Top Rookie Hatfield Pulls Out Front In Group B

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

Photo: MLF/Sean Ostruszka

Nick Hatfield made a long run to a place that's loaded with big smallmouth and came back with a 22-01 stringer.

By MLF Communications Staff

Champions were stacked atop the leaderboard Wednesday at the MLF Pro Circuit TITLE Championship in Massena, N.Y. But at the end of the day, it was a rookie leading the pack.

Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn., the 2022 Pro Circuit Rookie of the Year (ROY), brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 22 pounds, 1 ounce to grab the early lead in Group B following its Day 1 Qualifying Round.

Hatfield holds a slim 2-ounce advantage over 2nd-place pro and reigning REDCREST champion Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., who brought a limit across the stage weighing 21-15. Another rookie, Martin Villa of Charlottesville, Va., caught a limit weighing 21-04, to end the day in 3rd.

The 25 anglers in Group B will now have a day off on Thursday while Group A completes its two-day Qualifying Round of. Group B will conclude its Qualifying Round on Friday.

The six-day event showcases the top 48 pros in the 2022 Pro Circuit standings, along with last year’s TITLE champion and 2021 Angler of the Year – all competing for a purse of more than $800,000 and a grand prize of up to $235,000.

After a slow start to the day and an hour and 45-minute run down the river, Hatfield rallied late in the afternoon to finish atop the field at his first TITLE appearance. While he said he expected 20 pounds to be a reasonable target, the rookie said he certainly didn’t expect to bust 22 on his first day.

“There are a ton of fish down where I’m fishing – I’ve probably seen 50 to 60 fish today, but only got seven or eight bites in there,” Hatfield said. “I’m not sure if they are pressured or it’s just the time of year. I dropped a camera down there during practice and it was so thick in some places that the smallmouth were bumping into the camera. So, they are certainly down there. It’s just going to take some patience and making that long run every day to get to them.”

Hatfield said he caught over 20 pounds in his area before deciding to make the long trek back toward Massena.

“I stopped on a hole on my way back,” Hatfield continued. “I caught a 4-10 that culled up, putting me at 22-01.

“Today was a good day – I had fun. Anytime I’m fishing for smallmouth, I feel like I can contend because I do it so much at home. But at a place like this where it’s so big, it’s a lot more difficult. I mean, so many different things have to go your way on the water, as far as getting there, getting back and just landing the fish.”

Hatfield said he is targeting big boulders in 35 to 45 feet of water and caught all his fish on a dropshot rig, using five or six different baits.

“There were three or four fish on one boulder, and three or four on another. I pulled up to one that had 12 fish on it, and I caught three or four of those and left the rest.

“There are a lot of fish down there that are just roaming and are out away from the rocks, but they are harder to catch. Most of the ones I caught are sitting right on or around a rock.”

When asked his game plan for Friday, Hatfield said he’s going all in on winning the Qualifying Round for his group and taking the automatic berth to the Championship Round.

“I couldn’t have expected anything better from today and with the long run I’m making to these fish, it just makes sense to try to go straight to the Championship Round,” Hatfield continued. “I’ve dreamed of doing this for a long time and winning ROY is still really surreal. But to be out here doing it, and seeing some success, is absolutely amazing. I’m super pumped about it.”

The tournament features a hybrid tournament format. All 50 anglers are seeded into two groups of 25 – Group A and Group B, based on points earned in 2022 qualifying events – where they will compete in Qualifying Rounds over the first four days of the tournament. Group A will fish again on Day 3, and Group B will fish Day 2 and Day 4, with total weight determined by the cumulative weight of their biggest five-bass limit from both days.

The winner of each group will then advance directly to the Championship Round on Sunday, while pros who finish in 2nd to 10th place in each group will battle it out with zeroed weights in the Knockout Round on Saturday. On the sixth day of the event, the Championship Round, weights will again be zeroed and the Top 8 pros from the Knockout Round, plus the two Qualifying Round winners will compete. The winner will be determined by the heaviest five-bass limit of the final round.

Anglers take off at 7 a.m. ET each day from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Hwy 131 in Massena. Weigh-ins are held at the boat launch daily at 3 p.m.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action from 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET daily. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the action online through the MLF NOW! livestream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 1

1. Nick Hatfield -- Greeneville, Tenn. -- (5), 22-01

2. Bobby Lane -- Lakeland, Fla. -- (5), 21-15

3. Martin Villa -- Charlottesville, Va. -- (5), 21-04

4. Chris Lane -- Guntersville, Ala. -- (5), 20-15

5. Casey Scanlon -- Eldon, Mo. -- (5), 20-10

6. John Hunter -- Shelbyville, Ky. -- (5), 20-9

7. Jacob Wall -- New Hope, Ala. -- (5), 20-03

8. Jon Canada -- Helena, Ala. -- (5), 19-05

9. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Ala. -- (5), 19-04

10. Michael Neal -- Dayton, Tenn. -- (5), 18-15

11. Lane Olson -- Forest Grove, Ore. -- (5), 18-05