By MLF Communications Staff

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Already with a Hall of Fame career that has seen countless memorable moments on the water, 59-year-old Mark Davis of Mount Ida, Arkansas, showed he still has a few more tricks left up his sleeve. Davis caught 13 scorable bass Friday, with his best five weighing 34 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on the Kissimmee Chain.

Davis’ total guves him a 10-pound cushion over second-place angler Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tennessee, who weighed in five scorable bass totaling 24-10. Chris Lane of Guntersville, Alabama, sits in third place with five bass weighing 23-02, while Addison, Alabama’s Jesse Wiggins weighed in five bass totaling 21-08 to finish the day in fourth. Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tennessee, added to the cutline drama as he caught a 6-03 largemouth as time expired to vault from 13th place into fifth and bounce out the reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler.

The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition resumes Saturday morning with the Championship Round. Weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total will win the top prize of $100,000.

“Today was a heck of a day for me,” said Davis. “It wasn’t my biggest limit I’ve ever caught – I caught around 42 pounds on this fishery once, I think back in 2001 – but I’m very pleased to have caught 34 (pounds) today. You can never really be comfortable competing in Florida, but 10 pounds is a very nice lead.”

Davis spent the day targeting grass patches and lily pads on a spawning flat in Lake Kissimmee with a Texas-rigged blue craw with red flake-colored Strike King Ocho, with a 3/16-ounce Strike King tungsten weight.

“It was all new water for me today,” Davis said. “This morning on the ride down, I just felt like I needed to go and look at some new water. I pulled into an area that I hadn’t fished – I might have fished it at some point in my career, but it was new this week. I pulled up there and caught one almost 4 (pounds), then a 6-12, and I still didn’t quite have it figured out. But as the day went on I kind of got dialed into the bite, and once I got dialed in, it was game on.”

Another impressive stat that showcases just how special Davis’ day was Friday – although his best five went for 34-10, his next best five scorable fish would have given him a limit for 23 pounds even and he would be in third place.

“I figure I’m going to have to catch at least 15 to 16 pounds tomorrow to have any chance at winning,” Davis went on to say. “One of the reasons I worked so hard today to catch as much as I could was because the weather is going to change. We’re going to have a stout north wind and there is supposed to be a cold front coming in overnight. It could really turn the fish off for everybody, so I felt like I needed to amass as much weight as I could today.”

Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to Jesse Wiggins of Addison, Alabama, who caught an 8-pound largemouth in Period 3 on a medium-diving crankbait. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day event, hosted by the Kissimmee Sports Commission, showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Monday and Wednesday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Tuesday and Thursday. After the two-day qualifying round, the top 20 anglers from each group advanced to Friday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers competed to finish in the top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In the Championship Round on Saturday, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total will win the top prize of $100,000.

The final 10 anglers will launch Saturday at 7:30 a.m. ET from Big Toho Marina, located at 69 Lakeview Drive in Kissimmee. Takeout will be held at the Marina beginning at 4 p.m.

From 4:30 to 6 p.m., MLF will welcome fans of all ages to come to celebrate the Top 10 and crown the champion at the trophy presentation. The Championship Round anglers will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

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



Knockout Round

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

1. Mark Davis -- 34-10 (5) -- 7-08

2. Ott DeFoe -- 24-10 (5) -- 6-06

3. Chris Lane -- 23-02 (5) -- 6-13

4. Jesse Wiggins -- 21-08 (5) -- 8-00

5. Andy Morgan -- 20-15 (5) -- 6-03

6. Jeremy Lawyer -- 20-15 (5) -- 5-00

7. Mark Rose -- 20-05 (5) -- 7-04

8. Jordan Lee -- 19-04 (5) -- 7-04

9. Dylan Hays -- 18-14 (5) -- 6-03

10. Brent Ehrler -- 18-11 (5) -- 6-06

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

11. Jacob Wheeler -- 18-09 (5) -- 5-00

12. Fletcher Shryock -- 18-04 (5) -- 4-07

13. Stephen Browning -- 17-15 (5) -- 6-09

14. Andy Montgomery -- 17-07 (5) -- 5-14

15. Mitch Crane -- 16-10 (5) -- 4-11

16. Casey Ashley -- 16-08 (5) -- 4-05

17. Edwin Evers -- 16-00 (5) -- 5-06

18. Jeff Sprague -- 15-15 (5) -- 5-03

19. Cliff Pace -- 15-13 (5) -- 4-01

20. Josh Butler -- 15-07 (5) -- 3-06

21. Takahiro Omori -- 14-14 (5) -- 7-06

22. Nick Lebrun -- 14-02 (5) -- 3-12

23. Alton Jones Jr. -- 13-14 (4) -- 7-07

24. John Murray -- 13-14 (5) -- 3-03

25. Bradley Roy -- 13-13 (5) -- 3-06

26. Ryan Salzman -- 13-06 (5) -- 4-00

27. Justin Lucas -- 13-05 (5) -- 3-00

28. Dakota Ebare -- 12-12 (5) -- 3-00

29. Keith Poche -- 11-12 (5) -- 4-06

30. Britt Myers -- 11-00 (5) -- 2-15

31. Randy Howell -- 10-13 (5) -- 3-00

32. Scott Suggs -- 9-11 (5) -- 2-05

33. Gerald Spohrer -- 9-10 (5) -- 2-06

34. Todd Faircloth -- 9-06 (5) -- 2-01

35. Bryan Thrift -- 7-07 (4) -- 2-08

36. Spencer Shuffield -- 7-05 (2) -- 5-10

37. Shin Fukae -- 6-09 (3) -- 2-12

38. Brett Hite -- 5-07 (3) -- 2-01

39. Adrian Avena -- 5-04 (2) -- 3-10

40. Russ Lane -- 5-04 (3) -- 2-03