Injury grounds Asmussen Derby contender,
JASPER, Texas — Hot Springs’ Spencer Shuffield had a much slower day than his first in the Toro Stage One at Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Shuffield added just four bass for 11 pounds, 14 ounces in the second day of his group’s qualifying round for a total weight of 41-10 to finish third over the two-day qualification.
Ott DeFoe, of Blaine, Tennessee, boated 14 bass for 34-4 to skyrocket from fourth to first, earning him a bye into Friday’s championship round. His twoday total of 59 pounds, 11 ounces gave him a 9.5-pound margin over Dustin Connell, of Clanton, Alabama.
The six-day tournament is being live-streamed online and filmed for television broadcast on the Discovery Channel and the Outdoor Channel later this year.
Connell, the reigning REDCREST champion, caught a twoday total of 16 bass weighing 50-3.
The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Group B will complete their two-day qualification today. The knockout round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Thursday.
The championship round will feature DeFoe, the Group B winner and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round com
peting in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.
“It’s such a huge relief to win and not have to come back out here to compete in the Knockout Round,” DeFoe said. “And now, I don’t have to beat my fish up again, and the way I’ve been fishing that is a huge, huge plus. I can let those fish rest and don’t have to try to catch them two days in a row. I only have to come back out when it really matters, so I’m very excited about that.”
After a fast start that saw him catch eight scorable bass, DaFoe’s day slowed immensely with just two scorable bass in the second period and a three-fish flurry in the final period around 3:30 p.m.
“What worked for me on Sunday morning worked again for me this morning, and that got me off to a really solid start,” DeFoe said. “The midday deal was a lot harder for me today. I spent a lot of the final period looking, and I finally hit a place that was good and caught the three scorable fish really quick in the final period. I might have figured a little something out, and that could be a difference maker for me in the end.”
Wesley Strader, of Spring City, Tennessee, had the second-highest weight on the day with six bass for 28 pounds, 15 ounces for a two-day bag of 10 bass for 39-5 and fifth place.
Full results for the field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 149 bass weighing 434 pounds, 13 ounces caught by 38 pros Tuesday, which included two 8-pounders, two 7-pounders, two 6-pounders and six 5-pounders caught from Sam Rayburn Reservoir.
Cliff Pace won Tuesday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in an 8-pound, 11-ounce largemouth which bit a jerkbait in Period 1. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler that weighs the biggest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.
Group A fishermen advancing
1st: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 25 bass, 59-11, advances directly to championship round
2nd: Dustin Connell. Clanton, Ala., 16 bass, 50-3
3rd: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, 13 bass, 41-10
4th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 39-5
5th: Kevin VanDam, Kalamazoo, Mich., 12 bass, 34-2
6th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 10 bass, 31-12
7th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 13 bass, 30-15
8th: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., nine bass, 30-9
9th: Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., nine bass, 30-7
10th: Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La., 10 bass, 30-1
11th: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 12 bass, 29-4
12th: Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., six bass, 28-0
13th: Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 11 bass, 27-9
14th: Marty Robinson, Lyman, S.C., 10 bass, 26-10
15th: Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., nine bass, 26-2
16th: Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 25-15
17th: Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., six bass, 25-10
18th: Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., eight bass, 25-1
19th: Brett Hite, Phoenix, Ariz., eight bass, 23-0
20th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, eight bass, 22-0