By MLF Communications Staff

CHARLES COUNTY, Md. – The second day of the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on the Potomac River was the polar opposite of Day 1 in terms of weather as the sweltering heat shifted to much cooler, rainy conditions. The bass bite stayed sizzling, though.

Leading the way and winning the Qualifying Round for an automatic berth to Sunday’s Championship Round was Oklahoma's Zack Birge with a two-day total of 145 pounds, 8 ounces on 68 scorable bass. While ScoreTracker saw some wild shifts in some anglers’ weights between the two days, Birge stayed steady. He caught 78-7 Friday (on 34 scorables) compared to his 34 for 67-1 on Thursday – the only angler to surpass 60 pounds and 30 bass both days to help him earn his day off ahead of the Championship Round.

Two other anglers crossed the 70-pound mark Friday, including South Carolina pro Casey Ashley with 76-7 on a day that saw him briefly overtake Birge for the lead in Period 2. Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark., rose from 39th to 7th after a 71-11 day, with over 50 pounds of that coming in Period 3.

This marks Birge's third time automatically qualifying for the Championship Round on the BPT, but it wasn't even a consideration when the day started. He had a solid first day, finishing in 5th place, but he was over 23 pounds behind Day-1 leader Keith Poche. After a strong morning bite on Day 2, Birge changed his thinking and contemplated gunning for the top position.

"Winning the round wasn't even in my mind; I was just going to go out and try to catch a few and make the Knockout Round," he said. "I started the day catching them pretty well, and I was right there in the lead or close to it. I thought, 'Dang, I better reconsider some things here.' After Period 1, I decided to run back and get to an area where I knew there were a bunch of fish."

The gamble to go for the win was in the back of his mind throughout the mid-morning hours.

"It's a catch-22 situation because, on the one hand, you get to skip tomorrow, but if you don't win, you can end up burning yourself by catching all those fish," he said. "I knew if I could catch enough to advance and have that day off, I wouldn't have to touch those areas again and can let them rest a bit."

This is Birge's third trip to the Potomac River, and things have gotten better every time.

"I came here my rookie year on the FLW Tour and have never been more frustrated after an event because I caught so many fish but never could get a kicker and didn't get a check," he said. "The next time, I was able to figure it out a little more and cash a check, and this time, sitting in this position, it feels really good."

Fishing for bass relating to vegetation, Birge has mixed it up with a vibrating jig and a worm. He reports that the tide hasn’t been to his liking, but any water movement – incoming or outgoing – has been the key.

"I really like it when the tide is low, but it's been high for a long period of the day, so I'm just trying to get around where there's a good population of fish and just fishing what looks good," he said. "I'm fishing my bladed jig on an Alpha Angler Rebound rod with 20-pound Yo-Zuri T7 fluorocarbon and fishing the worm on the same line but on an Alpha Angler ZillaVAAder rod."

Looking ahead, Birge is confident in what he's doing and shares that he isn't fishing around other competitors.

"I haven't seen anybody fishing the same stuff, which is good because, hopefully, those fish will be fresh when I get back out there," he said. "I feel pretty good about my chances because I feel like my fish are not as pressured as some other anglers’ areas, but I know it's going to take some big weight. You'll need to catch at least 80 pounds on the last day to have a good shot to win.”

The Day 2 Berkley Big Bass Award of $1,000 went to Spokane, Wash. pro Luke Clausen, who weighed in a 5-1 specimen during Period 2 that he caught on a Speed Worm. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, Birge advances directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finish 2nd through 20th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.

In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the Top 9 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. Weights are again zeroed for the final round and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $150,000.

Anglers launch at 7:15 a.m. ET each day from Smallwood State Park, located at 2750 Sweden Point Road in Marbury. Takeouts held at the same location beginning at 3:45 p.m.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.



Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Zack Birge -- 67-01 (34) -- 78-07 (34) -- 145-08 (68) -- 4-05

2. Casey Ashley -- 49-06 (23) -- 76-07 (35) -- 125-13 (58) -- 3-15

3. Alton Jones Jr. -- 61-07 (28) -- 48-05 (22) -- 109-12 (50) -- 3-09

4. Mark Davis -- 52-04 (23) -- 55-12 (24) -- 108-00 (47) -- 3-08

5. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 62-07 (30) -- 44-09 (20) -- 107-00 (50) -- 3-04

