LIVE BLOG: Jockeying for Position Inside the Elimination Line

Chris Lane is one of the many anglers flirting with the Elimination Line during the Elimination Round. Photo by Phoenix Moore

April 11, 2019 • Mason Prince • Bass Pro Tour

DAYTON, Tenn. — Another beautiful morning in Dayton as the 40 pros from Group A hit the waters of Lake Chickamauga for the Elimination Round. Only the Top 20 advance to the Knockout Round where they will meet the Top 20 from Group B.

Sunny skies and temperatures in the low 80s should translate into more big females moving up on beds, so keep an eye on SCORETRACKER for that first Chickamauga giant.

2:40 p.m. ET – Stephen Browning was just having a conversation with his MLF official about where some other anglers stood on SCORETRACKER™. He was asking the official about specific anglers like Scott Suggs and James Elam. Right now, it looks like 70 pounds is going to be the threshold that an angler will need to break if he wants to move on to the Knockout Round. Sixteen anglers have hit 70 pounds or more so far, and we can go ahead and assume that those 16 have a very good shot at moving on. That leaves four spots up for grabs with about five anglers in reasonable position to move into the Top 20.

2:05 p.m. ET – Dustin Connell is now in 20th place with Bobby Lane close behind in 21st. Lane only trails by 14 ounces and is one scorable bass away from jumping into the final spot.

Stephen Browning continues to catch large bass, this one a 6-pounder that moved him into first place.

1:27 p.m. ET – Just over two hours remain here in Dayton, Tennessee. Chris Lane now owns the the final spot in the Top 20 followed by his brother Bobby Lane in 21st place. Bobby, Dean Rojas, Jeff Kriet, Scott Suggs, Roy Hawk and Ott DeFoe are all within seven pounds of the Elimination Line.

We also have a new leader. Stephen Browning now shares the lead with Aaron Martens at 88 pounds even.

12:45 p.m. ET – Period 2 is in the books and only two-and-a-half hours remain in Elimination Round 1. This is where the drama begins. Cliff Pace currently owns the final spot in the Top 20. Bobby Lane, Jeff Kriet, Dean Rojas, Roy Hawk, Scott Suggs, and Ott DeFoe are all within seven pounds of jumping Pace for the final spot. There will absolutely be multiple changes in positioning, but all that matters is where you stand when the clock runs out.

Russ Lane landed a 5-2 in Period 2. He is currently in 34th place and below the Elimination Line.

12:01 p.m. ET – We’ve heard 70 pounds as the somewhat imaginary Elimination Line today. A couple of times our MLF NOW! crew has mentioned that if an angler gets to a weight total of 70 pounds, that all but guarantees them a spot in Saturday’s Knockout Round. Right now, there are nine anglers with over 70 pounds of bass on SCORETRACKER™. Another six pros have a weight total over 60 pounds.

11:37 a.m. ET – Dave Lefebre just told the camera that he is not letting up by any means. The Pennsylvania pro has 73 pounds, 9 ounces of bass so far and is almost 20 pounds above the Elimination Line. However, he did say that he was covering new water, trying to figure out a pattern that may help him come Saturday’s Knockout Round.

11:13 a.m. ET – New boat, no problem for Greg Hackney. The former MLF World Champion just caught a 6-4 to push him closer to the Elimination Line. Earlier this morning, Hackney’s boat had some technical difficulties that caused him to take it in for repairs. Thanks to the MLF rulebook, Hackney was able to use a MLF boat to get his day started and so far it hasn’t hurt his production.

Stephen Browning lands a 3-1 largemouth. He is up to fourth place.

10:53 a.m. ET – Stephen Browning has been having a very productive day. He leads the field with more than 24 pounds caught in this Elimination Round and has moved up to third place. Marty Stone said Dave Lefebre told him that it would probably take 70 pounds to secure a spot in the Top 20 in this group. Currently, four anglers have cracked the 70-pound threshold.

10:35 a.m. ET – Tennessee pro and 2019 Bassmaster Classic champion Ott DeFoe has a special spectator on the water with him today. The MLF NOW! crew just mentioned that DeFoe’s father is following him around on the water today. Ott is currently below the Elimination Line, but only 1-10 behind Jeff Kriet.

