LIVE BLOG: 8-Pounders on the Board, Now Waiting for the First 9

Justin Lucas shows off the second-biggest bass of the day, an 8-3.

June 7, 2020 • Mason Prince • Bass Pro Tour

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Pre-event predictions about Toyota Heavy Hitters presented by Venmo were that it would take at least a 7- to 8-pounder to be in the running for big fish honors. So far, it looks like those predictions were right.

The second period produced a couple of 8-pounders – an 8-6 for Ehrler and an 8-3 for Lucas – and with the period winding down, the question is: When will a 9-plus show up?

2:58 p.m. ET — As the time is winding down it looks as though Zack Birge can go ahead and pencil himself in for at least a berth in the Knockout Round. He is 17 pounds ahead of Bryan Thrift at the end of the first day of competition and 41-10 above the Elimination Line.

Only the Top 3 anglers have caught double-digit fish today–Birge, Thrift and Gary Klein–and they are the only anglers over 30 pounds.

2:38 p.m. ET — Don’t look now, but here comes Jacob Wheeler. The Stage One champion added another 5-pounder to his total weight to bring it to 19-10. Wheeler is looking to lock up a spot in the Top 20 so he can go hunting for a massive bite and a shot at a $25,000 check.

Jacob Wheeler landed this 5-2 in Period 3 on the Kissimmee Chain.

2:00 p.m. ET — Bryan Thrift has moved into second place on SCORETRACKER® after catching a 2-1. Still, he is more than 20 pound behind the suddenly surging Zack Birge who is up over 50 pounds in total weight on the day. Birge has registered 16 total bass, one of three anglers who has caught double-digit fish today,

Casey Ashley’s biggest fish of the day is this 6-11.

1:49 p.m. ET — Big Bass leader Brent Ehrler just mentioned to the camera on his boat that he would love to get one or two more bites to secure his spot in the Knockout Round. He currently sits in eighth place thanks in large part to his 8-pound, 6-ounce giant. He currently has 16-8 on SCORETRACKER® and said that if he could get his total weight above 20 pounds before the day is over that he would feel confident heading into his second day of fishing.

1:24 p.m. ET — John Murray just caught back-to-back fish to move himself into third place. A 3-11 followed quickly by a 5-5 have Murray contemplating his strategy for the rest of the day and even for Tuesday. He admitted he would like to not be catching them as well as he is currently because he wants to save them for Tuesday. However, building a safe lead over the Elimination Line isn’t the worst thing in the world.

12:48 p.m. ET — Jared Lintner has moved into the Top 20 after catching a 6-pounder for his biggest bass of the day. Lintner is one of seven anglers with a bass weighing over 6 pounds on the day.

12:21 p.m. ET — Period 2 is wrapped up as we head into Period 3. Zack Birge remains on top with 13 bass for 41-10. The big bass belongs to Brent Ehrler with 8-6 with one other 8-pounder from Justin Lucas on the board. One more period of fishing to go in central Florida.

11:57 a.m. ET — One thing is for sure: one fish can be the difference in Heavy Hitters between a pay day and going home early. There are four anglers still without a scorable bass–Edwin Evers, Dustin Connell, Scott Suggs and Cliff Crochet–but on the bright side, 20th-place Todd Faircloth on has 6-5 total for the day. With more than a day and a half of fishing left, no one angler is out of the race or safe from the Elimination Line.

Brandon Coulter with a 3-14 as he is in 21st place.

11:25 a.m. ET — Gary Klein has made a move to the southern end of Lake Toho and that move has caused him to move up SCORETRACKER®. Klein is in second place behind Zack Birge with eight bass for 22-1. Klein began the second period with 5 pounds but has since added 17-1 exclusively with a crankbait.

11:16 a.m. ET — A couple of 8-pounders just hit SCORETRACKER® and we have a new leader for the Berkley Big Bass of the Day. Brent Ehrler brought in an 8-6 tank with a 6-inch Yamamoto Senko. Shortly before Ehrler registered his, Justin Lucas nabbed an 8-3. The big ones are starting to bite on the Kissimmee Chain.

