Jacob Wheeler was the top angler during the Knockout Round with 63-5 on 20 scorable bass. Photo by Tyler Brinks. Angler: Jacob Wheeler.
May 3, 2025 • Mitchell Forde • Bass Pro Tour
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — Seeing Jacob Wheeler’s name atop SCORETRACKER® for virtually all of Saturday’s Knockout Round at O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 4 Presented by OPTIMA Batteries probably didn’t surprise anyone. Wheeler, an eight-time winner on the Bass Pro Tour, lives in nearby Harrison, Tennessee, and he entered the event as a clear favorite.
But Wheeler himself didn’t expect such a strong showing after the field relocated from Lake Chickamauga for the first of two days on the smaller, more mysterious Nickajack Lake.
Fishing in the current beneath the Chickamauga Dam, Wheeler posted the first scorable bass of the day – a 2-pound, 11-ounce smallmouth – 4 minutes after lines in. From there, he led nearly wire-to-wire. He stacked up 10 smallmouth totaling 32-6 in the first hour, 35 minutes (which would have been enough to finish above the elimination line). Despite spending most of the final two periods scouting new water, he cruised to a 63-5 total on 20 bass, finishing 9-3 clear of Wesley Strader.
“It was an unbelievable day of fishing today,” Wheeler said. “I felt like I could have caught another 40 pounds if I wanted to.”
Wheeler and the rest of the top nine finishers will be joined by Qualifying Round winner Justin Lucas on Nickajack for Sunday’s Championship Round. Weights will zero overnight, then the angler who can rack up the most weight will take home the $150,000 top prize. Catch the action on MLFNOW! from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET at MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps and the Major League Fishing channel on Rumble.
Full results can be found here.