February 8, 2020 (Eufaula, Ala.) Jacob Wheeler, 2019 General Tire World Champion, assumed the lead from Bobby Lane early in day two of the 2020 Bass Pro Tour and never looked back, finishing in first place with 15 scorable bass totaling 42 pounds, five ounces. The B&W Hitches Stage Two presented by Power-Pole opened for the anglers in Group B on Lake Eufaula with chilly temperatures in the mid-30s and rain throughout the day. Wesley Strader finished second with nine fish totaling 36 pounds, six ounces. Justin Atkins earned the Berkley Big Bass of the Day award with a six-pound, 13-ounce largemouth bass, while MLF Rookie David Dudley rose to fifth by the end of the day.

Indiana native (Tennessee resident) Jacob Wheeler caught Floridian Bobby Lane, brother to Group A leader Chris Lane, at 9:30 a.m. Fishing a mainly offshore pattern with a variety of tactics, the Academy Sports Pro went against the grain in a tournament where most of the other anglers were beating the bank and targeting shallow cover.

“Today was a great day, and I was fortunate to catch them on a rotation of baits, but I’m still trying to figure out what’s going on the lake,” Wheeler said. “You have to keep an open mind because each day is unique this time of year, and you have to start over every morning.”

Fellow Tennessean Wesley Strader finished second by a spread of six pounds, one ounce and the only angler within striking distance of Wheeler. The 48-year-old angler with a rich history of FLW wins before joining the Bass Pro Tour in 2018 found that the high water impacted his ability to advance further.

“It was a really good day, but it could have been even better,” Strader admitted. “I wish the water would drop a little bit because that will pull some more fish out of the thick cover, and I think I can get more bites doing what I’m doing.”

MLF Rookie David Dudley showed that he can compete well in all fishing formats by finishing in fifth place with six bass totaling 22 pounds, 15 ounces. Today was the first day Dudley competed using the catch-weigh-immediately release format and rules.

“It was a fun day,” recapped Dudley. “I loved the SCORETRACKER® and kept telling my official all day to give me another update. I like hearing that people are catching or not catching fish, because it helps me process my day.”

Despite remaining scoreless until Period 3, Kevin VanDam rallied to finish 13th overall with four fish weighing in at 13 pounds, 11 ounces.

The Top Ten of Day One, Qualifying Group B finished as follows:

Place	Angler	Total Weight	Total Fish	Largest Fish
1	Jacob Wheeler	42-05	15	4-04
2	Wesley Strader	36-06	9	5-14
3	Randall Tharp	27-13	6	5-01
4	Bobby Lane	25-11	9	5-01
5	David Dudley	22-15	6	5-14
6	James Watson	21-12	6	5-05
7	Fletcher Shryock	21-04	7	4-09
8	Dustin Connell	19-03	6	6-02
9	Michael Neal	18-00	5	4-10
10	Mike McClelland	17-06	6	3-10

For complete results, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com, Bass Pro Tour, Results.

The competition continues Sunday as Group A returns to finish the Qualifying Round.  Chris Lane hopes to retain his lead and earn the automatic Championship Berth. New for 2020, the winner of each Group in the Qualifying Round advances directly to Wednesday’s Championship Round. The weather forecast calls for a slightly warmer day calling for a high of 65-degrees-Farenheit with no rain in the forecast.

The day begins with launch 7:15 a.m.before lines-in at 8:00 a.m. Period 1 ends at 10:30 a.m. Period 2 spans 10:45 a.m. until 1:15 p.m. Period 3 begins at 1:30 p.m.and lasts until day’s end at 4:00 p.m. The General Tire Takeout show airs approximately 4:15 – 5:15 p.m. as anglers return to the ramp.

Fans can catch all the action every day of competition on MLFNOW! livestream on MajorLeagueFishing.com or download the MLF App for your Apple or GooglePlay device or on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).