Walker Boxes 28 Pounds To Lead At Big O

By MLF Communications Staff

Veteran pro David Walker of Sevierville, Tennessee, crossed the stage Wednesday with a five-bass limit weighing 28 pounds, 1 ounce to lead Day 1 of the season-opening MLF Invitational at Florida's Lake Okeechobee. Walker holds a 1-06 lead over Jacopo Gallelli of Florence, Italy, who caught five bass weighing 26-11.

The three-day tournament, features a roster of 150 anglers competing for a top prize of up to $115,000 and an invitation to compete at REDCREST 2024.

“My day started out really good. I had some bites, but they weren’t big fish,” Walker said. “I had a couple of areas that I felt like I could get some bites in, but I didn’t know what they were. In practice I was looking for places that I would want to go back to, and I was fortunate to find a couple of areas that I felt like I could go to today. I felt confident that I could get some bites, and then we’d see how it goes. And then it went … really, really well.”

Walker estimated that he caught around 25 keepers throughout the day.

“It’s still pretty early so I have to be a little vague, but I can say that Z-Man products were a big player for me today,” Walker said. “Going out this morning I had about a half-dozen different options on the deck, and as the day went on I narrowed it down to three key baits.”

Walker mainly stuck to his area for most of the competition day, but he did venture off a couple of times as he tried to expand on his spot.

“We’ve got the possibility of some storms moving in tomorrow afternoon and I’m in a later flight so I might be in on some of that, but hopefully not,” Walker went on to say. “Tomorrow is going to be more of the same. I’d be foolish to figure that I could do something similar somewhere else.

"I think I’ve found the right place and I feel like I’m doing the right thing, and that’s all you can hope for in a tournament. Whether it pans out or not, I want to walk away knowing I did the right thing. I couldn’t talk myself into going anywhere else at this point.”

Wyatt Frankens of Corrigan, Texas, won Wednesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a chunky largemouth that weighed 7-12.

Overall, there were 712 bass weighing 2,029 pounds, 9 ounces caught by 149 pros Wednesday. The catch included 127 five-bass limits.

In MLF Invitational competition, the full field of 150 anglers competes in the two-day opening round on Wednesday and Thursday in a traditional five-fish weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight will advance to the final round Friday. The winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative weight.

Anglers take off at 7 a.m. ET each day from Roland & Mary Ann Martin’s Marina & Resort, located at 920 W. Del Monte Ave. in Clewiston. Weigh-ins are held at the marina daily beginning at 2:50 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all three days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7:30 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all three days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! will be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Day 1 Standings

1. David Walker -- 28-01 (5)

2. Jacopo Gallelli -- 26-11 (5)

3. Jason Vance -- 25-09 (5)

4. Tai Au -- 25-04 (5)

5. Brian Latimer -- 23-14 (5)

6. Brett Hite -- 23-03 (5)

7. William Fletcher -- 22-01 (5)

8. Colby Schrumpf -- 21-15 (5)

9. Tom Redington -- 21-11 (5)

10. Jonathan Dietz -- 21-03 (5)

11. Michael Neal -- 21-01 (5)

12. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 20-13 (5)

12. Joe Wieberg -- 20-13 (5)

14. Randy Howell -- 20-09 (5)

15. Eddie Carper -- 20-06 (5)

16. Jaden Parrish -- 19-14 (5)

17. Nick Lebrun -- 19-11 (5)

18. Ryan Armstrong -- 19-08 (5)

19. Val Osinski -- 19-00 (5)

20. Jim Moynagh -- 18-15 (5)

21. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 18-14 (5)

