OXFORD, Ala. (Major League Fishing) —Team Knighten Industries’ Jake Lawrence and Alton Jones Jr. lived up to their billing as one of the most dialed-in duos in the game Friday, combining to catch 32 scorable bass weighing 50 pounds, 9 ounces to win Elimination Match 3 at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches on Lake Wedowee.
The Tennessee-Texas tandem, both known for their prowess with forward-facing sonar, relied almost exclusively on a shad-imitating minnow presentation to stay ahead of the field from start to finish. Meanwhile, the other three teams on the water were locked in a tight race for the final Knockout Round berth. Both Takahiro Omori and Dean Rojas of Team Ferguson as well as John Hunter and Brandon Coulter of Team Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches caught bass in the final minute before lines out, but it was Omori and Rojas who finished above the elimination line, just 7 ounces ahead of Hunter and Coulter.
Lawrence and Jones show off forward-facing sonar prowess
Lawrence and Jones found the pattern that dominated across the three-day Elimination Round on Wedowee, utilizing forward-facing sonar to chase schools of spotted bass roaming deep in the backs of pockets. A key was capitalizing on short feeding flurries that produced multiple doubles throughout the day.
“In this format, it’s all about efficiency,” Lawrence said. “If I can save one cast or five casts through a period, that’s one extra bite – and that can mean everything. These fish are grouped up tight. When you find 50 of them, you just need to catch four or five, and it’s game over.”
Jones agreed, noting how much fun the team dynamic has been.
“I’m excited to fish another day with Jake,” he said. “We’ve seen schools of more than 50 fish today that looked like something out of National Geographic. To be able to locate those wolf packs and pick them apart together – that’s what makes this format so exciting.”
Lawrence led the way with 31-4 on 20 scorable bass. He credited a new bait that is about to become available to the public.
“It’s been a fun, fun day,” Lawrence said. “The main player for me was the little 3.5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow. It’s a brand-new bait that’s about to hit the market. It’s a little deeper, girthier minnow, kind of meaty but compact, and that hinge tail gives it a ton of action even on a heavy head. It made a big, big difference today.”
Jones credited his partner’s bait design and their like-mindedness on the water for the team’s success.
“I was throwing the Geecrack Bellows Vibe behind Jake,” Jones said. “Once he started catching them on that new bait, I started digging through my bag for something similar and rigged it up. It was just one of those days where everything lined up.
“I’ve been a great co-angler today,” he added with a laugh. “Jake may have caught over 10 pounds more than I have, but I was the cleanup guy.”
Omori, Rojas win photo finish
Team Ferguson spent most of the day below the elimination line. But in the final period, they surged from fourth to second, catching more bass in the last frame than in the first two periods combined.
Omori and Rojas defied the prevailing pattern of the week, opting for a more old-school approach. Aside from a few fish Rojas caught on a Neko rig, the duo stuck with vibrating jigs and shallow crankbaits along windy, rocky banks near the dam – and were the only tandem not using forward-facing sonar.
The finale came down to the last few seconds, with Omori catching a 1-13 with less than a minute to go that proved to be the difference maker. Coulter and Hunter both caught fish in the final seconds, but they fell heartbreakingly short despite landing the biggest fish of the week so far – a 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth – and ended the day in third.
Team YETI’s Bryan Thrift and Colby Miller moved up and down the SCORETRACKER® throughout the day, climbing up to second on the leaderboard at one point before dropping below the cut line. Despite a strong six-fish rally in the final period, the slowdown midway through the day proved costly, and they finished 4-12 back of second place.
Knockout Round up next
Three teams will take on a new fishery Saturday for the first of two Knockout Round matches. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts (Jacob Wheeler and Dustin Connell), Team Lucas Oil (Michael Neal and Luke Clausen), and Team Ferguson will battle for two spots in Monday’s Championship Round.
Major League Fishing — Catch it LIVE on RFD-TV and Streaming on RFD-TV Now. The Fishing Clash continues with the Knockout Rounds on Saturday and Sunday. With the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Championship Round on Monday. Tune in to RFD-TV to watch the final round each day or stream all the action on RFD-TV Now starting at 10 AM ET.