11:07 a.m. ET — There’s another tie for biggest bass of the day, and John Murray tied himself. Back-to-back 7-13’s pushes Murray into third place with 15-10. Murray caught both of the 7-13’s on a vibrating jig in the same area that Kevin VanDam found his 7-10 earlier in the day.

10:54 a.m. ET — John Murray now holds the biggest bass of the day after catching a bug-eyed 7-13. Murray was previously scoreless before catching that monster.

John Murray adds his second straight 7-13 in Period 2.

John Murray now has the biggest bass of the day at 7-13.

10:46 a.m. ET — An hour into Period 2 and there haven’t been many changes on SCORETRACKER®. Zack Birge, Jordan Lee, Dean Rojas and Kevin VanDam round out the Top 4. There are still eight pros without a scorable bass.

10:28 a.m. ET — Thirty anglers have made an appearance on SCORETRACKER® today. Surprisingly, we have yet to hear from Edwin Evers of Dustin Connell. Both anglers are in the Top 30 for REDCREST qualification, but they both need a solid finish in Heavy Hitters to secure their spot.

Boyd Duckett holds up a 5-0 he grabbed near some grass.

9:47 a.m. ET — As. we get Period 2 started, let’s recap where we stand after one period. Kevin VanDam and Cliff Pace are tied for the Berkley Big Bass of the day, each with a 7-10. Zack Birge has maintained his lead for a majority of the day, he leads Jordan Lee by 1-12. Twenty-six out of the 40 pros have registered a scorable bass on SCORETRACKER®.

9:22 a.m. ET — Jordan Lee is always at the center of everything, including the middle of Lake Toho. JT Kenney mentioned that Lee is in the smack-dab middle of Toho fishing some offshore hydrilla. He just capitalized with a 6-13 largemouth to move into second place and just 2-9 behind Zack Birge for the overall lead.

Jacob Wheeler grabs a 5-11 for his biggest bass of the day so far.

9:00 a.m. ET — Top of the hour in central Florida and Zack Birge is building a double-digit lead over Kevin VanDam. His biggest bass of the day is only a 4-6, but he has seven scorable bass in total for 21-2. He has been in the same area all morning, focusing on a drainage pipe.

8:24 a.m. ET — Another 7-10 on SCORETRACKER®: Team Toyota pro Kevin VanDam. VanDam has some history of success on the Kissimmee Chain: he claimed one of his 25 tour-level wins on the Kissimmee Chain in 2008.

8:00 a.m. ET — There’s now a new leader for big bass and on SCORETRACKER®. 2019 Stage Eight champion Cliff Pace just brought in a 7-10 to secure the top spot. He seems to be in an area with some good hydrilla according to Marty Stone.

7:46 a.m. ET — JT Kenney and Marty Stone just had a rare agreement on the MLF NOW! live stream. Both analysts agree that the 10-pound, 8-ounce record for biggest bass in MLF competition held by Justin Atkins will be broken. They both also believe that it will take at least an 8-pound bass in each round to take home the cash prize for Berkley Big Bass of the Day.

7:45 a.m. ET — Just 45 minutes into the first period and there are only 10 pros on SCORETRACKER®. Dean Rojas and Jordan Lee are at the top of the board as well as on top of the big bass race, both with a 5-3 today. Rojas leads Lee by just one ounce for the overall lead.

Jordan Lee jumped out to an early lead with this 5-3.

7:14 a.m. ET — We have a new leader on SCORETRACKER® and a new big bass of the day. Dean Rojas and Jordan Lee both have landed a 5-3 Florida largemouth for their first fish of the day. Call me crazy, but I doubt we have seen the best that the Kissimmee Chain has to offer this morning.

7:11 a.m. ET — Speaking of Birge, he just added out first scorable bass of the day at 2-11, quickly followed by a 2-6. Birge mentioned that those two fish won’t get him $25,000, but they both are an important step towards a win. Birge is chasing the first Bass Pro Tour win of his young career.

7:06 a.m. ET — Zack Birge just gave us our first action on the MLF NOW! live stream. The Oklahoma pro set the hook on what he thought was a scorable bass, but it turned out to be below the 2-pound scorable weight at 1-10. Just a reminder: the 2-pound minimum weight for scorable bass increases to 3 pounds once we get to the Championship Round.