Wheeler maintains
Category: Tournament
Jun 14th, 2014 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Jun 14th, 2014 at 12:00 AM
Ranger Boats pro Jacob Wheeler came up short of his limit today on Chickamauga Lake, but the 16 pounds, 2 ounces he brought across the BASSfest stage pushed his three-day total to (68-5) enough to hold on to first place heading into Championship Sunday and a shot at winning $125,000.
Right behind Wheeler is Yamaha pro Matt Herren with (67-4). Herren brought in his biggest limit of the tournament at (23-6).
Rounding out the Top 5 are in third Nitro pro Kevin VanDam (61-4). In fourth Mercury pro Greg Hackney (58-7). In fifth heading into Championship Sunday is Toyota pro Terry Scroggins (56-4)
Wheeler ran.
“I tried to make the right adjustments today,” said Wheeler. “I ran around all day going to places where I thought the fish would be, but they weren’t there. I saved an early morning spot today and thought I might have to go and fish it, but I didn’t. I plan on hitting that spot first thing tomorrow to see if I can get a good start.
“I’m not fishing giant schools of bass. The biggest fish I caught today I graphed and saw only three dots. Without that fish, I didn’t have much.
“I’m looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is essentially a clean slate. Whoever catches the biggest bag is going to win.”
Herren adjusting.
“I’m fishing really good right now,” said Herren. “I’ve been adjusting every day. I’m having a blast. The fishing is phenomenal and this tournament is phenomenal. I can’t wait to go tomorrow.”
Unlike the conventional wisdom of fishing deep ledges heading into BASSfest, Herren has been fishing shallow.
VanDam fishing crowded.
“I struggled to get bit today,” said VanDam. “You could tell it was different this morning. There was a lot of local boat traffic today. There was no shortage of pleasure boaters. One of my best spots had a party barge on it with about 15 people fishing and partying. I think a few of them had a couple of ‘pops’ and were enjoying themselves.”
Scroggins went small.
“I had to go finesse fishing,” said Scroggins. “I went down to 6-pound line and a shaky head to catch these big fish. It’s a lot of fun, but it is getting tougher to catch them.”