Hot Springs Pro Catches Limit Weighing 18-11 To Lead by 1 Pound, 9 Ounces – Top 50 Advance to Saturday
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GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. (May 13, 2022) – Pro Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas brought a limit weighing 18 pounds, 11 ounces to the scales Friday to maintain his lead after Day Two of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stop 4 on Lake Guntersville Presented by A.R.E. in Guntersville, Alabama. Shuffield’s two-day total of 10 bass weighing 44-1 gives him a 1-pound, 9-ounce lead going into the third day of competition as 156 professional anglers compete for up to $135,000.
Phoenix pro Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Oregon, made a massive jump from 70th place to slide into second place on Friday with a monster limit weighing 26 pounds, 14 ounces, for a two-day total of 42-8. The 2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year (AOY) Michael Neal of Dayton, Tennessee finished the day in third place with 10 bass weighing 41-9, while rookie Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tennessee moved into fourth with a two-day total of 40 pounds, 12 ounces. New Hope, Alabama pro Jacob Wall finished the day with a five-bass limit weighing 19-14 for a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 40 pounds, 5 ounces to round out the top five.
Link to photo of Day 2 leader Spencer Shuffield
“The fish were biting like crazy right off the bat this morning,” Shuffield said. “Then they just stopped biting. I didn’t sit there and hit them hard like I would have if I needed a big bag. I fished out around them more than anything, but they just quit biting the crankbait I’d been catching them on.
“I threw a flutter spoon and a hair jig at them, but the wind was blowing from the side in a screwy direction, and I just wasn’t feeling it today,” Shuffield continued. “There were still hundreds of them there though. I was reeling in a white bass and an 8-pounder chased her all the way to the boat.
“I knew I already had four fish for over 14 pounds, so my heart just wasn’t really in it.”
Shuffield said he wasn’t too worried if the spot did shut down over the next two days, because he had some alternate options in place.
“I can go catch 13 to 14 pounds fishing shallow a hundred times over, but as far as catching a big bag, I’ll definitely have to catch them out on the ledges the rest of the event,” Shuffield said. “I’ve got four places where I feel like I have the potential to catch 20 pounds, and two of them are really good spots. That’s why I’d like to make it to Championship Sunday because I feel like I’d have all of those places to myself by then.”
As far as his strategy for Day Three, Shuffield said he plans to see what he needs to make it into the top 10 and go from there.
“If it looks like I’m only going to need 10 pounds to make it to the final round, I’m not even going to those big schools of fish tomorrow,” Shuffield said. “I’m just going to fish shallow all day, catch 13 pounds and have fun. I just need to make it into the top 10, then Sunday I’ll go hammer them.”
Although he isn’t leading the pack, Olson made quite the splash on Day Two as well, coming from behind to narrowly edge out Neal for the second-place spot.
“I fished up shallow most of the day yesterday and had maybe 10 ½ pounds or so,” Olson said. “I ended up running down the lake and pulled up on a ledge that I knew there were some fish on and ended the day with 15-10. I actually started on that same ledge the first morning, but never had a bite.”
Olson said he thinks the fish pulled up once the current started rolling in, a key learning which carried him to second place on Day Two.
“This morning I started on that ledge again and they weren’t there, so I went looking for them,” Olson said. “Within 10 minutes or so I found them again.”
Olson said he doesn’t foresee catching another 26 pounds on Saturday but is hopeful that he can get on them enough to at least make it into the Top 10 on Sunday.
“I’m just fishing out deep and have about 20 different rods rigged up on my deck that I’m throwing, but I caught those on a crankbait and a jig in about 15 to 20 feet of water,” Olson said. “I’m hopeful that I can replicate that again tomorrow.”
