Wheeler Seals the Deal on 10th BPT Win at Saginaw Bay
“Sometimes I think that I hate losing more than I love winning,” said Jacob Wheeler, shortly after winning his record tenth Bass Pro Tour event this past week at Michigan’s Saginaw Bay. “I know it’s a cliché, but what really matters to me the most if figuring out the puzzle. I want to put the pieces together better than anyone else.”
He seems to have a good claim to that accolade. Indeed, the Saginaw Bay victory was his second win of the tour season and his second in the last three events. He only finished worse than 6th on one occasion in seven events.
That’s the type of puzzle-solving excellence that wins Angler of the Year titles – and with this win he clinched his fourth in the past five years. It’s not just that he wins that makes it so impressive, but also the extensive planning and surgical precision that guide his every move. Here’s what went down in Michigan:
Two Species Plan Keeps Options Open
Heading into Saginaw Bay, on the heels of a tough Potomac River event, Wheeler knew that he needed to finish 27th or better to guarantee himself the AOY title. He employed a two-pronged process that he hoped would ensure that position early so that he could focus on a top finish in the tournament sooner rather than later.
He practiced one day on smallmouth and was confident he’d found enough of them to be dangerous and maintain his options he spent the next day chasing shallow largemouth.
“Day One went exactly as planned,” he said. “I started off with 52 pounds on a Crush City Salted Ned Roll. Then in the next period I could change gears and go for largemouth. It was an hour run, but I caught 30 pounds and felt like I was in position to make a charge the next day.”
His two populations of fish were far away, so that left him with a choice of which way to go the next competition day. With the AOY title effectively secured, he turned his attention to the goal at hand: “My mind completely changed to winning the tournament, and that basically eliminated the smallmouths.” The smallmouth bite was getting tougher and even though the largemouth bite was holding steady, he was splitting fish with other competitors. When Todd Faircloth took a 17 pound lead after the first period on Sunday morning, Wheeler thought about hedging his bets – he added four smallmouth rods to the four largemouth sticks on his decks. Then, as his mind spun, he relocated the frog fish, and caught 13 scorable bass that totaled 33-12.
“I kept pace with Todd,” he said. “I have the utmost respect for him as pro. He’s a veteran and he’s going to catch them, but I still had fish left in my area.” Indeed, he was seeing wolfpacks of four to six largemouths running through the reeds, and he knew if he could rest them for a while, they’d likely push him over the top. He let the area settle down, went back, and Power Poled down – he quickly had 10 blowups and caught six of them. He had saved the best for last, and outpaced Faircloth by nearly 8 pounds, and the next angler in line by over 23.
Tackle Notes
Smallmouth bait: Crush City™ Salted Ned Roll™ (Coming Soon) on a dropshot (Goby and Green Pumpkin the most); ½ ounce VMC® teardrop tungsten weight; #2 VMC Redline Series® Finesse Neko hook; 10# Sufix® Revolve® Braid (Neon Lime); 10 lb. Sufix® Advance® Fluorocarbon leader.
For pitching to largemouths in holes in the grass: Crush City Pig Stick (Green Pumpkin Blue, Green Pumpkin Magic), 1/0 VMC RedLine Weedless Wacky Neko Hook; 10# Sufix Revolve Braid (Neon Lime); 10 lb. Sufix Advance Fluorocarbon leader.
Flipping bait: Crush City Bronco Bug (Green Pumpkin Blue); 5/8 ounce VMC flipping weight; 4/0 VMC RedLine Heavy Duty Flippin Hook; 50 lb. Sufix 131 G-Core Braided Line. “That 50-pound 131 is the absolute best flipping braid you can use. It’s so soft and supple and completely underrated.”
Bluegill-colored frog: 50 lb. Sufix 832 braid. “I’m a big fan of that line. I know some guys use 65, but that 50 handles better and casts a lot further and it’s still extremely strong.”
Format Mastery
While Wheeler doesn’t have many – or any – holes in his game, he believes that he’s only gotten stronger as he’s gained more experience with the Bass Pro Tour format.
“Every round is its own little tournament, going all the way down to Championship Sunday, when everything goes back to zero,” he said. “You have to constantly adjust and formulate your game plan.”
He’s fishing against some of the best anglers in the world. They all know that to be the case, and every one of them is capable of winning when the time is right, but the ten-time champ seems to have that extra gear to make it happen.
“It’s all strategy,” he said. “That’s the thing about other sports like football or basketball, where it seems like there are scenarios where athletes can will themselves to win. You can’t necessarily control whether a 5-pounder or a 3-pounder bites, but you can control whether you put yourself in position to get a bite. You also don’t need to be on the best school of fish to win, you just have to maximize every part of your plan.”
He understands that sometimes – rarely – he does all that he can and it’s not enough. “I’m just as proud of some of my 3rd place finishes and 5th place finishes because I maximized what I have.”
Fortunately, though, for the man who despises losing, he has plenty of trophies to remind him of how often he wins. Two more – one for the tournament victory and one for the AOY title – went home with him this week.
