Connell Establishes Big Lead In Group B

27 Fish For 81-14

January 31, 2024

By MLF Communications Staff

MANY, La. – After dancing around the top spot throughout the day, Dustin Connell went on an afternoon flurry to pull away from the pack and grab the early lead for Group B after Day 1 of the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Toledo Bend Reservoir.

Connell and reigning Angler of the Year Matt Becker set the pace for the group, both slipping in and out of the top spot throughout the morning, as each had tallied more than 50 pounds of bass by the end of the second period. Connell pulled ahead during Period 3 to finish the day with 27 bass weighing 81 pounds, 14 ounces. Becker ended the day in second with 18 bass weighing 61-12.

If Connell didn’t have enough motivation when he took to the water for Group B’s first day of competition — wanting to start the 2024 season strong after making just one Top 10 last year — all he had to do was look at the ScoreTracker leaderbord.

Jacob Wheeler, who has roomed with Connell throughout their Bass Pro Tour careers, rocketed to the Day-1 lead in Group A when he landed 28 bass for 91 pounds on Tuesday. Though the two pros won’t compete head-to-head until the Knockout Round, Connell wanted to one-up his close friend – and he nearly pulled it off.

“I always try to beat Jacob,” Connell said. “It’s very hard to do. He’s on another level and he motivates me to become better every day. It’s just cool to see me and him on top.”

While dynamic conditions on Toledo Bend have made the bite tricky for much of the field, Connell made it look easy, boating seven scorable bass for 20-6 in the first hour, then putting together an even stronger surge across the second and third periods. Between 10:53 a.m. and 1:58 p.m. (which included a 15-minute period break), Connell stacked 14 bass on ScoreTracker, including his biggest of the day, a 6-11. The flurry added 45-13 to his total and gave him some breathing room over Becker.

While Connell was pleased by his performance, he said his total could have been significantly larger. He lost several fish, including the biggest one he hooked.

“I had a good start,” he said. “I told myself before the day started, if I can catch 10 pounds per period, I’ll probably be leading, and I was right there on track. And I lost several fish today. I lost one probably 8 pounds. I lost a 5-pounder, two more 4-pounders. I don’t know what was going on. I think it was just the first-day jitters.”

Connell did his damage in an area that he identified a few months ago during pre-practice. However, he had to move around throughout the day to stay on the fish. With dirty runoff from recent rains continuing to flow through Toledo Bend and water temperatures on the rise, the bite is constantly changing.

“I came over here and pre-practiced, found a certain area that I really liked, and I just milled around and caught what I could,” he explained. “Things are changing, though. The water has come up – it’s dirty in some areas and it’s clearing up in others – and there’s so many different variables right now. I had to move around a decent amount.”

Connell expects that change to continue. While finesse tactics paired with forward-facing sonar have dominated so far — that’s how Connell caught all his fish Wednesday, and per ScoreTracker Insider, Becker employed similar tactics — Connell isn’t willing to guarantee that’s how the first trophy of the year will be won.

“I think there’s going to be a lot of fish moving and I wouldn’t doubt this tournament gets won shallow,” Connell said. "That water temperature really gets fish wanting to move up. So, I don’t know. I mean, I would think that my pattern would hold, but you just can’t ever tell.”

The good news for Connell is, with a buffer of more than 50 pounds over the elimination line, he can use the second day of qualifying to explore new water. He said he plans to spend all day Friday practicing.

After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers who finish first through 10th from both 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. In the Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers launch at 7:30 a.m. CT each day from Cypress Bend Park, located at 3462 Cypress Bend Drive in Many. Each day’s takeout is held at the park 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 ScoreTracker leaderboard and event coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

The tournament features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

Group B Qualifying Round – Day 1

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

1. Dustin Connell -- 81-14 (27) -- 6-11

2. Matt Becker -- 61-12 (18) -- 5-03

3. Alton Jones Jr. -- 54-02 (16) -- 6-03

4. Brent Chapman -- 52-14 (19) -- 4-07

5. Michael Neal -- 46-14 (12) -- 9-06

6. Cole Floyd -- 45-04 (14) -- 6-00

7. Jared Lintner -- 39-12 (15) -- 3-07

8. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 35-01 (12) -- 3-14

9. David Walker -- 31-08 (10) -- 4-02

10. Jacob Wall -- 30-13 (10) -- 4-09