Lake O.H. Ivie is known as a giant bass factory, but the first time Major League Fishing (MLF) anglers competed there – in the 2024 Patriot Cup as part of the Fishing Clash Team Series – the lake’s lunker largemouth remained elusive. Across three days of competition on O.H. Ivie, only two bass over 3 pounds hit SCORETRACKER®.
Hopes were higher when the Bass Pro Tour returned this week for Suzuki Marine Stage 4 Presented by Plano given the March timing and the fact that anglers were allowed to practice on the cover-filled lake. This time, it took all of 2 minutes for the first big one to show up.
Jacob Wheeler kicked off Day 1 of the Qualifying Round by boating a 7-pounder. While not quite one of the double-digit giants O.H. Ivie has been known to produce, that was one of three bass over 7 pounds and one of 23 over 5 caught by the 51-angler field on Thursday.
It also gave Wheeler the early lead. Though he traded the top spot with a few other pros throughout the day, that’s where he ended up. Wheeler totaled 44 pounds even on 13 scorable bass, which leads Brent Ehrler by 8-1. Behind him, the weights are tight, with less than 10 pounds separating Ehrler from Adrian Avena in eighth.
After practicing on O.H. Ivie, Wheeler knew he’d be around some fish, but he didn’t really know what to expect, having shaken off most of his bites.
When his first pitch with a Rapala CrushCity Bronco Bug to a fish he’d marked on a spawning bed yielded the 7-pounder, he figured he was in for a good day – the norm for the 10-time Bass Pro Tour champion.
“I started there, and first pitch, Bronco Bug, boom,” he said. “Set the hook, she came flying out of the water, 7-pounder. I’m like, ‘uhh, yeah. This is going to be a fun day.'”
Wheeler continued his strong start by adding a 4-2, a 5-3 and a 5-14 – all in the first period. At the end of the opening frame, he led with 25-0 on five bass. He noted that his day could have been even better, as he hooked and lost a couple scorable bass, although he chalked that up to the reality of fishing amid the flooded forest that is O.H. Ivie.
“I think I was batting 75% or something like that flipping, which is not horrible,” he said. “I made a couple mistakes. One of them is sort of part of it; the other one, I shouldn’t have pulled on it as hard as I did. But everybody lost fish today. You just know it’s part of it. You can’t get too frustrated and flustered when you lose them.”
Wheeler spent most of his day slowly and steadily picking apart timber with the Bronco Bug. With about an hour left before lines out, he found a flurry in which he was able to use reaction baits to catch four scorable bass for 8-8 in the span of 10 minutes. That proved to be the difference between Wheeler and his pursuers. Wheeler admitted that was just “good fortune.”
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I knew it was going to happen,” he said. “But it was a combination of being in the right place at the right time and being in a quality area that had a good number of fish.”
Now, it’s decision time for Wheeler. While most anglers would likely jump at the opportunity to win the Qualifying Round, which comes with an automatic berth in Sunday’s Championship Round, Wheeler remains unsure whether that’s in his best interests.
On one hand, the guaranteed Top 10 finish would help his quest for a fifth Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title in the past six years. He entered Stage 4 tied for second place in the standings, 4 points back of leader Zack Birge. But he thinks his chances of claiming BPT win No. 11 are better if he gets a feel for Lake Brownwood, which will host both the Knockout and Championship Rounds, prior to the final day.
The numbers back that up. In 10 previous BPT events held across multiple fisheries, no Qualifying Round winner has gone on to hoist the trophy.
“Probably a day on the water on Brownwood would be nice, because I feel like the odds of winning the tournament not spending a day out there, it would be tough,” Wheeler said. “But I’m not laying up. I really haven’t got into it, to be honest with you.”
The top 25 pros after Day 1 on O.H. Ivie are:
1st: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 13 bass, 44-0
2nd: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 12 bass, 35-15
3rd: James Elam, Cleveland, Okla., 13 bass, 33-7
4th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 12 bass, 31-8
5th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 11 bass, 28-10
6th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., eight bass, 27-10
7th: Brent Chapman, Lenexa, Kan., nine bass, 27-7
8th: Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J., eight bass, 26-7
9th: Alton Jones Jr., Lorena, Texas, six bass, 25-10
10th: David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 24-12
11th: Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., nine bass, 24-4
12th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., eight bass, 23-14
13th: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, seven bass, 23-10
14th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., nine bass, 23-10
15th: Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., five bass, 21-11
16th: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., five bass, 20-8
17th: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., nine bass, 20-5
18th: Dylan Hays, Pearcy, Ark., five bass, 19-13
19th: Takahiro Omori, Emory, Texas, five bass, 19-13
20th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., seven bass, 19-7
21st: Fletcher Shryock, Cleveland, Tenn., eight bass, 19-2
22nd: Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas, seven bass, 18-10
23rd: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., seven bass, 18-4
24th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., six bass, 17-14
25th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., five bass, 17-12
A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 307 bass caught weighing 898 pounds, 11 ounces, caught by the 51 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Thursday.
Thursday’s Berkley Big Bass Award ended in a tie, with both Casey Ashley of Donalds, South Carolina, and Mitchell Robinson of Landrum, South Carolina, catching a 7-pound, 1-ounce largemouth in the first period to take home $500 each. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
Hosted by Visit Early, the four-day tournament features 51 of the world’s top professional anglers competing for a $125,000 top prize and their share of a $600,000 purse, along with valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2027 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – and the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event.
The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday on O.H. Ivie. After the two-day Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finish 2nd through 25th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round on Lake Brownwood. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round on Lake Brownwood, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.
Anglers will arrive Friday (March 27) at 6:15 a.m. CT to Elm Creek Marina, located at 457 Recreation Road #10 in Voss, Texas, and Saturday and Sunday (March 28-29) at 6:15 a.m. CT to the Brownwood Reservoir Public Boat Ramp, located at 621 Spillway Road in Brownwood, Texas. Anglers will return to the morning launch location each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to watch the event live online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® livestream and follow along with SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
On Saturday and Sunday, March 28-29, from 3–6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to the Early Town Center, located at 109 Kelcy Way in Early, for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the Bass Pro Tour pros live on the MLFNOW!® big screen, enjoy free food for the first 100 fans each day, enter hourly giveaways, browse MLF merchandise and the bargain bait bin, and cheer on their favorite anglers. Youth of all ages can take part in a fishing derby (gear and bait provided, weather permitting) and a casting contest. Live music with C.J. Briscoe and Caleb Wilbourn begins at 4 p.m., followed by Top 10 angler interviews and the trophy presentation at 5 p.m., including autographs and photos with Bass Pro Tour finalists. The first 50 kids ages 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day.