Becker adds to arsenal while cruising into Knockout Round
MASSENA, N.Y. — When he returned to the water Thursday for Group A’s second day of qualifying at Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Humminbird, Matt Becker never visited a single one of the spots that produced his 100-plus pounds of smallmouth bass on Day 1, instead running all new water on the St. Lawrence River.
The result was more of the same. Becker stacked another 17 scorable bass for 57 pounds, 4 ounces onto SCORETRACKER® — despite making a clear effort not to catch too many fish from any one spot. That brought his two-day total to 163-11 and kept him atop the leaderboard, 18-14 ahead of Nick Hatfield.
“I definitely feel like I narrowed down the section (of the river) that I want to be in,” Becker said. “I probably added 12, 15 spots to my rotation now, and then eliminated some water as well. So, it was a very productive day.”
Becker and the rest of the Top 10 finishers from Group A will return to the water for Saturday’s Knockout Round. Full results can be found here.
Becker doing his damage with casting gear
It’s no surprise to see Becker’s name atop the standings at an event on northern smallmouth waters. Almost exactly a year ago, he closed his rookie season on the Bass Pro Tour with a win and came from behind to claim the Angler of the Year title on Saginaw Bay. He’s won before on the St. Lawrence, too.
But Becker admitted he’s surprised himself a bit through two days on the water with how he’s catching his bass.
Becker has caught all his smallmouth on casting gear and 15-pound fluorocarbon, primarily wielding a couple different types of jerkbaits. That’s a stark departure from the norm on clear-water smallmouth fisheries, where spinning gear and light leaders typically dominate.
“I did not see that coming when this tournament was announced,” Becker said.
While Becker didn’t anticipate running the pattern that produced his Qualifying Round win, he did note that he was hoping to utilize heavier line. Doing so allows him to spend less time fighting fish and make more casts throughout the day, which is important in the BPT’s every-fish-counts format.
“I really wanted to catch them on heavier line, whether it was spinning gear with 10- or 12-pound line or baitcasting gear with heavier equipment that I could really fight them a lot harder than with 6- or 8-pound line – you waste a lot of time fighting fish,” Becker explained. “So, I definitely looked for that in practice and kind of came with the game plan of trying to find them on a technique that I could use that heavier line. But I really didn’t expect it to be as good as it is.”
Becker wasn’t shy about saying that, if his bite holds up, he thinks he’s on the fish to win. The problem is that change feels inevitable.
For one thing, smallmouth are known for moving from one day to the next. Plus, with rain from Hurricane Debby arriving Thursday afternoon and forecast to continue through Friday, Becker knows different conditions are likely to greet him when he returns to the water on Saturday.
“There’s no telling what could happen,” Becker said. “Surely it’s going to change things. I hope I have enough experience on the river, and in those sections, I have a lot of other things if that pattern goes away. I feel like I know where the fish would go in those areas. But you just never know.”
That’s part of why Becker believes it was important to add to his repertoire of spots on Thursday. He described himself as “cautiously optimistic” entering the weekend.
“I know that I’m on the deal to win it as of today, but I don’t know if that will change going into the weekend,” he said. “I’ve got no shortage of areas to fish, that’s for sure. But again, you just never know with smallmouth. They could very easily totally change everything by Saturday.”
Both Robinsons moving on
A pair of Robinsons will be among the anglers on the water during Saturday’s Knockout Round, as both Marty Robinson and Marshall Robinson finished among the Top 10 in Group A. Marshall qualified in sixth place with a two-day total of 121-3, while 115-1 was enough to earn Marty ninth.
Marshall looks to finish his stellar rookie season on the Bass Pro Tour strong. His Knockout Round appearance ensures a fourth Top-20 finish in his first seven BPT events.
It’s arguably more meaningful for Marty. The elder Robinson entered Stage Seven narrowly inside the cut line to earn an invitation to return to the Bass Pro Tour in 2025 and outside the mark to qualify for REDCREST 2025. While the points standings can still change over the next three days, he’s now sitting pretty to requalify and could also work his way into the Top 40 with a strong finish to this event.
What’s next for Stage Seven
Group B will return to the water Friday to close out the Qualifying Round. The Top 10 anglers in the group will join the Top 10 from Group A for Saturday’s Knockout Round with weights zeroed. The Top 10 finishers in the Knockout Round will then duke it out for the final trophy of the season during Sunday’s Championship Round.
Watch all the action through Sunday on the MLFNOW! live stream at MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app. The broadcast will start at 7:45 a.m. and run through 4:30 p.m. each day.
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year
In all likelihood, the season-long race to claim the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year crown will come to a close tomorrow. With both Alton Jones Jr. and Dustin Connell failing to make the Knockout Round in Group A, all Jacob Wheeler has to do in order to claim his third title in the past four years is finish among the top 22 anglers in Group B. He sits third after one day. Should Wheeler prevail, he would not only receive the $100,000 prize but join an elite group of anglers who have won three AOY titles on national tours.
Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game played by over 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.