Tennessee Ledge-Hammer Catches Two-Day Total of 109-13 to Advance Directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round, 19 Anglers Advance to Knockout Round

DAYTON, Tenn. (June 6, 2021) – Pro Jason Lambert of Michie, Tennessee, overtook Day 1 leader Russ Lane of Prattville, Alabama , early in Period 1 Sunday and never looked back. Lambert boated 17 bass on the day totaling 60 pounds, 8 ounces, to win the Qualifying Round for Group A at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee.

Lambert’s two-day total of 34 bass weighing 109 pounds, 13 ounces earned him the win by a 22-pound, 1-ounce margin over Lane, who finished the round in second place with a two-day catch of 26 bass totaling 77-12. The reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) Berkley pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, boated a two-day total of 20 bass weighing 73-13 to end the round in third place, while his brother, Matt Lee, also of Cullman, Alabama, finished in fourth place with a two-day total of 20 bass for 59-12. Rounding out the top five is Berkley pro Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Alabama, who caught a two-day total of 16 bass weighing 59-1.

The top 20 anglers from Group A will now enjoy an off day, while the 40 anglers in Qualifying Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition on Monday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the top eight, will take place on Tuesday. Wednesday’s Championship Round will feature Lambert, Monday’s Group B winner, and the top eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

“I was sitting in third coming in to today, and my objective was to go out and have a good first period,” said Lambert, who qualified for his first career Championship Round on the Bass Pro Tour. “If I did, I knew that I would have a good chance to win the round. That happened, we got ahead in the first period, and we never looked back.

“I ended up with a little more than 60 pounds today,” Lambert continued. “It wasn’t as good as I thought it was going to be – especially in the afternoon – but this morning is what mattered. What was really cool for me, though, was catching them the way I want to catch them. Not only the way I want to catch them, but on the stuff that I’ve designed like the Hardcore (Bullet) Crank 7+, a crankbait that we worked very hard on to get put together just right, and the Kitana Stagger (Scrounger) Head with a (Castaic) Jerky J. Catching them the way you want to catch them, on the stuff you built to catch them, is really cool.”

With six career victories on the Tennessee River in MLF competition – two FLW Tour (now Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit) wins on Kentucky Lake, one Toyota Series win on Kentucky Lake and three Phoenix Bass Fishing League wins on Pickwick Lake – Lambert is known to be a tournament-closer on the ledges, and he will absolutely be one of the favorites heading into Wednesday’s Championship Round.

“I’m really looking forward to getting back out there for the Championship Round on Wednesday,” Lambert went on to say. “I’ve just got to go out there and catch them again. I think I’ve got just as good of a shot as anyone.”

The top 20 pros from Qualifying Group A that now advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round on Lake Chickamauga are:

1^st:           Jason Lambert, Michie, Tenn., 34 bass, 109-13 – ADVANCES TO CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
2^nd:          Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., 26 bass, 77-12
3^rd:          Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 20 bass, 73-13
4^th:           Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., 20 bass, 59-12
5^th:           Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 16 bass, 59-1
6^th:           Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 20 bass, 51-1
7^th:           Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 16 bass, 51-0
8^th:           Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 19 bass, 50-14
9^th:           Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 14 bass, 50-12
10^th:        Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 17 bass, 50-5
11^th:        Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., 14 bass, 48-15
12^th:        Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., 16 bass, 48-9
13^th:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 18 bass, 47-6
14^th:        Roy Hawk, Lake Havasu City, Ariz., 16 bass, 44-7
15^th:        Jesse Wiggins, Addison, Ala., 17 bass, 43-1
16^th:        Matt Becker, Finleyville, Pa., 12 bass, 42-13
17^th:        Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., 14 bass, 40-8
18^th:        Ish Monroe, Oakdale, Calif., 14 bass, 40-4
19^th:        Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 14 bass, 35-13
20^th:        Scott Suggs, Alexander, Ark., 10 bass, 35-8

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 224 bass weighing 667 pounds even caught by 38 pros on Sunday.

Clausen won Sunday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award, weighing in a 7-pound, 14-ounce largemouth on a shaky-head rig during 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.

The MLF Bass Pro Tour B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four at Lake Chickamauga Presented by ATG by Wrangler is hosted by Fish Dayton and the Rhea Economic & Tourism Council.

The 40 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day qualifying round on Lake Chickamauga on Friday and Sunday – the 40 anglers in Group B on Saturday and Monday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in 2nd through 20th place from both groups advance to Tuesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 38 anglers compete to finish in the top 8 to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET each day of competition. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will also be held at the Dayton Boat Dock, beginning at 3:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all takeoff and takeout ceremonies and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 76 of the top professional anglers in the world – joined at each event by 4 pros that qualify from the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit – competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, competing for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2022 championship.

The MLF NOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action on all six days of competition from 6:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

Television coverage of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by Wrangler at Lake Chickamauga will be showcased across two two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET, Oct. 9 on the Discovery Channel. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on the Discovery Channel, with additional re-airings on the Outdoor Channel and the Sportsman Channel. Each two-hour long reality-based episode goes in-depth to break down each day of competition.

For complete details and updated information on the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.