Jacob Wheeler Wins 2025 BPT Lowrance Stage 5 Presented by Mercury on Kentucky Lake!

 

Jacob Wheeler scored his ninth Bass Pro Tour event win on Kentucky Lake with 46 scorable bass weighing 110 pounds, 13 ounces. Photo by Phoenix Moore

By Mitchell Forde 

BASS PRO TOUR, Press Release

CALVERT CITY, Ky. — At each of the past two Bass Pro Tour regular-season events, Jacob Wheeler has finished in second place, one bite short of the win. He fell 2-3 shy of Drew Gill on Lake Murray, then lost a heartbreaker to Jake Lawrence on Chickamauga and Nickajack, when Lawrence caught a 5-9 in the final seconds before lines out.

At Lowrance Stage 5 Presented by Mercury on Kentucky Lake, Wheeler made sure no one else even got a chance to steal the trophy.

Wheeler rallied after a slow morning and stacked up 110 pounds, 13 ounces on 46 scorable bass during Sunday’s Championship Round. He turned what looked like it would be another slugfest with Lawrence, the home-lake favorite, into a rout, topping Lawrence by 32-7.

The win is Wheeler’s first of 2025 and ninth overall on the Bass Pro Tour, adding to his tour-best trophy count. This one carried special significance, not just because he was able to flip the script and get revenge on Lawrence, but because he grew up traveling to Kentucky Lake to compete in tournaments alongside his father, Curtis, who passed away from cancer in April.  

“I just felt like he was with me all week,” Wheeler said through tears shortly after the victory became official. “It’s the first tournament that I’ve fished on a lake that we fished together, and this one had a lot of meaning to it. Obviously, he was a big part of my life, and I wouldn’t be here without him. I just wanted to win it for him.”

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

1. Jacob Wheeler – 110-13 (46)

2. Jake Lawrence – 78-6 (30)

3. Brent Ehrler – 69-8 (32)

4. Jacob Wall – 62-13 (27)

5. John Hunter – 62-10 (26)

6. Adrian Avena – 53-11 (22)

7. Cole Floyd – 51-11 (18)

8. Spencer Shuffield – 44-11 (16)

9. Andy Montgomery – 35-15 (16)

10. Michael Neal – 29-10 (12)

On paper, Stage 5 will go down looking like vintage Wheeler domination. He blasted more than 95 pounds during the first half of the first day of qualifying, then spent the rest of the day idling and scouting for new schools. He only fished for about a third of Day 2 but caught enough to win the Qualifying Round, earning himself a direct berth to the Championship Round. Sunday, while a north wind slowed the bite for everyone else, he cruised past the 100-pound mark.

Adam Rasmussen Wins 2024 Mercury BASS National Qualifier on Lake Eufaula

Christopher Decker
BASS Press Release

EUFAULA, Ala. — After some anxious moments in the morning hours, Adam Rasmussen caught a limit weighing 18 pounds, 13 ounces Friday to win the Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier at Lake Eufaula presented by Lowrance with a three-day total of 62-5.

Along with the trophy, Rasmussen earned $9,728 and a berth in the 2024 B.A.S.S. Nation Championship.

“Obviously this is what we all strive to do in this sport. We want to win,” he said. “So, you put your head down and work as hard as you can and try to do it every time. There’s a lot of good anglers that fish this and I am humbled to win it on a lake that hasn’t been very nice to me in the past.”

Alabama’s Kenneth Grover II finished second with a three-day total of 51-12 while Brock Belik finished third with 50-15.

Anglers were welcomed to Lake Eufaula by a major rain storm, which dirtied up a lot of the lake at the beginning of the week. Rasmussen made a concerted effort to scan almost the entirety of practice in cleaner water, trying to find as many sweet spots as possible so he didn’t run out of areas to fish in the tournament.

“I looked for as much stuff as I could. I probably laid down 400 icons (on my graph),” said Rasmussen, who notched an Opens victory on Alabama’s Wheeler Lake in 2023. “I always seem to run out of stuff halfway through Day 2. I pretty much had the attitude that I was going to find as much as I possibly could so I didn’t run out. And I didn’t. There’s still more that I didn’t even get to.”

Mrazek makes it happen! Texas pro claims Toyota Series Championship with 7-ounce win on Table Rock

Top Canadians Evan Kung 10th & Erik Luzak 12th!

Bringing a sweet 16 pounds to the scales took Chad Mrazek to his first major win. Photo by Matt Brown.

MLF Press Release 

BRANSON, Mo. – Chad Mrazek backed up his impressive Day 2 bag with a five-bass limit for 16 pounds even on the final day of the Toyota Series Championship Presented by Simms. His Saturday bag was enough to boost his three-day total to 47-2 and earn him the win by 7 ounces over All-American champion Emil Wagner.

