By MLF Communications Staff
APPLING, Ga. – An angler who many consider to be the hottest in the country jumped out to a Texas-sized lead on Day 1 of the second MLF Invitational of 2023 at Clarks Hill Lake.
Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, crossed the stage Tuesday with a five-bass limit weighing 23 pounds, 13 ounces, to grab the early advantage. Ebare holds a 5-02 lead over Huntsville, Arkansas’ Travis Harriman, who caught five bass weighing 18-11.
The full field of 150 anglers will conclude the two-day opening round on Wednesday, with only the Top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advancing to the final round Thursday. 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.
Although Ebare was predictably mum about a lot of the key details on his big day, he did say that he caught 30 to 40 keepers and that he thinks he can have a similar day tomorrow.
“Today was a little better than I expected,” said Ebare. “I was expecting to go out there and catch some fish and have a good day, but I had a couple of really big bites and it turned out to be a great day. I caught them from every branch (of the lake) that you could possibly catch them in. I did a lot of different stuff and just bounced around. I caught some out, caught some up, and just kept an open mind for the day. I had a lot of fun and just went fishing.
“The deepest I caught one was 30 feet, and the shallowest I caught one was one foot,” Ebare continued. “I was all over, just keeping an open mind. And that’s what we’re going to do tomorrow, just go out and have a good time again, and we’ll see where we end up.”
Ebare has been on an absolute tear on the water over the last 12 months. He finished sixth or better in the final six events of the season on the Bass Pro Tour and MLF Pro Circuit, including 2nd-place finishes at the James River and at the Pro Circuit TITLE Championship on the St. Lawrence River. He carried the momentum into 2023, earning his first career win at a Toyota Series event on Sam Rayburn last month. Now, with a 5-pound lead in this event, Ebare said the key to his success has been giving the glory to God and just having fun.
“That (Toyota Series) win took off a lot of stress,” Ebare said. “It’s a huge relief to not have to worry about if it’s going to happen, and now I just get to go fishing and have fun.
“It’s just been a blessing and I am very thankful. God has blessed me so much, and I just want to keep having fun and glorifying him. I think that is the most important thing and has been the biggest attribute to my success – keeping an open mind and having fun.”
Cole Breeden of Lebanon, Missouri earned Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a bass that weighed 6-13.
Anglers take off at 7 a.m. ET each day from Wildwood Park, located at 6212 Holloway Road in Appling. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park beginning at 3 p.m. each day. 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 break down the extended action on all three days of competition from 7:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Day 1 Standings
1. Dakota Ebare -- 23-13 (5)
2. Travis Harriman -- 18-11 (5)
3. Drew Boggs -- 18-09 (5)
4. Keith Carson -- 18-01 (5)
5. Scotty Villines -- 17-06 (5)
6. Sean Anderson -- 17-03 (5)
7. Martin Villa -- 17-01 (5)
8. Jacob Wheeler -- 17-00 (5)
9. Cole Breeden -- 16-15 (5)
10. Tristan McCormick -- 16-11 (5)
11. Cody Petit -- 16-10 (5)
11. Spencer Shuffield -- 16-10 (5)
11. Cal Lane -- 16-10 (5)
14. Colby Schrumpf -- 16-09 (5)
15. Spike Stoker -- 16-08 (5)
16. Michael Neal -- 16-04 (5)
17. Chad Mrazek -- 16-03 (5)
18. Tyler Stewart -- 16-02 (5)
19. John Cox -- 16-01 (5)
20. Jacopo Gallelli -- 15-12 (5)
21. Chris Groh -- 15-07 (5)
22. Blake Hall -- 15-02 (5)
23. Cody Pike -- 14-15 (5)
24. Kyle Hall -- 14-14 (5)
25. Lance Crawford -- 14-13 (5)
