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

Kyle Welcher Wins 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/ Albemarle Sound!

Welcher puts finishing touches on dominating victory at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound

Alabama's Kyle Welcher goes wire-to-wire to win the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound in Elizabeth City, N.C., with a weight of 118-12. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS Press Release

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —   Kyle Welcher loves fishing rivers. After the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound, it is easy to see why.

With a stunning four-day total of 118 pounds, 12 ounces, Welcher claimed the first title of his Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series career, earning a coveted blue trophy and the $100,000 first-place prize. The 2023 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year opened the tournament with a bang, landing 30-11 to take the Day 1 lead, which he never relinquished. 

 

He backed it up with 30-3 on Day 2 and 34-0 on Day 3, the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament, and capped off the week with a 23-14 limit, anchored by a 7-3 largemouth. 

 

“I didn’t think I would get a Century Belt, for sure,” Welcher said. “When I heard we were coming here, I was excited. I feel comfortable in rivers and was really excited to go to one without a lot of history. But when I saw the forecast about 10 days away from practice, that kind of took the wind out of my sails. (I didn’t think) it was going to set up for the way I like to fish. 

 

“It ended up falling right into my wheelhouse in a way I’m super comfortable fishing.”

Ryan Armstrong Wins 2025 Stop 1 Presented by Vosker on the Kissimmee Chain

Armstrong holds on for wire-to-wire win at Kissimmee Chain

By Jody White, Invitationals Press Release

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The 2025 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals opener was a wild ride from start to finish. Up and down the Top 10, young guns and veterans alike caught big ones all kinds of ways, and the results showed off the best of a really talented group.

This Invitationals season appears to have picked up where 2024 left off. One thing remained steady throughout the event, and it was Ryan Armstrong at the top of the leaderboard. After blasting 29 pounds, 12 ounces to take the lead in Stop 1 Presented by VOSKER on the Kissimmee Chain, the Illinois pro backed it up again and again, only ever looking shaky late in the mornings before his afternoon bite picked up.

On Day 3,  Armstrong weathered the morning, snatched up 16-1 in the afternoon and totaled up 68-6 for the win and an $80,000 paycheck. 

Finishing second, Drew Gill weighed an even 62 pounds on the week. In third, rookie Banks Shaw got his year started off on the right foot with 61-10, and in fourth, bolstered by 28-5 on Day 2, Joshua Weaver earned another Florida Top 10 with 61-3.

The next Invitationals event is Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Lake Hartwell, March 14-16. Armstrong has the early lead for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, and Shaw leads the way in points for Polaris Rookie of the Year.

Armstrong keeps it simple for the win

“Fancy” has not been the way to win tournaments in Florida lately. Last week, Robert Branagh basically did one thing to win at Okeechobee, and Bobby Lane didn’t have to get very creative for his win on the Harris Chain. This week, Armstrong continued the trend, locking big line and a big stick in hand and picking apart one area day after day, flip after flip.

2022 Bassmaster Elite Series Event On Mississippi River Day 3: Chris Johnston Continues Lead!

Canadians Gustafson 26th & Cory Johnston 52th.

Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Ontario, is leading after Day 3 of the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River with a three-day total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

LA CROSSE, Wis. — Chris Johnston believed in his sweet spot enough to give it a second chance, and that call paid off in a big way, as the pro from Otonabee, Ontario, tallied a three-day total of 48 pounds, 10 ounces and maintained the lead on Day 3 of the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River.

 

After tying for fourth place on Day 1 with a limit of 16-4, Johnston added 15-10 on Day 2 and took over the top spot. He entered Semifinal Sunday 2 ounces ahead of Texan Keith Combs — and with a third-round limit of 16-12, Johnston now heads into Championship Monday with an advantage of 1-13 over Combs.

 

“I ran to a spot that I’d fished in the morning, but I never got a bite because it was raining,” Johnston said. “There was a lot of bait in the area, and I think the rain had the bait all pushed down to the bottom and the fish weren’t active.

