LIVE BLOG: Time Winding Down to Make Top 20 on Lake Eufaula

Ish Monroe owns the biggest catch of the day with a 7-2 largemouth.

February 10, 2020 • Mason Prince • Bass Pro Tour

EUFAULA, Ala. — The bite has been tough all week on Lake Eufaula with cold temperatures and rainy conditions. Yesterday we saw the sun shine for the first time in a long time that may have helped the water temperature and water clarity improve. Today, the 40 anglers in Group B will duke it out to try and be in the Top 20 come days end to move on to the Knockout Round where they will meet the Top 20 from Group A. We will have overcast skies and air temperatures in the 70s for most of the day.

3:45 p.m. CST — Expect anything different? Edwin Evers, the man who seemed unbeatable all of 2019, just landed a 6-10 monster to vault into the Top 20 with 15 minutes left. Evers only missed one Knockout Round on the 2019 Bass Pro Tour and it is looking like he will be one-for-one to start 2020.

3:40 p.m. CST — Mark Davis is still holding on to 20th place. Justin Lucas has caught two unscorable bass in the third period, either of which would have put him into the Top 20 just a year ago. However, with the scorable weight being 2 pounds, Lucas was empty handed. Lucas, David Walker and Brett Hite are all within one point of knocking Davis out of the Top 20.

3:00 p.m. CST — One hour remains in Qualifying Day 4 and this is still anyone’s ball game. Mark Davis holds onto the No. 20 spot and Justin Lucas is only 2 ounces behind him in 21st. Dave Lefebre is 2-7 behind Davis and Brett Hite 3-5. It’s safe to say that probably the top 14 anglers are safe right now, ending with Kevin VanDam’s 25 pounds, 7 ounces. With six anglers between himself and the Elimination Line, it’s looking like he could be safe for a date in the Knockout Round.

Jason Lambert puts a 4-1 on SCORETRACKER.

2:30 p.m. CST — Adrian Avena has made a run to move up SCORETRACKER® and above the Elimination Line. Avena has reeled in two 2-pounders in a five-minute span to move into 13th place and now 5-8 above the Elimination Line.

2:10 p.m. CST — Dave Lefebre sits just below the Elimination Line as he is only 2-5 behind Justin Lucas for the final spot in the Top 20. Brett Hite and Edwin Evers are both chasing down Lucas as well.

1:45 p.m. CST — Mike Iaconelli just mentioned to his camera that he feels like he needs one, if not two, bites to be able to move on to the Knockout Round. Ike remains just under 3 pounds ahead of the Elimination Line with four anglers between himself and 21st-place Dave Lefebre.

1:15 p.m. CST — Period 2 is finished and we are about to have an exciting finish to this round. Jesse Wiggins owns the final spot in the Top 20 but no one is safe from spots 13 to 25. There are multiple anglers still in contention for the Top 20 and in danger of falling below the Elimination Line. Watch MLF NOW! for all the final period action.

12:52 p.m. CST — Less than 30 minutes remain in Period 2. Adrian Avena holds the final spot in the Top 20 with 17-4. Brett Hite and Zack Birge are breathing down his neck, both are one scorable bass away from jumping ahead of Hite and knocking him below the Elimination Line.

12:30 p.m. CST — Mike Iaconelli and Justin Lucas both just made huge moves in trying to secure their safety. Ike brought in a 5-10 to bring his total to four bass for 20-11. Lucas hooked into a 3-15 to move to 20-3. Ike and Lucas are both more than 3 pounds above the Elimination Line.

12:12 p.m. CST — Justin Lucas just made a move to get above the Elimination Line, knocking Zack Birge into 21st place. Lucas just threw a swim jig underneath a dock bridge in shallow water and brought in a 4-13. Lucas now has 16-4 and is ahead of Birge by 13 ounces and Mike Iaconelli by 1-3.

11:45 a.m. CST — After a great start to the morning, Mike Iaconelli has slowed down and found himself on the Elimination Line. Ike is only 1-2 ahead of Brett Hite who just caught a 2-3 for his second fish of the day. Cody Meyer and Bradley Roy are also chasing Ike, less than 3 pounds away from overtaking him.

Kevin VanDam shows off the mouth of this 4-pounder.

11:20 a.m. CST — As we turn our eyes towards the Elimination Line, the two anglers who are feeling the most pressure have yet to catch a fish today. Adrian Avena owns the 20th spot with 13-8 and Cody Meyer is the first man out with 12-6. Kevin VanDam is in 19th place with 13-11 and he has also not logged a scorable bass today. It’s shaping up to be another tense day on Lake Eufaula.

Mike McClelland lands this 5-9 in Period 2.

Mark Davis reels in a 4-5 to move into 11th place.

10:34 a.m. CST — Period 1 is in the books and it was quite the morning for our pros. We saw number 6-pounders and a couple of 5-pounders in the first two-and-a-half hours of competition. Jacob Wheeler continues to lead second-place Ott DeFoe by 16-5. Remember, the top spot at the end of the day today gets an automatic bid to the Championship Round. We saw Bass Pro Tour rookie Bryan Thrift punch his ticket to the Championship Round with his win in Group A yesterday.

Fletcher Shryock grips his 5-pounder that he caught at the end of Period 1.

10:12 a.m. CST — Ott DeFoe has made quite the impressive run this morning fishing one spot, a wind-blown point in the back of a pocket. Otter did most of his damage going Tennessee style by throwing a crankbait on a spinning rod. He caught four fish that way and then a couple on a jerkbait according to our photographer Jesse Schultz. Ott is still targeting the same point throwing a shaky head and a jig because it seems as though he has found a productive school.

9:42 a.m. CST — Justin Atkins is making a habit of landing 6-pounders here in Stage One. He just caught a 6-4 that brings his total weight to four bass for 19-8. That’s an average fish of 4-14.

9:32 a.m. CST — Ott DeFoe just landed a 6-6 to move into fourth place. He has caught 16-3 today, the highest weight total of the day. Watch out for DeFoe to try and make a run at Wheeler’s top spot.

9:20 a.m. CST — Zack Birge landed a 2-11 and moved above the Elimination Line. That’s his second scoreable bass of the day, and he’s catching them on a crankbait.

Meanwhile, the “major mover” of the morning, Mike Iaconelli, caught a 2-pounder, moving him up to 15th place. He started the morning with no weight, at the bottom of SCORETRACKER®.

8:50 a.m. CST — Mike Iaconelli landed his second 6-pounder of the morning, moving him above the Elimination Line and into 19th place.

8:46 a.m. CST — One guy that the rest of the field don’t want to hear on SCORETRACKER® this morning is Edwin Evers. The Oklahoma pro struggled in his first day of competition with only one bass for 2-6. Now, thanks to a 5-13, Evers is only 4-3 back of the Elimination Line.

Edwin Evers lands a 5-13 to get his day started.

8:25 a.m. CST — We’re less than 30 minutes into Period 1 and we’ve already seen a few fish over 4 pounds hit SCORETRACKER®. Bobby Lane (4-2), Jesse Wiggins (4-6), Brett Hite (4-10), and Mike Iaconelli (6-13).

Mike Iaconelli catches a 6-13 to start his day.

8:12 a.m. CST — What a start to the day for Mike Iaconelli. He didn’t catch a fish all day long on Sunday, but in the first five minutes of his day today he reels in a 6-13 stud. JT Kenney made the point that he could hear Ike screaming all the way back in Oklahoma.