “I’m catching them way up in the grass, and you’d be amazed at how weedless that hook is.

“When it got windy, I had to go to flipping a weight and I switched to McClelland’s (Gamakatsu G-Finesse) Hybrid hook,” Kriet continued. “I didn’t lose any fish today, and in this much wind that is hard to do. All in all it was a good day, a challenging day with the wind, but I’m really happy and I fished good.”

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers who finish in 2nd through 8th place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 14 anglers compete to finish in the Top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.

Anglers depart at 7 a.m. from the Villages Marina, located at Big Eddy Road in Flint, Texas. Anglers are allowed to trailer to any boat ramp of their choosing on Lake Palestine, but competition begins with “lines in” at 8 a.m. Each day’s takeout is held at the Marina beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds 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.

To qualify for Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single-largest bass from each event of the seven 2021 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 32 anglers with the heaviest five big-fish totals from those qualified to compete in this event.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney breaks down the extended action on each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 1

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

1. Stephen Browning -- 51--04 (16) -- 7--07

2. Jordan Lee -- 32--14 (10) -- 6--09

3. Jeff Kriet -- 28--02 (9) -- 4--11

4. Brent Ehrler -- 26--04 (7) -- 8--05

5. Dustin Connell -- 25--10 (9) -- 4--10

6. Russ Lane -- 25--06 (9) -- 5--02

7. Gerald Spohrer -- 22--05 (7) -- 6--02

8. Mark Davis -- 13--00 (5) -- 3--04

9. Tommy Biffle -- 11--10 (4) -- 3--09

10. Zack Birge -- 10--09 (4) -- 3--05