Dustin Connell believes that his best areas on the Chowan River will hold up for the remainder of the event.
June 06, 2024
By MLF Communications Staff EDENTON, N.C. – Windy conditions on the Chowan River enabled the trailering policy Thursday at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event, but the blustery weather couldn’t stop the anglers from catching piles of bass. It certainly didn’t slow down Dustin Connell, (who had every intention of spending his second day on the water “practicing”), as he sacked up another 14 bass for 26 pounds, 13 ounces on the day. His two-day total was 74-5, over 20 pounds ahead of Alton Jones Jr., who had 53-06 for the Qualifying Round.
There was plenty of drama on SCORETRACKER® as anglers made clutch catches while jockeying for position. The improved fishing also helped, as many anglers posted big numbers and made runs toward the top. Two anglers with more than 30 pounds, Justin Lucas and Gary Klein, jumped into the Top 10 and will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.
The top 10 anglers advancing from Group A will now have an off day from competition Friday, while the 39 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The Top 10 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.
In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the Yop 10 to advance to the Championship Round, where weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
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Connell’s Day-3 total was the fifth best on the day, made even more impressive by the fact that he was actively searching for new areas. Nothing he had previously fished was part of his plan on Thursday.
“I really like this place,” he said. “I went practicing all day and didn’t intend to reel them in like that. The Chowan River has a lot of fish, and I feel like I’m figuring this place out. I ran new stuff all day and maybe added 25 percent more to what I’d already found.”
Even catching a solid weight, Connell doesn’t regret leaning on them the way he did.
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“I didn't catch a lot of big ones – a few 2s and only one over 3 pounds,” he said.
Connell surmised that this fishery is about being in the right areas and that there are big congregations of fish in small areas, mixed in between voids of any activity.
“You can fish for a mile and not catch a fish and then get into one little stretch and it’s like ‘Oh, here they are,’” he said. “This place is area-based and finding those key little areas with the groups of fish is important. I feel really good about what I’ve found and how it will hold up for the rest of the tournament.”
Both Klein and Lucas were safely within the cut to get paid, but each wanted more. They both got it done and will advance to the Knockout Round, with Klein jumping from 16th to 8th and Lucas vaulting from 13th to 4th to end the day.
They were the only two anglers to eclipse the 30-pound mark. Lucas did it with a strong final frame and Klein did most of his damage during Period 2.
“The day started off good and then I went through a long dead period where I basically learned a lot of bad stretches,” Lucas said. “This afternoon, the bite was on fire, and I hope to build off of that. The whole key here is getting on the right rotation because so many of us are fishing the same stretches. Not every area has fish, but if you hit a good one, you can get right quickly.”
Klein’s 30-pound total exceeded his expectations, and while he felt safe at the end of Period 2, the cutline got a little too close for comfort.
“I thought based on my practice and first day that 18 pounds would be a very good day for me,” he said. “I was surprised catching 30 today, but also encouraged. I was 10 pounds ahead of the cut at the end of the second period and thought there was no way I wouldn’t make it, and I was sort of lollygagging. Then, it got to within 4 pounds of me and I lost two nice ones before I finally got another one. That’s the intensity of this format; you have to fish clean with flawless execution to compete against these guys.”
Terry Scroggins earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 7-2 largemouth bass that he caught on a shaky-head during Period 2. 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.