10:05 a.m. ET – That’s the end of Period 1. If you’re an angler in the Top 20, the goal is to stay consistent. The bottom 20, time to start making a move. Jeff Kriet owns the final spot in the Top 20 but 21st through 26th place are less than 10 pounds away from cracking through that Elimination Line.

9:54 a.m. ET – We mentioned in the pregame that we were in store for some dramatic movement in the Top 20 today, and the first period has proved us right. A quick glance shows the following anglers making strong moves in the first couple of hours of competition: Casey Ashley with 19-1 (currently in eighth); David Walker with 22-2 (10th); Jeff Sprague with 17-9 (12th), Dustin Connell (15-8) 15th and Roy Hawk with 21-15 (20th). All five of those anglers were below the Elimination Line when lines went in this morning.

Jeff Sprague holds up his 2-1 with a little smirk.

Randy Howell with his first bass of the day, a 2-9.

9:23 a.m. ET – There was an interesting boat swap this morning at the Dayton Boat Ramp: Greg Hackney had some mechanical issues right outside of takeoff and had to put his boat on the trailer to run it up to the service yard. Hackney didn’t miss much fishing time, though: an official league boat was already in the water at the ramp, and per league rules, Hackney had the option of utilizing that boat while his own sponsored boat was being repaired.

Hackney took that option. A quick gear swap, and he was motoring back out at 7:27 a.m., just a few minutes lost.

“If an angler has a major issue, we offer the use of one of our backup boats,” said MLF Manager of Officials Aaron Besehars. “We towed Greg in quickly and happened to have a backup boat right there on the water. Greg elected to use it.”

Hackney’s boat was serviced quickly and ready to redeploy within an hour.

“We offer for one of our competition crew member to bring them their boats, so Greg can get back in his sponsored boat as quickly as possible,” Beshears said.

9:14 a.m. ET – Randy Howell has quickly fallen from comfortably inside the top 10 to start the day, to now the last man in the Top 20. He has yet to catch a scorable bass today, a far cry from his 43 pounds, 14 ounces on Tuesday. He only holds an 11-ounce lead over Greg Hackney with seven more anglers within 10 pounds of catching him.

Justin Lucas has steadily added weight to his two-day total this morning, fishing south of Dayton around Harrison Bay.

8:59 a.m. ET – Justin Lucas is another mover this morning. The Alabama pro has posted up in Harrison Bay and quickly added 12-12 to his two-day total. Lucas is gunning to make his first Knockout Round, and has admitted that he’d dearly like to advance out of the Elimination Rounds for the first time: “I really want to get that monkey off my back,” Lucas said early this week.

8:51 a.m. ET – Keep an eye on Skeet Reese as the day develops. He started the day near the bottom of the pack and needed to make up a lot of ground. Reese has caught 13 pounds, 14 ounces this morning to move him 9-12 behind the Elimination Line. Reese has had all of his catches on a crankbait this morning and it looks like that may be the plan until it stops working for him.

8:30 a.m. ET – David Walker has made a big jump this morning thanks to the 14 pounds, 15 ounces he’s caught in just an hour of fishing. Aaron Martens has taken a big leap as well, jumping Dave Lefebre for the lead due to his 15 pounds, 2 ounces he’s reeled in this morning.

Shaw Grigsby, seen here with his 4-4, has already caught 12 pounds, 5 ounces of bass this morning.

8:15 a.m. ET – Shaw Grigsby is having a solid first period after a slow day during his Shotgun Round. Grigsby has nearly matched his Shotgun Round weight total of 12 pounds, 13 ounces in less than one hour of fishing. He has landed 12 pounds, 5 ounces of bass so far this morning and is now 14-7 below the Elimination Line.

Brent Chapman’s 4-8 that moved him into 25th place.

David Walker lands a 3-12 that puts him in 9th place.

8:00 a.m. ET – I spoke with MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone yesterday after Shotgun Round 2 and he told me that no angler should feel comfortable with any sort of lead they may have built in the Shotgun Round. Stone said he expected the Elimination Line to be near 55 to 60 pounds. That looks like good news for leader Dave Lefebre (he’s at 59 pounds), but we still have a ways to go until we get the Top 20 sorted out.

7:45 a.m. ET – Keith Poche makes the first big move of the day. He lands a 7-8 largemouth on a jig that has him inside the top 10.