Rapala Pros Contribute Mightily to Team USA Gold Medal Effort
Team USA entered the 2025 Black Bass World Championships on South Africa’s Arabie Dam with a chip on their shoulder. Not only did they fall short of the Italian team at Lake Bolsena, Italy last year, but by finishing 4th they’d failed to even medal. And things weren’t looking much better this time around. After two days of competition, the Italian team led once again.
Fortunately, when you have anglers like 2019 Classic champ Ott DeFoe, 2023 Elite Series AOY Kyle Welcher, and four-time BPT AOY Jacob Wheeler on a team captained by Hall of Famer Kevin VanDam, few obstacles cannot be overcome.
The US stormed back on Day Three to overcome a hefty deficit. The three teams within the team finished 1st, 3rd and 9th that day and won by 12 “penalties,” the measuring stick in these international events. DeFoe and partner Drew Gill went “double gold” and Wheeler and Welcher were third.
Just Like Being at Home
None of the three Rapala pros on the US team had previously been to South Africa, or even to the southern hemisphere. Indeed, Welcher had fished lakes bordering Mexico and Canada, but hadn’t been outside of North America or obtained a passport until he went to Japan last offseason.
Nevertheless, given their extensive credentials, no one could be surprised that they adapted quickly to a new body of water. When asked individually what Arabie reminded them of, all three offered up a variation on a single theme: Texas.
“It had standing timber and different kinds of rock,” Welcher said. “But it was small, maybe 15 to 17 miles long. With six pros in three boats, talking each night, we broke it down pretty quickly and figured out which zones to concentrate on.”
Indeed, that was the key to putting together the puzzle. The lake had lots of fish, but it took consistency with slightly better quality specimens to stay near the top and then pounce when kickers occasionally showed up.
“They were three one-day events and to win everybody had to catch them every day,” Wheeler explained. “Our strategy was to get 14 to 16 pounds a day. There were quite a few 5- to 8-pounders swimming around, but it was very random when you got that bite. The important thing was to catch those 2 ½ to 3-poudners. That meant casting into a group of 20 and getting the biggest fish to bite, and using lures like a bigger Jowler or a bigger Freeloader to separate yourself.”
Reversal of Seasons
While the lake resonated with the American pros, they had to go back to the future to get in the right mindset. That’s because the seasons are the opposite of those in North America, and the bass were in and around all stages of the spawn.
“The right areas were the biggest part of it,” Wheeler said. “But in a pre-spawn or spawning event you have to learn a little bit more about the fishery each day and where they’re heading.”
While the lake wasn’t big, it is used for irrigation and is therefore subject to major swings in water levels. “It’s usually either rising very quickly or slowly going down,” DeFoe said. It had recently been quite high, but had recently come down to just about full pool. While there was a river section, the American team found the most consistency and success in the lower section of the impoundment.
“Some were bed fish and some were fry guarders, as well as some cruisers,” DeFoe explained. “And we caught some out of trees, as well. We used some forward facing sonar, but being in the right section of the lake and keeping the trolling motor in the water was the most important thing.”
Getting it Done with Quality
While consistency was the American teams’ hallmark, big fish made a difference. On Day Three, DeFoe and Gill had a 7 ¼ pound bass in their 22.07 pound bag. Similarly, the Wheeler/Welcher team had a 6 ½. There were other quality fish that were critical as well.
“We were throwing the big Freeloader on a pre-spawn place and skipping a Pigstick around a lot and I’ll always remember one particularly clutch fish on Day Two,” Welcher said. “There was an almost 4-pounder guarding fry on a stump. Jacob pitched in a dropshot with a Janitor and it stole his worm. Then I hooked it and had it almost back to the boat and lost it. We went back later and I caught that same fish on a CrushCity® Janitor. That saved us on Day Two and gave us an opportunity to make a run on Day Three.
Wheeler noted that their ability to bounce in and out – devoting a portion of everyday to the larger females that were still “a step behind” – kept them fluid and ready for changing conditions. And using bigger tools, not just a jig, but also the upsized version of the Freeloader that he’d had a major hand in designing, kept the focus on winning rather than just a return to the podium.
A True World Championship
All three Rapala pros who competed in South Africa have major hardware on their mantels, and all of them have competed in tournaments that have or could be referred to as a “world championship,” but this one hit differently. Yes, the Americans have the greatest tournament network infrastructure, and it’s where the sport was invented, but the rest of the world is equally obsessed and catching up rapidly.
“Based on what happened last time, I made sure that the whole team knew that we couldn’t take gold for granted,” Wheeler said.
“There was no money involved, but this was a bright light of my career because it gave us a chance to push the sport and elevate the sport,” Wheeler concluded. “We take for granted everything we have here in the United States, including access to so many great lakes. Some of those guys in Germany have to go 12 hours just to fish for bass. To see the passion from all over, and to understand how much they al loved the sport made it an eye-opening event. To win gold is unbelievable, especially coming from behind and fishing with one of my good friends, but this was much bigger than that.”