Daniels and Omori Use Late Surges to Advance to Championship Round
RALEIGH, N.C. – With Tax Day just around the corner – April 15, don’t forget – it reminded me of a famous quote by Benjamin Franklin: “In this world nothing can be said for certain, except death, taxes and a Bass Pro Tour Knockout Round that goes down to the wire.”
Okay, maybe I ad-libbed a little bit, but you can catch my drift.
The Knockout Rounds during the MLF Bass Pro Tour have become predictably unpredictable, and Saturday’s Knockout Round on Falls Lake was no exception. With less than 10 minutes remaining, two anglers vaulted into the Top 10 thanks to big bass and punched their ticket to Sunday’s Championship Round on Shearon Harris Reservoir.
Oh My, Omori
Takahiro Omori had the most dramatic finish to the round. To start the third and final period, Omori began in 18th place with 11-2. He needed to make a run to end it, something he’s done before in the Tarheel State.
“North Carolina is a good state,” said with a chuckle. “I won the Bassmaster Classic here in 2004 with five minutes to go. It just goes to show that anything can happen in the sport of fishing.”
Three minutes remained in the round and Omori trailed Justin Atkins by 1 pound, 4 ounces for the final spot in the Top 10. The Daiwa pro had spent angler spent 897 minutes on Falls Lake over the Elimination and Knockout Rounds up to that point, and it helped in his decision making in the afternoon.
“The more time you spend on a body of water, the more you know what to do,” Omori detailed. “Since it is spring time and the weather is warming up, the afternoon bite was a lot better for me than the morning.”
He figured something out, because his winning bite was a 7-pounder that hit SCORETRACKER with two minutes remaining, catapulting him into the Top 10 and securing his spot in the Championship Round. He finished with 10 bass for 26-6, safe by 3-10. It will be his second Championship Round appearance of the season.
MDJ’s Big Day
Someone who will be making his first Championship Round showing, Mark Daniels, Jr. Daniels had a little more work to do than Omori in the third period. The Alabama pro began the final period in 29th place and had plenty of ground to make up. However, like a seasoned veteran, the 37-year-old stayed calm and adjusted his gameplan.
“I just went pre-fishing and practicing,” Daniels simplified. “I got into an area where I figured the fish would be moving into to spawn, so I really started to slow down to try and pick the cover apart with a Z-Man Turbo CrawZ. When I caught that 4-6 I knew I had a legitimate shot.”
That 4-6 coming 25 minutes after he boated a 3-14. Thirty minutes later he hooked a 3-3, then the final blow came with just seven minutes remaining in the round. His final 3-13 pushed him into eighth place and locked him into his first Championship appearance.
“There was a lot of adrenaline and excitement that’s for sure,” Daniels said. “I was throwing fist pumps, high-fives and jumping around on my boat.”
Readying for the Reservoir
As these two anglers shift their focus to the Shearon Harris Reservoir, they both have their own unique strategies that they hope will be the difference for them come 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
“I’m going to have to really fish smart, aggressive, and cover a lot of water,” Daniels planned. “None of us have really fished Shearon Harris before and the ride around can only tell you so much. To understand a lake, you really need to put your head down and fish these places to figure out what is really going on.”
“I’m just going to fish my Major League Fishing style,” Omori explained. “I’m just going to grind, go fish for seven-and-a-half hours to try and figure out this lake. Hopefully that’s enough time for me to be able to do well. I didn’t see any bushes, docks, or grass on Shearon Harris. It looks like a boring lake to me. But, this is Major League Fishing, and they always save the best lakes for last.”
Lines go in at 7:30 a.m. ET on Sunday on Shearon Harris Reservoir and you can follow along with the action on SCORETRACKER. At 10 a.m. ET the MLF NOW! live stream begins on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MLF app with all of the action from the water, including analysis from the MLF NOW! team.