Wheeler out-duels Rojas on Santee Cooper, lands seventh BPT win

Jacob Wheeler claimed his seventh career Bass Pro Tour event win on Sunday.
Photo by Garrick Dixon

By Mitchell Forde

BASS PRO TOUR

Presented by Fenwick, the Santee Cooper lakes that had churned out chunky bass all week simply shut down. At one point, the 10 pros duking it out during the Championship Round went 45 minutes without boating a scorable bass. They combined to catch just 18, none breaking the 4-pound mark, during the final frame.

The one angler who managed to manufacture consistent action – Jacob Wheeler. Wheeler accounted for five of those bass, which combined to weigh 14 pounds, 2 ounces and boosted his final-day total to 47-4, lifting him past Dean Rojas by 5 pounds for his seventh career Bass Pro Tour victory.

Bucking conventional Santee Cooper tactics by fishing offshore with a jighead minnow, Wheeler did what he’s done for the past six years, seemingly willing bites into existence. He started the third period 2-8 back of Rojas but promptly took the lead with a 3-12 largemouth. A little more than an hour later, with everyone else at a standstill, he boated three fish over 2 pounds in about 10 minutes. After Rojas closed within 2-6 in the final 30 minutes, Wheeler ran across Lake Marion to hit one more spot, where he added a 2-10 to all but seal the victory.

“I stuck to my game plan this whole week, and I stayed out offshore and I tried to fish isolated stuff,” Wheeler said. “It really came down to just keeping my head down and keeping my rotation going. I tried to make other tactics work, but those last two periods really came down to throwing that Freeloader, locking it in my hand. I’ve got so much confidence in it; I know it’s going to generate the bites if they are going to bite at all.”

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round. Complete results can be found here.

1. Jacob Wheeler — 47-4 (15 bass)
2. Dean Rojas — 42-4 (17)
3. Jesse Wiggins — 29-14 (9)
4. Matt Becker — 19-10 (4)
5. Dylan Hays — 18-12 (5)
6. Casey Ashley — 16-8 (6)
7. Dave Lefebre — 15-5 (5)
8. Cole Floyd — 11-5 (5)
9. James Watson — 7-13 (3)
10. Justin Lucas — 4-8 (1)

If an instruction manual for fishing Santee Cooper existed, it would probably read

Christie Surges 25 Places Today to Join Final 40 Advancing to MLF Bass Pro Tour Knockout Round

As you take a look down the list of Major League Fishing® (MLF) anglers who finished above the Elimination Line Friday at the Bass Pro Tour Phoenix Boats Stage 5 Presented by Mercury, you notice the obvious numbers: Jesse Wiggins at No. 1 with nearly 100 pounds on his home-water Smith Lake; Todd Faircloth, Tim Horton and James Watson easily in the Top 20 with over 80 pounds apiece; six more anglers with more than 65 pounds over two days of competition.

 

But the name among today's Group B anglers at No. 12 - Jason Christie - is notable for a much less obvious number: 36 pounds, 3 ounces.  

 

That's how much more weight the Oklahoma pro put on SCORETRACKER® on Friday than he did during his Shotgun Round on Wednesday, an improvement that catapulted Christie from 37th place to 12th and qualified him for his first Knockout Round since Stage Two. And he did virtually all of it in two periods.

 

After weighing only one fish in Period 1 while fishing shallow, Christie switched up to a deeper offshore point in Ryan Creek and settled into a groove in Period 2 with a shaky head, connecting with 27 fish over the final five hours of competition time. The Mercury pro finished the day with 51-0 and a two-day total of 65-13.

 

"It felt good to finally catch a few," Christie said. "I stayed shallow the first day, but since we've been here, it's gotten so warm, the fish have moved out. Today I fished an area where I knew there were a lot of fish because I've seen them chasing bait, but instead of fishing in 3 feet of water I started fishing in 20."

 

The Elimination Line Battle

 

He's been known as "The Squirrel" for years, but it seems just as appropriate to call Jeff Kriet "Cardiac Kriet" after his latest flirtation with the Elimination Line. Kriet, who entered the day in 11th place with a seemingly comfortable 8-pound cushion between himself and the 20th spot, found himself gradually falling down the Top 20 throughout the afternoon. By the final 30 minutes of the round, Kriet was scrapping with Bradley Roy, John Murray, Anthony Gagliardi and Mark Daniels, Jr., for the 20th and final spot in the Knockout Round.

The Oklahoma pro caught four fish for 5-8 in the third period to finish the Elimination Round with 54-8 - just enough to finish 4 ounces ahead of Daniels to lock up the final spot in the Knockout Round.

2017 Walmart FLW Tour Lake Cumberland Day 2: Clark Wendlandt Leads with 35-06lbs!

Cory Johnston 43rd, Gustafson 72th, Chris Johnston 118th & Richardson 132th 
by Rob Newell 

FLW PRESS RELEASE

“Loosey goosey” is not the next secret lure in bass fishing, or a magical spray formula that makes your reels cast farther.
Rather, it’s how Clark Wendlandt described his fishing after taking the day two lead Friday in the FLW Tour event on Lake Cumberland presented by T-H Marine with a total of 35 pounds, 6 ounces.
After weighing in four smallmouths and one largemouth for 18-7 on day one, Wendlandt backed that up with two smallmouths and three largemouths weighing 16 pounds, 15 ounces on day two.

Clark always loves the spawn. (Photo FLW)

Wendlandt used the term “loosey goosey” to explain his freewheeling approach to Cumberland as he bounced from smallmouth water to largemouth water on a whim based totally on looks and conditions.
Friday’s bright sun and high wind only seemed to help Wendlandt’s easy, breezy strategy.
“This lake is very intriguing to me,” Wendlandt says. “I’ve only fished it once before and I really liked it. It’s so huge and expansive, which gives it an open-ended feel. It’s a very freeing place to fish because your moves and decisions are not dictated by other boats or past pressure. You can just fish the moment all day long – nothing gets in the way of your gut feelings and I really love fishing that way."

2016 FLW Tour Invitational Lake Norris Day 2: James Watson Grabs Lead with 26lbs!

Consistency key for Top 10.

by Rob Newell

FLW Press Release
With air temperatures some 30 degrees cooler than day one, things felt much more seasonable around Norris Lake on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour Invitational presented by Quaker State. A passing cold front brought misty rain and blustery west winds that tossed autumn leaves into the air like confetti. In a single day it went from summer to fall around Ol’ Rocky Top.

Just as anglers predicted, the fringes of a cold snap certainly helped the bite as the limit count went from just nine on day one to 20 on day two.

One man who felt right at home amid the sudden turn in weather was James Watson of Nixa, Mo., who is steadily carving out his niche in professional fishing as a fall guy. When things cool off, Watson’s fishing heats up. Today, he brought in 13 pounds, 4 ounces to take over the lead spot in the Invitational with a two-day total of 26 pounds, 14 ounces, carrying over a 3-pound lead into the final day.

“August to December is my time,” Watson says. “I love fall fishing; it’s when I have the most confidence.”

Also, Watson does not mince words when describes his penchant for tough tournaments.