21. Michael Harlin -- 18-14 (5)

23. Josh Butler -- 18-10 (5)

24. Dakota Ebare -- 18-09 (5)

25. Tom Monsoor -- 18-08 (5)

25. Wyatt Frankens -- 18-08 (5)

27. Tyler Stewart -- 18-07 (5)

28. Grae Buck -- 18-05 (5)

29. Shannon Abbott -- 18-04 (5)

30. Fred Roumbanis -- 18-00 (5)

31. Alex Davis -- 17-14 (5)

32. J Todd Tucker -- 17-08 (5)

33. Phillip Dutra -- 17-07 (5)

33. Martin Villa -- 17-07 (5)

35. Hunter Eubanks -- 17-04 (5)

36. Flint Davis -- 17-02 (5)

37. Ron Nelson -- 17-00 (5)

38. Jordan Collom -- 16-13 (5)

38. Eric Panzironi -- 16-13 (5)

40. Rusty Salewske -- 16-11 (5)

41. Thomas Wooten -- 16-10 (5)

42. Kollin Crawford -- 16-09 (5)

43. Cody Petit -- 16-05 (4)

44. John Voyles -- 16-02 (5)

45. Chris Lane -- 15-15 (5)

45. Scotty Villines -- 15-15 (5)

45. Keith Carson -- 15-15 (5)

45. Christian Greico -- 15-15 (5)

49. Matthew Stefan -- 15-14 (5)

50. Cody Pike -- 15-11 (5)

51. Marty Robinson -- 15-07 (5)

52. Cody Parker -- 15-04 (3)

53. Austin Culbertson -- 15-03 (4)

54. Ramie Colson Jr -- 15-02 (5)

54. Cameron Mattison -- 15-02 (5)

54. Drew Gill -- 15-02 (5)

57. Tommy Dickerson -- 15-01 (5)

58. Brad Jelinek -- 14-15 (5)

59. Kyle Hall -- 14-14 (5)

60. Matt Becker -- 14-13 (5)

61. Joshua Weaver -- 14-12 (5)

62. Braxton Setzer -- 14-10 (5)

63. Cole Breeden -- 14-09 (5)

64. Jared McMillan -- 14-07 (5)

65. Jason Grape -- 14-05 (5)

66. Charles Abshire -- 14-04 (5)

67. Steve Lopez -- 14-03 (5)

68. Lance Crawford -- 14-00 (5)

69. Connor Cunningham -- 13-11 (5)

70. Sean Anderson -- 13-10 (5)

71. Chad Mrazek -- 13-09 (5)

72. Derik Hudson -- 13-07 (5)

73. Chris Groh -- 13-06 (5)

73. Colby Miller -- 13-06 (5)

75. Justin Cooper -- 13-05 (5)

76. Elijah Meyers -- 13-03 (5)

77. Frank Kitchens III -- 12-15 (5)

78. Scott Wiley -- 12-14 (5)

78. Miles Howe -- 12-14 (5)

80. Kyle Cortiana -- 12-13 (5)

81. Jacob Wheeler -- 12-07 (5)

81. Spike Stoker -- 12-07 (5)

83. Shaw Grigsby -- 12-06 (5)

83. Robert Nakatomi -- 12-06 (5)

85. Matt Greenblatt -- 12-04 (5)

86. Terry Bolton -- 12-03 (5)

87. Danny L. Shanz -- 12-01 (5)

88. Kyle Weisenburger -- 11-15 (5)

89. Kevin Rogers -- 11-14 (4)

90. Paul Elias -- 11-12 (5)

90. Andrew Nordbye -- 11-12 (5)

92. Jack Daniel Williams -- 11-10 (5)

92. Matt Wieteha -- 11-10 (5)

94. Kyle Palmer -- 11-06 (4)

95. Richard Lowitzki -- 11-04 (5)

95. Randy Despino -- 11-04 (5)

97. Charlie Evans -- 11-03 (5)

98. Jesse Millsaps -- 11-00 (5)

99. Clayton Batts -- 10-15 (5)

99. Laker Howell -- 10-15 (5)

101. Marshall Robinson -- 10-13 (5)

101. Cal Lane -- 10-13 (5)

103. Ron Farrow -- 10-12 (5)

103. Chad G Allison -- 10-12 (4)

103. Jared Lintner -- 10-12 (5)

106. Drew Boggs -- 10-09 (5)

106. Cody Spetz -- 10-09 (5)

108. Bruce Parsons -- 10-08 (5)

109. Nick Hatfield -- 10-06 (5)

110. Troy Stokes -- 10-03 (5)

111. Robby Frashier -- 10-02 (5)

112. Bryan Partak -- 10-00 (5)

113. Andrew Behnke -- 9-15 (5)

113. Nolan Gaskin -- 9-15 (5)

115. Jimmy Reese -- 9-13 (5)

115. Paul Gettys -- 9-13 (4)

115. Mark Condron -- 9-13 (5)

118. Kyle Schutta -- 9-07 (5)

118. Rick Chenoweth -- 9-07 (5)

120. Pete Ponds -- 9-06 (5)

120. Casey Ashley -- 9-06 (5)

122. Terry Olinger -- 9-05 (5)

123. Tristan McCormick -- 9-01 (5)

124. Travis Harriman -- 8-12 (5)

125. Lane Olson -- 8-11 (5)

126. Bobby Bakewell -- 8-10 (5)

126. Robby Lefere -- 8-10 (5)

128. Hunter Mills -- 8-07 (5)

129. Joe Grafeman -- 8-05 (5)

130. Jeremy Southerly -- 8-03 (5)

131. Andrew Loberg -- 8-01 (5)

131. Rod Mackinnon III -- 8-01 (5)

133. Todd Walters -- 7-15 (4)

134. Matt Reed -- 7-12 (3)

135. Kyle Minke -- 7-10 (3)

136. John-Dalton Miller -- 7-05 (5)

137. Terry Luedtke -- 7-04 (4)

138. Mike McClelland -- 7-01 (5)

139. Cole Harris -- 7-00 (4)

140. Mark Fisher -- 6-13 (4)

141. Cody Greaney -- 6-11 (2)

142. Mike Smola -- 6-10 (4)

143. Andy Newcomb -- 6-06 (4)

144. Blake Hall -- 5-13 (3)

145. Cole Hewett -- 5-12 (3)

146. Jeff Reynolds -- 3-14 (3)

147. Blake Felix -- 3-12 (3)

148. Kyle Glasgow -- 3-09 (4)

149. Jordan Hirt -- 3-07 (2)

Ricky Robinson -- 0-00 (0)