The 30 anglers with the heaviest total from the seven 2022 Bass Pro Tour events returned to the waters of what many have called “their favorite stop on tour” as the 2023 Major League Fishing General Tire “Heavy Hitters” Tournament got underway at Caney Lake on Monday.
The competition started with 15 anglers in “Group A” fishing on Monday, followed by the remaining 15 in “Group B” trying their luck and skill on Tuesday. Each group will go at it again on Wednesday and Thursday to finalize the Qualifying Round.
On Friday, Caney Lake will also host the the Knock Out Round, setting the stage for the top ten remaining competitors to fish the Championship Round on Bussey Brake Reservoir on Saturday.
Hosted by Discover Monroe-West Monroe and the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the tournament provides a total purse of more than $500,000.00 with a top prize of $100,000.00 to the winner. Anglers will also be awarded Big Bass Bonuses during the competition that pay out $25,000.00, $50,000.00 and $100,000.00 to the single biggest bass in the Qualifying, Knockout and Championship rounds.
Group A lands new Qualifying Round Record
Caney Lake answered the “Big Bass” call during Day 1 of MLF’s premiere big-fish event. Leading the way was Dakota Ebare, who brought in a 9-pound, 5-ounce largemouth for the big fish of the day and a new Heavy Hitters Qualifying Round record.
“I was fishing real slow through areas that I felt fish were staging and bedding in,” Ebare said. “I found a hard-bottomed area and started fishing it really slow with a wacky-rigged weightless worm. As soon as I set the hook on it, I knew it was going to be big.”
There were also seven fish caught that weighed over 5 pounds, six over 6 pounds and a 7-11 lunker courtesy of Bryan Thrift, who ended the day in second place with six fish that weighed 30 lbs. 2 oz’s.
Alton Jones Jr., who is looking to become first two-time champion of 4th annual Heavy Hitters, was the Group A leader on Monday with a nine fish stringer of 33 pounds 14 ounces.
“I just love the format of this tournament, and I love hunting big fish,” said Jones. “It’s what I do for fun in the offseason – I love to target one big fish.
Heavy Hitters “Group A” Day One Results:
Place / Name / Total Weight / #of fish / Big Bass
1st Alton Jones Jr. 33 – 14 (9) 6 – 08
2nd Bryan Thrift 30 – 02 (6) 7 – 11
3rd Ryan Salzman 25 – 12 (6) 6 – 02
4th Bradley Roy 24 – 15 (6) 6 – 08
5th Dakota Ebare 22 – 09 (5) 9 – 05
6th Stephen Browning 18 – 15 (5) 6 – 04
7th Josh Bertrand 16 – 01 (4) 4 – 12
8th Chris Lane 9 – 09 (3) 4 – 15
9th Terry Scroggins 8 – 01 (2) 5 – 05
10th Alton Jones 7 – 12 (3) 2 – 15
11th Gary Klein 5 – 08 (2) 3 – 06
12th Mark Davis 4 – 12 (1) 4 – 12
13th Mark Daniels Jr. 3 – 02 (1) 3 – 02
14th Zack Birge 2 – 12 (1) 2 – 12
15th Kevin VanDam 2 – 06 (1) 2 – 06
Group B finishes with a flourish
The bites were slow to start the day, but the big ones woke up to end Day 2 at General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops. Dustin Connell finished the day with the $25,000 Berkley Big Bass lead thanks to his 7-pound, 8-ounce largemouth and Andy Morgan holds the top spot after catching 11 bass for 38-12.
“I was in my wheelhouse today and it felt good to be there,” Morgan chuckled. “I didn’t really find any fish in practice, but I just had a good feeling I could get bites flipping. I think the cold front helped me today, so we’ll see how it goes on Thursday if the weather is more stable.”
There were five bass over 5 pounds, six over 6 pounds and two over 7 pounds caught on Day 2, and the bigger-fish bites gradually improved as the day moved on, especially once the third period came around. Connell was able to catch his 7-8 in Period 3 as well as a 6-7, Brent Ehrler added two 6-pounders and Randall Tharp added a 6-13 as well in the final frame.
“I had a brush pile that I saw some big ones on earlier in the morning I marked,” Connell said. “Once it got sunny and calm in the afternoon, I went back to it and saw that fish sitting at the base of the brush. I also caught a 6-7 off that spot, too. It was just one of those special spots you love to find.”
Heavy Hitters “Group B” Day One Results:
Place / Name / Total Weight / #of fish / Big Bass
1st Andy Morgan 38 – 12 (11) 5 – 12
2nd Jacob Wheeler 25 – 10 (7) 7 – 07
3rd Brent Ehrler 19 – 07 (4) 6 – 13
4th Edwin Evers 16 – 12 (4) 6 – 13
5th Randy Howell 16 – 11 (5) 6 – 04
6th Dustin Connell 16 – 06 (3) 7 – 08
7th Jonathon VanDam 15 – 11 (5) 4 – 07
8th Randall Tharp 14 – 07 (3) 6 – 13
9th Justin Lucas 13 – 10 (4) 5 – 13
10th Jesse Wiggins 10 – 06 (3) 5 – 03
11th Jordan Lee 8 – 01 (2) 4 – 10
12th Cody Meyer 7 – 15 (3) 3 – 01
13th Casey Ashley 5 – 05 (2) 3 – 00
14th Fletcher Shryock 2 – 05 (1) 2 – 05
15th Brandon Coulter 0 – 00 (0)