The top 50 pros that made the cut after Day 2 and will fish Saturday on Lake Guntersville are:
2nd: Lane Olson of Forest Grove, Ore., 10 bass, 42-8
3rd: Michael Neal of Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 41-9
4th: Nick Hatfield of Greeneville, Tenn., 10 bass, 40-12
5th: Jacob Wall of New Hope, Ala., 10 bass, 40-5
6th: Rusty Salewske of Alpine, Calif., 10 bass, 39-10
7th: Nick Lebrun of Bossier City, La., 10 bass, 39-1
8th: Ron Nelson of Berrien Springs, Mich., 10 bass, 38-12
9th: Derrick Snavely of Piney Flats, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-11
10th: Robert Nakatomi of Sacramento, Calif., 10 bass, 38-9
11th: Josh Butler of Hayden, Ala., 10 bass, 38-2
12th: Jason Reyes of Huffman, Texas, 10 bass, 37-11
13th: Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla., 10 bass, 37-4
14th: Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas, 10 bass, 36-10
15th: Alex Davis of Albertville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-15
16th: Dylan Hays of Hot Springs, Ark., 10 bass, 35-14
17th: Jared McMillan of Clewiston, Fla., 10 bass, 35-11
18th: Cal Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 35-11
19th: Grae Buck of Green Lane, Pa., 10 bass, 35-8
20th: Trevor Fitzgerald of Belleview, Fla., 10 bass, 35-7
21st: Keith Carson of DeBary, Fla., 10 bass, 35-3
22nd: Tom Monsoor of La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 35-2
23rd: Steve York of Bronson, Mich., 10 bass, 35-0
24th: Josh Bragg of Fayetteville, Ga., 10 bass, 35-0
25th: Kyle Cortiana of Broken Arrow, Okla., 10 bass, 34-15
26th: Tyler Stewart of Dubach, La., 10 bass, 34-15
27th: Justin Lucas of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 34-13
28th: Shonn Goodwin of Moore, Okla., 10 bass, 34-13
29th: Mickey Beck of Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 34-7
30th: Clabion Johns of Social Circle, Ga., 10 bass, 34-7
31st: Mike McClelland of Blue Eye, Mo., 10 bass, 34-5
32nd: Brandon Mosley of Choctaw, Okla., 10 bass, 34-3
33rd: Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 33-15
34th: Matt Becker of Finleyville, Pa., 10 bass, 33-14
35th: Casey Scanlon of Eldon, Mo., 10 bass, 33-13
36th: Blake Hall of Decatur, Ala., 10 bass, 33-13
37th: Cody Pike of Powhatan, Va., 10 bass, 33-13
38th: Brian Latimer of Belton, S.C., 10 bass, 33-12
39th: Larry Nixon of Quitman, Ark., 10 bass, 33-12
40th: Chris Lane of Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 33-9
41st: Ramie Colson, Jr. of Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 33-7
42nd: Kyle Weisenburger of Columbus Grove, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-15
43rd: David Walker of Sevierville, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-14
44th: Ricky Robinson of Greenback, Tenn., 10 bass, 32-14
45th: John Hunter of Shelbyville, Ky., 10 bass, 32-14
46th: Chad Warren of Sand Springs, Okla., 10 bass, 32-10
47th: Jim Moynagh of Shakopee, Minn., 10 bass, 32-10
48th: Takayuki Koike of Otsu Shiga, Japan, 10 bass, 32-10
49th: Jeff Bridges of Pilot Point, Texas, 10 bass, 32-8
50th: Bill McDonald of Greenwood, Ind., 10 bass, 32-7
Overall, there were 723 bass weighing 2,170 pounds even caught by 151 pros Friday. The catch included 132 five-bass limits.
The event, hosted by Marshall County Tourism and Sports, marks the fourth regular-season event of the year for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of anglers competed in the two-day opening round on Thursday and Friday. Now, the top 50 pros based on their two-day cumulative weight advance to Saturday. Only the top 10 pros, based on cumulative weight from the first three days, will continue competition on Championship Sunday, where weights will be zeroed, and anglers will compete in a one-day shootout for the grand prize of up to $135,000, including the lucrative $35,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus for qualified anglers.
Throughout the season, anglers are also vying for valuable points in hopes of qualifying for the 2022 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit TITLE Presented by Mercury, the Pro Circuit Championship, where they will compete for up to $235,000. The 2022 TITLE will be on the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York on Aug. 16-21, and is hosted by the Town of Massena.
Anglers will take off at 6:30 a.m. CT each day from the Lake Guntersville State Park, located at 1155 Lodge Drive, in Guntersville. Weigh-ins will also be held at the park daily at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the event or follow the live on-the-water action all four days of competition online on MLF NOW! beginning at 7 a.m. CT at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Fans are also invited out to a FREE Expo on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. where they can join MLF staff, Alabama State Parks and the TVA Aquarium for Make and Take Outdoor Crafts, Camping 101, inflatables, animals, info booths, food trucks and a Kids’ Fishing Derby from 1-2:30 p.m. Registration takes place on site and bait will be provided, as well as the use of 50 rods and reels during the event. Prizes will be awarded to the first and second place youth anglers who catch the most fish.
Fans can also meet PAW Patrol’s Marshall and Skye prior to the weigh-in from 1-2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15 and Abu Garcia will be giving away a FREE rod and reel combo on Sunday, May 15th from 12:30-2:30 p.m. to the first 100 high school anglers to check in at the MLF booth.
The MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit B&W Trailer Hitches Stop 4 at Lake Guntersville Presented by A.R.E. will feature live on-the-water coverage and a two-hour action-packed television show that will premiere in July on the CBS Sports Network.
Proud sponsors of the 2022 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Fuel Me include: 4WP, 13 Fishing, Abu Garcia, A.R.E. Truck Caps, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Rifle Coffee, E3, Epic Baits, Favorite Fishing, Fuel Me, Gary Yamamoto Baits, General Tire, Lew’s, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Onyx, Phoenix, Polaris, Power-Pole, Strike King, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Wiley X and YETI.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit on the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.