By MLF Communications Staff
RICHMOND, Va. – Followers of the Bass Pro Tour know Jacob Wheeler’s MO by now. The two-time winner this season wants to catch as much weight as he can during the first day of Qualifying Rounds, then use the second day to explore new water and dial in his pattern in preparation for the Knockout and Championship Rounds.
The Harrison, Tenn. pro has used that strategy to rack up more victories, Angler of the Year (AOY) titles and earnings in BPT competition than any of his peers, and so far at the event on the James River, he’s following the same blueprint. Wheeler, who amassed a big lead over the rest of Group A when he stacked nearly 80 pounds on ScoreTracker on Day 1, added 15 scorable bass for 29-1 Thursday. That brought his total to 107-9 – more than 23 pounds ahead of Zack Birge of Blanchard, Okla.
Behind Wheeler, the weights remained tightly bunched throughout the day, allowing three anglers who started below 10th place to climb above the cut line and secure spots in Saturday’s Knockout Round. The battle to stave off elimination was so close that it took a tiebreaker to determine the final spot in the Top 10, with Andy Montgomery of Blacksburg, S.C. prevailing over Jared Lintner of Covington, Ga. after both totaled 70-10.
The remaining anglers advancing from Group A will now have an off day from competition Friday, while the 39 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round. The Top 10 anglers from each group advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round.
In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round, where weights are again zeroed and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
No surprise, Wheeler’s focus Thursday was less on adding to his weight total and more about learning the nuances of the fishery. However, there was one difference from his typical script. Instead of running new water once he felt he’d amassed enough weight to make the Knockout Round, the tidal nature of the James led him to revisit several of the same spots he fished during practice and Day 1 on a different tide.
“Some places that I really thought looked good and I never got a bite in practice, I had to re-check them during a different tide and make sure, and I caught some fish,” Wheeler said. “It was a really good learning day just to understand what’s going on. It truly does make such an impact what tide you have and where the fish are at. It was definitely a learning experience for the future of understanding tidal fisheries.”
Like many in the field, Wheeler feels like he has a solid grasp of how to generate bites around low tide. The challenge has come when the water is high. Avoiding a high-tide lull will be increasingly important as the event progresses, with high tide scheduled to arrive right around lines in during the Knockout Round and shortly thereafter during the Championship Round.
Thus, Wheeler focused his efforts Thursday on finding spots that could hold groups of fish during high tide. He said he’s had more success with winding baits amid high water, whereas he’s slowing down and targeting “pinpoint locations” when it drops.
“The higher water is definitely a little bit tougher,” he explained. “It's harder to generate a bite. There’s just so much more cover available, and you just spread so many more fish out. That’s why it gets a little bit more difficult with the higher water, and that’s something that I’ll have to figure out — at least shoot par, if you will, on the higher water come Saturday.”
The other unknown that Wheeler and the rest of the Knockout Round field will have to contend with is fishing pressure. With much of the field congregated in and around the Chickahominy River, Wheeler found himself sharing water with more competitors Thursday. It remains to be seen how his spots will hold up to the pressure — and whether there are even more boats in the mix come Saturday.
“I feel good about it; I feel like I can catch some bass,” Wheeler said. “But I just don’t know until you put 10 more boats on that body of water what is going to be available to fish. Plus, local anglers, Saturdays, it gets a little bit more difficult.”
Despite those unknowns, Wheeler is optimistic about his chances of advancing to a sixth Championship Round in eight events this season. Having another day to learn the fishery couldn’t have hurt.
Starting strong typically bodes well for Wheeler’s end result. The Qualifying Round win marks the 10th time he’s won his group during his BPT career, easily the most of any angler. During five of his eight BPT victories, Wheeler led his group after at least one of the two qualifying days.
“I’m hopeful,” he said. “With the conditions and the tides changing, it’s hard to say for sure, but I’m hoping that I added a few more things to my rotation.”
Thanks to its live scoring, the Bass Pro Tour is no stranger to drama around the cut line, but it doesn’t get any closer than Thursday’s scramble to finish among the Top 10. For most of the third period, seven or so anglers grappled for the final two spots. Then, after Skeet Reese of Auburn, Calif. went on a tear that saw him add 22-2 to his total in less than an hour, the bubble shrunk to one spot.
Lintner looked like he would claim the final Knockout Round berth when he caught a 1-12 with 11 minutes before lines out, then followed it up with a 1-8 shortly thereafter. However, Montgomery came through in the clutch, boat-flipping a 1-11 with less than 2 minutes remaining. That fish tied him with Lintner in total weight, and Montgomery won the tiebreaker, which was determined by each angler’s biggest bass of the round. A 4-9 caught by Montgomery during the first period Thursday bested Lintner’s 3-3.
Montgomery, who began the day in 15th place, rocketed up ScoreTracker with 19-7 in the opening period, then did just enough to hold on. Most of his 17 e bass, including the buzzer-beater, ate a Strike King Thunder Cricket.
“They bit the Thunder Cricket today,” Montgomery said. “That was the difference. I was able to lay it in my hand and roll with it.
“I may take the Thunder Cricket for ice cream tonight. I’m getting ice cream; I may take the Thunder Cricket with me.”
Bobby Lane of Lakeland, Fla. earned Thursday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award with a 6-pound largemouth that he caught on a dropshot rig during Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and a $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.
