2020 FLW Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournaments Lake Chickamauga Day 3: Wheeler Regains Leads with 72-06lbs!

Wheeler's 25-12lb limit secures lead
by Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Despite culling error and 2lb penalty,
Wheeler still holds 4lb lead
(Photo: FLW)

He may be the best in the sport right now. He’s on his home waters. And he’s got a near 5-pound lead going into the final day after crushing the biggest bag of the tournament, unofficially.

Can anyone catch Jacob Wheeler?

If today is any indication, the only thing that may stop him from winning the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament on Lake Chickamauga is himself. Wheeler caught fish early and often, and he sent a jolt through the live coverage when he cracked a 10-pounder – only to give back two of those pounds due to a penalty for making a cast with six fish in the box. Still, his 25-12 official weight for the day was by far the biggest bag of the day, and his 72-6 overall weight has set him up for his second major victory on Chickamauga.

“Going out there today, I knew I had my work cut out for me,” says Wheeler. “These guys are unbelievable; great fisherman. I knew I needed a big bag, and I was very fortunate to catch that big fish and anchor that bag.”

After watching some giant bags get brought in by Jason Reyes and Cole Floyd on Wednesday, Wheeler mentions that in order for him to make a run at winning this event, he’d have to do the same at least once over the final two days. He didn’t waste much time. 

2020 FLW Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournaments Lake Chickamauga Day 2: Reyes Leads with 49-14lbs!

Canadians Luzek 137th & Sim 195th

by Sean Ostruszka

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Reyes wacks Chick monsters to grab lead.
(Photo: FLW) 

Now this is the Lake Chickamauga we all came to see.

By its own standards, Chickamauga had an off day yesterday, with only five anglers cracking 20 pounds and no one going over 25. Day two of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament was a much different story, as 11 anglers got into the 20s and two cracked 25 pounds (with one of those bags being one lost fish away from being a mega bag over 30).

The big girls were chewing almost all day, as reports of 7- and 8-pounders were constant. Jason Reyes, who now leads after two days, kicked off the parade with a 7-pounder right off the bat. He never let up after that. Reyes’ 27-4 bag was the biggest of the tournament so far and pushed his two-day total to 49-14.

“I caught that 7-pounder early, and then it got crazy towards the end,” says Reyes. “I don’t know what all lives in [my area], but there are definitely some good ones. I’m going to just go back out, keep plinking around and see what happens.”

Coming into the event, conventional wisdom said it was going to be an offshore deal, and it was obvious the vast majority of the 200-plus-angler field bought into that convention. Reyes was among them, at least at first. 

With only three small keepers come 11 a.m. Tuesday, he opted to try up shallow, and the results have spoken for themselves.

“I have three stretches of grass,” says Reyes. “Pepper grass, not hydrilla. In practice, I got bit in there, but I never dreamed ‘that’ was in there. I shook a few off, but that was no big deal. But after the last two days … the winners are there.  It’s just a matter of getting enough of them to bite. And I’m not just plowing them. I have to stay patient, stay slow, trust what I’m doing, and then all of a sudden I’ll catch one that is the right one and it changes the whole day.”

When Reyes says “slow,” he means it. Often, he’s almost dead-sticking a Texas-rigged Yamamoto Senko in bare patches in the grass. No twitching. Not dragging. Just letting it lay there until one “walks off with it.” The way he’s fishing, he says, reminds him of the way many fish in Florida. 

“The bare spots, the outer clumps – it’s exactly like how you would fish at Toho or Okeechobee,” explains Reyes.