The Bass Pro Tour returned to Sturgeon Bay Saturday for Day One of
the Covercraft Stage Five presented by Abu Garcia Group B Qualifying Round bringing in a collective 1,765 pounds on 593 bass. Berkley Pro Keith Poche dominated the second and third Periods to finish the day in first place with 112 pounds, nine ounces. Alton Jones Jr. marched up the score tracker into second place after catching only one fish in the first four hours of competition. Season Points leader Jordan Lee pivoted early to end up in third place. Mike Iaconelli led early in the day’s competition and returned to finish fourth. Group B is off tomorrow, Sunday; Group A returns for the second day of their Qualifying
Round, where one will win an automatic berth to Wednesday’s Championship Round and 20 anglers, will be sent home.
In this event hosted by Destination Sturgeon Bay, the field of 40 Pros secured two Bass Pro Tour records:
the most scorable bass in one day and the most weight in one day. Collectively Group B caught 593 scorable (2 pounds or greater) bass, 40 more over Group A’s first-day count, for 1,765 pounds. Louisiana-resident Keith Poche caught 51 pounds in the third Period alone to secure his 23-pound lead over second place and the fourth Pro of this tournament to cross the century mark (100+ pounds) in one day. After catching a modest six fish in Period one, Poche pivoted in Period two and never looked back, catching the most scorable bass for the day at 44 on a Berkley MaxScent flat worm.
The Top Ten of Day One, Qualifying Group B finished as follows:
Place Angler Total Weight Total Fish Largest Fish
1 Keith Poche 112-09 44 4-03
2 Alton Jones Jr. 89-07 31 4-14
3 Jordan Lee 71-12 24 4-10
4 Mike Iaconelli 67-09 23 4-10
5 Skeet Reese 67-03 22 4-08
6 Bobby Lane 67-00 21 4-09
7 Cliff Pace 66-07 23 4-03
8 Todd Faircloth 64-05 23 3-12
9 Edwin Evers 62-00 24 3-10
10 Cody Meyer 60-11 10 4-07
For complete results, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com, Bass Pro Tour, Results.
The competition continues Sunday when Group A returns to the water for the second day of their Qualifying Round, including Josh Bertrand, Fletcher Shryock, Aaron Martens, and current leader Justin Lucas. The winner of Group A will earn an automatic berth into Wednesday’s Championship Round and places 2-20 will advance into Tuesday’s Knockout Round.
Pending no weather delays, the day begins at Sawyer Park Boat Launch, Sturgeon Bay, Wisc., 6:15 a.m. CT when the field reports to pick-up their MLF Official and camera operators before trailering to the ramp of his choice. With lines in at 8:00 a.m. CT, the competition consists of three, 150-minute periods.
The competition continues Sunday when Group A returns to the water for the second day of their Qualifying Round. The winner will earn an automatic berth into Wednesday’s Championship Round and the bottom 20 will be eliminated.
PHOTO: Louisiana-resident Keith Poche dominated the SCORETRACKER as the fourth Pro of this tournament to cross the century mark (100+ pounds) in one day.
