Vinson Adjusts To Finish Atop Group A

By MLF Communications Staff

BAY CITY, Mich. – Greg Vinson of Wetumpka, Alabama, had to alter his strategy Thursday, but he still managed to maintain his spot atop the leaderboard and comfortably win the Qualifying Round for Group A at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Saginaw Bay. After catching 22 pounds, 6 ounces of smallmouth on Day 1 Tuesday, Vinson added a mixed bag of both smallmouth and largemouth weighing 14-14 Thursday to pace the 20 anglers advancing from Group A with a two-day total of 37-04.

Loacl favorite Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., who is fishing in the final regular-season Bass Pro Tour event of his career, finished the round in second place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 33-07. Russ Lane of Prattville, Ala. boated a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 32-09 to end the round in third place, while Brookeland, Texas’ Dakota Ebare finished the day in fourth place with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31-14. Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla. rounds out the Top 5 with a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 31-05.

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 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.

“I had a lot of fun today,” Vinson said. “I was a little bit worried this morning – I got to my starting area and I could see smallmouth swimming around, but they were in a bad mood and I couldn’t figure out how to make them bite. I got two in the boat, and then I finally caught a 3-12, and that got me up high enough where I could settle down and really look for the extra stuff. That turned out to be really valuable.”

After settling in, Vinson was able to secure a limit of close to 14 pounds and knew that he would advance to the Knockout Round.

“After I felt safe, I shifted gears and went fishing for largemouth,” he said. “I feel good about what I found and know that I can jump on the largemouth deal if the smallmouth aren’t biting. I may not catch 18 or 20 pounds, but I know I can get a good bag of them. Either that or I’ll have to mix and match and have some of both.”

Vinson boated seven bass throughout the day – five smallmouth and two largemouth. He caught his smallmouth dropshotting a NetBait STH Baitfuel Flat Sided Shad. His afternoon largemouth came on an unnamed swimjig. Vinson credited his Seaguar line as being the key to his successful week so far.

“The most important thing so far has been my line,” Vinson said. “I have so much confidence that 10-pound (Seaguar) Gold Label (fluorocarbon) leader right now. It is super strong and can really handle the smallmouth here. They are so strong – even the 2-pounders here fight like they’re 5-pounders. They’re so fast and they can pop off really quick. But I’ve been fishing clean this week, and I just really trust that 10-pound Gold Label leader. Paired with the 15 -pound Seaguar Smackdown (braided line) for my main line, I’m so confident that the fish that I catch will stay buttoned up.”

Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Ark. earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 5-11 largemouth that he caught on a swimjig 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.

The six-day bass-fishing event showcases 80 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of more than $805,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters All-Star event and REDCREST 2024, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

Anglers launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from the Golson Boat Launch, located at 1598 N. Johnson St. in Bay City. Each day’s takeout is held at the launch location 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 MLFNOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features pros competing using the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, with each angler’s five heaviest bass tallied as their day’s weight. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live on all six 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.

Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2

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

1. Greg Vinson -- 22-06 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 37-04 (10) -- 3-12

2. Kevin VanDam -- 17-11 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 33-07 (10) -- 4-06

3. Russ Lane -- 16-13 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 32-09 (10) -- 4-06

4. Dakota Ebare -- 17-13 (5) -- 14-01 (5) -- 31-14 (10) -- 3-13

5. Zack Birge -- 16-08 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 31-05 (10) -- 3-15

6. Spencer Shuffield -- 14-06 (5) -- 16-08 (5) -- 30-14 (10) -- 5-11

7. Bryan Thrift -- 16-10 (5) -- 14-03 (5) -- 30-13 (10) -- 3-07

8. Fred Roumbanis -- 14-08 (5) -- 16-00 (5) -- 30-08 (10) -- 3-10

9. Cole Floyd -- 14-13 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 29-11 (10) -- 3-01

10. Jacob Wheeler -- 18-02 (5) -- 11-02 (5) -- 29-04 (10) -- 2-09

11. Anthony Gagliardi -- 15-03 (5) -- 14-00 (5) -- 29-03 (10) -- 3-04

12. Ott DeFoe -- 15-10 (5) -- 13-05 (5) -- 28-15 (10) -- 3-04

13. Roy Hawk -- 13-11 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 28-13 (10) -- 3-03

14. Michael Neal -- 15-07 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 28-04 (10) -- 3-03

15. Bradley Roy -- 14-12 (5) -- 13-04 (5) -- 28-00 (10) -- 2-14

16. Andy Morgan -- 13-03 (5) -- 14-11 (5) -- 27-14 (10) -- 3-04

17. Dustin Connell -- 13-09 (5) -- 14-04 (5) -- 27-13 (10) -- 3-05

18. Edwin Evers -- 12-12 (5) -- 14-13 (5) -- 27-09 (10) -- 3-05

19. Ryan Salzman -- 14-03 (5) -- 13-06 (5) -- 27-09 (10) -- 2-12

20. David Walker -- 12-04 (5) -- 15-02 (5) -- 27-06 (10) -- 3-14

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Josh Bertrand -- 14-14 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 27-04 (10) -- 3-05

22. Tommy Biffle -- 15-07 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 27-02 (10) -- 2-14

23. Justin Lucas -- 16-02 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 27-00 (10) -- 2-10

24. Brandon Coulter -- 16-04 (5) -- 10-12 (5) -- 27-00 (10) -- 2-11

25. Matt Lee -- 12-05 (5) -- 14-05 (5) -- 26-10 (10) -- 3-03

26. Mark Davis -- 14-07 (5) -- 11-11 (5) -- 26-02 (10) -- 3-04

27. Gary Klein -- 14-08 (5) -- 11-08 (5) -- 26-00 (10) -- 2-09

28. Fletcher Shryock -- 13-12 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 25-11 (10) -- 2-15

29. Dean Rojas -- 12-15 (5) -- 12-07 (5) -- 25-06 (10) -- 2-15

30. Chris Lane -- 12-14 (5) -- 12-06 (5) -- 25-04 (10) -- 2-13

31. Marty Robinson -- 12-13 (5) -- 12-05 (5) -- 25-02 (10) -- 3-00

32. Brett Hite -- 11-15 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 24-13 (10) -- 3-05

33. James Watson -- 12-14 (5) -- 11-15 (5) -- 24-13 (10) -- 2-10

34. Takahiro Omori -- 11-00 (5) -- 12-14 (5) -- 23-14 (10) -- 2-14

35. Andy Montgomery -- 12-13 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 23-07 (10) -- 2-08

36. John Murray -- 11-12 (5) -- 10-07 (5) -- 22-03 (10) -- 2-09

37. Nick Lebrun -- 10-12 (5) -- 10-10 (5) -- 21-06 (10) -- 2-10

38. Skeet Reese -- 10-12 (5) -- 8-04 (3) -- 19-00 (8) -- 3-12

39. Randy Howell -- 3-04 (2) -- 12-12 (5) -- 16-00 (7) -- 2-10

40. Dave Lefebre -- 4-00 (1) -- 0-00 (0) -- 4-00 (1) -- 0-00

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