 

“I stopped there again with about 15 minutes to go because I know there’s a lot of fish in there. It’s just hard to get them to bite.”

 

Johnston said he usually has to see fish blowing up (surface feeding) in the spot’s matted grass, but his first cast drew a bite. He missed that fish, but five casts later he caught a 3 1/4-pound largemouth a little before 2:30 p.m.

 

“It was hard because the wind was blowing in, but they were in these little pockets,” Johnston said. “The wind had my frog kind of going across sideways, but that (3 1/4-pounder) grabbed a hold of it and that was huge.”

 

Johnston’s key spot comprised a break in the vegetation with sand next to a current edge. The week’s rainfall has raised the water level, and Johnston said that has expanded the spot’s opportunity.

 

Drew Cook Wins 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite on Santee Cooper Lakes with 105-05lbs!

Canadian: Cory Johnston 5th

Drew Cook of Cairo, Ga., has won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes with a four-day total of 105 pounds, 5 ounces. ( Photo: BASS)

BASS Press Release 

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — Before the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes began, Drew Cook had never led a single round of an Elite Series event.

 

Apparently, he was just saving up for the best event of his career.

 

The Cairo, Ga., pro grabbed the lead on Day 1 of the tournament with an astounding catch of 31-13 and then never relinquished the first-place spot, as bags of 24-12, 24-3 and 24-9 pushed him to a four-day total of 105-5. He earned one of the blue trophies that every pro covets, a $100,000 paycheck and a Century Belt for catching more than 100 pounds.

 

Cook and second-place pro Caleb Kuphall (103-1) became the 33rd and 34th different anglers to reach Century Club status — and Lakes Marion and Moultrie have now produced eight Century Belts, the second-most in Elite Series history, with only Falcon Lake in Texas producing more (15).

 

“I completely forgot about the Century Belt. That’s cool,” Cook said. “It was a perfect storm this week. I had a blast. I did really well keeping my composure. There were a couple of times this week the wheels could have fallen off. I acted like I had been there before and it all worked out.”

 

Cook spent his entire week doing what he loves best, sight fishing for spawning largemouth using a Big Bite Baits Fighting Frog.

 

“That is what is so awesome about it,” he said. “All my friends joked with me and said I was going to win my first tournament either at a place like the Sabine or with a spinning rod smallmouth fishing.

 

“To be able to win my first one wire-to-wire with my favorite rod doing my absolute favorite things, it is a blessing.”

 

Spending his time in the Potato Creek region of Lake Marion, Cook caught the majority of his weight in lily pad fields that were located next to deep water.

 

In practice, the female bass he found had not locked onto beds. But come tournament time, they settled close to the only male he found on bed.

2022 AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River Day 3: John Crews Maintains Lead into Finals!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 17th & Chris Johnston 35th 

John Crews of Salem, Va., is leading after Day 2 of the 2022 AFTCO Bassmaster 

Elite at St. Johns River with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 3 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

PALATKA, Fla. — You can’t win a Bassmaster Elite event with one fish, but a single bite transformed John Crews’ day and kept the veteran from Salem, Va., in the lead on Day 3 of the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River with a three-day total of 58 pounds, 3 ounces.

 

Crews opened the event with a Thursday limit of 28 pounds and held on to the lead on Friday with a limit of 17-3. He added a 13-pound limit Saturday — anchored by a crucial 6-pounder — and overcame a slow morning to head into Championship Sunday with a lead of just 3-1 over hard-charging John Cox of DeBary, Fla.

 

Breaking his pattern of starting in Rodman Reservoir, Crews spent his first hour fishing the main river, where he caught a small keeper on a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a Missile Baits D Bomb in the bruiser (black/blue) color. Transitioning to the reservoir, he spent two unproductive hours before making a key transition.

