Arkansas’ Stephen Browning is leading the Group B qualifying by hauling 16 bass weighing in 51 pounds, 4 ounces in Major League Fishing’s General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops on Lake Palestine.

Arkansas’ Stephen Browning came through with 16 scorable bass on Sunday to take the lead of the Group B qualifying round on the Major League Fishing stop on Lake Palestine.

Browning, of Hot Springs, Arkansas, totaled bass weighing 51 pounds, 4 ounces in the General Tire Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops.

The six-day all-star event showcases the 32 pros that qualified from the Bass Pro Tour competing for a purse of more than $500,000, with a top prize of $100,000 to the winner along with massive Big Bass Bonus payouts.

Brent Ehrler, a Redlands, California pro, caught an 8-pound, 5-ounce lunker that was the heaviest bass of the day on Sunday. If Ehrler’s fish remains the largest bass weighed by Group B after the conclusion of the two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday, he will take home a $25,000 Big Bass Bonus. Big Bass Bonuses are awarded throughout the competition, with payouts of $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000 being awarded for the single biggest fish in the Qualifying, Knockout and Championship rounds.

Browning has an 18-pound, 6-ounce, lead over second-place pro Jordan Lee of Cullman, Alabama, going into Tuesday’s second day of competition in the Qualifying Round for Group B. Lee landed 10 scorable bass totaling 32-14, while pro Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, Oklahoma, rounds out the top three, catching nine bass weighing 28-2 to end the day in third place.

The 16 anglers in Group B will now have the day off Monday, while the 16 anglers in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B anglers will complete their Qualifying Round of competition on Tuesday.

Overall, there were 96 bass weighing 291 pounds, 14 ounces caught by the 16 pros Sunday, which included one 8-pounder, one 7-pounder, and two 6-pounders caught from Lake Palestine.

Group A began on Saturday and will complete their two-day qualifying on Monday. Group B completes its qualifying on Tuesday.

After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the anglers that finish in second through eighth place from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round, while the winner of each group advances directly to Thursday’s Championship Round.

In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed and the remaining 14 anglers compete to finish in the top eight to advance to the Championship Round. In the final day Championship Round, weights are zeroed and the highest one-day total wins.

Anglers will depart at 7 a.m. from the Villages Marina, located at Big Eddy Road in Flint. Anglers are allowed to trailer to any boat ramp of their choosing on Lake Palestine, but competition begins with “lines in” at 8 a.m. Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the Marina, beginning at 4:30 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 MLF NOW!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Fans are encouraged to come out and celebrate with the professional anglers from the Bass Pro Tour starting at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday at the Villages Marina in Flint, as they crown the champion of the General Tire Heavy Hitters 2022 Presented by Bass Pro Shops. The first 50 children at the event will receive a free Dora the Explorer rod and reel, and the first 50 High School Fishing anglers will receive a free Abu Garcia rod and reel combo valued at $100. Free food will be provided for all, and the Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand to meet and greet fans, sign autographs, take selfies and participate in tackle giveaways.

The General Tire Heavy Hitters 2022 features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

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Group B Top 16

Sunday

Lake Palestine

1, Stephen Browning, Hot Springs, Ark., 16 bass, 51-4; 2, Jordan Lee, Cullman, Ala., 10 bass, 32-14; 3, Jeff Kriet, Ardmore, Okla., nine bass, 28-2; 4, Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., seven bass, 26-4; 5, Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., nine bass, 25-10; 6, Russ Lane, Prattville, Ala., nine bass, 25-6; 7, Gerald Spohrer, Gonzales, La., seven bass, 22-5; 8, Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark., five bass, 13-0; 9, Tommy Biffle, Wagoner, Okla., four bass, 11-10; 10, Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., four bass, 10-9; 11, Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla., three bass, 9-9; 12, Britt Myers, Lake Wylie, S.C.., four bass, 9-3; 13, Josh Bertrand, Queen Creek, Ariz., three bass, 8-5; 14, Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., three bass, 7-10; 15, Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss., two bass, 7-9; 16, Cliff Crochet, Pierre Part, La., one bass, 2-10.