By MLF Communications Staff

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – Bass Pro Tour rookie Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tenn., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 16 pounds, 4 ounces, to maintain his lead throughout the day and win the Qualifying Round for Group B Friday at event on Lake Guntersville. Over two days, Becker caught 10 bass weighing 46-13 to earn the first Qualifying Round victory of his career and advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.

I’m definitely happy to win the Qualifying Round, but I realize this is just the beginning,” Becker said in his post-game interview. “It’s going to be an absolute slugfest here this weekend, and it’s going to take some serious weight. Hopefully we’ve found enough, but I’m not sure. I’m not feeling too good about it after this afternoon – those guys behind me were catching some big fish.”

Although Becker didn’t come close to matching his 30-pound total from the first day of competition Friday, he also did not fish his best areas. He spent his day covering new water with a Carolina rig, trying to find more options for the weekend.

“I didn’t go to my best stuff today – there really was no reason for me to,” Becker said. “I was pretty much moving on to the Knockout Round no matter what today, so I drove past some of it to look, but I didn’t go there.

“It’s probably going to be a boat race to the areas with a couple of guys tomorrow,” Becker continued. “It’s kind of a community hole, so we’re really going to have to lighten up the boat and get ready to race in the morning.”

Becker had no problem finding fish, but he struggled to get any bites until he switched to a bait that he doesn’t typically throw – a Carolina rig.

“Today, it was all about the Carolina rig, which if you know me you know that is not me at all,” Becker said. “That was the only thing that I could really get them to bite today. I used a 1/2-ounce Epic Tungsten Carolina-rig weight, tied to a swivel with a couple of beads, and then running that down to a Trokar TK100 5/0 standard worm hook. I’m throwing it on 15-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line with a Favorite (Fishing) Hex 7-foot, 6-inch heavy rod.

“Just dragging that around today I was able to catch a couple of fish, which was cool, but I really don’t feel very confident going into the Championship Round,” Becker went on to say. “I kind of beat up the fish that I’d been fishing for, and these guys behind me are catching a lot of big ones. It’ll take some serious weight to move onto the Championship round, so I’m going to have to adjust and hopefully find some new ones tomorrow.”

Reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tenn, caught a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 43-07 to finish the round in 2nd place, while Lynchburg, Va. pro David Dudley ended the round in 3rd place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 42-12. Brent Ehrler of Redlands, Calif.,caught 10 bass weighing 42-10 to land in 4th, while Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C. will advance to the Knockout Round with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 41-08 to round out the Top 5.

The remaining 40 anglers – the top 20 from each group – now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Sunday. Weights will carry over from the Knockout Round into the Championship Round, which will feature the final 10 anglers competing for the heaviest two-day cumulative total and the top prize of $100,000.

Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to David Dudley, who weighed in a 7-09 largemouth that bit his signature Perfection Lures Wacky Worm in Period 2. 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 B – Day 2

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

1. Matt Becker -- 30-09 (5) -- 16-04 (5) -- 46-13 (10) -- 4-06

2. Jacob Wheeler -- 20-15 (5) -- 22-08 (5) -- 43-07 (10) -- 4-15

3. David Dudley -- 20-15 (5) -- 21-13 (5) -- 42-12 (10) -- 7-09

4. Brent Ehrler -- 19-06 (5) -- 23-04 (5) -- 42-10 (10) -- 5-12

5. Bryan Thrift -- 19-14 (5) -- 21-10 (5) -- 41-08 (10) -- 5-06

6. Shin Fukae -- 22-06 (5) -- 18-02 (5) -- 40-08 (10) -- 4-12

7. Jordan Lee -- 21-04 (5) -- 19-01 (5) -- 40-05 (10) -- 5-14

8. Jonathon VanDam -- 15-02 (5) -- 24-14 (5) -- 40-00 (10) -- 5-12

9. Anthony Gagliardi -- 22-10 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 36-15 (10) -- 4-13

10. Dakota Ebare -- 19-01 (5) -- 17-12 (5) -- 36-13 (10) -- 7-03

11. Scott Suggs -- 18-06 (5) -- 18-04 (5) -- 36-10 (10) -- 4-15

12. Brett Hite -- 20-14 (5) -- 15-04 (5) -- 36-02 (10) -- 4-03

13. Todd Faircloth -- 18-09 (5) -- 16-12 (5) -- 35-05 (10) -- 4-01

14. Matt Lee -- 16-14 (5) -- 18-06 (5) -- 35-04 (10) -- 4-06

15. Gerald Spohrer -- 18-09 (5) -- 16-05 (5) -- 34-14 (10) -- 4-15

16. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 14-05 (5) -- 19-11 (5) -- 34-00 (10) -- 5-03

17. Dylan Hays -- 12-11 (5) -- 21-04 (5) -- 33-15 (10) -- 5-13

18. James Elam -- 15-15 (5) -- 17-15 (5) -- 33-14 (10) -- 4-09

19. Marty Robinson -- 16-10 (5) -- 17-02 (5) -- 33-12 (10) -- 5-04

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

20. Bradley Roy -- 16-01 (5) -- 17-04 (5) -- 33-05 (10) -- 3-14

21. David Walker -- 15-15 (5) -- 17-03 (5) -- 33-02 (10) -- 4-06

22. Mark Rose -- 13-05 (5) -- 18-14 (5) -- 32-03 (10) -- 4-04

23. John Hunter -- 21-14 (5) -- 10-03 (4) -- 32-01 (9) -- 2-13

24. Alton Jones -- 17-10 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 31-13 (10) -- 3-03

25. Keith Poche -- 15-11 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 30-06 (10) -- 4-13

26. Boyd Duckett -- 13-10 (5) -- 16-09 (5) -- 30-03 (10) -- 3-14

27. Cole Floyd -- 15-14 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 30-03 (10) -- 3-05

28. Britt Myers -- 11-09 (5) -- 17-11 (5) -- 29-04 (10) -- 5-03

29. Casey Ashley -- 15-08 (5) -- 13-11 (5) -- 29-03 (10) -- 4-13

30. Jeremy Lawyer -- 14-11 (5) -- 13-08 (5) -- 28-03 (10) -- 3-15

31. Mitch Crane -- 12-14 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 27-08 (10) -- 3-07

32. Jared Lintner -- 10-15 (3) -- 15-13 (5) -- 26-12 (8) -- 6-04

33. Brent Chapman -- 17-04 (5) -- 9-01 (3) -- 26-05 (8) -- 5-08

34. Jeff Kriet -- 10-10 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 25-07 (10) -- 3-13

35. Fred Roumbanis -- 11-02 (5) -- 12-09 (5) -- 23-11 (10) -- 3-07

36. John Murray -- 11-01 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 22-15 (10) -- 3-06

37. Brandon Coulter -- 12-08 (5) -- 9-06 (3) -- 21-14 (8) -- 5-10

38. Andy Montgomery -- 10-01 (4) -- 11-13 (5) -- 21-14 (9) -- 2-12

39. Gary Klein -- 11-09 (5) -- 4-08 (2) -- 16-01 (7) -- 2-05

40. Tommy Biffle -- 5-11 (3) -- 2-05 (1) -- 8-00 (4) -- 2-05