It premiered on Outdoor Channel and MyOutdoorTV on Monday that Major League Fishing pro Jacob Wheeler of Harrison, Tennessee caught 21 scoreable bass weighing 50 pounds, 6 ounces to win the 2022 Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches in Palm Bay, Florida. During Wheeler’s career, he has won four MLF Cups – the most in his career by a single angler. Both Kevin VanDam and Edwin Evers have won three Cups in their careers.
It was not an easy victory for Wheeler. He traded the lead with Shelby, North Carolina, pro Bryan Thrift for most of the day. As Thrift led the first half of Period 2, Wheeler soared to the top of the leaderboard with a 6-pound, 2-ounce giant and built a 14-pound lead over Thrift and the rest of the pack.
To retake the lead from the Tennessee pro, Thrift caught five scorable bass in a row – including two 4-pounders. The story looked like it was already being written when Thrift caught a 3-pound, 3-ounce bass midway through the third period, increasing his lead over Wheeler to four pounds, nine ounces.
As the clock ticked down to the end of the competition, Thrift looked like he had the win in the bag as he traded scorable keepers back and forth. With just three minutes remaining, Thrift had a 1-pound, 11-ounce lead over Wheeler and looked to be on his way to winning his first career MLF Cup. Wheeler, however, had other plans.
With just two minutes remaining, Wheeler hooked up – the fish weighed 2 pounds, 1 ounce. Wheeler had overtaken Thrift by 6 ounces, and as time ticked down, he was giddy as he knew he had won.
Wheeler uttered an exclamation of disbelief as the clock ran out. “I had worked that spot earlier in the day, and it was tough going; I had two misses and lost a decent one early on in the last section. I had nine and a half minutes left so I told myself to hit all the hyacinth mats there, hoping for a bite–and it paid off!”
To win the event, Wheeler threw an unnamed soft plastic craw with a heavy 2-ounce tungsten weight and a 4/0 punching hook.
In Florida, it’s tough because if you fish too fast, you pass them; if you fish too slow, you don’t catch enough fish to win,” Wheeler said.
“I can’t believe it happened,” Wheeler said. “What an incredible way to wrap up the season. I only fished one Cup event this year – and to hoist the trophy… wow. This is so surreal – it’s so much fun doing what I love.”
In the 2022 Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, the final eight anglers were:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 21 bass, 50-6
2nd: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 20 bass, 50-0
3rd: Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 18 bass, 33-11
4th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 13 bass, 27-1
5th: Matt Lee, Cullman, Ala., eight bass, 20-1
6th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 18-7
7th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, nine bass, 13-4
8th: Fred Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., five bass, 12-13
MajorLeagueFishing.com has the complete results and photos from the event.
Additionally, Wheeler caught the Championship Round Berkley Big Bass, boating a 6-pound, 2-ounce largemouth flipping a creature craw.
On Kenansville Lake, the final eight pros caught 104 bass weighing 225 pounds, 11 ounces during the Championship Round.
In 2022, the Wiley X Summit Cup Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches was hosted by Florida’s Space Coast Office of Tourism and aired on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting on May 21.
On each day of the competition, 24 MLF pro anglers competed on either Headwaters Lake, Kenansville Lake, Garcia Reservoir or Stick Marsh on the Space Coast of Florida. The event took place over six days in December on lakes surrounding the Palm Bay area. Anglers did not know where they were competing until they arrived at the launch ramp each morning.
Watch all six episodes of the event on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). The full television schedule can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Detailed information about Major League Fishing and the MLF Cup events can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. MLF’s social media outlets include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
Sources: MLF
