LIVE BLOG: Birge Holds Big Lead, Battle is on for Top 20 Spot

Scott Suggs has made a major comeback today after not catching a scorable bass during his first day of competition.

June 9, 2020 • Mason Prince • Bass Pro Tour

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The hunt for big bites continues on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, but today is about more than just one big bass. It’s Qualifying Day 2 for Group A, meaning only the Top 20 will be moving on to the Knockout Round after the round is over.

A little wrinkle in today’s action will be a decision that needs to be made by the angler who finishes the round on top of SCORETRACKER®. Normally, a first-place finish in your group during the Qualifying Rounds gets you an automatic bid to the Championship. However, with $50,000 on the line for the biggest bass in the Knockout Round, the two anglers who win their respective groups can choose to either go straight to the Championship or forfeit their automatic bid and fish in the Knockout Round with the rest of the field.

Still, there’s no tomorrow if you don’t crack the Top 20 today, and with the Elimination Line starting at just 12 pounds, 5 ounces, any angler has a shot at moving on.

2:46 p.m. ET — Less than 15 minutes remain and Fred Roumbanis holds the final spot in the Top 20 at 21-7. Scott Suggs, Alton Jones Jr., Marty Robinson and Brandon Coulter are all within one scorable bass from moving into the Top 20 and knocking out Roumbanis. We’ve seen Roumbanis and Coulter bring in non-scorable bass in the last 15 minutes.

2:25 p.m. ET — Go ahead and lock it up, Zack Birge is going to be heading straight to the Championship Round. He will not be trying his luck in the Knockout Round with a shot at $50,000 for the biggest bass, he’s going to take his total weight of 74-3 and move on for a shot at $100,000.

Randy Howell has moved into the Top 20 after catching a 4-13 on a Livingston Lures Walking Boss Jr. He moves into 18th place and 3-11 above the Elimination Line with 30 minutes remaining.

2:03 p.m. ET — Period 3 rolls into its final hour. Fred Roumbanis and Scott Suggs are still the final two anglers inside the Elimination Line, but Alton Jones Jr., Marty Robinson, Brandon Coulter and Randy Howell are all within one scorable bass of jumping ahead of them.

1:31 p.m. ET — Alton Jones Jr. has made a run towards the Top 20 and is now only 3 ounces below the Elimination Line. He has caught plenty of bass today, but a majority of them have been non-scorable. Jones began the day in 19th place but fell out early with a slow first period.

Randy Howell catches a 4-3 to move into 26th place.

1:11 p.m. ET — One angler who has been quietly consistent today is Matt Lee. After catching 17-2 on his first day of fishing, he has put up 23-4 on Day 2. His biggest bass is a 5-5 that he just put on the board, but he’s been consistently getting scorable bass in the boat over the course of the first two days of competition.

Matt Lee with his biggest bass of the tournament, a 5-5.

1:00 p.m. ET — The No. 20 spot looks like it’s going to be a battle between Fred Roumbanis, Scott Suggs, Brandon Coulter, Marty Robsinson and Dean Rojas. All five have been inside and outside the Top 20 at some point today. Roumbanis and Suggs are currently placed 19th and 20th while the rest are below the Elimination Line.

Cliff Crochet caught this 4-13 near a dock on the Kissimmee Chain.

12:50 p.m. ET — Period 3 rolls on and Brandon Coulter is the man on the bubble. Coulter made the Championship Round during Stage Three on Lake Fork and is looking to try and make a trip back to the Knockout Round. He is less than 2 pounds ahead of Dean Rojas and Scott Suggs, which means on scorable bass would knock Coulter out of the Top 20.

12:03 p.m. ET — From zeroing on Day 1 to in the hunt for a spot in the Top 20 on Day 2. Scott Suggs as mounted an amazing comeback after beginning the day in dead last. He has six bass for 18-8 on the day, including his most recent, a 5-8. Suggs is still looking up at the Elimination Line, 1-15 back of Brandon Coulter.

11:51 a.m. ET — Lintner is up to 15th place after landing his biggest fish of the tournament, a 6-11 on a topwater bait. He now has 24-13 and is now 7 pounds above the Elimination Line.