The victory represents the first win as a pro for the 23-year-old Texas native. He picked a good time for it. The win is worth $200,000 plus contingencies and a berth in REDCREST 2024. 

Down to the wire

Ideally, Day 3 of the tournament sails by – big fish bite early and often, and the winner ends up back at the dock with a good chunk of time to spare. Of course, that’s usually not the case, and it was certainly not the case for Mrazek, as the Texas pro didn’t have a keeper in the boat until noon.

“I fished drains all day, ‘Scoping them of course, mainly targeting singles, casting at every one I would see,” he said. “In the evening, I was fishing flatter, shallower pockets and creeks. Every school I had that was setting up late in the day, they were only setting up in flatter, shallower drains, and there aren’t a lot in this lake. I pretty much found five of them, and rotated them all day.

“I didn’t have a fish until noon. I was sitting on one until like 1 p.m. Then, I hit the back of this drain with a giant tree. The timber fields will have standing timber, and some that have fallen sideways. This one had a giant fallen tree on it, and I caught a 3 ½-pound spot and a 3-pound smallmouth off it.”

It was part of a hot afternoon that saw Mrazek go from a goose egg to 16 pounds and the win.

This week, the young Texan started out fishing deep with an ice jig and a Damiki rig – basically on the same game as much of the field. Then, he adapted.

“Day 2, I needed to go swing, and the only way I knew how was to fish for smallmouth all day,” he said.

Swinging meant fishing “shallow” in 20 to 37 feet. Targeting main lake pockets and “drains” with a flat contour and timber, Mrazek was able to pick off fish with a jig that were in and around the trees.

TOP 10 BELOW

2022 Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits: Neal Continues to Shine on Cayuga, Wins Automatic Berth in Championship Round

by Tyler Brinks

BASS PRO TOUR PRESS RELEASE

UNION SPRINGS, N.Y. – We’re running out of superlatives to describe the excellent fishing at the Fox Rent A Car Stage Six Presented by Googan Baits. The sheer number of quality bass that Cayuga Lake is kicking out is staggering, and Wednesday’s Knockout Round has the potential to be one of the best ever as anglers from both competition groups appear to have the bite dialed in.

The top eight anglers in Wednesday’s Knockout Round will join Group A winner Justin Lucas and today’s victor Michael Neal, who won Tuesday’s Qualifying Round after tacking on 56 pounds, 8 ounces, bringing his two-day total to 139-11.

Neal and Lucas just finished another battle on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit, with Neal taking home the Angler of the Year title and Lucas finishing second in the race when the season finished up on Lake Champlain. Now, they’ll go another round a few hours away from Champlain. 

This will be one of many intriguing storylines to watch as the event concludes on Thursday. But, there’s still plenty of fun left with the Knockout Round tomorrow set to host the top anglers from each group.

Neal Cruises into Championship Round

As he’s done with regularity lately, Neal will be fishing on the final day. While the results show that he comfortably beat the rest of the group, that wasn’t the whole story. Mark Davis and Alton Jones made big runs and made it close for Neal. But, in the end, Neal won the group by 11-12 over Davis in second.

Carl Jocumsen Wins 2019 BASS Elite on Lake Tenkiller with 54-15lbs!

Canadian Cory Johnston 3rd and 3rd for BASS AYO! 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Molix football jig key to Carl's first BASS win!
(Photo: BASS)

Relentless determination and commitment to his game plan paid off big for Carl Jocumsen, who turned in a catch of 19 pounds, 12 ounces on Championship Sunday and scored a career-defining victory at the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller.

His four-day total weight of 54-15 was worth $100,000 and made a nice birthday gift for the Queensland, Australia angler, who turned 35 Sunday.

Jocumsen said his first Elite win — which is also the first by an Aussie — has been a lifelong dream.

“Since I was four years old, I’ve loved fishing and I’ve dreamed of the day I would do this,” Jocumsen said. “Today is that day. This is a lifetime of work; a lifetime of passion and loving this sport with every ounce of my body.”

Yesterday, after placing third and trailing leader Kyle Monti by 4-8, Jocumsen boldly stated that he believed he was on the fish to win. He predicted he needed five keepers to have a legitimate shot, and he blew away that expectation with a limit of 19-12 that ranked as the tournament’s heaviest single-day catch.

Jocumsen’s winning program stood out from much of the field, in that he committed his tournament to fishing offshore. Relying heavily on his electronics to break down the lake and identify the most promising spots, he targeted six different offshore drop-offs with brush and other cover.

