Wheeler finishes 10th in Qualifying Round to clinch third Angler of the Year title in four years, Thrift throws jig to pace top 10 anglers advancing to Saturday’s Knockout Round

MASSENA, N.Y. (Aug. 9, 2024) – Even the remnants of Hurricane Debby drenching the St. Lawrence River couldn’t extinguish the red-hot fishing Friday at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour Minn Kota Stage Seven Presented by Humminbird.

The 39 anglers finishing out Group B’s Qualifying Round on Friday consistently caught fish throughout the day, led by Shelby, North Carolina angler Bryan Thrift, who totaled 31 bass for 91 pounds, 6 ounces for a total of 160-3 over two days. Thrift ended the round just 4 ounces ahead of a hard charging Josh Bertrand, who wound up with 159-15.

The big winner of the day was the 10th place finisher, Harrison, Tennessee, pro Jacob Wheeler, who clinched the 2024 Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors and the $100,000 payout – Wheeler’s third AOY title in the last four years.

In addition to the battle for the top of the group and the Angler of the Year title, there was plenty of movement on SCORETRACKER® throughout the day. Still, only two anglers below 10th place at the start of the day will advance to the Knockout Round – and both made big jumps as Covington, Georgia, pro Jared Lintner (14th to fourth) and pro Mark Daniels, Jr., of Tuskegee, Alabama, (17th to eighth) replaced Skeet Reese and Fletcher Shryock.

Thrift was firmly ahead of Group B for much of the day until Bertrand made a run and briefly passed him in the final 10 minutes. Thrift immediately added a 3-3 to take the lead for good. The North Carolina pro caught fish early and remained in control of the lead most of the day by fishing his strengths – using baitcast gear and a jig that he designed.

While other baits caught a few late fish for Thrift, a 1/2—and 3/4-ounce green pumpkin yellow Fitzgerald Fishing Bryan Thrift tungsten micro jig was his primary weapon, helping him land nearly 60 pounds in the first period alone.

“The day started really good, catching 50-something pounds,” Thrift said. “That allowed me to start looking for new areas, and I spent most of the day just fishing around. I looked for new stuff and went shallow to places I hadn’t fished all week.”

While he caught a handful of fish on new areas in the late afternoon, Thrift is all in on a particular stretch of the massive river.

“That’s where I’ve caught most of my fish on both days,” he said of his location. “I have no idea if that’ll be good enough and don’t know what the changing weather will do to them. I don’t expect them to bite as well as they did today.”

Ever the one to downplay his success, Thrift believes it will take big weights to make the Championship Round and thinks he’ll need everything to line up for him to advance.

“I have to think it will take 60, 70 pounds to move on,” he said. “I have that one main area, but don’t have a lot of other stuff that’s real good.”

The top 10 pros in Group B that now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on the St. Lawrence River are:

1st:        Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 56 bass, 160-3
2nd:      Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., 51 bass, 159-15
3rd:       Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 45 bass, 147-5
4th:        Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 50 bass, 143-9
5th:        Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 48 bass, 137-11
6th:        Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 41 bass, 137-8
7th:        Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., 42 bass, 136-6
8th:        Mark Daniels, Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., 45 bass, 132-8
9th:        Chris Lane, Guntersville, Ala., 45 bass, 128-6
10th:     Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 45 bass, 123-3

Eliminated from competition are:

11th:     Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 37 bass, 111-8
12th:     Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 34 bass, 109-13
13th:     Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., 40 bass, 108-15
14th:     Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 35 bass, 105-1
15th:     Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 32 bass, 104-8
16th:     John Murray, Spring City, Tenn., 34 bass, 102-13
17th:     Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., 37 bass, 101-13
18th:     Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La., 33 bass, 95-12
19th:     Shinichi Fukae, Osaka, Japan, 31 bass, 95-6
20th:     Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 32 bass, 95-0
21st:      Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., 30 bass, 94-9
22nd:    Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 33 bass, 91-9
23rd:     Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 28 bass, 86-3
24th:     Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 31 bass, 85-2
25th:     Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, 28 bass, 82-11
26th:     Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 27 bass, 82-1
27th:     Jeremy Lawyer, Sarcoxie, Mo., 26 bass, 80-6
28th:     Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., 25 bass, 78-10
29th:     Matt Lee, Guntersville, Ala., 25 bass, 74-1
30th:     Alton Jones, Sr., Lorena, Texas, 24 bass, 73-7
31st:      Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 24 bass, 71-11
32nd:    Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 23 bass, 69-10
33rd:     Ryan Salzman, Huntsville, Ala., 23 bass, 64-9
34th:     Jacopo Gallelli, Florence, Italy, 19 bass, 62-0
35th:     David Walker, Huntingdon, Tenn., 22 bass, 60-11
36th:     Randy Howell, Guntersville, Ala., 17 bass, 50-8
37th:     Gerald Spoher, Gonzales, La., 16 bass, 49-8
38th:     Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 13 bass, 37-15
39th:     Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., 11 bass, 35-8

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 666 scorable bass weighing 2,004 pounds, 4 ounces caught by the 39 pros on Friday.

The Day 4 $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award went to pro John Murray of Spring City, Tennessee, who caught a 5-pound, 15-ounce largemouth bass with just nine minutes remaining in Period 3 to earn the award. It was the second largemouth bass to win the daily award this week. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, showcases 78 of the best professional anglers in the world competing for a purse of more than $805,000, with a top prize of $100,000 going to the winner.

The 39 Anglers in Group A competed in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. Now that each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finished first through 10^th from both groups now advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s 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 depart at 6:45 a.m. ET each day from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Highway 131 in Massena. Anglers are allowed to trailer to any ramp of their choosing within the fishing boundaries, and competition will begin on the water at 7:30 a.m. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at Massena Intake Boat Launch, 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!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live starting Thursday morning from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 10-11, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit the Massena Intake Boat Launch for the MLF Watch Party. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. Live music will begin each day at 4 p.m. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The Minn Kota Stage Seven at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Humminbird features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The 2024 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 78 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship, set for April 3-6, 2025, on Lake Guntersville in Huntsville, Alabama.

Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.

Television coverage of the Minn Kota Stage Seven at the St. Lawrence River Presented by Humminbird will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Nov. 16 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, PowerStop Brakes, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, WIX Filters and U.S. Air Force.

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

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.