 

“I fished the areas where I caught my fish the first day and I never had a bite,” Crews said. “I told my cameraman ‘We need to make a change, I’m going to go shallow. I think I can catch some small fish, fill out a limit and see what happens.’

 

“I made a run and when I set the boat down, I looked over and saw a clump of pads. The first flip was that 6-pounder. I pitched in there and when I reeled up, my line was zipping on out to the main channel.”

 

2021 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers on the Potomac River Day 2: Hibdon Continues Lead!

Canadian Erik Luzak 109th

Another generation of the Hibdon clan using a jig to claim the
lead for a second day. (Photo: MLF) 

Kyle Wood

TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT 

Press Release 

Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by Bad Boy Mowers on the Potomac River was tougher for some, but not for leader Lawson Hibdon, who bested his Thursday weight and added another 17 pounds, 8 ounces to his total to bring himto 34-8 after two days. Extending his lead to more than 2 pounds, Hibdon is looking to keep on pace for a win in his rookie season, though it won’t be an easy road as some certified hammers sit in the rearview waiting to strike.

Still, Lawson has proven to be one of the most consistent pros in the field, though he says his Day 2 looks better on paper than it actually was.

“It started off a lot slower than I was hoping,” Hibdon said. “I really thought that I was going to be able to pull up to a stretch of docks and catch about 12 pounds in the first 30 minutes and I didn’t.

“It was a lot tougher day today, and it doesn’t look like it, but it was. I only caught eight or nine keepers and had about 15 bites but they were just missing it and it was a weird day.”

With years of experience on Ozark fisheries, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Hibdon has been catching fish off docks. What may come as a surprise is the fact he’s leaning on grass as well and doing a good job of it.

“It’s probably a 50-50 split,” he said of his grass and hard-cover pattern. “Some of the bigger ones I’ve caught have been around docks, rocks and basically anything that looks right. I’m just going until I see something that looks right, but about half of ‘em have been out of the grass too.”

2021 Bassmaster Elite Lake Guntersville Day 3: Caleb Kuphall Extends Big Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 3rd, Cory Johnston 11th & Gustafson 73rd

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Pitching grass and mats key to massive 11lb lead
for Kuphall. (Photo: BASS)

Knowing when to shift gears rewarded Caleb Kuphall with a five-bass limit of 23 pounds, 9 ounces, which helped him extend his lead in the Berkley Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with a three-day total weight of 66 pounds, 13 ounces.

 

Holding the top spot since Day 1, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., set the pace with a first-round limit of 27-10 — the tournament’s biggest bag — and followed with 15-10. After the first two days found Kuphall with leads of 6-7 and 4-9, he enters Championship Sunday 11 1/2 pounds ahead of Alabama pro Wes Logan.

 

“The more the better,” Kuphall said of his numerical advantage. “If you’re going to lead, you might as well lead big, I guess. I don’t know; I’ve never been in this position before.

 

“It feels great to be in the lead, but I’m going to be nervous tonight.”

 

As he has done the past two days, Kuphall began on a large milfoil bed close to takeoff. The area yielded much of his weight on Days 1 and 2, but intense fishing pressure — from him and other anglers — has steadily decreased the area’s productivity.

 

Kuphall had been Texas-rigging a Zoom Z Hog in the California 420 color on a 4/0 extra-wide gap hook with a 3/4-ounce tungsten weight, but today he switched to a 1-ounce Dirty Jigs No Jack Punchin’ Jig with a forktail trailer.

 

“I was just trying to show them something different,” Kuphall said of his bait change. “They started taking my (Texas rig) really lightly and I was missing a couple.

 

“Generally, with that jig, if they get it, you’re gonna get them. It’s just a better hookup percentage.”

 

Around 9 a.m., Kuphall had four fish for approximately 10 1/2 pounds, so he pulled the plug and relocated to his secondary spot — a large milfoil bed near the B.B. Comer Bridge (State Route 35). Expansive cover with lots of sunfish and big gizzard shad presented a promising scenario.