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. Due to forecasted high winds, MLF has enacted the MLF Trailering Policy for Thursday, meaning pros can trailer their boats and drive them to any ramp on the fishery closer to where they plan to start fishing. Anglers taking advantage of the policy will leave Pembroke Creek Park at 7 a.m. ET and will begin fishing at 8 a.m. ET (Lines In) with the full field.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
The tournament features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the ScoreTracker leaderboard. Anglers are competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce 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 A Qualifying Round – Day 2
(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)
1. Dustin Connell -- 47-08 (19) -- 26-13 (14) -- 74-05 (33) -- 3-09
2. Alton Jones Jr. -- 24-07 (9) -- 28-15 (13) -- 53-06 (22) -- 3-05
3. Mark Daniels Jr. -- 31-03 (12) -- 20-04 (6) -- 51-07 (18) -- 6-09
4. Justin Lucas -- 14-12 (6) -- 33-02 (13) -- 47-14 (19) -- 5-11
5. Stephen Browning -- 28-12 (13) -- 18-06 (8) -- 47-02 (21) -- 4-03
6. Fred Roumbanis -- 25-02 (12) -- 19-13 (8) -- 44-15 (20) -- 3-08
7. Martin Villa -- 29-14 (13) -- 15-00 (7) -- 44-14 (20) -- 3-04
8. Gary Klein -- 14-01 (6) -- 30-00 (11) -- 44-01 (17) -- 5-03
9. Dylan Hays -- 27-08 (12) -- 16-04 (6) -- 43-12 (18) -- 3-12
10. John Hunter -- 23-09 (11) -- 18-10 (8) -- 42-03 (19) -- 4-03
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round
11. Wesley Strader -- 14-01 (7) -- 24-03 (9) -- 38-04 (16) -- 4-08
12. Luke Clausen -- 8-14 (4) -- 27-08 (12) -- 36-06 (16) -- 3-03
13. Nick LeBrun -- 18-14 (8) -- 17-07 (7) -- 36-05 (15) -- 3-15
14. Jacob Wall -- 13-14 (7) -- 22-04 (12) -- 36-02 (19) -- 2-08
15. David Dudley -- 10-00 (6) -- 25-11 (12) -- 35-11 (18) -- 3-06
16. Bryan Thrift -- 14-12 (7) -- 20-13 (9) -- 35-09 (16) -- 2-11
17. Chris Lane -- 13-02 (6) -- 21-14 (9) -- 35-00 (15) -- 3-11
18. James Elam -- 17-09 (7) -- 16-07 (6) -- 34-00 (13) -- 5-15
19. Anthony Gagliardi -- 9-03 (3) -- 24-02 (10) -- 33-05 (13) -- 5-08
20. Mark Davis -- 17-07 (8) -- 14-02 (5) -- 31-09 (13) -- 4-02
21. Spencer Shuffield -- 9-05 (5) -- 21-11 (10) -- 31-00 (15) -- 3-15
22. Nick Hatfield -- 10-03 (5) -- 19-01 (6) -- 29-04 (11) -- 5-13
23. Colby Schrumpf -- 13-02 (8) -- 14-09 (7) -- 27-11 (15) -- 3-08
24. Terry Scroggins -- 5-05 (2) -- 19-06 (7) -- 24-11 (9) -- 7-02
25. Jeremy Lawyer -- 5-15 (2) -- 18-12 (8) -- 24-11 (10) -- 3-08
26. Marty Robinson -- 16-02 (7) -- 7-04 (4) -- 23-06 (11) -- 2-02
27. John Murray -- 12-04 (5) -- 8-04 (4) -- 20-08 (9) -- 2-15
28. Mark Rose -- 13-06 (6) -- 4-05 (2) -- 17-11 (8) -- 2-12
29. Bradley Roy -- 5-12 (3) -- 11-13 (4) -- 17-09 (7) -- 3-14
30. Randy Howell -- 7-08 (3) -- 9-08 (3) -- 17-00 (6) -- 4-02
31. Greg Vinson -- 8-04 (3) -- 8-07 (3) -- 16-11 (6) -- 5-01
32. Jonathon VanDam -- 8-02 (3) -- 8-03 (4) -- 16-05 (7) -- 2-08
33. Kelly Jordon -- 5-15 (3) -- 9-14 (4) -- 15-13 (7) -- 4-09
34. Brent Ehrler -- 12-00 (6) -- 1-09 (1) -- 13-09 (7) -- 1-09
35. Boyd Duckett -- 0-00 (0) -- 13-06 (7) -- 13-06 (7) -- 2-08
36. Jason Vance -- 1-14 (1) -- 7-13 (4) -- 9-11 (5) -- 2-06
37. Matthew Stefan -- 4-04 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-04 (2) -- 0-00
38. Jesse Wiggins -- 2-02 (1) -- 1-10 (1) -- 3-12 (2) -- 1-10
39. Dave Lefebre -- 3-03 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 3-03 (2) -- 0-00
