Rookie Wheeler Leads Wire-To-Wire, Wins Bass Fishing’s $500,000 Forrest Wood Cup Presented By Walmart

2012 Forrest Wood Cup Champion Jacob Wheeler

12.Aug.2012

DULUTH, Ga. – After Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., won the 2011 BFL All-American, the championship event for weekend anglers, he stated his goal was to someday win the Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing. In 2012 Wheeler made the leap to the FLW Tour, which features the world’s best professional bass anglers, to pursue his goal of hoisting the Cup. And in storybook fashion Sunday at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart on Lake Lanier, Wheeler’s five bass worth 11 pounds, 15 ounces gave him a total four-day weight of 60 pounds, 1 ounce as well as a wire-to-wire win and $500,000.

“This was just an awesome event,” said the 21-year-old Wheeler, who became the youngest angler to win the Forrest Wood Cup. “God just really blessed me this whole event. It was just unbelievable, and this is the best day of my life.”

Although it may have turned out well for him, Wheeler said it wasn’t an easy road to a championship title.

“It was a struggle today,” Wheeler said. “I had six keeper bites all day.

“Every time I sat down to run to the next spot I might have been jittery, but I realized I had to stay focused and fish at 100 percent every day and capitalize on every single bite,” Wheeler added.

Wheeler said he targeted fish on the Chattahoochee River using a variety of baits including a Rapala X-Rap Prop, flipping a Trigger X Flippin’ Tube and a Chatterbait-style bait. Wheeler said he caught fish Sunday by flipping creature baits, but two of his biggest fell for a prop bait.

“The second day I caught my two biggest ones on the X-Rap Prop,” Wheeler said. “The fish were getting accustomed to seeing bluegill-looking prop baits out there, but the elongated X-Rap Prop really showed them something different. Those fish really seemed to like that the second day, for sure.”

Wheeler said he fished the river to catch a limit, then made an hour-long run to an area near Brown’s bridge to switch to fishing bluegill beds for larger “kicker” fish.

“A lot of people fish better when they have five fish in their livewell,” Wheeler said. “They just fish better and make better decisions, and you don’t have that pressure of worrying about that other fish on your back.”

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After three dim days, the top-10 finalists will fish their final day on Lake Lanier in sunny conditions. (Photo by David A. Brown)

12.Aug.2012 by David A. Brown

DULUTH, Ga. – Unlike those house guests who overstay their welcome, no one’s complaining about the fact that largemouth bass have played a larger-than-expected role for longer-than-expected in the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.

Largemouth, which reach greater dimensions than neighboring spotted bass, always offer the opportunity for a limit-boosting kicker fish. But most anglers probably entered the tournament assuming that the typical summer patterns of targeting spots over Lanier’s deep brush would be the dominant deal. One good day of largemouth action wasn’t surprising, but going into the fourth and final day with the big green fish in top billing is pleasantly surprising for many.

As FLW pro and Lanier Legend Tom Mann Jr. pointed out, recent drought years allowed a lot of new vegetation to take root on exposed lake bed. The water’s still down about seven feet, but it has dropped much lower, so the returning depth has covered a lot of that new vegetation, thereby complementing the existing wood and rock cover. Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, who starts today in third place notes that the current water lever has put a premium on shallow cover.

“With the water being down, it takes a lot of (areas) out of play and when you get into the backs of the creeks and pockets, there’s not as much cover for them to be on,” said the 2010 FLW Tour Angler of the Year Thrift. “What is in the water, they’re on it.”

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After three dim days, the top-10 finalists will fish their final day on Lake Lanier in sunny conditions. (Photo by David A. Brown)

12.Aug.2012 by David A. Brown

DULUTH, Ga. – Unlike those house guests who overstay their welcome, no one’s complaining about the fact that largemouth bass have played a larger-than-expected role for longer-than-expected in the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.

Largemouth, which reach greater dimensions than neighboring spotted bass, always offer the opportunity for a limit-boosting kicker fish. But most anglers probably entered the tournament assuming that the typical summer patterns of targeting spots over Lanier’s deep brush would be the dominant deal. One good day of largemouth action wasn’t surprising, but going into the fourth and final day with the big green fish in top billing is pleasantly surprising for many.

As FLW pro and Lanier Legend Tom Mann Jr. pointed out, recent drought years allowed a lot of new vegetation to take root on exposed lake bed. The water’s still down about seven feet, but it has dropped much lower, so the returning depth has covered a lot of that new vegetation, thereby complementing the existing wood and rock cover. Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, who starts today in third place notes that the current water lever has put a premium on shallow cover.

