Jacob Wheeler Wins 2025 Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats on Saginaw Bay!

By Mitchell Forde 

BASS PRO TOUR 

BAY CITY, Mich. — Jacob Wheeler couldn’t help himself. 

Time had already run out in Toyota Stage 7 Presented by Ranger Boats on Saginaw Bay with Wheeler atop SCORETRACKER®, his 10th career Bass Pro Tour win secured. Yet after Wheeler addressed the MLFNOW! viewers and offered some thank yous to those who had helped him get his tournament fishing start growing up in Indiana, he picked his rod back up and pitched a topwater frog back to the clump of reeds and lily pads in front of his boat, trying to elicit one more blowup.

That summed up Wheeler’s week on Saginaw Bay. Needing only to finish 27th or better to secure his fourth Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title in the past five seasons, he could have played it safe, then celebrated and gone through the motions after he secured the hardware on Friday. Instead, he not only made Sunday’s Championship Round but overcame an early 22-pound deficit to Todd Faircloth and willed his way to a win in a three-way battle with Faircloth and Edwin Evers. His total of 110 pounds even on 42 scorable bass ultimately topped Faircloth by 7-6.

For the win, Wheeler earned $150,000 – he’ll leave Saginaw Bay with $250,000 and two trophies thanks to his AOY victory. The dream end to yet another dominant season left even Wheeler, who is no stranger to recapping victories, short for words.

“I still don’t know what to say, to be honest with you,” he said with a chuckle. “I don’t even believe it half the time. I just go fishing and things happen. I’m just speechless. It’s crazy, it really is.” 

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:

1. Jacob Wheeler – 110-0 (42)

2. Todd Faircloth – 102-10 (40)

3. Edwin Evers – 86-10 (36)

4. Cole Floyd – 66-2 (26)

5. Brent Ehrler – 61-2 (25)

6. Bryan Thrift – 58-0 (23)

7. Nick Hatfield – 54-12 (23)

8. Spencer Shuffield – 49-15 (21)

9. Keith Carson – 45-7 (18)

10. James Elam – 43-6 (18)

Complete results

Wheeler separates himself with strategy yet again

Wheeler took his first lead of the Championship Round with about 10 minutes left in Period 2. From there, he and Faircloth traded blows, the top spot on

Skeet Reese claims first Bass Pro Tour trophy with James River!

By Michell Forde

BASS PRO TOUR

RICHMOND, Va. — On his 55th birthday, Skeet Reese received the best present of his life. The Bass Fishing Hall of Famer added his first Bass Pro Tour trophy to his long list of accolades at General Tire Stage Six Presented by O’Reilly Auto Parts on the James River, plus the $100,000 top prize that came with it.

Reese totaled 54 pounds, 3 ounces on 23 scorable bass during Sunday’s Championship Round. He would need just about all of it, as Jeff Sprague put together a furious late-day rally but ultimately fell 3-11 shy of Reese’s total. 

The California pro said the 12th victory of his legendary career will go down as one of his most memorable, as each passing season has made him increasingly hungry to join the list of BPT champions.

“This I what I’ve been fishing for the last five years out here, trying to be able to be in a position to hoist one of these Bass Pro Tour trophies,” Reese said. “To beat the group of guys that we compete against – I mean, literally, this is the best group of anglers assembled ever in the history of the sport. So, to beat these guys, that means a lot to me.”

Here’s how the Top 10 finished the Championship Round:

1. Skeet Reese — 54-3 (23)
2. Jeff Sprague — 50-8 (25)
3. Nick LeBrun — 37-3 (16)
4. Bryan Thrift — 35-9 (16)
5. Michael Neal — 34-10 (16)
6. Gerald Spohrer — 32-11 (14)
7. Dylan Hays — 30-4 (14)
8. Spencer Shuffield — 24-9 (12)
9. Andy Montgomery — 18-2 (10)
10. Jonathon VanDam — 14-6 (7)

Complete results

Walker Weathers the Storm on Watts Bar, Advances Straight To Stage Five Championship

David Walker wins Group B on Watts Bar to automatically qualify for Thursday's Championship Round. Photo by Garrick Dixon

By Mason Prince Bass Pro Tour

PRESS RELEASE

SPRING CITY, Tenn. – He may live about 90 miles away from Watts Bar Lake, but David Walker made himself right at home on this impoundment of the Tennessee River, winning Group B’s Qualifying Round of the General Tire Stage Five Presented by Covercraft.

