Wheeler Leads The Way On KO Day

Tops 75 Pounds

February 01, 2025

By MLF Communications Staff

CONROE, Texas – A new season on the Bass Pro Tour arrived with several new wrinkles, most notably the league’s limitations on forward-facing sonar. Yet a familiar name topped the ScoreTracker leaderboard at the conclusion of Saturday’s Knockout Round at Lake Conroe.

Reigning Angler of the Year (AOY) Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, stacked up 75 pounds, 7 ounces on 35 scorable bass to pace the 19-angler field, topping New Hope, Alabama pro Jacob Wall by 2-5. The most decorated angler in BPT history added a 30th Championship Round appearance (in 51 total events) to his gaudy resume. Sunday, he’ll seek to tack on his ninth victory, too.

Wheeler and the rest of the Top 9 will join Qualifying Round winner Nick LeBrun of Bossier City, Louisiana, in what’s shaping up to be a wide-open Championship Round. Six anglers weighed more than 69 pounds on Saturday, and that doesn’t include LeBrun, who totaled 83-6 on Day 1.

Totals will once again zero overnight, and the angler who catches the most weight will take home the $150,000 top prize.

It came as little surprise that Wheeler opted to use his one period with forward-facing sonar in Period 1, as most anglers have done all week. However, he still threw the field a curveball. Rather than starting his day in Caney Creek, which has been by far the most popular area of Conroe, Wheeler spent the opening frame in a new cove on the lower section of the lake.

Wheeler felt like the bass in Caney Creek had received too much fishing pressure, and he didn’t want to risk sharing water with other competitors during his forward-facing sonar period, which has proven to be pivotal this week. The decision paid off. Wheeler landed 23 scorable bass totaling 47-4 in Period 1, which positioned him in fourth place.

“Everybody and their brother had been in those same places, and I just didn’t want to be back in the same old rotation and potentially only catch 20 pounds,” Wheeler said. “I needed some fresh fish and felt like the area had the potential for that, and it turned out to be a good start.”

Wheeler’s forward-facing sonar success didn’t come as a surprise; he caught more than 50 pounds in the opening period on Day 1. During the Knockout Round, he was able to keep the momentum rolling after turning his transducers off better than he had during the first two days.

Across the final two periods, Wheeler added another 12 bass for 28-3, largely by seining submerged hydrilla with a lipless crankbait and vibrating jig. While he admitted he hadn’t leaned on his best grass areas on Days 1 and 2 (and he eventually switched into practice mode Saturday afternoon as well), he also thinks he’s identified a few spots that fresh fish have moved into.

“We had that rain on the off day and then the first day of the tournament, and that really stained up the middle of the creeks and made some areas that were a little bit too clean to catch them in (productive),” Wheeler explained. “I fished this patch of grass twice in practice and never got a bite, and today I rolled up there and caught a 3-14. It’s a combination of the weather warming up and the water being a little bit more stained.”

That ability to keep his finger on the pulse of a fishery throughout the course of a tournament and find new, productive water has long been one of Wheeler’s hallmarks. He didn’t rule out starting in a different spot again on Sunday – or even waiting until later in the day to utilize forward-facing sonar, a decision he’ll base on the weather forecast.

“I seriously do not know yet,” Wheeler said of his Championship Round strategy. “A lot of the stuff that I was fishing, I’m not fishing by myself. At least for shallow stuff, it’s pretty crowded. And then the deeper stuff, I had that one zone, but there were also a lot of locals in that area that saw where I was fishing, too.”

One thing Wheeler feels pretty sure about is that it’s going to take at least 80 pounds to claim the first trophy of the 2025 season. He figures he needs to catch at least half that weight during the forward-facing sonar period to have a chance at adding it to his extensive collection – but given the number of forward-facing sonar wizards in the field, the other periods could make the difference.

“I think 80-plus pounds wins the tournament,” he said. “If I catch 40 (in Period 1) and then 20 and 20 (in each of the next two periods), or catch 60 and then catch 10 and 10, then I give myself a chance to win. So, that’s the goal. We’ll see what happens.”

Justin Cooper of Zwolle, Louisiana, won Saturday’s Berkley Big Bass Award, catching a 7-10 largemouth on a vibrating jig in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

The final 10 anglers will arrive Sunday at 5:30 a.m. CT to the Outlets at Conroe, located at 1111 League Line Road. The Bass Pro Tour trailering policy has been enacted for this event, so anglers will depart the Outlets at 6:15 a.m. to one of four optional launch ramps located around the fishery. Anglers will return to the Outlets at Conroe in the evening, following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and ScoreTracker coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .

The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live in the Championship Round from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! is livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

Knockout Round

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

1. Jacob Wheeler -- 75-07 (35) -- 3-12

2. Jacob Wall -- 73-02 (28) -- 6-11

3. Colby Miller -- 70-05 (29) -- 3-11

4. Jake Lawrence -- 69-07 (27) -- 4-06

5. Justin Cooper -- 69-05 (27) -- 7-10

6. Drew Gill -- 65-08 (29) -- 4-15

7. Zack Birge -- 65-01 (25) -- 6-08

8. Alton Jones Jr. -- 62-13 (25) -- 4-06

9. Justin Lucas -- 58-12 (25) -- 4-08

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