 

Within 30 minutes of arriving, Kuphall experienced a flurry that started with a 6-pounder and followed with two in the 4-pound class. Adding two more quality fish later in the day, Kuphall culled all the fish he’d caught on his starting spot.

 

“I knew the big fish were there,” he said. “I just got on a good stretch and conditions were just right today.

 

“The sun was positioning the fish in those mats and the wind was so light it wasn’t affecting my ability to fish the mats. Everything just set up perfectly to go in there and do damage.”

 

On Day 2, Kuphall found the stronger wind was compacting the mats and making presentations more difficult. Also, he had to use higher trolling motor power, which likely spooked the fish. Today’s conditions allowed him to leisurely work isolated grass clumps on the mat’s perimeter.

 

“I was looking for the thickest stuff available; the thicker the better,” Kuphall said. “You’d flip in there and they’d destroy the bait as soon as it gets through.

 

“I was using a Z Hog with an ounce weight. I try to go as light as possible because I miss a lot of fish if you go too heavy on the weight.”

 

Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Kuphall said he’ll give his first spot a chance to produce, but unless he finds a big bite, he’ll transition to his spot near the B.B. Comer Bridge much earlier.

 

“By the way my first area’s going, I’m thinking I’m going to spend a lot of time in (the second spot) tomorrow,” he said.

 

Hailing from Springville, Ala., Logan bolstered his first two limits of 14-1 and 20-12 with a third-round bag of 20-8 and tallied 55-5. Fresh off his win at the Whataburger Bassmaster Elite at Neely Henry Lake, Logan caught all of his bass by flipping milfoil mats in the same general area where Kuphall spent most of his day.

 

2021 Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River Day 1: Brock Mosley Sacks 15-10lbs for Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 21st, Cory Johnston 35th & Gustafson 79th

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Mosley tops the field where ounces count. 
(Photo: BASS)

A last-minute decision to run two hours to the Houston area rewarded Brock Mosley with a five-fish limit of 15 pounds, 10 ounces, which leads Day 1 of the 2021 Dovetail Games Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River sponsored by Bassmaster Fishing 2022 – the official video game of B.A.S.S.

 

Familiar with the potential of the tournament’s western boundary, Mosley, who hails from Collinsville, Miss., ran the Intracoastal Waterway, crossed Galveston Bay and settled into a narrow waterway on Houston’s east side. While he was pleased with his decision, he admitted he made the commitment shortly before takeoff.

 

“I was one of the last boats to check out (Boat 97), so I knew all the spots around Orange would be covered up,” Mosley said. “I spent three days of practice trying to talk myself out of making that run, but this morning, I decided to go.

 

“Also, I knew the wind wasn’t going to blow today, but it’s supposed to blow tomorrow and I know I can’t go back tomorrow. It’s going to be 20- to 30-mph winds and there’s no way.”

 

Refueling near his starting spot allowed Mosley to fish uninterrupted until making the 100-plus-mile ride back to weigh-in. Targeting a mix of docks, seawalls, cypress trees, shade and current breaks, Mosley said he saw evidence of recent spawning.

 

“I saw a lot of fry (recently hatched bass); I don’t know if those fish were guarding fry or what they were doing, but they were biting,” he said. “I don’t know if they even get fished very often.”

 

Mosley caught his fish on a 1/2-ounce chartreuse/white Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer.

 

“There are other ways to catch them, but that’s the way I like to catch them because I can fish so fast,” Mosley said. “I know guys like to slow down and flip, but in tough tournaments, I like to cover as much water as I can.”

 

Mosley said his day exceeded his expectations, both in terms of quality and quantity.

 

“I had no idea I was going to catch that kind of weight today,” he said. “I went over there hoping to catch 9 or 10 pounds and I got a 5 1/2-pound kicker. It took me 20 minutes to catch a limit when I got there.

 

“It’s a long ride and it’s hard on you; it’s a lot of wear and tear. It just paid off today.”