By MLF Communications Staff

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Bass Pro Tour Rookie Jacob Wall of New Hope, Ala. launched his boat Thursday morning with a 2-pound, 12-ounce lead, and he never looked back. Wall boated 12 scorable bass Thursday, with his best five weighing 21-05, to easily win the Qualifying Round for Group A at Lake Guntersville.

Wall’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 47-13 ounces gave him the win by a 5-09 margin over Addison, Ala. pro Jesse Wiggins, who finished the round in 2nd place with a two-day catch of 10 bass totaling 42-04. Pro Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla. boated a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41-09 to end the round in 3rd place, while Adrian Avena of Vineland, N.J. finished 4th with a two-day total of 10 bass for 39-13. Heavy Hitters Champion Alton Jones, Jr., of Waco, Texas, rounded out the Top 5 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 39-10.

The Top 20 anglers advancing from Group A will now have an off day from competition Friday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The top 20 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’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 on Sunday, when weight will carry over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

“What an awesome day,” Wall said in his post-game interview. “Winning today isn’t giving me anything extra or any sort of advantage, but it is an awesome feeling to be atop this phenomenal group of 40 anglers after two days of fishing on such a world-famous fishery. I have put in a lot of time out here over the last 4 1/2 years since I moved here, and to be here on top amongst not only these really great names, but a lot of phenomenal local anglers – Ryan Salzman, Josh Butler, Chris Lane – a bunch of really big names. And to be on top right now – I’m just so happy and so thankful.”

Like Day 1, Wall spent the day targeting fish offshore early with a Nichols Lures Ben Parker Magnum Spoon. He said he pretty much stopped fishing at noon each day, spending the rest of his time scouting locations for the next day of competition.

“I did it again today on the spoons,” Wall said. “That has definitely been the key bait for me over the last couple of days, and hopefully they will be for the next couple of days going into the Knockout and Championship rounds.

“I’m throwing two different sizes,” Wall continued. “I’m throwing a big spoon on a little bit bigger, 8-foot Phenix M1 rod, and throwing the little bit smaller spoon on a 7-foot 8-inch medium-heavy Phenix M1. That rod is so versatile – I throw the spoons on it, but I also use it for a lot of other offshore baits this time of the year in the summer. The spoon has definitely been the deal for me this week, though.

“I’ve learned some cool stuff over the last couple of days that has me excited to go out and lay the hammer down on them Saturday in the Knockout Round, because I’ve been holding back the last two days around 11:30 to noon because I didn’t want to burn up too many fish,” Wall went on to say. “I’m excited to get back out there and see what I can catch.”

Ott DeFoe of Blaine, Tenn. caught the most weight for the day – 24-15 – and he also earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 6-10 largemouth that he caught fishing a medium-diving crankbait late in Period 3. 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.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. CT from Guntersville Civitan Park, located at 1130 Sunset Dr. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch locations 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 ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

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



Qualifying Group A – Day 2

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

1. Jacob Wall -- 26-08 (5) -- 21-05 (5) -- 47-13 (10) -- 4-07

2. Jesse Wiggins -- 23-12 (5) -- 18-08 (5) -- 42-04 (10) -- 4-15

3. Zack Birge -- 21-00 (5) -- 20-09 (5) -- 41-09 (10) -- 5-00

4. Adrian Avena -- 23-03 (5) -- 16-10 (5) -- 39-13 (10) -- 4-08

5. Alton Jones Jr. -- 16-13 (5) -- 22-13 (5) -- 39-10 (10) -- 5-00

6. Michael Neal -- 21-07 (5) -- 17-04 (5) -- 38-11 (10) -- 3-14

7. Justin Lucas -- 18-01 (5) -- 18-07 (5) -- 36-08 (10) -- 5-01

8. Spencer Shuffield -- 11-13 (5) -- 24-07 (5) -- 36-04 (10) -- 5-07

9. Takahiro Omori -- 19-12 (5) -- 16-07 (5) -- 36-03 (10) -- 4-04

10. Ott DeFoe -- 10-12 (4) -- 24-15 (5) -- 35-11 (9) -- 6-10

11. Edwin Evers -- 13-07 (5) -- 22-01 (5) -- 35-08 (10) -- 5-00

12. Dustin Connell -- 13-14 (5) -- 21-02 (5) -- 35-00 (10) -- 5-08

13. Kelly Jordon -- 18-01 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 33-13 (10) -- 4-00

14. Timmy Horton -- 18-13 (5) -- 14-12 (4) -- 33-09 (9) -- 4-06

15. James Watson -- 14-03 (5) -- 19-04 (5) -- 33-07 (10) -- 4-12

16. Josh Butler -- 14-00 (5) -- 19-05 (5) -- 33-05 (10) -- 4-05

17. Greg Vinson -- 18-05 (5) -- 14-09 (5) -- 32-14 (10) -- 3-04

18. Randall Tharp -- 16-02 (5) -- 16-11 (5) -- 32-13 (10) -- 5-02

19. Cody Meyer -- 19-05 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 32-09 (10) -- 3-07

20. Stephen Browning -- 15-08 (5) -- 16-09 (5) -- 32-01 (10) -- 5-01

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

21. Jeff Sprague -- 15-14 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 31-12 (10) -- 4-03

22. Ryan Salzman -- 16-12 (5) -- 14-12 (5) -- 31-08 (10) -- 4-03

23. Dean Rojas -- 14-00 (5) -- 17-08 (5) -- 31-08 (10) -- 4-02

24. Nick Lebrun -- 10-11 (4) -- 20-03 (5) -- 30-14 (9) -- 4-10

25. Chris Lane -- 16-15 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 30-05 (10) -- 3-09

26. Cliff Pace -- 16-04 (5) -- 13-09 (5) -- 29-13 (10) -- 4-02

27. Fletcher Shryock -- 15-04 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 29-04 (10) -- 3-08

28. Luke Clausen -- 17-03 (5) -- 11-13 (5) -- 29-00 (10) -- 3-02

29. Andy Morgan -- 11-04 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 28-15 (10) -- 4-02

30. Randy Howell -- 14-15 (5) -- 13-05 (4) -- 28-04 (9) -- 3-14

31. Josh Bertrand -- 14-14 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 28-04 (10) -- 3-03

32. Skeet Reese -- 14-01 (5) -- 14-02 (5) -- 28-03 (10) -- 4-08

33. Mark Davis -- 13-04 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 27-07 (10) -- 3-10

34. Kevin VanDam -- 13-05 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 27-06 (10) -- 4-02

35. Cliff Crochet -- 17-12 (5) -- 8-05 (3) -- 26-01 (8) -- 3-12

36. Wesley Strader -- 16-05 (5) -- 7-05 (3) -- 23-10 (8) -- 2-10

37. Terry Scroggins -- 12-07 (5) -- 9-06 (4) -- 21-13 (9) -- 2-11

38. Russ Lane -- 19-06 (5) -- 1-15 (1) -- 21-05 (6) -- 1-15

39. Dave Lefebre -- 11-00 (5) -- 9-03 (3) -- 20-03 (8) -- 4-15

40. Roy Hawk -- 7-00 (3) -- 8-15 (3) -- 15-15 (6) -- 3-01