2019 Bassmaster Elite Cayuga Lake Day 3: Jeff Gustafson Maintains Lead with 64-05!

Cory Johnston 6th & Chris Johnston 20th.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Gussy on the verge of his first Elite win, a first for any Canadian.
(Photo: BASS)

As Jeff Gustafson struggled through a difficult Saturday at the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake, he assumed he would probably fall out of the lead.

What he didn’t know is that most of the field was struggling right along with him — and despite catching five bass that weighed only 15 pounds, 4 ounces, he held on to first place with a three-day total of 64-5.

The Canadian pro will now lead the Top 10 remaining anglers into Championship Sunday with a chance to earn his first Bassmaster Elite Series victory and the $100,000 paycheck that goes with it.

“Today went by a lot quicker than the last two days when I had those big bags,” said Gustafson, who started the event with catches of 23-11 and 25-6. “I’m pretty surprised to be in this position. Hopefully I can close the door and catch those big fish again like I did the first two days.”

Despite his Day 3 dropoff, Gustafson has more than a 4-pound lead over second-place angler Chris Zaldain (60-0), who also struggled Saturday bringing in only 14 pounds. Minnesota pro Seth Feider caught just 15-14 and is in third with 58-11.

Gustafson was shocked to still be at the top of the standings.

“I was pretty sure I would have enough to stay in the Top 10,” he said. “But I figured I’d be probably fourth or fifth and playing catchup.

“I figured there would be another parade of 20-pound bags.

2019 Bassmaster Elite Cayuga Lake Day 2: Jeff Gustafson Captures Lead with 49-01!

Cory Johnston 14th & Chris Johnston 31st.
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Gussy in his element out deep.
(Photo: BASS)

Canadian pro Jeff Gustafson came into the SiteOne Bassmaster Elite at Cayuga Lake with modest expectations.

But his confidence has grown with each passing day — and on Friday, it grew by leaps and bounds as Gustafson caught five bass that weighed 25 pounds, 6 ounces and took the lead with a two-day total of 49-1.

His catch of 25-6 is the biggest of the tournament so far.

“It was a dream day — both of the last two days were,” said Gustafson, who lives in Keewatin, Canada. “I was expecting that to happen either day, but now the expectations are pretty high. I’ve seen what’s out there, and it’s pretty impressive.”

While much of the field has been concentrating on shallow grass, Gustafson has focused on small patches of hard bottom offshore. Since this is his first trip to Cayuga, he said he doesn’t know a lot of spots to try.

So, he’s been sticking mainly with one area.

“There’s just not a lot of rock here,” he said. “In practice, I idled for hours and every couple of hours I’d kind of find something.

“When I started the tournament, my plan was to get a limit of largemouth and then go fish for smallmouth. I thought the smallmouth would be my biggest fish, but they disappeared.”

Gustafson has been using an Aqua-Vu underwater camera — and on Friday, he saw a few smallmouth that gave him an extra tinge of hope for the final two days.

“Even though I caught 25 pounds today, it wasn’t as easy as it might have seemed,” he said. “I’m really just catching one here and one there, but they’re the right ones.

“If the smallmouth turn back on, that could really make a big difference for me.”

unnamed.jpgThursday’s leader Chris Zaldain of Fort Worth, Texas, caught another impressive bag of 21-11 and now rests in second place with 46-0.

He said his day could have been much better if it hadn’t been for some early miscues.

“With the way they’re biting, you’ve got to capitalize early,” Zaldain said. “I had some big bites early today and didn’t catch any of them. I missed a bite on a swimbait when the fish just crushed it, and then I broke one off.

“You have to put fish in the boat in that situation.”

Jordan Lee Wins the 2017 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Conroe with 56-10lbs!

Lee conqures Classic!
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

In 2013, Jordan Lee was a member of the Auburn University fishing team.

Today, he's on top of the professional bass fishing world.

The 25-year-old pro from Guntersville, Ala., stayed within striking distance all week at the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK'S Sporting Goods. Then during Sunday's final round at Minute Maid Park, he caught five bass from Lake Conroe that weighed 27 pounds, 4 ounces, pushing his three-day total to a tournament-best 56-10.

Amazing final day makes 25 year old Lee a Classic Champ!
(Photo: BASS)

Lee earned $300,000 and the most coveted trophy in the sport, while Steve Kennedy — a resident of Auburn, Ala. — finished second with 55-1.

"To all of the guys fishing the college tournaments right now, this just says you can do it," Lee said. "It's hard work — and you're going to have a lot of days out here that aren't good.

"On this lake, I wasn't sure there was any way I could do it. But you're never out of it here."