RALEIGH, N.C. – Two area fishermen advanced to today's knockout round of the Major League Fishing General Tire Heavy Hitters tournament.
Mount Ida's Mark Davis and Hot Springs' Stephen Browning finished with over 100 pounds of bass in two days of qualifying on Falls Lake in Raleigh, N.C.
Davis was sitting in fifth place after the first day of qualifying with eight scorable bass for a bag of 26 pounds, 13 ounces while Browning was in second with 11 bass for 37-11 behind leader Bryan Thrift of Shelby, N.C., with 13 bass for 44-7. Shelby added five more bass Monday for 17 pounds, 15 ounces to advance directly to Wednesday's championship round with an 11-pound, 14-ounce lead.
Davis bagged six more bass Monday for a weight of 23 pounds, 11 ounces to edge past Browning who added just four bass for 12-4, giving Davis a 9-ounce lead in second.
Dave Lefebre, of Erie, Pennsylvania, picked up the day's $25,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus award Monday with an 8-3 largemouth on a soft stickbait. The angler with the biggest bass of the day today will win a $50,000 payout while a $100,000 payout waits for the angler with the heaviest bass Wednesday.
"I caught one bass Saturday on a soft stickbait, so I knew that they would bite it, but it definitely was not on my radar before the tournament began," Lefebre said. "A frog got me most of my bites on Day 1 but today with the post-frontal conditions and the bluebird skies, that bite totally died. So, I put down the frog and picked up the stickbait and I am so glad that I did."
A total of 18 anglers will take to Shearon Harris Reservoir today for the knockout round, the top 10 from the two qualifying groups minus the top anglers from each. A total of eight will advance from today's round into Wednesday's championship round to compete against Thrift and Fletcher Shyrock, who tallied 88-13 with 23 scoreable bass on Jordan Lake Friday and Sunday.
The top prize for the tournament is $100,000 with a total purse of over $535,000.
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Top 10 Group B
1st: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 18 bass, 62-6 (advances directly to championship round)
2nd: Mark Davis, Mount Ida, 14 bass, 50-8
3rd: Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, 15 bass, 49-15
4th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 14 bass, 48-5
5th: Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa., 12 bass, 44-1
6th: Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 11 bass, 37-8
7th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 13 bass, 36-12
8th: Alton Jones, Woodway, Texas, 11 bass, 36-3
9th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 31-6
10th: Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-9
Top 10 Group A
1st: Fletcher Shyrock, Guntersville, Ala., 23 bass, 88-13 (advances directly to championship round)
2nd: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 22 bass, 76-5
3rd: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 20 bass, 66-13
4th: Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 17 bass, 64-9
5th: Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 17 bass, 64-4
6th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 17 bass, 63-5
7th: Boyd Duckett, Guntersville, Ala., 17 bass, 60-7
8th: Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 14 bass, 53-12
9th: Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 15 bass, 52.9
10th: Jeff Sprague, Willis Point, Texas, 15 bass, 51-4