“With the water being down, it takes a lot of (areas) out of play and when you get into the backs of the creeks and pockets, there’s not as much cover for them to be on,” said the 2010 FLW Tour Angler of the Year Thrift. “What is in the water, they’re on it.”

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Retired U.S. Air Force National Guard colonel Timothy Dearing topped the co-angler division of the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier. (Photo by David A. Brown)

11.Aug.2012 by David A. Brown

GAINESVILLE, Ga. – He passed on the opportunity to become a general in the U.S. Air Force National Guard, but Retired Colonel Timothy Dearing advanced to the top of his co-angler ranks with a convincing win in the Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier.

Two years ago, after 38 years of military service, Dearing found himself contemplating this career-capping advancement. Ultimately, it was the advice of his wife Lisa that convinced the Loudon, Tenn. co-angler that it was time for a life transition.

“My wife said ‘Why do we want to do that?'” Dearing said. “(The promotion) was signed by the president, but my wife said “Why don’t you retire and go fish while you’re healthy enough to live your dream?'”

Dearing opened his tournament campaign by placing third on day one with a limit catch of 9 pounds, 6 ounces. He struggled on day two and caught a lone keeper that went 2-3. The final round, however, saw Dearing’s finest effort and as soon as he took to the stage, he proudly displayed a nice bass for the crowd at the Gwinnett Convention Center.

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Wily Wheeler

Pro leader Jacob Wheeler shows off his two biggest bass from day three on Lake Lanier. (Photo by Brett Carlson)

11.Aug.2012 by Brett Carlson

DULUTH, Ga. – Despite being a 21-year-old rookie pro, Jacob Wheeler implements and executes a game plan like a savvy veteran. After whacking a huge stringer on opening day, day two of the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup on Lake Lanier was all about getting a limit. On day three, he planned to push the pedal a little more in hopes of catching a bag in the mid-teens. Thus far, Wheeler is batting three for three and with one more successful day he’ll become the youngest pro ever to claim the Cup.

Wheeler started day three just like the first two – running up the Chattahoochee River in search of quality largemouths. The bite was steady, but unspectacular until a mini-flurry around 10 a.m. brought a 3-pounder and then a 4-pounder 15 minutes later. Wheeler saw Jay Yelas leave the area about an hour earlier and decided enough was enough – he wasn’t going hammer anymore.

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Castrol pro David Dudley took the concept of the Chicken Dance to a whole new level during the semifinal weigh-in at the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup. (Photo by Gary Mortenson)

11.Aug.2012 by Gary Mortenson

2012 Forrest Wood Cup

Lake Lanier – Duluth, Ga.

Semifinals, Saturday

Wheeler lands counterpunch … After stunning the field with a dramatic 21-pound, 15 ounce stringer on day one, 21-year-old pro Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., suffered through a mediocre day two, coming back to the field with a modest 11-pound, 12 ounce bag. In the process, the young pro saw his commanding lead shrink to a shade over 3 pounds. As such, a number of big-gun pros were able to significantly close the gap. At that point, the convenient and easy narrative was that Wheeler, an FLW Tour rookie this season, would ultimately collapse from the pressure as he faced off against a loaded field that included six former Forrest Wood Cup champions and six FLW Tour Angler-of-the-Year title holders. But a strange thing happened along the way during today’s competition. After the majority of the top-20 pros struggled to bring in a significant limit to the scales of any kind, Wheeler stepped onto the stage and showed off the biggest bag of the day – a 14-pound 7-ounce sack. Not only did the young upstart not wilt under pressure, but he built his lead back up to nearly 6 full pounds, giving himself some much needed breathing room heading into tomorrow’s finals. “Of course I’ve been nervous, it’s the biggest tournament of my life,” said Wheeler. “But you need to put all of that (pressure) in the back of your mind and just go out there, keep your head down and go fishing. Once I was able to start catching fish and get that momentum back, I was really able to calm down. But having a 6-pound lead is definitely more comfortable.” Wheeler said that he’s caught keepers over the last three days on seven or eight different baits. “I’m junk fishing really,” he said. “I’m using a lot of different baits and fishing the conditions – that’s Indiana fishing. That’s what I’m used to doing and that’s what I’m comfortable with.” Wheeler said one of his primary fishing spots is something he calls the “pig pen” – a nice little stretch of real estate with some good cover that currently houses a lot of larger-sized largemouth. “I’m fishing up river in about 5 feet or less and there is a lot of cover in that area,” he said. “I’m looking for current breaks and if we get a little bit of rain that seems to help my bite as well.” As for tomorrow, Wheeler said he is ready to go. “I’m just going to go out there, fish hard and whatever happens, happens. If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.”

