Wheeler Rallies In 3rd To Reach Finals

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Jacob Wheeler was faced with an 11-pound deficit when the final period of the Group B Knockout Round at the REDCREST Championship got under way on Oklahoma's Grand Lake. The margin wasn't big enough to keep him from advancing to the final day and a chance to pocket $300,000.

The No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings caught five scorable fish (2 pounds or heavier) over the final 2 1/2 hours to conclude the round in 5th place among the 10-angler field. In doing so, he became one of the 10 competitors who'll fish in a one-day shootout on Sunday to determine the winner.

Wheeler had registered just two fish for less than 7 pounds before the last-period rally with a jerkbait that's ensured the reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year (AOY) his eighth consecutive Top-10 finish dating back to last year. His final fish was a 5-11 bruiser that put him among the Top 5.

"I never felt like I was done because you always have to have that confidence, but I was definitely concerned," he said. "I knew I had to run new water and I went to the place where I started the day and didn't catch anything, and I caught a 3-13. Then I cycled through some more water and never caught anything.

"I started cycling through water and wasn't catching anything, then with an hour and 20 minutes to go I went to a place I'd marked in practice and (good friend and fellow Championship Round qualifier Dustin Connell) was in there, so I rolled out and started running other stuff. It was nothing, nothing, and then I finally caught another one. When I caught the big one, I was like, "Okay, I just got inside the cut."

Jordan Lee, the 2020 AOY, won the round with 33-02 on 11 fish. Red-hot Michael Neal was 2nd with 31-09 (12 fish), followed by Connell with 31-05 (10), Bobby Lane with 27-13 (9) and Wheeler. Mark Davis, who at one time had an 11-pound edge over Wheeler, was first out of the cut with 21-02 (8).

The quintet who advanced will be joined by Group A qualifiers Luke Clausen, Andy Montgomery, Edwin Evers (the 2019 AOY and REDCREST champion), Bryan Thrift and Zack Birge in the Championship Round.

Like Wheeler, Lee also relied on a jerkbait (a Berkley Stunna), as he has throughout the event.

"That's been my main player and I've been changing up the colors to see if I could get a bite on one," he said. "I didn't really lay off the fish today and I fished several places multiple times.

"The (prespawn) fish are moving up and moving around and changing a little bit and there will likely be some more move up. From what I saw, probably the best I could do tomorrow would be the mid 30s to 40 pounds if everything stays the same."

Neal, who won the final BPT event of 2021 and the first MLF Pro Circuit tournament of this year, has designs on catching more weight than that.

"I feel like I can catch 50 (pounds), and if I can, then someone else can too," he said.

He caught one fish in the Knockout Round on a jerkbait, with the other 11 enticed by a Damiki rig.

"The winning fish are there – it's just a matter of whether they'll cooperate. Most of them are just out there roaming and chasing bait. There's loons and seagulls too – nobody's going hungry in there."

Connell employed a variety of jerkbaits in the Knockout Round, including a Googan Squad Scout.

"The bigger fish are coming from the main lake, but I'm catching some in the creeks, too," he said. "The creeks are starting to happen (as fish move up to spawn) and as long as the wind's not blowing 25 miles an hour, I think I can catch them. I found a lot of different areas today."

Lane has relied on a Berkley Frittside crankbait in the HD brown craw color. He backed off his fish fairly early in the third period.

"I caught them really quick at the end of the second period and the beginning of the third," he said. "I just went fishing, but I didn't go far because I wanted to stay where I needed to be if I ended up having to catch another one.

"Wheeler was making his run and I couldn't be totally sure that I wasn't going to get eliminated. He made us continue to fish."

Davis was inside the cut line until Wheeler got hot. He caught his fish on a swing-head jig with a 3-inch Strike King Rodent.

"I caught a lot of fish, but I didn't catch enough keepers," he lamented. "I felt like I did all I could do."

Group B Knockout Round

(Figure at far right indicates weight of angler's heaviest fish for the day)

1. Jordan Lee -- 33-02 (11) -- 3-15

2. Michael Neal -- 31-09 (12) -- 3-14

3. Dustin Connell -- 31-05 (10) -- 3-12

4. Bobby Lane -- 27-13 (9) -- 4-01

5. Jacob Wheeler -- 26-11 (7) -- 5-11

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

6. Mark Davis -- 21-02 (8) -- 3-08

7. Casey Ashley -- 5-13 (2) -- 3-06

8. Greg Vinson -- 4-09 (2) -- 2-08

9. Scott Suggs -- 4-02 (1) -- 4-02

10. Brandon Coulter -- 0-00 (0) -- 0-00