in your face
I f you were to sum up MLF pro Jacob Wheeler ’ s most important characteristics as a tournament bass angler , it would be pretty hard to beat this photo taken by MLF photographer Garrick Dixon on New York ’ s St . Lawrence River .
You ’ re probably well aware of Wheeler ’ s domination in that Bass Pro Tour event in June – he shattered multiple MLF records en route to his second BPT win of the season – but you might not fully appreciate the level of bulldog determination ( and willingness to endure discomfort ) required of Wheeler to locate his winning fish , and then to catch them using the technique he employed that week .
Wheeler started each tournament morning running further upriver than the rest of the field , and fishing in the roughest , most wind-blown spots he could locate because he knew that those areas received very little pressure .
He then committed to hours on end hunched over his front deck with a flogger in hand , being bounced around and pummeled by waves while he scoped out bedding smallmouth . The results speak for themselves : Wheeler weighed 351 pounds , 1 ounce of smallmouth in three days , earning his fourth Bass Pro Tour trophy ( and mad respect for his win-atall-costs , championship mindset ).
PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2021 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 13