Two-Time Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year leads Group B by 16 pounds, 7 ounces after Day 1, Group A to wrap up two-day Qualifying Round Thursday

EDENTON, N.C. (June 5, 2024) – It was more of the same for Group B at the Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour U.S. Air Force Stage Five at the Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters , with plenty of bass caught and beautiful scenery to enjoy. Also the same, Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee, took a commanding lead after one day of fishing with 18 bass for 47 pounds, 5 ounces.

Wheeler, who’s already won twice this season, has proved he doesn’t have a specific type of fishery on which he shines; in reality, it’s anywhere bass swim. He’s a threat to win any tournament, any time. The Chowan River was a mystery to nearly everyone in the field before this week, and Wheeler appears to have figured it out fairly quickly.

He was in command most of the day and has a lead of more than 16 pounds over reigning Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tennessee , who tallied 13 bass for 30-14 to finish the day in second. Becker’s day included a 6-7 catch in the second period, which stood as the Berkley Big Bass until Marshall Robinson’s 7-5 midway through the third period.

The six-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Edenton , the Chowan County Tourism Development Authority and Harbor Towns Cruises, showcases 78 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing for a purse of $659,000, including a top payout of $100,000 and valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for the General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and REDCREST 2025, the Bass Pro Tour championship.

Like his friend and roommate Dustin Connell yesterday, Wheeler easily outpaced the field after one day of Group B competition. The two have a friendly rivalry, and each has won twice this year. Both look like solid favorites to add to that winning resume. For the record, Connell led his group by 16-5 and Wheeler by 16-7, but where it matters will be how the rest of the week unfolds.

With a solid cushion over the field, Wheeler has one plan for Friday when he returns to the Chowan River.

“Practicing. That’s what I’ll be doing Friday,” Wheeler said. “My goal for today was to catch as much as possible and give myself a cushion, and I think I did that. The cut weight is a little more than half of what I had today, which takes some of the pressure off. I can come back out Friday, have fun, and I shouldn’t have to worry about catching too many of them. It feels good.”

One of the best in the sport at playing the strategy game, Wheeler is already looking ahead to the Knockout and Championship Rounds.

“Weather is going to be a huge factor in a place this big,” he said. “The wind will dictate where you can fish; if it’s calm, you can fish it all. That will be part of my plan for Friday as I look for new areas for the different wind directions.”

Wheeler did visit the Chowan River before it went off-limits, and some of that helped, but he’s looking for more recent data as he seeks yet another Bass Pro Tour win.

“I came down before it went off limits for a day and a quarter and mainly just ran around,” he said. “I covered a few hundred miles and liked what I saw, but I still didn’t know what to expect this week. Much of what I saw then and even what I found in practice becomes irrelevant because these events are so long from when we start practice to the final day. Having a cushion over the cut and a chance to look (around) Friday is a huge deal because it’s the most up-to-date information possible.”

Unwilling to give up much of the goods this early in the event, Wheeler did share that he’s fishing a large area rather than just one spot. Also, his primary technique seems to be working for both numbers and quality of fish.

“It’s a big zone of 25 or 30 miles that I’m fishing, and I feel like I can catch a lot of fish doing what I’m doing,” he said. “This event will be all about those bigger bites and won’t be won catching big numbers of 1-8 and 1-9 bass. You’ll need some mid-grade fish between 4 and 6 pounds to win. I feel good about today because I had three over 4 pounds today.”

The 39 anglers in Group B will now have an off day from competition Thursday, while the 39 anglers competing in Group A will wrap up their two-day Qualifying Round. Group B will finish their Qualifying Round on Friday.

