By MFL Communications Staff

Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, caught 16 scorable bass weighing 64 pounds, 9 ounces to earn the win Monday during the Group A Qualifying Round at the MLF Bass Pro Tour event on Lake Fork in Quitman, Texas.

Wheeler’s two-day catch of 30 bass totaling 121 pounds gave him a 47-09 margin over Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who caught a two-day total of 22 bass weighing 74-09 to finish in second place. Keith Poche of Pike Road, Alabama, caught a two-day total of 17 bass weighing 68-05 to finish the round in third, while Jeff Sprague of Wills Point, Texas , ended the round in fourth place with a two-day total of 16 bass for 56-14. Rounding out the Top 5 was Jonathon VanDam, who caught 12 bass for 56-00.

“It feels great to win and advance straight to the Championship Round,” said Wheeler, who will make his ninth Championship Round appearance in the last 11 BPT events. “It’s good to start the season off where we left it last season. Momentum is everything in bass fishing – everything in any sport. Right now, our old buddy ‘Mo’ seems to be looking out for us.”

Like Day 1, Wheeler spent his day throwing various jerkbaits to isolated timber, using his forward-facing sonar to key in on specific targets.

“Realistically, it came down to Jerkbait Fishing 101,” Wheeler said in his post-game interview. “I caught a lot of fish today on a lot of different jerkbaits, but I ended up really focusing on more of the pearl-translucent colored ones. That seemed to be the deal for me today.

“I’m excited to get back out there for the Championship Round,” Wheeler went on to say. “I’m going to regroup and prepare for a cold day on the water on Thursday. There should be some giants caught.”

The top 20 anglers from Group A will now have an off day from competition, while the 40 anglers competing in Group B will complete their two-day Qualifying Round of competition Tuesday. The Knockout Round, featuring 38 anglers competing to finish in the Top 8, will take place Wednesday.

Thursday’s Championship Round will feature Wheeler, Tuesday’s Group B winner and the eight anglers from the Knockout Round competing in a final-day shootout for the top prize of $100,000.

Knoxville, Tennessee’s Brandon Coulter caught a 10-02 bass in Period 3, throwing a bladed swimjig near stumps and timber to earn the day’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award. 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.

Anglers launch each day at 7:30 a.m. from the Oak Ridge Marina, located at 2949 TX-154 in Quitman. Takeouts are held at the Marina beginning at 4:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLF NOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The event features anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. Minimum weights are determined individually for each competition waters that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The MLF NOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee, Marty Stone and J.T. Kenney break down the extended action on each day of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. CT. MLF NOW! 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 -- 56-07 (14) -- 64-09 (16) -- 121-00 (30) -- 8-01

2. Kevin VanDam -- 44-14 (13) -- 29-11 (9) -- 74-09 (22) -- 5-06

3. Keith Poche -- 21-07 (5) -- 46-14 (12) -- 68-05 (17) -- 6-04

4. Jeff Sprague -- 32-02 (8) -- 24-12 (8) -- 56-14 (16) -- 7-00

5. Jonathon VanDam -- 26-01 (5) -- 29-15 (7) -- 56-00 (12) -- 7-00

6. Cole Floyd -- 22-10 (6) -- 33-00 (10) -- 55-10 (16) -- 4-12

7. Zack Birge -- 28-03 (5) -- 26-03 (7) -- 54-06 (12) -- 8-10

8. Ish Monroe -- 48-05 (13) -- 5-05 (2) -- 53-10 (15) -- 3-03

9. James Elam -- 22-01 (6) -- 30-09 (7) -- 52-10 (13) -- 7-05

10. Cliff Crochet -- 25-10 (8) -- 22-04 (7) -- 47-14 (15) -- 5-10

11. Mark Davis -- 33-14 (13) -- 12-10 (4) -- 46-08 (17) -- 4-05

12. Bradley Roy -- 28-14 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 45-12 (10) -- 6-05

13. Andy Montgomery -- 32-03 (8) -- 11-14 (3) -- 44-01 (11) -- 7-02

14. Justin Lucas -- 23-12 (7) -- 16-06 (4) -- 40-02 (11) -- 5-12

15. Randy Howell -- 16-02 (5) -- 23-00 (7) -- 39-02 (12) -- 6-11

16. Jordan Lee -- 20-12 (7) -- 17-08 (5) -- 38-04 (12) -- 5-00

17. Randall Tharp -- 13-07 (5) -- 24-08 (7) -- 37-15 (12) -- 7-10

18. Tommy Biffle -- 13-03 (4) -- 23-10 (7) -- 36-13 (11) -- 5-15

19. Takahiro Omori -- 26-14 (6) -- 8-10 (3) -- 35-08 (9) -- 3-11

20. Britt Myers -- 16-14 (4) -- 17-06 (3) -- 34-04 (7) -- 6-11

The following anglers did not make the cut and will not advance to the Knockout Round

21. Marty Robinson -- 27-11 (8) -- 5-09 (1) -- 33-04 (9) -- 5-09

22. Fletcher Shryock -- 28-06 (8) -- 4-05 (2) -- 32-11 (10) -- 2-04

23. Dylan Hays -- 16-04 (5) -- 16-02 (3) -- 32-06 (8) -- 6-02

24. Brandon Coulter -- 6-08 (2) -- 25-08 (5) -- 32-00 (7) -- 10-02

25. Wesley Strader -- 11-00 (3) -- 18-02 (6) -- 29-02 (9) -- 4-10

26. Matt Lee -- 23-10 (6) -- 5-04 (1) -- 28-14 (7) -- 5-04

27. Shaw Grigsby -- 5-03 (1) -- 23-04 (5) -- 28-07 (6) -- 8-00

28. Anthony Gagliardi -- 20-11 (7) -- 7-09 (2) -- 28-04 (9) -- 4-10

29. Michael Neal -- 16-01 (3) -- 12-01 (4) -- 28-02 (7) -- 5-10

30. Brett Hite -- 5-06 (2) -- 22-12 (4) -- 28-02 (6) -- 8-04

31. Josh Bertrand -- 17-11 (4) -- 9-14 (3) -- 27-09 (7) -- 4-02

32. Brent Chapman -- 23-07 (6) -- 2-00 (1) -- 25-07 (7) -- 2-00

33. Todd Faircloth -- 12-02 (3) -- 9-00 (2) -- 21-02 (5) -- 4-09

34. David Dudley -- 10-03 (3) -- 8-06 (3) -- 18-09 (6) -- 3-14

35. Paul Elias -- 9-02 (2) -- 7-13 (2) -- 16-15 (4) -- 4-04

36. Gerald Spohrer -- 7-07 (3) -- 7-07 (2) -- 14-14 (5) -- 4-00

37. Clabion Johns -- 6-04 (2) -- 5-08 (2) -- 11-12 (4) -- 2-13

38. Jason Lambert -- 0-00 (0) -- 8-14 (3) -- 8-14 (3) -- 4-06

39. Fred Roumbanis -- 6-06 (2) -- 0-00 (0) -- 6-06 (2) -- 0-00

40. Jared Lintner -- 3-02 (1) -- 2-07 (1) -- 5-09 (2) -- 2-07