LIVE BLOG: Group B Fights for the Top 20
BRANSON, Mo. — This may sound like a broken record, but remember those records the pros set yesterday? Those could be broken AGAIN today. Group B is filled with anglers who dominated Table Rock Lake during their Shotgun Round and they now have their turn at the Elimination Round.
Only the Top 20 pros move on to the Knockout Round to face the Top 20 from Group A. It’s a chilly start to the morning with temperatures in the 50s at takeoff, but expect those numbers to rise into the 70s when all is said and done. The water level on Table Rock Lake is still 2 1/2 feet above late-spring/summer pool, but dropping – today’s 40 anglers will have to account for that.
11:15 a.m. CT – Luke Clausen owns the final spot in the Top 20 as it stands right now. He has 67-03 so far and is 2-13 ahead of Greg Hackney. Terry Scroggins is only 4 pounds behind Clausen and there are a multitude of anglers who are still in the hunt for a spot in the Knockout Round.
10:45 a.m. CT – We just got an on-the-water report from Rob Newell. He told us that he just spoke with Scott Suggs. Suggs is in ninth place right now and he is having luck with, what he calls, an “Old Missouri cedar tree trick.” He is fishing for bass suspended down at the base of cedar trees. He’s throwing a 1/4-ounce shaky head and trying to get the bass to chase it down towards the base of flooded cedar trees. So far, it’s working well for him.
9:45 a.m. CT – Ott DeFoe has now taken the lead over for Josh Bertrand with 112-01. DeFoe has taken advantage of the early-morning shad spawn, fishing around some docks located on Table Rock Lake. The Bassmaster Classic champion is showing no signs of slowing down as he continues to land bass after bass.
9:05 a.m. CT – Period 1 is officially over and only two periods remain in Elimination Round 1. Here’s the Top 20 as of right now:
- Josh Bertrand 105-14
- Ott DeFoe 102-00
- Cody Meyer 98-02
- Jacob Wheeler 95-15
- Andy Morgan 94-07
- Bobby Lane 86-12
- Alton Jones, Jr. 78-14
- Justin Atkins 77-06
- Scott Suggs 72-00
- Mark Davis 69-04
- Wesley Strader 67-06
- Brent Ehrler 67-00
- Gerald Swindle 65-12
- Cliff Crochet 65-11
- Jonathon VanDam 64-02
- Luke Clausen 60-15
- Greg Hackney 60-11
- Jordan Lee 60-09
- Marty Robinson 59-08
- Matt Lee 54-11
8:20 a.m. CT – Josh Bertrand has now surpassed the 100-pound two-day weight total, and as I type this I don’t feel as pumped up as I should be. Why you ask? Because yesterday 15 pros flew by the 100-pound mark on their way to impressive two-day totals. Don’t get me wrong, Bertrand’s feat is nothing to look over, however, he has a good chance of shattering Cliff Pace’s record of 134-13 before this day is over.
8:05 a.m. CT – The morning bite has proved fruitful for Alton Jones, Jr. on Table Rock Lake. Jones has already caught 25-8 this morning and is into the Top 20 for the first time this week. The Texas pro has had success this morning using a chatterbait near some docks. He has an equal mix of spotted and largemouth bass on SCORETRACKER®, with his largest being a 4-pound largemouth.
7:30 a.m. CT – The day has just gotten started and Jacob Wheeler is on them this morning. Wheeler has already caught more than 22 pounds in the first hour of fishing and is now in second place behind Josh Bertrand. Wheeler has been working a jig this morning and it’s obviously been working for him.
6:40 a.m. CT – Yesterday we saw the Elimination Line hit 94 pounds, 12 ounces. That is way higher than the 80-pound target weight predicted during the MLF NOW! live stream. Today, expect that Elimination Line weight to be hovering around the 90-pound mark as these pros will catch plenty of largemouth, spotted and smallmouth bass on Table Rock Lake.