Rookie Greico Vaults into Lead at Stop 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit

March 14, 2022 • MLF • Press Releases

LEESBURG, Fla. – After starting the day in 28^th place, rookie pro Christian Greico of Tampa, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale Monday weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces, to take the lead after Day 2 of the Bass Boat Technologies Stop 2 at the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by Frogg Toggs. Greico’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 38 pounds even gives him a 1-pound, 13-ounce cushion heading into Day 3 of the four-day competition that features 157 professional bass-fishing anglers competing for a top cash award of up to $135,000.

The event, hosted by Lake County, Florida, marks the second regular-season event of the year for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me.

The 2013 Phoenix Bass Fishing League All-American Champion Kerry Milner of Fisher, Arkansas, sits in second place with 36-3. South African pro Michael Matthee weighed the largest limit of the day – 22 pounds, 6 ounces – to move inside the Top 50 cut in 18^th place, while Abu Garcia pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, also moved into the Top 50 in 24^th place with a limit weighing 21-10. Reigning Angler of the Year Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee, also made the Top 50 cut and will start Day 3 in 31st place with 29-8. The field is now cut to 50 for Tuesday’s competition with only the Top 10 anglers advancing to Championship Wednesday.

Link to Photo of Day 2 Leader Christian Greico

“It feels really good to be leading,” said an excited Greico said after weighing in. “When I saw the schedule last year and saw the Harris Chain, I knew this was probably going to be my best shot at winning one of these events on the Pro Circuit. Today started off slow, but as the water heated up it got pretty good. It seemed like every decision that I made today just worked out for me.”

Greico said he spent the day fishing a mix of offshore shell bars and flipping Kissimmee grass lines. He estimated that he caught around 10 keepers throughout the day, with half coming deep and half coming shallow. Although he declined to mention any specifics, Greico hinted that he was dragging just one bait out deep.

“There are definitely a lot of fish offshore – I can see them on my LiveScope,” Greico said. “They’re just not biting well right now, and I really have to grind it out on the spots to get them to bite.

“Tomorrow I’m going to run back to the offshore stuff first thing in the morning and see if they bite for me,” Greico said. “If that’s not going on, I’ll go up shallow and put the flipping stick in my hand and get to work. Then I’ll go check the offshore fish later in the day to see if they’ll fire.”

The Top 50 pros that made the cut after Day 2 and will fish Tuesday on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:

1^st: Christian Greico, Tampa, Fla., 10 bass, 38-0
2^nd: Kerry Milner, Fisher, Ark., 10 bass, 36-3
3^rd: Jason Reyes, Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 35-10
4^th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 35-6
5^th: Andrew Loberg, Rocklin, Calif., 10 bass, 35-1
6^th: Shonn Goodwin, Moore, Okla., 10 bass, 34-8
7^th: Aaron Britt, Yuba City, Calif., 10 bass, 34-3
8^th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 34-2
9^th: Grant Galloway, Houlka, Miss., 10 bass, 33-10
10^th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 10 bass, 33-1
11^th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 32-15
12^th: Miles Howe, San Juan Capistrano, Calif., 10 bass, 32-13
13^th: Dicky Newberry, Houston, Texas, 10 bass, 32-10
14^th: Chase Serafin, White Lake, Mich., 10 bass, 32-9
15^th: Corey Neece, Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 31-14
16^th: Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 31-11
17^th: Laramy Strickland, Bushnell, Fla., 10 bass, 31-6
18^th: Michael Matthee, Centurion, South Africa, 10 bass, 31-2
19^th: Casey Scanlon, Eldon, Mo., 10 bass, 31-0
20^th: Kurt Mitchell, Milford, Del., 10 bass, 30-15
21^st: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-11
22^nd: Rusty Salewske, Alpine, Calif., 10 bass, 30-9
23^rd: Todd Walters, Kernersville, N.C., 10 bass, 30-7
24^th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-5
25^th: Clark Reehm, Elm Grove, La., 10 bass, 30-5
26^th: Derrick Snavely, Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-5
27^th: Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 29-14
28^th: Jon Canada, Helena, Ala., 10 bass, 29-13
29^th: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 29-10
30^th: Lance Crawford, Broken Bow, Okla., 10 bass, 29-9
31^st: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-8
32^nd: Mike McClelland, Blue Eye, Mo., 10 bass, 29-7
33^rd: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 29-7
34^th: Bill McDonald, Greenwood, Ind., nine bass, 29-6
35^th: Jimmy Neece Jr., Bristol, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-6
36^th: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 29-2
37^th: Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 10 bass, 28-14
38^th: Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 10 bass, 28-13
39^th: Stuart Arthur, Benton, Mo., 10 bass, 28-4
40^th: Grae Buck, Green Lane, Pa., 10 bass, 28-4
41^st: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 28-4
42^nd: Tommy Dickerson, Orange, Texas, 10 bass, 28-3
43^rd: Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 10 bass, 28-1
44^th: Jeff Reynolds, Calera, Okla., 10 bass, 28-1
45^th: Brad Knight, Lancing, Tenn., 10 bass, 28-0
46^th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 27-13
47^th: Phillip Dutra, Guntersville, Ala., nine bass, 27-10
48^th: Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 27-9
49^th: Jimmy Reese, Witter Springs, Calif., 10 bass, 27-8
50^th: Steve York, Bronson, Mich., 10 bass, 27-6

A full list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Lucas earned Monday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award with a largemouth that weighed 9 pounds, 13 ounces.

Overall, there were 746 bass weighing 1,913 pounds even caught by 156 pros Monday. The catch included 138 five-bass limits.

In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 157 anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Sunday and Monday. Now the Top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to Tuesday. Only the Top 10 pros, based on cumulative weight from the first three days, will continue competition on Championship Wednesday, where weights will be zeroed and anglers will compete in a one-day shootout for the grand prize of up to $135,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers.

The four-day Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, hosted by Visit Lake County, features a total purse of more than $850,000.

Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2022 TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York, on Aug. 16-21, and is hosted by the Town of Massena.

As for the current competition, anglers will take off at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from the Ski Beach at the Venetian Gardens, located at 201 E. Lake Harris Drive in Leesburg. Weigh-ins will also be held at the Ski Beach daily at 3:30 p.m. Fans are encouraged to attend the morning take offs and afternoon weigh-ins, and also follow the live on-the-water action all four days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 8 a.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Bass Boat Technologies Stop 2 on the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by Frogg Toggs will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere on the CBS Sports Network on Saturday, July 16 from 7 to 9 a.m. ET.

Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.

For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.