By MLF Communications Staff

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Fletcher Shryock’s five largest bass Monday weighed 23 pounds, 6 ounces and earned him the lead after Day 1 for Group A of the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at the Kissimmee Chain. Right behind Shryock in second place is Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas, who weighed in five scorable largemouth totaling 20-04.

Weights are fairly tight in the remainder of the Top 5. Jeremy Lawyer of Sarcoxie, Missouri, ended the day in third place with five bass totaling 19-09, while Osaka, Japan’s Shinichi Fukae, who led the standings for a good majority of the day, ended the day in fourth with five bass worth 18-15. Mark Rose of Wynne, Arkansas, rounds out the Top 5 with 18-07.

The 40 anglers in Group A will now have an off day from competition on Tuesday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will conduct their first day of competition. Group A will resume competition on Wednesday.

Shryock said he felt like he had a solid plan after his practice days, but as the wind picked up and rolled through the Kissimmee Chain on Monday, it had all but ruined his strategy.

“It started off this morning just not good,” Shryock said in his post-game interview. “I had to make adjustments today to be able to catch what I caught. The second and the third periods were really where I made my move.”

A midday flurry netted Shryock four of his best five bass. That pushed him right behind Fukae for first place. Then, the final 6-13 to end his day secured him the top spot. While he remains guarded about exactly how and where he’s catching his fish, he did give a little insight.

“I was being me and doing what I always do — flipping grass,” Shryock said. “I alternated between two baits. One is a Florida staple and the other is something I’m working on coming out with for Yamamoto. I’m keeping those baits quiet for now because I want to make sure that I don’t give too much away.”

Day 1 of the 2023 season is also the first day of the new five-fish format of the BPT. It took some time to get used to for the angler, but all-in-all there were some positive reviews.

“I love the five-fish format paired with the live-scoring of ScoreTracker,” Shryock said. “Knowing that I only have to catch five fish and I know just how big those five have to be to keep pace is a great feeling and something I’ve never had before.”

Fukae echoed Shryock’s sentiments.

“It’s kind of weird compared to the last four years, but I like it,” Fukae said. “I think I’m more comfortable fishing five fish and I think that showed today.”

Fukae caught the biggest fish of the day in Period 1, an 8-11 largemouth bass that bit his lipless crankbait to earn the first $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award of the event. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day and another $1,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. For the final-day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Each day’s takeout is held at the marina beginning at 4 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 coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The tournament features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 6-ounce 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 will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Group A Qualifying Round – Day 1

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

1. Fletcher Shryock -- 23-06 (5) -- 6-13

2. Jeff Sprague -- 20-04 (5) -- 6-12

3. Jeremy Lawyer -- 19-09 (5) -- 5-01

4. Shin Fukae -- 18-15 (5) -- 8-11

5. Mark Rose -- 18-07 (5) -- 6-09

6. Brett Hite -- 17-10 (5) -- 4-09

7. Jesse Wiggins -- 17-04 (5) -- 5-04

8. Gerald Spohrer -- 16-11 (5) -- 5-12

9. John Hunter -- 16-11 (5) -- 5-00

10. Jordan Lee -- 15-08 (5) -- 6-05

11. Ott DeFoe -- 15-01 (5) -- 5-07

12. Gary Klein -- 14-09 (5) -- 6-13

13. Michael Neal -- 14-08 (5) -- 4-08

14. Ryan Salzman -- 14-03 (4) -- 7-01

15. Todd Faircloth -- 13-04 (5) -- 3-11

16. Mitch Crane -- 13-02 (5) -- 5-13

17. Alton Jones -- 13-01 (5) -- 3-07

18. Bryan Thrift -- 12-04 (5) -- 3-01

19. Luke Clausen -- 12-01 (5) -- 3-07

20. David Dudley -- 11-14 (5) -- 4-00

21. Josh Butler -- 11-04 (5) -- 3-01

22. John Murray -- 11-02 (5) -- 3-08

23. Randall Tharp -- 10-15 (3) -- 5-00

24. Britt Myers -- 10-14 (5) -- 3-02

25. Josh Bertrand -- 10-11 (5) -- 2-14

26. Dave Lefebre -- 10-07 (5) -- 3-00

27. Zack Birge -- 10-07 (5) -- 2-12

28. Scott Suggs -- 9-14 (5) -- 2-08

29. Andy Morgan -- 9-13 (5) -- 2-08

30. Marty Robinson -- 9-08 (5) -- 2-04

31. Skeet Reese -- 9-07 (5) -- 2-01

32. Jonathon VanDam -- 9-06 (5) -- 2-06

33. Dean Rojas -- 8-04 (5) -- 2-12

34. Kelly Jordon -- 8-03 (5) -- 2-15

35. Spencer Shuffield -- 7-15 (4) -- 2-08

36. Greg Vinson -- 7-13 (5) -- 1-15

37. David Walker -- 7-02 (3) -- 3-01

38. James Elam -- 4-10 (3) -- 1-13

39. James Watson -- 4-08 (2) -- 2-06

40. Cody Meyer -- 3-00 (2) -- 1-08