25. Brad Jelinek -- 14-13 (5)
27. J Todd Tucker -- 14-10 (5)
27. Fred Roumbanis -- 14-10 (5)
29. Lane Olson -- 14-06 (5)
30. Tom Redington -- 14-05 (5)
30. Eddie Carper -- 14-05 (5)
32. Matthew Stefan -- 14-01 (5)
33. Christian Greico -- 13-15 (5)
34. Andrew Behnke -- 13-14 (5)
35. Jason Vance -- 13-13 (5)
35. Miles Howe -- 13-13 (5)
37. Hunter Mills -- 13-09 (5)
38. Jordan Collom -- 13-08 (5)
38. Nick Hatfield -- 13-08 (5)
38. Brock Reinkemeyer -- 13-08 (5)
41. Cody Spetz -- 13-07 (5)
41. William Fletcher -- 13-07 (5)
43. Kyle Schutta -- 13-05 (5)
44. Ricky Robinson -- 13-04 (5)
45. Ron Nelson -- 13-02 (5)
45. Jack Daniel Williams -- 13-02 (5)
45. Matt Becker -- 13-02 (5)
48. Troy Stokes -- 13-00 (5)
48. Michael Harlin -- 13-00 (5)
50. Jordan Hirt -- 12-14 (5)
51. Braxton Setzer -- 12-12 (5)
51. Ryan Armstrong -- 12-12 (5)
53. Clayton Batts -- 12-11 (5)
54. Rusty Salewske -- 12-09 (5)
54. Steve Lopez -- 12-09 (5)
54. Marshall Robinson -- 12-09 (5)
57. Ramie Colson Jr -- 12-08 (5)
57. Tom Monsoor -- 12-08 (5)
57. Kyle Minke -- 12-08 (5)
60. Blake Felix -- 12-07 (5)
61. Justin Cooper -- 12-06 (5)
62. Marty Robinson -- 12-04 (5)
63. Shaw Grigsby -- 12-02 (5)
64. Mark Condron -- 12-01 (5)
65. Jesse Millsaps -- 12-00 (5)
66. John Voyles -- 11-15 (5)
66. Mike Smola -- 11-15 (5)
68. Derik Hudson -- 11-14 (5)
68. Cameron Mattison -- 11-14 (5)
70. Flint Davis -- 11-12 (5)
71. Connor Cunningham -- 11-11 (5)
72. Shin Fukae -- 11-10 (5)
73. Casey Ashley -- 11-09 (5)
73. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 11-09 (5)
73. Randy Despino -- 11-09 (5)
73. Kyle Weisenburger -- 11-09 (5)
77. Joshua Weaver -- 11-08 (5)
78. Pete Ponds -- 11-07 (5)
79. Drew Gill -- 11-06 (5)
80. Matt Wieteha -- 11-05 (5)
81. Kyle Cortiana -- 11-01 (5)
81. Austin Culbertson -- 11-01 (5)
83. Rod Mackinnon III -- 10-15 (5)
84. Jim Moynagh -- 10-14 (5)
85. Terry Luedtke -- 10-13 (5)
85. Brett Hite -- 10-13 (5)
85. Matt Greenblatt -- 10-13 (5)
88. Ron Farrow -- 10-12 (5)
88. Grae Buck -- 10-12 (5)
90. Matt Reed -- 10-11 (5)
90. Jason Grape -- 10-11 (5)
90. Bryan Partak -- 10-11 (5)
93. Nolan Gaskin -- 10-10 (5)
94. Val Osinski -- 10-08 (5)
94. Phillip Dutra -- 10-08 (5)
94. Eric Panzironi -- 10-08 (5)
97. Terry Bolton -- 10-07 (5)
98. Richard Lowitzki -- 10-06 (5)
98. Tai Au -- 10-06 (5)
98. Kevin Rogers -- 10-06 (5)
101. Kyle Palmer -- 10-05 (5)
102. Chad G Allison -- 10-02 (5)
102. Wyatt Frankens -- 10-02 (5)
104. Robert Nakatomi -- 10-00 (5)
105. Britt Myers -- 9-14 (5)
105. Colby Miller -- 9-14 (5)
105. Robby Lefere -- 9-14 (5)
105. Elijah Meyers -- 9-14 (5)
109. Terry Olinger -- 9-13 (5)
109. Charles Abshire -- 9-13 (5)
111. Jeff Reynolds -- 9-10 (5)
111. Bobby Bakewell -- 9-10 (5)
113. Frank Kitchens III -- 9-09 (5)
113. Alex Davis -- 9-09 (5)
115. Mike McClelland -- 9-08 (5)
116. Rick Chenoweth -- 9-07 (5)
117. Andy Newcomb -- 9-06 (5)
118. Scott Wiley -- 9-04 (5)
119. Jimmy Reese -- 9-03 (5)
120. Shannon Abbott -- 9-01 (5)
121. Hunter Eubanks -- 8-14 (5)
122. Jaden Parrish -- 8-13 (5)
123. Thomas Wooten -- 8-11 (5)
124. Kollin Crawford -- 8-07 (5)
125. Andrew Loberg -- 8-06 (5)
125. Robby Frashier -- 8-06 (5)
127. Charlie Evans -- 8-03 (5)
127. Todd Walters -- 8-03 (5)
129. Brian Latimer -- 8-01 (5)
130. Mark Fisher -- 7-14 (5)
131. Kyle Glasgow -- 7-13 (5)
132. Randy Howell -- 7-12 (5)
132. Jared McMillan -- 7-12 (5)
132. Paul Gettys -- 7-12 (5)
135. Paul Elias -- 7-10 (5)
136. John-Dalton Miller -- 7-09 (5)
137. Cody Greaney -- 7-02 (5)
138. Tommy Dickerson -- 6-15 (5)
138. Jeremy Southerly -- 6-15 (5)
140. David Walker -- 6-04 (5)
141. Andrew Nordbye -- 6-00 (4)
141. Laker Howell -- 6-00 (2)
143. Bruce Parsons -- 5-10 (1)
144. Joe Wieberg -- 5-04 (4)
145. Cole Harris -- 5-02 (3)
146. Joe Grafeman -- 5-01 (4)
147. Mike Findley -- 4-04 (2)
148. Cody Parker -- 3-14 (2)
149. Danny L. Shanz -- 3-13 (2)
Cole Hewett -- 0-00 (0)
