Becker maintains lead, action now shifts to Knockout Round on Guntersville
GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. – After catching a monster 30-pound Lake Guntersville bag on his first day of fishing at Toro Stage Four Presented by Bass Cat, Bass Pro Tour rookie Matt Becker added 16 pounds, 4 ounces today to advance as the top angler in his qualifying group.
Becker caught his fish early on Friday and spent most of the competition day expanding his areas, knowing he was safe to advance to tomorrow’s Knockout Round. He’ll have nothing to lose tomorrow and will be swinging on them all day.
Becker gets limit and goes looking
The rookies fishing this year on the Bass Pro Tour have all made their presence felt, including Becker, who entered this event in 14th place in the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race. He’ll join fellow rookie Jacob Wall as the first boats out tomorrow morning for winning their respective groups.
Both are catching fish in similar fashion – fishing offshore ledges – and Becker believes that pattern will be the path to victory. He also believes that the bite will continue to improve through the Knockout and Championship rounds.
“I’m moving on, but the hard work is just beginning,” Becker said. “It’ll be an absolute slugfest the rest of this tournament. These first few days, everyone has backed off when they got to 20 pounds and there’s no reason to do that anymore. We’ll see some serious weight, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it takes 22 pounds to make the Top 10.”
The potential for a heavyweight day on Saturday has Becker simultaneously excited and nervous.
“I don’t feel too good about my areas because guys are catching them so good,” he said. “I spent pretty much all day looking for more areas and only fished one spot that I fished the first day. I found one or two new areas, but didn’t expand as much as I would have liked to. It has me a little worried.”
VanDam, Daniels and Hays make big moves
Jonathon VanDam, Mark Daniels Jr. and Dylan Hays all found themselves below the Toro Cut Line to begin the day and all three made moves to jump above 20th place to advance. The biggest of those moves was VanDam, who went from 25th to eighth on the strength of a day-best 24-14 limit.
Hays went from 31st to 17th with a 21-4 bag and Daniels jumped from 27th to 16th with 19-11.
News and notes
The offshore bite is just one thing happening this week, but it may get a little tougher tomorrow as it’s a spring weekend on one of the best lakes in Alabama. There’s sure to be plenty of additional local traffic and also some smaller tournaments happening on the popular lake. Crowding could be an issue in some areas.
Also, anglers from both groups may find out that their best areas are also the best spot for anglers in the other group. This will be something to watch tomorrow, as it could impact some anglers’ weight if they share their water.
The big bite is always important, but they’ll be true difference-makers tomorrow. Today, David Dudley caught the Berkley Big Bass (a 7-9) and rode it to a 21-13 day. Dakota Ebare also hooked a 7 – it was nearly half his weight on a day when he spent plenty of time looking for more areas. Tomorrow, a fish of that caliber will likely push someone to the Championship Round.
What’s next
The Top 20 anglers from both groups will converge tomorrow for the Knockout Round, with the Top 10 anglers advancing to Sunday’s Championship Round. The MLFNOW! live stream starts at 7:45 a.m. CT and will end 30 minutes after lines out at 4 p.m. CT. The Knockout Round’s action can be seen on the MLF website and app, and on MOTV. Official live scoring updates are available throughout the day on SCORETRACKER®.