11:36 a.m. ET — Jared Linter is now into the Top 20 for the first time. A 3-11 for Lintner has put him in 20th place ahead of Fred Roumbanis by just 5 ounces and 7 ounces ahead of Boyd Duckett. This round is going to come down to the wire and we are just getting started.

10:49 a.m. ET — Dustin Connell is now inside the Top 20 for the first time. Connell has 18 pounds, 6 ounces of bass today, the second-highest weight of the day behind Jordan Lee’s 23-6. Connell moving in means Brent Chapman has now moved out. The Kansas pro is in 21st place and 1-4 back of Anthony Gagliardi for the final spot in the Top 20.

Dustin Connell used this 5-8 to move into the Top 20.

Dave Lefebre catches a 5-6, his biggest of Heavy Hitters.

10:15 a.m. ET — Brent Chapman has now moved inside the Top 20, and that’s important not just for this event, but also in the Race for the Points Championship. Chapman is in second place behind Ott DeFoe in the race, but with DeFoe struggling yesterday and in danger of missing out on the Top 20 in Group B, Chapman has an opportunity to take over the top spot. However, he’ll need to qualify for the Knockout Round to have a chance to do so.

KVD gets a 4-6 in his boat during Period 2.

9:57 a.m. ET — Boyd Duckett is the only pro in the Top 20 without a scorable bass today. After starting the day in 10th place with 17-10, Duckett has fallen to 18th place and only 2-3 above the Elimination Line.

Michael Neal holds up a 4-9 largemouth he caught in Period 2.

Kevin VanDam started the day with this 5-0, but hasn’t added to SCORETRACKER since then. VanDam is in 11th place as the first period comes to a close.

9:30 a.m. ET — Period 1 is all over and Birge just mentioned to his camera that he is going to continue to fish for bites as he’s not entirely comfortable with his lead. The Oklahoma pro says he wants his lead to be over 20 pounds before he even considers practicing or looking for that $25,000 bite for the biggest bass.

9:10 a.m. ET — Birge has increased his lead once again, up to 17-14 on Bryan Thrift. Out of nowhere, here comes Dustin Connell. The Alabama pro has four scorable bass today for 10-10, the second most weight of the day behind Jordan Lee. Connell began the day in 38th place but is now up to 21st.

Jordan Lee had some boat trouble this morning. The service crews made their way out to him and have been working on his boat for the last hour. He’s finally off and moving again and was sure to thank the service crews on the MLF NOW! live stream.

Justin Lucas catches a 4-9 towards the end of Period 1.

8:26 a.m. ET — A guy floating near the Elimination Line is Wesley Strader. Strader is one of two anglers on tour that has made 11 Knockout Rounds in 12 Bass Pro Tour events, the other being Jeff Sprague. A 4-5 moved Strader into the Top 20 to 18th place, less than 2 pounds ahead of the Elimination Line.

8:23 a.m. ET — Bryan Thrift is back into second place after catching a 3-pounder. He is now 15 pounds behind Birge for the lead and it looks like Thrift is going to try to make a run at the top spot instead of just practicing.

8:06 a.m. ET — Edwin Evers having a very good start to his morning catching three bass for 8-7. Evers struggled mightily on Day 1 only amassing one bass for 2-14, but he has since moved up to 24th place and just 2-4 behind the Elimination Line.

Anthony Gagliardi holds up a 5-pounder in Period 1.

7:46 a.m. ET — We are seeing the first-period bite pick up significantly from Day 1. The bright sunshine and cloudless sky may ave something to do with that. Rob Newell just gave an update on the water and said that it is dead slick out on the lakes today. Right now, that seems like a good thing.

7:35 a.m. ET — Jordan Lee has found “Thump City.” He’s throwing a big swimbait and making long casts with it. He already has four bass this morning for 13-7 and has quickly erased his deficit behind Birge. Remember, Lee is a previous winner on the Kissimmee Chain just a little over a year ago in the first-ever Bass Pro Tour event.

7:30 a.m. ET — Zack Birge was able to catch the first scorable bass of the morning, just like he did on Day 1. He is starting in the exact same spot and drainage pipe that he found success on Sunday. His lead is now over 16 pounds but Gary Klein is chasing him.