UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. (June 8, 2023) – Bass Pro Tour angler Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, caught eight scorable bass Thursday, with his best five going for 24 pounds, 6 ounces. VanDam’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 52 pounds, 7 ounces was enough to best the 39 other anglers in Group A and win the Qualifying Round for Group A at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Stage Five tournament on Cayuga Lake.
“So far, the tournament is going real well for me,” VanDam said in his post-game interview. “I feel like today was a productive day. I knew that I’d have to catch a good limit to move on to the Knockout Round, so I was able to do that early and then spend the rest of the day moving around trying to find more fish.”
Like Day 1 on Tuesday, VanDam caught the majority of his weight early sight-fishing with a drop-shot rig.
“When I put 28-1 on the scales, it opened everybody’s eyes that first day and it got a lot of people sight-fishing for smallmouth (today) that didn’t the first day. And some of those guys ended up getting in(to the Knockout Round). I think the majority of the field will likely be fishing for smallmouth, and probably in very similar sections of the lake. So the Knockout Round is going to be the real challenging day.
“I know I’m just going to have to execute,” VanDam continued. “The history that I have fishing for smallmouth this time of year definitely gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve got a lot of fish located, I’ve covered a whole lot of water, and I feel like I’ve got a really good gameplan. It’s going to come down to getting a couple of those bigger bites – it’s going to take a lot of weight just to make the Championship Round. We’ll see what happens, I’m looking forward to it.”
VanDam’s weight was 2 pounds heavier than his nearest competitor, pro Jared Lintner of Covington, Georgia, who finished the round in second place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 50-7. Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, boated a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 49-5 to end the round in third place, while Hot Springs, Arkansas’ Dylan Hays , finished the day in fourth place with a two-day total of 10 bass for 49-5. Reigning Bally Bet Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, rounded out the top five with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 46-8.
The top 20 anglers from Group A will now have an off day from competition Friday, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The top 20 anglers from each group will 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.
The top 20 pros from Group A that now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Cayuga Lake are:
1st: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 10 bass, 52-7
2nd: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 10 bass, 50-7
3rd: Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., 10 bass, 49-5
4th: Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 47-2
5th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 46-8
6th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., 10 bass, 46-6
7th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 10 bass, 45-5
8th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 10 bass, 44-12
9th: Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 10 bass, 44-9
10th: Alton Jones Sr., Lorena, Texas, 10 bass, 44-5
11th: Dakota Ebare, Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 43-2
12th: Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 10 bass, 42-13
13th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 42-11
14th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 10 bass, 42-8
15th: Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 41-15
16th: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 10 bass, 41-6
17th: Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 41-2
18th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 41-2
19th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 40-15
20th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 40-12
Eliminated from competition are:
21st: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 10 bass, 40-4
22nd: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-0
23rd: Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., 10 bass, 40-0
24th: Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 10 bass, 39-12
25th: Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 10 bass, 39-1
26th: John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 37-12
27th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 10 bass, 37-11
28th: John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 37-1
29th: Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., 10 bass, 36-11
30th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 10 bass, 36-5
31st: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, 10 bass, 36-3
32nd: Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 35-12
33rd: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 35-9
34th: James Elam, Tulsa, Okla., 10 bass, 35-4
35th: Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 33-9
36th: Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., nine bass, 33-5
37th: Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 10 bass, 31-3
38th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., eight bass, 23-12
39th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., seven bass, 22-15
40th: Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., eight bass, 21-10
Overall, there were 317 scorable bass weighing 1,122 pounds, 7 ounces caught by the 40 pros Thursday, which included 35 5-pounders, three 6-pounders and one 7-pounder.
Lintner caught the largest five-bass weight on the day – 27 pounds, 4 ounces – and he also earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 7-pound, 2-ounce smallmouth bass that he caught on a drop-shot rig – the second-largest smallmouth ever weighed in Bass Pro Tour history. 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.
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Major League Fishing (MLF) Archive