The top 20 pros in Group B after Day 1 on Chowan River are:

1st:          Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 18 bass, 47-5
2nd:        Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 13 bass, 30-14
3rd:        Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 14 bass, 28-7
4th:         Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, 10 bass, 28-5
5th:         Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., 13 bass, 27-4
6th:         Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 12 bass, 27-0
7th:         Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 12 bass, 26-3
8th:         Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 11 bass, 26-3
9th:         Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 11 bass, 25-8
10th:      Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., eight bass, 24-11
11th:      Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif., 10 bass, 20-0
12th:      Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., eight bass, 19-3
13th:      Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La., nine bass, 17-13
14th:      Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., seven bass, 17-1
15th:      Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, nine bass, 16-14
16th:      Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., nine bass, 16-11
17th:      Fletcher Shryock, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 16-10
18th:      Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 16-6
19th:      Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan, seven bass, 16-6
20th:      Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., seven bass, 16-0

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 266 scorable bass weighing 618 pounds, 8 ounces caught by 37 pros Thursday, which included one 7-pounder, two 6-pounders, four 5-pounders, 10 4-pounders and 31 3-pounders.

Wheeler had a solid 23-point lead in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race heading into this event and can widen the gap even further. His closest pursuers also had strong starts to the event, so the rest of this tournament will be critical and help shape the race with just two events remaining after this week.

Alton Jones, Jr. of Waco, Texas, was second in the points behind Wheeler and finished in seventh after one day of fishing in Group A. Connell was just behind Jones and led his group yesterday, and Bass Pro Tour Rookie Drew Gill of Mount Carmel, Illinois, was behind Connell and finished up in third today. It’s still too early to tell, but the top anglers who have done well all season have come to play this week in Edenton.

Rookie Marshall Robinson of Landrum, South Carolina, earned the $1,000 Berkley Big Bass award after a 7-pound, 5-ounce largemouth bit his drop-shot rig in Period 3. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day, and another $3,000 bonus to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass of the tournament.

The 39 Anglers in Group A compete in their two-day Qualifying Round on Tuesday and Thursday – the 39 anglers in Group B on Wednesday and Friday. After each two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the anglers that finish first through 10th from both groups advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining 20 anglers compete to finish in the top 10 to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.

Anglers will launch at 7:30 a.m. ET each day from Pembroke Creek Park, located at 716 W. Queen Street in Edenton. Due to forecasted high winds, MLF has enacted the MLF Trailering Policy for Thursday, June 6, meaning pros can trailer their boats and drive them to any ramp on the fishery closer to where they plan to start fishing. Pros taking advantage of the MLF Trailering Policy will leave Pembroke Creek Park at 7 a.m. ET and will begin fishing at 8 a.m. ET (Lines In) with the full field.

Each day’s General Tire Takeout will be held at the park, beginning at 4 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!® live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com .

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on the final four days of competition from 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!®  will be live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com  and the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app.

On Saturday and Sunday, June 8-9, from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. MLF welcomes fans of all ages to visit Colonial Waterfront Park, located at 510 S. Broad St. in Edenton, for the MLF Watch Party and Kids Fishing Derby. Fans can watch the pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food, enter to win hourly giveaways and cheer on their favorite pros. The first 50 kids 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel from Pure Fishing each day. Additional fishing gear will be provided onsite for the fishing derby or kids can bring their own. The final 10 Championship Round Bass Pro Tour anglers will be on hand at the trophy celebration on Championship Sunday to meet and greet fans, sign autographs and take selfies.

The U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters features the MLF catch, weigh, immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. The tournament features anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.

The Bass Pro Tour features a field of 79 of the top professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country, for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual General Tire Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2025 championship.

Fishing Clash, an interactive 3D fishing simulation game that’s played by more than 80 million people worldwide, is the official AOY sponsor of the Bass Pro Tour, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League. You can download Fishing Clash for free in the App Store and on Google Play or log on to www.fishingclash.game for more information.

Television coverage of the U.S. Air Force Stage Five at Chowan River Presented by WIX Filters Knockout Round will air as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 26 on Discovery, with the Championship Round premiering on Nov. 2. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.

Proud sponsors of the 2024 MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Garmin, General Tire, Humminbird, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak Fishing, NITRO, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Rapala, REDCON1, Star brite, Suzuki, Toyota, U.S. Air Force and WIX Filters.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X,  Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.