By MLF Communications Staff

MONROE-WEST MONROE, La. – As on-the-water reporter Rob Newell stated at the end of competition Monday, it was a day of feast or famine on Day 1 of the 4th annual Major League Fishing (MLF) General Tire Heavy Hitters event. The anglers at the top of the leaderboard feasted, as numerous 6-, 7- and 9-pounders were weighed in. The anglers at the bottom really struggled, and some big names were left with a bit of a hole to dig out of on Wednesday.

After the final bass had been logged into ScoreTracker, Alton Jones Jr., of Waco, Texas, held the early lead with nine scorable bass weighing 33 pounds, 14 ounces. REDCREST 2023 champion Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., led for an extended period of time Monday, but was eclipsed by Jones in the third period. Thrift weighed in six scorable bass totaling 30-02 to end the day in 2nd place.

Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, caught the heaviest bass of the day Monday – a beautiful largemouth that weighed 9-05 that came on a weightless wacky rig in Period 3. If Ebare’s fish remains the largest bass weighed by Group A after the conclusion of the two-day Qualifying Round on Wednesday, he will take home a $25,000 Big Bass Bonus. The bonuses are awarded throughout the competition, with payouts of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 being awarded for the single biggest fish in the Qualifying, Knockout and Championship rounds.

The 15 anglers in Group A will now have the day off Tuesday, while the 15 anglers in Group B will begin their Qualifying Round. Group A will be back in action on Wednesday.

Jones began the day as the first boat out from launch, which helped him get a prime position on the lake that was highly sought after.

“There was actually about five of us starting on one spot in about 20 feet of water,” Jones said. “I was able to catch four off that spot that got me going before I decided to move on to something else.”

That something else was moving up shallow among the boat docks on Caney Creek. With the sun shining bright and not much wind to speak of, the conditions were picture-perfect for Jones to sight-fish with a Geecrack Bellows Shad. He had one bed fish already located from practice, but he quickly discovered a few more.

“I don’t think a lot of guys are sight-fishing right now, so it was cool to get to do that today,” Jones said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to see as well as I did today on Wednesday, so I’m glad I was able to get some sight-fishing in today. The fish are hard to see, but the conditions allowed me to find some today.”

Different from the Bass Pro Tour regular-season events, Heavy Hitters features anglers competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format in which they catch as many scorable bass and as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the ScoreTracker leaderboard. A bass must meet the 2-pound minimum weight requirement to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final-day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to score.

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the Top 8 anglers from both groups advance to Thursday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round weights are zeroed, and the remaining 16 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round.

In the Championship Round, weights carry over from the Knockout Round and the highest two-day total wins.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. CT. The Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, (days 1-5) will launch from Caney Creek Hooks Marina, located at 400 Spillway Road in Chatham, La.. The final 10 anglers competing in the Championship Round will launch from Bonner Ferry Road, located 5 miles northwest of Bastrop off of Highway 593. 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 ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

To qualify for Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single largest bass from each event of the seven 2022 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 30 anglers with the heaviest total from those seven bass qualified to compete in this event.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney breaks down the extended action from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT on each competition day. MLF NOW! is 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. Alton Jones Jr. -- 33-14 (9) -- 6-08

2. Bryan Thrift -- 30-02 (6) -- 7-11

3. Ryan Salzman -- 25-12 (6) -- 6-02

4. Bradley Roy -- 24-15 (6) -- 6-08

5. Dakota Ebare -- 22-09 (5) -- 9-05

6. Stephen Browning -- 18-15 (5) -- 6-04

7. Josh Bertrand -- 16-01 (4) -- 4-12

8. Chris Lane -- 9-09 (3) -- 4-15

9. Terry Scroggins -- 8-01 (2) -- 5-05

10. Alton Jones -- 7-12 (3) -- 2-15

11. Gary Klein -- 5-08 (2) -- 3-06

12. Mark Davis -- 4-12 (1) -- 4-12

13. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 3-02 (1) -- 3-02

14. Zack Birge -- 2-12 (1) -- 2-12

15. Kevin VanDam -- 2-06 (1) -- 2-06