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By Joel Shangle
2022 bally bet aoy at a glance
Wheeler , Lee , Jones , Ebare highlight exceptional Bass Pro Tour season
You can judge a good Angler of the Year competition by the number of interesting snapshots , factoids and standout moments that happen during a season . And during the course of the seven-tournament 2022 Bass Pro Tour race , the storylines were plentiful and extremely intriguing .
Bally Bet ’ s participation in the Angler of the Year program was a monumental moment in the four-year history of the BPT . As eight-time AOY Kevin VanDam expressed when Bally Bet signed on as the title sponsor of the league ’ s prestigious AOY award : “ The guy who wins the AOY has had a great season , and the Bally Bet AOY is an excellent way to recognize what a major accomplishment that is .”
Here are some highlights of the 2022 race .
“ the guy ” in 2022 : wheeler x 2
Defending Bally Bet AOY Jacob Wheeler ’ s 2022 season was nothing short of phenomenal . Wheeler ’ s AOYwinning 2021 campaign was remarkable enough as he collected three Bass Pro Tour wins and 494 points , so most logical expectations for the Tennessee pro coming into the 2022 season opener in Monroe , Louisiana , were that he would certainly be a favorite , but he probably couldn ’ t top 2021 .
PHOTO BY PHOENIX MOORE
Wheeler apparently missed that memo . Starting with a seventh-place finish at Stage One , he reeled off six Top 10s in a row , finishing the 2022 season with an astounding 94.5 % of the maximum potential Bally Bet AOY points ( 529 of 570 ) in winning his second AOY trophy by 70 points .
jordan lee : any other year …
The unfortunate winner of the “ other ” AOY title – “ Any Other Year ” – 2020 Angler of the Year Jordan Lee fished well enough in 2022 to win almost any other season-long points race . He held the Bally Bet AOY lead after Stage Three and never dipped lower than third all year , doggedly pursuing Wheeler through the final four tournaments before eventually finishing second .
The Alabama pro has finished in the AOY Top 10 six times in eight years as a tour-level pro – the highest current Top 10 AOY percentage in the sport .
PHOTO BY JOSH GASSMANN career resurged : alton jones
Only two other anglers beside Wheeler and Lee held the No . 1 spot in the Bally Bet AOY rankings in 2022 , and one of them was Alton Jones . The 2008 Bassmaster Classic champion and 2021 Heavy Hitters champion hit a groove in 2022 , qualifying for five of seven Championship Rounds and finishing third behind Wheeler and Lee ( the highest tour-level AOY finish in Jones ’ 32-year career ).
At 59 , Jones is a stark departure from the rest of the anglers who finished in the Top 10 in AOY points : The average age of the other nine anglers is 35 .
no “ rookie ” jitters : dakota ebare
Texas pro Dakota Ebare arrived on the Bass Pro Tour with three Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit / FLW Tour seasons under his belt , so he was far from a rookie . Nonetheless , Ebare ’ s performance in his first go-around with the BPT format was impressive : He earned a Top 5 in AOY points and notched four Top 10s ( including three in the row to end the season ).
PHOTO BY JOEL SHANGLE PHOTO BY SEAN OSTRUSZKA
10 MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022