6. Keith Carson -- 64-07 (27) -- 41-06 (17) -- 105-13 (44) -- 3-09

7. Spencer Shuffield -- 33-05 (15) -- 71-11 (37) -- 105-00 (52) -- 3-03

8. Keith Poche -- 80-02 (36) -- 24-07 (12) -- 104-09 (48) -- 2-11

9. John Hunter -- 68-04 (30) -- 35-15 (17) -- 104-03 (47) -- 2-08

10. Takahiro Omori -- 52-07 (26) -- 50-12 (26) -- 103-03 (52) -- 2-08

11. Adrian Avena -- 55-15 (27) -- 46-12 (21) -- 102-11 (48) -- 3-07

12. Cole Floyd -- 35-14 (18) -- 64-03 (28) -- 100-01 (46) -- 3-07

13. James Elam -- 41-11 (20) -- 57-10 (24) -- 99-05 (44) -- 3-13

14. Ott DeFoe -- 70-02 (32) -- 29-03 (15) -- 99-05 (47) -- 3-03

15. Justin Lucas -- 34-14 (16) -- 62-11 (28) -- 97-09 (44) -- 3-09

16. David Dudley -- 68-06 (29) -- 28-11 (13) -- 97-01 (42) -- 3-05

17. Michael Neal -- 55-10 (25) -- 40-13 (19) -- 96-07 (44) -- 3-08

18. Bradley Roy -- 41-15 (19) -- 54-06 (26) -- 96-05 (45) -- 2-14

19. Ron Nelson -- 33-11 (16) -- 61-12 (28) -- 95-07 (44) -- 3-13

20. Jesse Wiggins -- 37-15 (19) -- 55-12 (23) -- 93-11 (42) -- 4-01

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

21. Marty Robinson -- 42-00 (22) -- 48-13 (24) -- 90-13 (46) -- 3-00

22. Drew Gill -- 50-02 (25) -- 40-06 (20) -- 90-08 (45) -- 2-15

23. Jake Lawrence -- 50-01 (24) -- 39-14 (19) -- 89-15 (43) -- 3-06

24. Wesley Strader -- 42-09 (21) -- 46-13 (23) -- 89-06 (44) -- 3-10

25. Marshall Hughes -- 40-00 (20) -- 48-09 (21) -- 88-09 (41) -- 3-11

26. Nick LeBrun -- 50-04 (26) -- 37-04 (17) -- 87-08 (43) -- 3-07

27. Justin Cooper -- 46-05 (23) -- 40-15 (19) -- 87-04 (42) -- 3-06

28. Anthony Gagliardi -- 32-15 (17) -- 50-10 (23) -- 83-09 (40) -- 4-06

29. Luke Clausen -- 45-04 (23) -- 37-15 (17) -- 83-03 (40) -- 5-01

30. Marshall Robinson -- 49-07 (22) -- 33-12 (17) -- 83-03 (39) -- 3-04

31. Dylan Hays -- 32-00 (16) -- 47-09 (20) -- 79-09 (36) -- 4-10

32. Jacob Wall -- 33-04 (17) -- 45-14 (21) -- 79-02 (38) -- 5-00

33. Todd Faircloth -- 42-10 (22) -- 36-04 (18) -- 78-14 (40) -- 3-06

34. Jacob Wheeler -- 46-12 (22) -- 31-10 (15) -- 78-06 (37) -- 2-11

35. Skeet Reese -- 29-14 (14) -- 47-02 (22) -- 77-00 (36) -- 3-03

36. Bobby Lane -- 36-10 (17) -- 40-04 (15) -- 76-14 (32) -- 4-06

37. Alton Jones -- 21-00 (11) -- 53-03 (27) -- 74-03 (38) -- 3-04

38. Colby Miller -- 40-03 (20) -- 33-15 (16) -- 74-02 (36) -- 3-09

39. Fred Roumbanis -- 24-13 (13) -- 48-10 (21) -- 73-07 (34) -- 3-14

40. Shin Fukae -- 31-11 (13) -- 38-02 (16) -- 69-13 (29) -- 3-07

41. Brent Chapman -- 34-15 (17) -- 34-11 (17) -- 69-10 (34) -- 2-14

42. Dustin Connell -- 49-06 (24) -- 18-07 (8) -- 67-13 (32) -- 3-14

43. David Walker -- 26-04 (13) -- 39-15 (19) -- 66-03 (32) -- 3-05

44. Dean Rojas -- 42-11 (19) -- 22-10 (11) -- 65-05 (30) -- 3-11

45. Britt Myers -- 24-15 (12) -- 40-03 (17) -- 65-02 (29) -- 3-07

46. Jeff Sprague -- 31-04 (15) -- 33-05 (17) -- 64-09 (32) -- 2-09

47. Edwin Evers -- 25-03 (12) -- 37-12 (18) -- 62-15 (30) -- 3-01

48. Jeremy Lawyer -- 40-06 (19) -- 22-00 (11) -- 62-06 (30) -- 2-10

49. Andy Morgan -- 34-05 (17) -- 25-06 (13) -- 59-11 (30) -- 2-12

50. Chris Lane -- 31-08 (15) -- 26-09 (12) -- 58-01 (27) -- 3-04

51. Josh Bertrand -- 25-12 (13) -- 31-14 (15) -- 57-10 (28) -- 3-11

52. Martin Villa -- 35-15 (15) -- 19-02 (9) -- 55-01 (24) -- 3-01

53. Gary Klein -- 30-04 (14) -- 24-06 (12) -- 54-10 (26) -- 2-14

54. Andy Montgomery -- 31-10 (16) -- 20-05 (8) -- 51-15 (24) -- 3-05

55. Matt Becker -- 28-10 (11) -- 21-08 (11) -- 50-02 (22) -- 2-13

56. Jared Lintner -- 29-14 (15) -- 19-10 (11) -- 49-08 (26) -- 2-03

57. Bryan Thrift -- 24-14 (9) -- 23-01 (12) -- 47-15 (21) -- 3-02

58. Terry Scroggins -- 24-06 (11) -- 20-02 (10) -- 44-08 (21) -- 2-13

59. Brent Ehrler -- 14-07 (7) -- 29-14 (15) -- 44-05 (22) -- 2-13

60. Greg Vinson -- 20-08 (10) -- 23-06 (12) -- 43-14 (22) -- 2-09

61. Brandon Coulter -- 20-15 (10) -- 22-05 (10) -- 43-04 (20) -- 3-07

62. Mark Rose -- 21-10 (9) -- 21-04 (10) -- 42-14 (19) -- 2-10

63. Gerald Spohrer -- 14-03 (6) -- 28-00 (13) -- 42-03 (19) -- 3-10

64. Fletcher Shryock -- 29-15 (15) -- 11-14 (5) -- 41-13 (20) -- 3-08

65. Dave Lefebre -- 13-11 (6) -- 24-12 (12) -- 38-07 (18) -- 3-01

66. Nick Hatfield -- 10-03 (6) -- 22-07 (10) -- 32-10 (16) -- 3-06