Wheeler Notches Unprecedented Fourth BPT AOY in Five Years
Even after all that he’s accomplished while still a month shy of his 35th birthday, with all of the trophies lined up as proof of his excellence, four-time Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year Jacob Wheeler sometimes still has to pinch himself.
“If you’d told me when I was 14 years old, riding my bike to the ramp with 20 dollars in my pocket just to beg someone to let me ride with them in a tournament, that I’d be in the position I’m in today, I wouldn’t have believed you,” he said.
Indeed, his reign of terror on the country’s bass, and the many professionals who try to catch them in big tournaments, still seems otherworldly. He recently earned his fourth Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year trophy in five years. The one year that he missed out he was the runner-up. Of the seven years that the tour has excited, he’s never finished worst than 4th. It’s a run with few comparisons in the history of professional fishing,
Making this one even more special is the fact that he closed it out at Michigan’s Saginaw Bay with his record-setting 10th BPT win. IT was one of two tour wins on the season, complemented by two runner-up finishes and 5th and 6th place finishes.
If it had been the crowning achievement and curtain call of a long career, it would have been magical, but sometimes it seems like the Wheeler is just getting started.
The Path to Upper Level Consistency
Wheeler – who’s also won the All-American and the Forrest Wood Cup – nibbled around the edges of the AOY title several times earlier in his career, but could never seal the deal.
“I was close a bunch of times,” he recalled. “Even when I fished the Elite Series, I was third one year, and the next year I had a DQ and still finished 9th. I was always super-close, but I’d have a couple of tournaments that killed me. I had to learn to try to maximize those events where I was not on the best fish.”
His maturation as an angler encompassed not only learning new techniques and improving upon those where he already excelled, but also taking charge of the mental side of the game.
“I always say that you learn more from your tougher events than from your best ones,” he said. “Over time I’ve learned that there are times when you need to throw a Hail Mary and times when you’ve got to punt. The only way to learn when to do each one is through experience, and the bombs that I’ve experienced in my life have taught me.”
AOY Requires Kicking it Into Another Gear
As Wheeler has progressed, however, there have been fewer and fewer of those bombs to learn from. He’s learned not to focus on the end-of-year titles until they’re within sight, but rather to “win as many tournaments as I can.”
“I’m really a day-to-day kind of guy,” he continued.
Over the course of his trophy-filled career, though, he’s learned when it’s time to make the commitment to winning the whole deal. “About Stage Four is when things get serious,” he said. That’s when the points race is coming into focus, the opportunities to move up or down are substantially limited, and some of the competition is starting to get road-weary.
With two young children, Wheeler seeks to have more balance in his life than he did 10 or even five years ago. Pre-practicing, tournament prep and other obligations all take time, and the decision to go all-in on the pursuit of AOY requires family sacrifice.
“I don’t want to lose time with Olivia and Hudson,” he explained. “I want to be there for them. I don’t want to lose too much of this time. But I also want to show them what hard work can do. It’s a fine line.”
With a good start to the season, his wife Alicia gave him the mid-year push to get the job done. Obviously she’d seen him do it before, and he credits her management skills to keeping the complex train of family life on the tracks.
Digging Deeper into Team Wheeler
Jacob Wheeler would’ve been a dominant tournament angler no matter what. The trophies and checks would’ve still come in droves, but he’s certain it’s no coincidence that the best years of his career to date have come as the Crush City™ lineup has come to life.
“We’ve worked hard to design everything for very specific purposes,” he explained. “I know what each of those lures does in the pool under every condition. That gives me the utmost confidence to know when to pick up one over the other. That’s particularly important when I go to a new body of water. I know that I’m going to get bites. It’s my job to get them in the boat.”
He admitted that it’s hard “to reinvent the wheel,” but the Crush City team, consistent of a large number of equally-valuable members, consistently puts him in the position to be just a little bit better than the competition – the extra edge that makes a difference at any level of the sport, but particularly when it comes to the best of the best.
“That’s the premise of the brand,” he added. “Giving you proven fish catchers that are built to our exacting specifications.”
For anglers who might think that Wheeler is going to rest on his laurels, maybe take a year off, think again.
“I’ve got plenty on the docket,” he laughed, noting that the end of his tour season isn’t really the end of his season. “I’m going to South Africa with Team USA, then I have two Team Series events and the Ultimate Angler championship. We also have a few things coming up at Crush City that I’m really excited about. I have a lot on my plate.”
Despite all the championships, the thing that makes Wheeler exceptional is that he’s more worried about staying great than about celebrating what he’s already done. He’s all gas, no brakes, no sign of slowing down at all.
“As long as I’m having fun, and I can just be excited about the next one, I’m going to keep going,” he explained.
His 14 year-old self wouldn’t have it any other way.