CULLMAN, Ala. – Elimination Round 1 ended in a flurry. Gerald Swindle is the big story after catching a 1-pound, 12-ounce bass in the final minute to jump into the Top 20 and secure his place in Saturday’s Knockout Round. Below are the Top 20 anglers from Group A that will be moving on to the Knockout Round.
2:05 p.m. CT – Less than 30 minutes remain in Elimination Round 1. Gerald Swindle owns the final spot in the Top 20 with Brent Ehrler, Chris Lane, and Bobby Lane within 2 pounds of catching him.
1:40 p.m. CT – The log jam continues near the Elimination Line. Bobby Lane owns the final spot in the Top 20 but he has quite the challenge on his hands as he tries to fend off a large group of anglers. Seven pros are within 5 pounds of Lane as we enter the final 50 minutes of competition.
12:55 p.m. CT – About an hour and a half remains in Elimination Round 1. Scott Suggs is the big mover from 33rd place all the way up to 18th in just Period 3. He has been able to land 14 pounds, 10 ounces in just 45 minutes moving him above the Elimination Line for the first time today.
11:00 a.m. CT – With 45 minutes left in Period 2, we are starting to get a feel of who is safe and who should start to sweat a little bit. It’s looking like the top eight pros (Jacob Wheeler, Ott DeFoe, Wesley Strader, Andy Morgan, Josh Bertrand, Edwin Evers, Luke Clausen and Matt Lee) you can go ahead and lock up in the “safe” column. From ninth place all the way down to 30th is where to watch because there is sure to be plenty of movement in that group of pros.
10:30 a.m. CT – Mark Davis is the final angler in the Top 20…… as of now. James Elam, Cliff Crochet and Gerald Spohrer are all within one scorable bass of jumping ahead of Davis however. The sun is shining, the fish are biting, and we still have four hours to go in this Elimination Round 1.
9:50 a.m. CT – The difference between 14th and 24th place is only 5 pounds, 10 ounces. That is obviously not a large gap when you consider how quickly these pros are catching some spotted bass. While these may not be the biggest fish we’ve seen on tour this season, the quantity of fish being caught cannot be matched. We have already seen records set and broken by Jacob Wheeler and Jesse Wiggins for most fish caught in a single round. Those records go to show us that if an angler can run up on a school of fish, it could be the difference between fishing on Saturday and heading back home.
9:25 a.m. CT – MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone just said that when he walked out of the hotel this morning he felt just how humid it was this morning in Cullman. That humidity leads him to believe that a lot of the anglers will using topwater action baits to get some bites this morning.
9:00 a.m. CT – Lines are out for Period 1 and as was predicted, it’s a close one near the Elimination Line. Cliff Crochet holds the No. 20 spot but he has Mark Davis and Gerald Swindle right on his tail less than 1 pound behind him. Jacob Wheeler remains your leader followed by Ott DeFoe and Wesley Strader.
7:59 a.m. CT – A quick note on Bertrand: he’s an angler to watch, not just today, but for the rest of the event. The Mercury pro had never competed on Smith Lake before this week, but the fishery is very well suited to his style: deep and clear, and loaded with fish that bite finesse baits. Bertrand has already put 18-0 on SCORETRACKER this morning, the most on the day as of this posting.
7:45 a.m. CT – Cullman native Jordan Lee finished his Shotgun Round inside the top 10 of his group and probably felt pretty good heading into today’s Elimination Round. But it hasn’t been quite what the Stage One champion has expected on his home lake: Lee has now fallen out of the Top 20 and is below the Elimination Line in 21st place. He has yet to catch a fish this morning and neither has his brother Matt Lee. Matt is currently in 18th place but continues to fall down SCORETRACKER quickly.
7:20 a.m. CT – Terry Scroggins has already made a big move today. After starting the day in 36th place, Scroggins has been able to land 9 pounds, 3 ounces of bass to move into 29th place and just 6-11 below the Elimination Line.
7:05 a.m. CT – Heading into the morning, it wouldn’t have been a big surprise if it took a little time for SCORETRACKER to get especially active. As MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone detailed, Smith Lake’s spotted bass are very “current” fish – not as it relates to the flow of water out of Lewis Smith Dam, but as it relates to their location and mood.
As each day progresses, fish are further post-spawn, and that means that they’re likely on the move. There’ll still be plenty of fish caught throughout the day in pockets, but it won’t be a surprise to see more fish positioned further out on points, and in deeper water. This group of anglers hasn’t been on their fish in two days, but so far, it doesn’t look like they’re struggling to relocate their fish: 59 fish were put on SCORETRACKER in the first 30 minutes of competition today; only 46 were weighed in the first half-hour of Shotgun Round 1. So the morning pace has actually improved!
6:40 a.m. CT – Down near the Elimination Line, there is sure to be back-and-forth drama all day long. Dustin Connell currently owns that final and coveted 20th spot, but only 6 pounds separates him from 30th-place David Walker.