Connell Bolts To Big Lead

Day 1 At The Chowan River

June 05, 2024

By MLF Communications Staff

EDENTON, N.C. – Like the rest of the Bass Pro Tour field, Dustin Connell arrived at the Chowan River with no idea what to expect during the fifth event of the 2024 season. Turns out, as is the case just about everywhere, he didn’t need much time to find a healthy population of bass in the coastal river.

Connell, already a winner at the seasonm-opener on Toledo Bend Reservoir and REDCREST on Lay Lake this year, boated 19 scorable bass totaling 47 pounds, 8 ounces during the first day of qualifying. That gives him a 16-pound, 5-ounce cushion over Mark Daniels Jr. atop the leaderboard in Group A. Behind Connell, the standings are much more tightly bunched, with second through fifth place separated by 3-11.

Overall, the debut day of national tournament competition on the Chowan yielded plenty of scorable bass – 24 of the 39 anglers in Group A totaled at least 10 pounds – plus a few big ones. Six largemouth over 5 pounds hit the scales, headlined by Martin Villa’s 7-7, which earned him the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Bonus.

The 39 anglers in Group A will now have an off day Wednesday while the 39 anglers competing in Group B begin their first day of competition. Group A will return to the water on Thursday.

While Connell had never visited the Chowan River prior to official practice for this event, he entered Tuesday with a lofty goal: stack enough weight on ScoreTracker that he could devote the second day of qualifying entirely to practice.

Mission accomplished.

With more than 30 pounds of cushion over 10th place, Connell’s spot in the Knockout Round should be secure. That’s key for two reasons: Every additional chance to scout new water on the vast, cover-rich Chowan River is especially valuable given the field’s lack of history on the fishery, and the wind is forecast to blow hard out of the southwest on Thursday. With wind being the primary driver of current and water level on the Albemarle Sound tributary, that could drop the water and change the bite.

“I really wanted to catch them good today just because I know that we’ve got a lot of wind coming in on Thursday, on our (Group A’s) second day,” Connell explained. “And I didn’t want to put myself in a bind on Thursday trying to fight the wind. It may blow right down the chute. The wind tide changes a lot of things. So that was what I really wanted to do today is just go ahead and make this cut and be done with it.”

While the Chowan doesn’t have a strong natural current, Connell used the moving-water knowledge he honed growing up on the Coosa River in Alabama to identify a few likely locations during practice based on the wind current. It didn’t take long for those areas to produce Tuesday, as Connell landed five scorable bass for 12-11 in the first hour.

“I love fishing current, so I understand what current does to fish; I know how they act,” Connell said. “Coming here, I’ve never seen the place before. I had three days of practice, and I just kind of found me an area that I liked and then I just went from there.”

As the day progressed, Connell successfully expanded his pattern elsewhere. His most frenetic flurry came shortly after noon, when he added 11-7 to his total with five bass in just 13 minutes. By the end of the day, he had returned to practice mode, running new water.

While Connell didn’t want to reveal any details about how he’s catching his fish, he did say he’s optimistic he can continue to replicate his success in more areas. Don’t expect ScoreTracker to reflect that when he returns to the water Thursday, though.

“This place is incredible,” he said. “It’s full of bass, and it’s a very unique place just because of the salt content and the way these fish move. They’ll eat crabs, they’ll eat shad, it just depends on what section of the river you’re in. But it’s a very, very healthy fishery.”

One of the few things Connell hasn’t accomplished during his tour-level career is claiming an Angler of the Year crown. Arriving at the Chowan River in third place in this year’s race, he looks like he’ll have a legitimate shot down the stretch.

Connell entered this event 25.5 points behind leader Jacob Wheeler and 13.5 behind Alton Jones Jr. While Wheeler is competing in Group B this week, Jones is also positioned to make the Knockout Round, although he still has a bit of work to do Thursday to secure his spot among the Top 10. Jones finished the day in 7th place with 24-7.

After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers who finish first through 10th from each groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round, where weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from Pembroke Creek Park, located at 716 W. Queen Street in Edenton. Each day’s takeout is held at the park beginning at 4 p.m.

Group A Qualifying Round – Day 1

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. Dustin Connell -- 47-08 (19) -- 4-10

2. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 31-03 (12) -- 5-03

3. Martin Villa -- 29-14 (13) -- 7-07

4. Stephen Browning -- 28-12 (13) -- 3-08

5. Dylan Hays -- 27-08 (12) -- 4-08

6. Fred Roumbanis -- 25-02 (12) -- 2-12

7. Alton Jones Jr. -- 24-07 (9) -- 5-02

8. John Hunter -- 23-09 (11) -- 3-10

9. James Elam -- 17-09 (7) -- 3-09

10. Mark Davis -- 17-07 (8) -- 2-13