The third Bass Pro Tour trophy of the season came on Lake Champlain , where Wheeler expanded on a pattern that he quietly developed throughout the week .
on Chickamauga — in which the then- 23-year-old outpaced VanDam on the final day while suffering through a week-long illness that left him virtually unable to stand at the end of each competition day .
“ This is not always a comfortable job ,” Wheeler said . “ You play hurt sometimes . You play sick sometimes . No matter what , though , you have to play to win . I don ’ t know any other way to do it .”
An AOY-worthy finish
The 2021 season finale at Stage Seven set up as a classic shootout among Wheeler , DeFoe and Ehrler . Despite Wheeler ’ s back-to-back wins , DeFoe still clung to a 12-point lead in the AOY race heading into the final six days on Lake St . Clair and Lake Erie , with Ehrler doggedly holding onto third place , well within striking distance .
The irresistible force went to work immediately : Wheeler piled up 102 pounds of smallmouth his first day on Lake St . Clair to DeFoe ’ s 39 and Ehrler ’ s 35 . Wheeler finished the Qualifying Round with 131 pounds to DeFoe ’ s 66 , while Ehrler ’ s season ended as he fell 3 pounds shy of the cut .
With his largemouth bite near the mouth of the Detroit River diminishing rapidly and Wheeler ’ s undeniable momentum on Lake St . Clair making him an obvious favorite to advance to the final day , DeFoe woke up the morning of the Knockout Round with a Hail Mary move in mind : He ditched his
most productive waters and drove nearly 90 minutes south , to the southernmost fringes of competition boundaries on Erie , near Toledo , Ohio .
Translation : In an attempt to stave off the inevitability of Wheeler , DeFoe gambled his own hard-fought AOY campaign on water that he had never even seen before .
“ This could be the worst spot in the whole area , or it could be really good ,” DeFoe said when he launched . “ I didn ’ t really have anything that I could win on out on the lake , so I figured I ’ d try something else . We ’ ll see how it goes .”
The Hail Mary fell short . Wheeler wrangled 67-1 to finish fifth in the Knockout Round while DeFoe ended up 30th with 27-11 . Wheeler finished out the fifth day of the six-day tournament with confetti raining down on him as he accepted the 2021 Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year trophy .
Why Wheeler is a winner
Unlike the greats of tournament bass fishing who made their hay before the mid-1990s / early 2000s — the Fritts , Braeuers , Nixons and Davises of the sport — Jacob Wheeler has lived in the glow of Facebook , YouTube and livestreamed tournaments ever since he thundered onto the national bassderby scene as the youngest angler to ever win both the BFL All-American ( 2011 ) and Forrest Wood Cup ( 2012 ). He ’ s achieved celebrity status among young anglers thanks to his willingness to break through the fourth
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE wall via YouTube , where he regularly welcomes viewers into his boat and racks up views in the millions with unprecedented access to his life as a top-tier bass pro .
His success in the MLF Cups in the years before the Bass Pro Tour — Wheeler has won more Cup competition rounds than anyone — made him a regular on linear television . His dominance in three years on the Bass Pro tour , where he ’ s fished 14 Championship Rounds in three years , has translated to more live camera time than any other angler in the world ( plus bonus time on Discovery and CBS-TV ).
That camera time has revealed to the masses what most of Wheeler ’ s fellow competitors have known for years : He ’ s good at everything — finesse , power , electronics — he can do it all at an astoundingly high level . He ’ s also one of best in the history of the sport at quickly analyzing conditions and making adjustments on the fly .
“ People fail to understand that Jacob is just an extraordinary human being , straight up ,” said Mark Daniels Jr ., who has traveled with Wheeler since 2016 . “ I ’ m not saying that just because he ’ s my boy ; it ’ s because I understand that I ’ m watching greatness happen right before my eyes . His ability to process information is just through the roof — it might take me an hour or more to run through a bay , but he ’ ll have that whole place figured out in 30 minutes . It ’ s unbelievable .”
Wheeler ’ s God-given abilities are backed up by a work ethic and singleminded dedication to catching bass that astound even the people who know him the best .
“ He literally eats and sleeps bass fishing ,” Daniels said . “ All the rest of us come home from a tournament and we ’ ll go duck hunting or bike riding or something . We ’ ll take a step back from it . Not Jacob . He never takes a step back . I guarantee that while I ’ m talking to you right now , if Jacob isn ’ t hanging out with his family , he ’ s researching something .
“ He works twice as hard as anybody on tour . Me , Jacob , DC ( Dustin Connell ) and Adrian ( Avena ) will get back to the house after being on the water for 12 hours and Jacob will stay on his laptop until 2 a . m . looking at stuff . The dude never stops .”
42 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2021