“I felt like I fished my stuff as well as it can be fished”, said Velvick. “Unfortunately, Mark fished my stuff pretty good out of the back of the boat, too.”

“The way the match, which lasts 6 hours, was edited down for TV, some people may have gotten the wrong impression and thought that it was easy…and that’s just not the case”, added Davis. “Byron brought it. I knew from the coin toss that this was going to be a barn burner and I’ll tell you right now I feel very fortunate to have come out on top.”

I’ve seen it happen over and over” said UMF Host Joe Thomas. “When an angler can catch fish out of the back of the boat, it’s such a huge advantage. Almost without exception anglers who really pay attention and concentrate from the back end up winning. Other guys just seem to bide their time waiting to get back up front. That’s a huge mistake in my opinion.”

For Mark Davis, this match was a way to redeem himself after a first round loss to Dean Rojas in UMF 2004 on Kentucky Lake.

“I really don’t think I took it as seriously back then as I do now” said Davis. “The way this thing has grown and become a real legitimate tournament competition has a lot of bass pros buzzing. They want in and they want to win. I’m no exception. I’m here for one reason and one reason only and that’s to take home the title.”

After such an incredible performance on Lake Lanier, it’s difficult if not impossible to bet against Davis in the Championship Round. For one, he’s an Arkansas native heading to Lake Dardanelle, and his skill is unquestioned when it comes to pressure packed situations.

For Byron Velvick, it’s back to the Elite Series Trail, where he has been having a great year, including a 2nd place finish to UMF alumni Paul Elias on Lake Falcon.

“I love this format and I feel honored to be a part of it. My goal now is to get back and learn from this experience. I wish Mark Davis luck and I want to see him with the Championship Belt held high.”

The final score had Mark Davis with 17.70 pounds of Lake Lanier spots and largemouth. Byron Velvick came up one fish shy of a limit with 13.38 pounds.

Next week, the first round of competition comes to a conclusion on Lake Lanier as the FLW’s Dave Lefebre goes toe-to-toe with Elite Series Pro and last year’s UMF runner up Kelly Jordon.