By MLF Communications Staff

Kevin VanDam caught 18 bass totaling 46-06 to win the Knockout Round and advance to the final day of competition at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tenn. The final 10 anglers are now set, and competition will resume Wednesday morning with the Championship Round. Weights are zeroed and the angler who catches the most weight will win the top prize of $100,000.

“Today was a really good Knockout Round for me,” said VanDam, who qualified for his first Championship Round of the season. “It started off pretty slow, but I made a good decision and started to get a little movement going. I got a few fish on the ScoreTracker and once that happened, I knew that if I just stuck to my game plan, I could make it happen today. Lo and behold, we’re moving on to Championship Round and I couldn’t be more excited.”

VanDam said that he's fishing how he loves to fish this week – out on the Tennessee River ledges.

“This is my favorite way to fish. I love ledge-fishing. It’s something that I’ve got a lot of experience in and I’ve had a lot of success up and down the Tennessee River. I’ve got a whole cranking system that I’ve built around it with Lew’s. We’ve got a whole new series of rods and reels for it, and that’s what I’m using. I’m doing what I’ve got the most confidence in. I’m pretty dang dialed in this week and I understand the timing of these fish and how they’re moving.

“There is a lot of things changing by the minute, though, and that’s why you’re seeing the diversity from a lot of guys. It’s going to be a shootout tomorrow. It’s going to be a really, really fun day to watch as a fishing fan. I’m fishing against some of the best guys in the world at this type of fishing. It’s going to come down to some fireworks, and hopefully I’m in contention at the end and can make it happen. The last time we were here at Chickamauga for the Bass Pro Tour I didn’t have a great event, so I’m looking forward to rectifying that with this one.”

Also making his first Championship Round on the BPT this season is the reigning Angler of the Year Jordan Lee. Although he didn’t divulge any real details, he did say that he was dialed in to two main baits and specifically mentioned a hair jig.

Lee caught 14 bass for 45-12 in the Knockout Round, finishing 10 ounces behind VanDam.

“I had one good flurry this morning and got out to the lead, and then I just kind of hit a lull for a couple of hours in the middle of the day,” Lee said. “This afternoon I caught two that really just sealed the deal for me. I caught them on two main baits, using my new line of Abu Garcia rods that I’ve got coming out this summer. I’m real excited about them. They’re affordable and they have really good blanks. That’s what I’ve been using, just dragging stuff like a hair jig.

“I’m tickled to death to be going back out there again tomorrow. It’s my first final-day cut of the year and I can’t wait to see what happens.”

Other competitors moving on to the Championship Round are Jacob Wheeler (15 bass for 39-15 in the Knockout Round), Stephen Browning (16, 38-10), Michael Neal (14, 38-01), Brent Ehrler (13, 36-15), Anthony Gagliardi (13, 36-04) and Casey Ashley (12, 33-09). They'll be joined by the winners of the two groups from the Qualifying Round, Jason Lambert and Shin Fukae.

Matt Becker won the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award on Tuesday, catching an 8-12 largemouth on a Ned rig in Period 2. Berkley will award $1,000 to the angler who weighs the biggest bass each day and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the largest bass of the tournament.

The final 10 anglers will take off from the Dayton Boat Dock, located at 175 Lakeshore St., in Dayton, at 6:30 a.m. ET Wednesday. The Championship Moment 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! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action from the final day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. MLF NOW! will be live-streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.



Knockout Round

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the round)

1. Kevin VanDam -- 46-06 (18) -- 5-05

2. Jordan Lee -- 45-12 (14) -- 5-08

3. Jacob Wheeler -- 39-15 (15) -- 5-14

4. Stephen Browning -- 38-10 (16) -- 3-04

5. Michael Neal -- 38-01 (14) -- 6-01

6. Brent Ehrler -- 36-15 (13) -- 6-02

7. Anthony Gagliardi -- 36-04 (13) -- 4-08

8. Casey Ashley -- 33-09 (12) -- 4-07

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Championship Round

9. Andy Morgan -- 32-13 (12) -- 4-04

10. Mark Davis -- 32-09 (14) -- 3-09

11. Edwin Evers -- 32-04 (12) -- 4-11

12. Dustin Connell -- 30-02 (10) -- 7-04

13. Jesse Wiggins -- 28-12 (10) -- 4-07

14. Greg Vinson -- 28-11 (11) -- 4-09

15. Ott DeFoe -- 28-10 (12) -- 3-14

16. Matt Becker -- 27-15 (8) -- 8-12

17. Luke Clausen -- 27-04 (10) -- 5-07

18. Matt Lee -- 26-04 (9) -- 4-04

19. Bradley Roy -- 25-14 (7) -- 8-09

20. Justin Lucas -- 24-09 (7) -- 7-04

21. Ish Monroe -- 18-02 (6) -- 5-14

22. Takahiro Omori -- 17-10 (6) -- 4-12

23. Mark Rose -- 17-09 (5) -- 5-05

24. Bryan Thrift -- 16-13 (7) -- 2-15

25. Britt Myers -- 15-07 (4) -- 5-12

26. Shaw Grigsby -- 14-10 (5) -- 5-01

27. James Elam -- 14-09 (5) -- 4-04

28. Terry Scroggins -- 14-07 (5) -- 4-05

29. Zack Birge -- 13-07 (6) -- 2-10

30. Cliff Pace -- 12-08 (5) -- 3-06

31. Wesley Strader -- 11-12 (5) -- 2-14

32. Roy Hawk -- 11-04 (4) -- 3-03

33. Josh Bertrand -- 8-11 (3) -- 4-03

34. Alton Jones Jr. -- 7-07 (3) -- 2-15

35. Russ Lane -- 7-03 (3) -- 2-15

36. Todd Faircloth -- 7-00 (3) -- 2-10

37. Randy Howell -- 4-02 (1) -- 4-02

38. Scott Suggs -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00