Sprague wins Group B Qualifying Round at Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki via tiebreaker over Myers

Texas pro catches two-day smallmouth total of 33-10 to win Group B Qualifying Round, field of 40 set for Saturday’s Knockout Round

BAY CITY, Mich. – As time expired on the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard, Friday, there was a tie atop the leaderboard. Day 1 leader, pro Britt Myers of Lake Wylie, South Carolina, and pro Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas, both had caught 33 pounds, 10 ounces, over the two-day Group B Qualifying Round and were tied for first. Sprague, however, had a 4-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth in his limit on Friday. Myer’s biggest bass was a 4-3, so Sprague earned the Qualifying Round win via tiebreaker for Group B at Bass Pro Tour Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Qualifying Group B Winner Jeff Sprague
Link to HD Video – Fish-Catch Highlights of Group B Qualifying Round Day 2 on Saginaw Bay
Link to Photo Gallery of Group B’s Day 2 Qualifying Round Afternoon Highlights on Saginaw Bay

After Sprague and Myers, pro Randall Tharp of Port Saint Joe, Florida, had the most weight of the day, catching a five-bass limit weighing 19 pounds, 1 ounce to vault into third place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33-2. Pro Brent Ehrler of Redlands, California, finished the round in fourth place with a two-day total of 10 bass for 32-10. Rounding out the top five was Jasper, Texas, pro Todd Faircloth, who caught a two-day total of 10 bass for 31-15 to advance in fifth place.

The remaining 40 anglers – the Top 20 from each group – now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round, where weights are zeroed, and the anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round on Sunday. Weights will carry over from the Knockout Round into the Championship Round, which will feature the final 10 anglers competing for the heaviest two-day cumulative total and the top prize of $100,000. 

“Today was an awesome day. We didn’t catch a whole lot of fish, but the ones we did catch today were the right ones,” said Sprague, who was the only angler inside the Top 20 to weigh in all smallmouth bass. “Those fish are just a bigger class of fish out there, and I do feel like those are the fish that you have to be around to win this event. So, I laid off of them pretty quick, today, hopefully saving those for the Knockout Round.”

Sprague said he has been catching his fish this week with a drop-shot rig, throwing three different baits. He said that if his smallmouth don’t cooperate over the weekend, he also has a largemouth area as a backup.

“There are a lot of fish where I’m fishing, but I don’t know if anyone else from Group A has also found that water and I’ll be sharing it or not, so we’ll find out tomorrow,” Sprague said. “If I’m not sharing it, then I feel really good about this area.

“If they don’t fire, I’ve got some really good largemouth that if I have to run to them, I can do that too,” Sprague said. “I’d really rather catch those brown ones, though – they’re bigger. And there are a ton of them there – I’m seeing way more than I’m catching on my (Lowrance) Active Target. It’s just a matter of getting them to bite.”

Sprague said that he has two goal weights in mind for Saturday, which vary based on the conditions.

“If it’s calm, I think you’ll need at least 17 pounds to advance, and if it’s windy again, I think 16 will get you in the Championship Round,” he said.

The Top 20 pros from Group B that now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Saginaw Bay are:

• 1st:          Jeff Sprague, Point, Texas, 10 bass, 33-10
• 2nd:        Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 33-10
• 3rd:        Randall Tharp, Port Saint Joe, Fla., 10 bass, 33-2
• 4th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 32-10
• 5th:         Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 10 bass, 31-15
• 6th:         Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 10 bass, 31-9
• 7th:         Alton Jones, Jr., Waco, Texas, 10 bass, 30-10
• 8th:         Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 30-9
• 9th:         Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 10 bass, 29-13
• 10th:      Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 29-9
  11th:      Cody Meyer, Star, Idaho, 10 bass, 29-5
• 12th:      Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 10 bass, 29-4
• 13th:      Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 29-2
• 14th:      Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 28-15
• 15th:      Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 10 bass, 28-9
• 16th:      Mitch Crane, Columbus, Miss., 10 bass, 28-6
• 17th:      Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 10 bass, 28-4
• 18th:      Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 10 bass, 28-3
• 19th:      Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 10 bass, 27-15
• 20th:      Brent Chapman, Lake Quivira, Kan., 10 bass, 27-5

Eliminated from competition are:

• 21st:      Kelly Jordon, Flint, Texas, 10 bass, 27-5
• 22nd:     James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 27-3
• 23rd:     Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La., 10 bass, 27-1
• 24th:      Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 26-11
• 25th:      Alton Jones, Sr., Lorena, Texas, 10 bass, 26-11
• 26th:      Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 26-0
• 27th:      Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 25-11
• 28th:      Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 25-4
• 29th:      Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 25-1
• 30th:      John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 24-15
• 31st:      Josh Butler, Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 24-14
• 32nd:     Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 10 bass, 24-1
• 33rd:     Shin Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 10 bass, 23-6
• 34th:      Timmy Horton, Muscle Shoals, Ala., 10 bass, 23-0
  35th:      Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 21-4
• 36th:      Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., 10 bass, 20-11
• 37th:      Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 19-8
• 38th:      David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., eight bass, 17-11
• 39th:      Jonathon VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., eight bass, 16-1
• 40th:      Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., four bass, 8-3

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

Overall, there were 456 scorable bass weighing 1,072 pounds, 9 ounces caught by the 40 pros Friday, which included 48 3-pounders, 12 4-pounders and one 5-pounder.

Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was awarded to pro Alton Jones, Jr., of Waco, Texas, who weighed in a 5-pound largemouth which bit his bladed swimjig early in Period 1. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day bass-fishing event showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. Now that each two-day qualifying round is complete, the Top 20 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 40 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In Sunday’s final day Championship Round, weight carries over from the Knockout Round and the angler with the heaviest two-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will launch each day at 7:30 a.m. ET from the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the launch location, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

As part of the event, on Sat., Aug. 5 and Sun., Aug. 6, the MLF Fan Experience will be taking place at Wenonah Park in Bay City from 1-6 p.m. MLF will welcome fans of all ages to celebrate fishing and the outdoors with free giveaways, local vendors, photo opportunities with pro anglers and PAW Patrol characters and the opportunity for fans to hang out and watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen during the MLF Watch Party. The first 100 kids onsite each day will get a free rod and reel combo, and fans can also check out the latest gear and offerings from MLF and MLF sponsors including Toyota, Suzuki, the U.S. Air Force, Humminbird, Minn Kota and Kubota.

On Sunday, the final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, and take selfies. Kalamazoo’s own Kevin VanDam will be onsite throughout the weekend to celebrate his final regular-season professional tournament with fans.

Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki features anglers competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five heaviest bass per day tallied as their day’s weight. Anglers strive to catch their heaviest five fish each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the live scoring SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour features a field of 80 of the top professional anglers in the world competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, fishing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship, held March 13-17, 2024, on Lay Lake in Birmingham, Alabama.  

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of Minn Kota Stage Seven at Saginaw Bay Presented by Suzuki will air with a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 11 on Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2023 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, Ark Fishing, ATG by Wrangler, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bally Bet, Bass Cat Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, Daiwa, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Ferguson, Fox Rent A Car, General Tire, Grundéns, Humminbird, Lowrance, Minn Kota, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Power-Pole, Rapala, Star tron, T-H Marine, TORO, Toyota, U.S. Air Force, Yellowstone Bourbon, Yo-Zuri and Zoom Baits.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.