Much like Kevin VanDam who won Group A on Monday, Walker began his second day of competition in fifth place on SCORETRACKER® with 22 pounds, 1 ounce, needing to make up some ground. After a two-hour-and-15-minute lightning delay, the Sevierville, Tennessee, native caught 11 bass for 23-10 on Wednesday to jump into the top spot and automatically qualify for the Championship Round on Thursday.

Walker Storms into Lead After Weather Delay

It hasn’t been the best start to the season for Walker, and he’d be the first to tell you. He sits 72nd in the Bally Bet Angler of the Year race out of 80 pros. He hasn’t made a Knockout Round in 2022, and (technically) he still won’t fish in one as he is directly on to the Championship Round where he will join VanDam for a 1-in-10 shot at $100,000.

“This has been a tough season for me so far, but to have two days like today and Sunday put together is just awesome,” Walker said. “The highs are so high and the lows are so low in tournament fishing. It’s tough to be even keel. One good day can make up for a whole lot of bad ones.”

Walker started the day in a favorable position — fifth place to be exact. After a lengthy weather delay, the Tennessee pro began lighting up SCORETRACKER® in a hurry, adding three bass for 5-9 in the first 45 minutes. He had about two hours in which he didn’t register a scorable bass, but once the third period got underway, Walker caught five bass for 10 pounds to secure the top spot.

“It was just a day where I made the right choices,” Walker said. “I caught fish so many different ways today and I have so many rods on the deck of my boat.”

REDCREST 2021 Bryan Thrift Dominance as First Five Anglers Set for Championship Round!

Thrift in total control of REDCREST

By Mason Prince

MLF PRESS RELEASE

Bryan Thrift at another level during elimination rounds. 
(Photo: MLF) 

The bite improved during Knockout Round 2 of REDCREST Presented by Old Wisconsin Sausage, but there were still some anglers left scratching their head at the end of the day. Warming temperatures paired with bright and sunny skies spelled a move to the bank, but the anglers with the most success—those that are moving on to the Championship Round—found their fish offshore with a variety of tactics.

The 10 anglers who competed on Wednesday during Knockout Round 1 only managed to register 32 scorable bass. Fast forward to Thursday, and Group B nearly doubled that total with 59 total, 14 of which came from round-winner Bryan Thrift.

Bryan Thrift, Ott DeFoe, Michael Neal, Takahiro Omori and Anthony Gagliardi are advancing to the Championship Round where they will join Zack Birge, Dustin Connell, Jacob Wheeler, Mark Davis and David Dudley. The five anglers who fell below the Toro Cut Line and won’t be advancing out of Group B are Edwin Evers, Jordan Lee, Alton Jones Jr., Brent Chapman and Randall Tharp.

Thrift Continues His REDCREST Dominance

For the third time in four days of competition, North Carolina pro Bryan Thrift ended the day on top of SCORETRACKER®. Thrift finished the day with 14 bass for 40 pounds, 8 ounces, with more than 16 pounds of separation between himself and second-place finisher Ott DeFoe.

“I just got off to a great start in that first period that really set me up for the whole day,” Thrift recalled. “I had 11 fish in the first period and I really spent the rest of the time trying to figure stuff out for the Championship Round.”

Jordan Lee Wins MLF Heavy Hitters Event on Kissimmee Chain!

