LIVE BLOG: Anglers Fight for Top 20 on Okeechobee

Adrian Avena sets the hook during Qualifying Day 3. Photo by Garrick Dixon

February 23, 2020 • Mason Prince • Bass Pro Tour

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. — Warmer temperatures and sunny skies bring about newfound optimism for most of the pros fishing in Qualifying Day 3 on Lake Okeechobee. After the grind of a cold and windy Friday, the calm water was a calming sight for the anglers as they prepared to start their morning.

Only the Top 20 pros will be moving on to the Knockout Round and no one is really safe besides maybe Michael Neal and Ott DeFoe. Seven anglers enter today’s contest without a scorable bass on SCORETRACKER®, but there’s still plenty of time left to fish as the 20th-place angler in Shaw Grigsby starts the day with only 7-3. As we’ve seen, one swing of the rod is all an angler needs to make up that deficit on Big O.

3:19 p.m. EST — With less than an hour to go in this round, I can guarantee you that no one wants to see Edwin Evers’ name near the Elimination Line. Evers is currently in 22nd place and 2-8 outside of the Top 20. We’ve seen time and time again Evers’ flair for the dramatic. Can he pull off another masterpiece?

2:32 p.m. EST — We have a new leader: Wesley Strader. Strader has 28 pounds and leads Takahiro Omori by 1-4. Omori hasn’t logged a scorable bass in more than two hours.

1:51 p.m. EST — Dave Lefebre is trying to move up SCORETRACKER® to make the Knockout Round but is also trying to qualify for Heavy Hitters. A 9-pounder will help out both of those causes. The Pennsylvania pro just reeled in a 9-0, the biggest bass of the day, Stage Two and the 2020 Bass Pro Tour season. Lefebre is now in seventh place and more than 6 pounds above the Elimination Line.

Dave Lefebre lands this 9-pounder, this biggest bass caught on the Bass Pro Tour this season.

Gerald Spohrer catches a 5-12 to move into 21st place.

12:30 p.m. EST — Dustin Connell is in the No. 20 spot as time winds down in Period 2. Connell has yet to catch a scorable bass today. James Watson and Justin Lucas are close behind as they try to jump Connell. Fifteen total anglers are within 10 pounds of catching Connell, a very doable deficit thanks to the impressive sizes we’ve seen this week.

Mark Davis grips a 5-9 for his first bass of the event.

11:56 a.m. EST — There’s a bit of a logjam near the top of SCORETRACKER®. Takahiro Omori still leads the field but is only up on second-place Wesley Strader and third-place Cody Meyer by less than a pound. Michael Neal and Ott DeFoe are also within 2.5 pounds of catching Omori as well. Remember, the top spot in Group A and Group B automatically advance to the Championship Round. The two anglers that earned that honor in Stage One, Jacob Wheeler and Bryan Thrift, finished first and second respectively in Alabama.

11:23 a.m. EST — Those anglers that haven’t caught a fish yet today might be starting to feel the pressure of SCORETRACKER®. Five anglers currently in the Top 20 have yet to put a scorable bass on the board today. Michael Neal, David Dudley, Jason lambert, Dustin Connell, and James Watson are on the struggle bus.

11:08 a.m. EST — Zack Birge is proving his decision to fish the Caloosahatchee River was the right one. Birge just landed a 5-13 to move inside the Top 20 for the first time today. He has four bass for 12-10 so far today.

10:30 a.m. EST — Period 1 is all wrapped up as we head into the first period break of the day. Michael Neal is still your leader even though he did not catch a scorable bass in the first period. Jesse Wiggins owns the final spot in the Top 20 with 9-3, just 2 ounces ahead of Mike McClelland and 7 ounces in front of Dave Lefebre.

9:54 a.m. EST — Takahiro Omori just sent a thundering message that echoed across Lake Okeechobee. Omori just put up an 8-pound, 4-ounce monster that moves him into second place behind Michael Neal by only 3-9. Omori made the Championship Round in Stage One.

Takahiro Omori lands the biggest fish of Stage Two, an 8-4.

9:45 a.m. EST — Wesley Strader is another big mover this morning. Strader started the day in 14th place but has added 11-5 to his total weight pushing him into fourth place. The Tennessee angler hooked a 3-9 for his biggest fish of Stage Two.

9:10 a.m. EST — Another angler who had a zero on Day 1 is now on SCORETRACKER®. Zack Birge lands a 2-5 to move up the board to 27th place. Birge is fishing in the Caloosahatchee River which is quite the drive from Scott Drive park on the north end of Lake Okeechobee. He had to get through two lochs just to get there, which JT Kenney estimated it took more than an hour to get to where Birge is fishing.

Zack Birge lands his first bass of Stage Two, a 2-5.

8:53 a.m. EST — “These bass are so crazy. It’s like trying to figure out what a bipolar person is thinking,” David Dudley said while fishing through hydrilla. He is voicing his frustration as he has yet to catch a fish today and only eight anglers have caught a scorable bass.

Kevin VanDam landed this 4-9 in Period 1 to move into seventh place.

8:36 a.m. EST — Jason Christie finally has a scorable bass in the 2020 Bass Pro Tour season. Christie did not catch one during his two days of fishing at Stage One and struggled once again to start Stage Two. The Oklahoma pro got a 2-8 to bite a jig to get on the board.

8:31 a.m. EST — Roumbanis has figured out a productive pattern this morning with his jerkbait. MLF NOW! analyst JT Kenney said that Roumbanis is in the canal connecting Lake Okeechobee and Harney Pond. He has four scorable bass for 12-9. He has moved from 21st place up to fourth in only 30 minutes of competition.

8:10 a.m. EST — Fred Roumbanis just caught his first bass of the day, a 3-5. Talking to Roumbanis this morning, he showed me some of the big swimbaits he had on his deck ready to go today. However, this first fish came on a jerkbait. Roumbanis said for some reason, these Okeechobee largemouth love jerkbaits this time of the year.