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Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., shows off part of his three-day, 48-pound, 2-ounce catch. The 21-year-old continues his vice-like grip on first place at the 2012 Forrest Wood Cup. (Photo by Gary Mortenson)

11.Aug.2012

DULUTH, Ga. – Fatheadz Eyewear pro Jacob Wheeler has now weighed in the biggest stringer for two of the three tournament days at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, giving him a commanding lead heading into the fourth and final day of the world championship of bass fishing. The top cash award of $500,000 is now his to lose as the best professional bass anglers from around the world continued their competition at Lake Lanier on Saturday.

The Indianapolis, Ind., angler advanced to the top 10 as the No. 1 seed with a five-bass limit Saturday of 14-7. With a three-day catch of 15 bass weighing 48-2, and now holds a 5-pound, 13-ounce lead in the tournament going into the final day of competition.

“I was very blessed with the bites I had today,” said Wheeler, who would become the youngest Forrest Wood Cup champion in history with a victory tomorrow. “I really am not feeling nervous, though, because I’m putting it into God’s hands. If he wants me to win this thing, it’ll happen. If he doesn’t, it won’t. I am on like three hours of sleep over the past three nights, though, and I highly doubt I’m going to get any sleep tonight.”

Wheeler said the bite was better for him Saturday because of the little bit of rain that greeted the tournament anglers. He said the rain created more current, and that was the key for him.

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2012 Forrest Wood Cup

11.Aug.2012

SHREVEPORT, La. – FLW and the Shreveport/Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau announced Saturday Shreveport would once again be hosting the Forrest Wood Cup, the world championship of bass fishing, Aug. 15-18, 2013, on the Red River. The last time the Forrest Wood Cup, the sport’s premier event, was held in Shreveport was 2000 and Dion Hibdon of Sunrise Beach, Mo., made professional fishing history by becoming the second man to win both major championships in the sport of bass fishing.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be bringing the 2013 Forrest Wood Cup to the Red River,” said Kathy Fennel, FLW President of Operations. “We’ve had massive success hosting tournaments in Shreveport in the past and the attendance at our previous events has made bringing our championship back an obvious choice. The bass fishing fans in Louisiana have always been extremely passionate and enthusiastic, and we’re proud to be bringing our championship event to them.”

Shreveport is a very familiar destination for FLW staff and anglers. The 2000 Forrest Wood Cup and numerous Walmart FLW Tour events have been held on the Red River in Shreveport and the area’s fans have always packed the venues.

“We love having FLW come to the Shreveport-Bossier area and were thrilled to secure the world championship of bass fishing,” said Kelly Wells, vice president of sports and tourism marketing for the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. “The Sports Commission is excited to bring another high quality event that the entire community can enjoy and rally behind.”

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Game on

The third day of Forrest Wood Cup action on Lake Lanier is about to get under way. (Photo by Gary Mortenson)

11.Aug.2012 by Gary Mortenson

DULUTH, Ga.– As the top-20 Forrest Wood Cup competitors departed Laurel Park Marina shortly after 7 a.m. amidst a third consecutive day of overcast conditions, light winds and looming thunderstorms, one thing was quite clear – the overall tournament outlook has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past 24 hours.

After the impressive day-one haul by 21-year-old upstart Jacob Wheeler, who stunned the field with a behemoth 21-pound, 15-ounce bag during the opening round of competition, most pros realized that without a major stumble by the Indianapolis pro, the chances of procuring a tournament title at the most prestigious event of the season was virtual nil. But what a difference a day makes. With Wheeler coming back to the pack with an 11-pound, 12-ounce sack in Friday’s competition, a host of pros now realize they still have a chance at capturing the coveted prize and landing their name in the history books.

“Jacob has done really well this week. He’s a great angler,” said Chevy pro Jay Yelas, who is now only a tad more than 3 pounds off the overall lead. “But it’s now halftime and we’re nipping at his heels.”

Fourth-ranked qualifier Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala., also sees the potential of making a significant run at the title.

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