Jordan Lee Runs away with it by 20lbs over Thrift 

By Tyler Brinks 

MLF Press Release

$200 000 richer with another win on Kissimmee!
(Photo: MLF) 

It was a runaway victory Friday to conclude the Toyota Heavy Hitters Presented by Venmo on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes. Jordan Lee took control early in the day, and ran laps around the field as he continued to target offshore brushpiles on Lake Toho.

Late in Period 3, Lee landed a 5-pound fish that pushed his lead to 26 pounds on SCORETRACKER®. At the time, that was double the weight of second-place angler Bryan Thrift’s, who was sitting with 26 pounds, 2 ounces.

After that catch, Lee spoke to the MLF NOW! live stream studio crew, and in his own words stated what many watching were thinking.

“I don’t even know what to say anymore,” Lee told MLF commentators Chad McKee, JT Kenney and Marty Stone. “It’s just been one of those days.”

Lee tends to have these kinds of days more often than other anglers.

In the end, the Berkley pro won the event by nearly 20 pounds to collect $100,000. Lee also pocketed $100,000 for the day’s biggest bass. That 7-4 fish (which was the lightest big-bass winner of the week but proved to be enough to gather the big check).

Lee claimed the trophy the last time the Bass Pro Tour visited the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, winning the inaugural event during the 2019 season. Going into this week, he had a good feeling about returning here.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling. Kissimmee has been good to me,” said Lee. “I felt comfortable out there all week.”

During practice, Lee set out to look for something different than everyone else was fishing and that turned out to be brushpiles in 5 to 7 feet of water.

“I noticed everyone was congregating on the big sections of grass and I don’t like fishing in crowds,” Lee said. “That told me I needed to find something off the wall. I found a brushpile on my Lowrance StructureScan (side-scanning sonar) and made a cast with a lipless crankbait and caught one immediately and it had a bigger one following it in.”

2020 MLF Heavy Hitters Day 3: Zack Berge Group A Qualifying Round

Top 10 Set for Group A after two days on Kissimmee Chain.

Zack Birge took advantage of big lead to learn the lake.

	Place	Angler	Total Weight						Largest Fish
	1st	Zack Birge	74 - 03						5 - 08
	2nd	Bryan Thrift	55 - 09						4 - 02
	3rd	Jordan Lee	51 - 09						6 - 13
	4th	Gary Klein	48 - 04						5 - 04
	5th	Matt Lee	43 - 07						5 - 05
	6th	Kelly Jordon	39 - 08						5 - 03
	7th	John Murray	38 - 09						7 - 13
	8th	Kevin VanDam	37 - 04						7 - 10
	9th	Michael Neal	33 - 12						4 - 09
	10th	Gerald Spohrer	32 - 09						4 - 13

Jacob Wheeler Wins $100 000 for 2020 MLF Lake Eufaula Season Opener

Adapting to changing water level key for top anglers.  

By Luigi De Rose 

Jacob Wheeler, once again proved he’s a winner. Totalling 24 scorable bass for an impressive 68 pounds, Wheeler outdistanced himself by 28 pounds over his nearest competitor Bryan Thrift. Jacob took home $100 000 for first place and command of the MLF points. Thrift, new to the 2020 MLF format, didn't hold back and landing 13 bass for 40-11 pounds. He pocketed $42 000 at his MLF debut. 

Place     Angler   Total Weight/Fish           Largest Fish

1st         Jacob Wheeler  68 - 00  24          4 - 10

2nd       Bryan Thrift       40 - 11  13          5 - 11

3rd        Ott DeFoe          34 - 09  10          6 - 15

4th        Alton Jones Jr.   26 - 12  9            4 - 08

5th        Dustin Connell  24 - 00  6            5 - 11

6th        Brent Chapman 20 - 10  8            3 - 12

7th        Takahiro Omori 16 - 04  5            4 - 08

8th        Brett Hite           9 - 13    3            3 - 11

9th        Jordan Lee          5 - 10    2            3 - 08

10th      Adrian Avena     4 - 03    2            2 - 03