Howell Rides Topwater Bite To 2-Ounce Victory At Wheeler Lake EQ

DECATUR, Ala. — For a guy who finished first, the number two came up a lot in Laker Howell’s victory story.

After three days of competition, the pro from Guntersville, Ala., tallied 65 pounds, 11 ounces and won the Wheeler Lake Bassmaster Open Elite Qualifier on Saturday.

“I feel like a weight has been lifted off my back, because this morning when I got up, I was so nervous, I literally woke up (nauseous),” Howell said. “The whole day, I was just a cat trying to catch a bass. But right now, I can’t even describe how incredible this is.”

By the numbers, Howell caught 21-6 on Day 1 and and trailed only Matt Adams. He added 25-4 — the event’s heaviest bag — on day 2 and moved ahead of Adams by 4 ounces. The 6-foot-5 Howell stood tall on the final day with a 19-1 limit to clinch the win.

His winning margin – 2 ounces.

Continuing the numerical theme, Howell has won two of the last three tournaments he’s fished. In mid-August, he won the Leech Lake Bassmaster Open.

Finally, Howell’s family has claimed two wins at this Tennessee River impoundment. In 1998, Laker Howell’s father, Randy, won his first major event at Wheeler Lake.

And if the story wasn’t already good enough, Randy Howell was 24 when he won his Wheeler Lake trophy. His son’s age — 24.

“That’s why this tournament is so special to me,” the younger Howell said. “I literally watched that video during practice with my roommate. I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be crazy if I won this tournament.’”

All week, Howell committed to a section of the Decatur Flats about 2 miles from takeoff. He focused on a saddle with shell bottom between two bars near the river channel.

“The fish would come off the main river and funnel in,” Howell said. “The best I can figure, there’s current in there that sets them up. They get on that shell and feed on the shad as they come through.”

Howell caught all of his fish on a bone-colored Livingston Lures Walking Boss topwater, which features a cupped face, a No. 2 feathered tail hook complementing the No. 4 trebles on the front and middle, and Livingston’s patented Electronic Baitfish Sound technology.

Howell said his spot slowed considerably in the final round, even though the action started earlier than it had the previous two days.

“I hadn’t had a bite in there before 8 a.m. and this morning, in the first 10 minutes, I caught a 5-pounder that blew up 10 feet from the boat,” he said. “I never left that area. I got six blow ups today and I missed one.

“That same fish came back about 20 minutes later — there weren’t many there. I caught that fish and I knew that was the one that did it for me.”

For his efforts, Howell won the $52,467 first-place prize and an invitation to fish the 2026 Bassmaster Classic at the Tennessee River. Because Howell also received a Classic invitation for his Leech Lake win, his second invitation goes back to the next eligible angler in the Elite Series Angler of the Year Standings. Wisconsin pro Kyle Norsetter, previously the first Elite angler outside the Classic cut, is now qualified to fish the sport’s biggest event.

Also hailing from Guntersville, Ala., Adams took the early lead with a first-round limit of 23-14. He weighed 22-8 on Day 2 and slipped to second. Adams finished in that position after turning in a final-round limit of 19-3 and tallying 65-9.

Adams did all of his work across days 1 and 2 on a specific current break at the Guntersville Dam tailrace, but Day 3 was a scramble. He caught fish on a Sixth Sense 300 DD deep diving crankbait and a jighead minnow with a Sixth Sense Shad on a 3/16-ounce head.

“For some reason, this morning, it just didn’t happen,” Adams said. “I noticed that fish were coming up and going down. They wouldn’t commit completely. I caught one that was a little over 4, a 3-pounder and a couple small fish.

“I had to run everything I had. I caught a 5-pounder on a bar downriver from the tailrace, then I ran all the way back up to my starting spot and caught two good ones. I wish I’d had another hour to fish (the tailrace).”

Yui Aoki of Minamitsurugun, Japan finished third with 58-4.  Aoki placed eighth on Day 1 with 17-8 and rose to third with a second-day bag of 20-10. He closed out his tournament with a final limit of 20-2.

“I was on the Decatur Flats and I fished a drop that went from 4 feet to 20 feet,” Aoki said.

Aoki, who won the Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley Bassmaster Open in early March, caught his fish on a Neko-rigged dice style bait and an Evergreen Last Ace with a line-through treble hook rig.

The top 5 in points after two of the three EQ tournaments look like this: 1. Matt Messer 175 points; 2. Aaron Jagdfeld 174; 3. Fisher Anaya 170; 4. Grae Buck 170; 5. Russ Lane 164. The final EQ event is slated for Lake Okeechobee on Nov. 13-15.

Here’s how the 10 anglers who competed all 3 days at Wheeler finished up:

1. Laker Howell: 15, 65-11

2. Matt Adams: 15, 65-09

3. Yui Aoki: 15, 58-04

4. Colby Dark: 15, 51-02

5. Fisher Anaya: 15, 50-15

6. Pake South: 15, 50-02

7. Lucas Lindsay: 14, 47-05

8. Stephen Browning: 15, 45-15

9. Nic Rand: 15, 44-03

10. Ryan Salzman: 14, 43-07

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