Wheeler Hunting History
Indiana pro has the day-one lead, looks to become the first two-time Forrest Wood Cup champion
Start with 50 of the world’s best bass anglers.
Send them out on Lake Ouachita in the dog days of August.
Just to complicate matters, remove several feet of water from Lake Ouachita, and then send a bizarre mid-summer cold front across Arkansas to suddenly reduce air temperatures by some 15 to 20 degrees.
Oh, and last but not least, offer a half-million-dollar reward to the one angler who can decipher such a labyrinth of conditions across four grueling days of competition, and the result is the 2015 Forrest Wood Cup.
One man who is familiar with solving such complicated bass fishing equations for big money is Jacob Wheeler. In fact, it’s safe to say that with a Walmart Bass Fishing League All-American trophy (2011) and a Forrest Wood Cup (2012) already in his living room, Wheeler has a knack for figuring out the most complex of conditions when the stakes are highest … and he is at it again.
Wheeler took the day-one lead at the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita presented by Walmart and hosted by Visit Hot Springs and the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism with 16 pounds, 2 ounces and now is poised to possibly be the first two-time Cup winner in history.
Ironically, Wheeler fished his first Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Ouachita in 2011 and finished 12th. In that event he mostly committed to fishing around the bank with topwaters.
Wheeler says this time around that pattern is not as strong, but he still feels that’s where the potential for a quality bite is highest. Today he had to alternate between suspended fish in timber and wolf packs of hunting bass on the bank to accumulate his leading weight. His numbers of fish are coming from his suspended-fish pattern, but his quality bass – a lone 5-pounder – came shallow.
“I started the day out in the timber chasing schoolers and suspended fish just to get a few in the livewell,” Wheeler adds. “It seems like those suspended fish are bunched up a little tighter in the mornings and are a little more reliable during the early hours.
“Those bank fish are better quality, but they’re not near as consistent,” he continues. “For me, trying to run the bank all day is too risky this time around. Getting a few in the well early from the trees let me calm down and fish the bank like I needed to. My biggest fish of the day came from the bank. I ran that pattern for another hour or so and didn’t catch another one. Like I said, it’s a dicey deal.”
Later in the afternoon, Wheeler returned to his deeper fish and managed to cull up a couple times.
“Today worked out perfectly,” he adds. “Going into it I figured I needed 14 to 15 pounds today to get off on the right foot for a winning pace. We still have three more days to go, and I think I’m going to need at least one more 15-pound day and two more 12- to 13-pound days to make it happen – that’s my goal anyway.”
Top 10 Pros
1. Jacob Wheeler – 16-02 (5)
2. Ishama Monroe – 15-00 (5)
3. Brandon Cobb – 14-10 (5)
4. Scott Martin – 14-06 (5)
5. Brad Knight – 14-04 (5)
6. Chris Baumgardner – 13-08 (5)
7. Ramie Colson Jr. – 13-03 (5)
8. Luke Clausen – 13-01 (5)
9. Mark Daniels Jr. – 12-15 (5)
10. John Cox – 12-00 (4)
More information
For complete details and updated information, visit the Forrest Wood Cup page. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow FLW on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter atTwitter.com/FLWFishing.