Wheeler isn’t making things easy for his pursuers in the Angler of the Year race. The two-time AOY winner arrived at the James River with a 14-point cushion over Alton Jones Jr. of Waco, Texas, meaning as long as he finishes in the Top 14 of the Knockout Round, he’s guaranteed to hold the lead entering the final event of the season on the St. Lawrence River. Oh by the way, the last time the BPT visited the St. Lawrence, Wheeler won.
Jones and Dustin Connell of Clanton, Alabama, who sits third in the points, will try to join Wheeler in the Knockout Round when Group B returns to the water Friday.
Anglers launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from Osborne Landing, located at 9530 Osborne Turnpike in Richmond. Due to long boat runs, tides and high temperatures, MLF has enacted the Trailering Policy for the entirety of the event, meaning pros can trailer their boats and drive them to any ramp on the fishery closer to where they plan to start fishing. Pros taking advantage of the trailering policy will leave Osborne Landing at 6:45 a.m. ET daily and will begin fishing at 8 a.m. with the full field.
Takeouts are held at the landing, beginning at 4 p.m.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action live from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.
Group A Qualifying Round – Day 2
(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)
1. Jacob Wheeler -- 78-08 (33) -- 29-01 (15) -- 107-09 (48) -- 2-10
2. Zack Birge -- 39-06 (15) -- 45-01 (19) -- 84-07 (34) -- 5-10
3. Skeet Reese -- 47-09 (21) -- 36-09 (14) -- 84-02 (35) -- 3-08
4. Bobby Lane -- 45-00 (20) -- 38-06 (17) -- 83-06 (37) -- 6-00
5. Michael Neal -- 46-06 (21) -- 36-07 (17) -- 82-13 (38) -- 3-11
6. Jeff Sprague -- 41-09 (21) -- 40-11 (15) -- 82-04 (36) -- 5-07
7. Edwin Evers -- 40-04 (20) -- 41-02 (19) -- 81-06 (39) -- 4-06
8. Gerald Spohrer -- 47-00 (21) -- 32-15 (15) -- 79-15 (36) -- 3-12
9. Andy Morgan -- 47-05 (21) -- 29-06 (11) -- 76-11 (32) -- 5-01
10. Andy Montgomery -- 33-05 (14) -- 37-05 (17) -- 70-10 (31) -- 4-09
The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round
11. Jared Lintner -- 31-01 (15) -- 39-09 (21) -- 70-10 (36) -- 3-00
12. Justin Cooper -- 45-03 (22) -- 23-02 (9) -- 68-05 (31) -- 4-00
13. Drew Gill -- 28-08 (14) -- 39-07 (16) -- 67-15 (30) -- 3-12
14. Adrian Avena -- 37-00 (18) -- 28-04 (14) -- 65-04 (32) -- 2-11
15. Matt Becker -- 43-10 (20) -- 20-12 (10) -- 64-06 (30) -- 4-04
16. Marshall Robinson -- 33-01 (14) -- 31-03 (14) -- 64-04 (28) -- 5-12
17. Brent Chapman -- 15-13 (9) -- 47-12 (21) -- 63-09 (30) -- 4-06
18. Ott DeFoe -- 34-10 (17) -- 28-10 (13) -- 63-04 (30) -- 3-01
19. Grae Buck -- 28-08 (13) -- 23-02 (12) -- 51-10 (25) -- 2-14
20. Keith Poche -- 40-06 (15) -- 10-13 (5) -- 51-03 (20) -- 3-15
21. Brandon Coulter -- 18-11 (9) -- 31-07 (11) -- 50-02 (20) -- 4-11
22. Britt Myers -- 25-11 (11) -- 24-01 (10) -- 49-12 (21) -- 3-10
23. Cliff Crochet -- 30-09 (13) -- 18-10 (10) -- 49-03 (23) -- 2-13
24. Takahiro Omori -- 24-07 (11) -- 23-03 (10) -- 47-10 (21) -- 3-09
25. Todd Faircloth -- 29-07 (13) -- 17-15 (9) -- 47-06 (22) -- 3-09
26. Casey Ashley -- 15-15 (9) -- 28-10 (12) -- 44-09 (21) -- 5-06
27. Shin Fukae -- 26-04 (13) -- 17-13 (8) -- 44-01 (21) -- 5-10
28. Alton Jones -- 16-07 (8) -- 25-03 (13) -- 41-10 (21) -- 2-11
29. Ryan Salzman -- 20-02 (9) -- 20-07 (9) -- 40-09 (18) -- 3-08
30. Dean Rojas -- 23-02 (11) -- 15-10 (7) -- 38-12 (18) -- 3-03
31. Cole Floyd -- 17-03 (7) -- 21-08 (9) -- 38-11 (16) -- 4-04
32. Kelly Jordon -- 16-11 (9) -- 21-15 (11) -- 38-10 (20) -- 3-09
33. Jacopo Gallelli -- 18-06 (10) -- 20-00 (9) -- 38-06 (19) -- 3-03
34. Josh Bertrand -- 19-13 (8) -- 14-06 (8) -- 34-03 (16) -- 2-02
35. Keith Carson -- 22-02 (8) -- 9-01 (4) -- 31-03 (12) -- 3-13
36. Ron Nelson -- 14-00 (6) -- 15-12 (6) -- 29-12 (12) -- 4-12
37. David Walker -- 19-08 (9) -- 8-15 (5) -- 28-07 (14) -- 2-03
38. Matt Lee -- 19-04 (9) -- 9-01 (4) -- 28-05 (13) -- 2-09
39. Fletcher Shryock -- 12-14 (6) -- 11-11 (6) -- 24-09 (12) -- 2-11
