Wheeler Leads Bass Fishing's Forrest Wood Cup Presented By Walmart

DULUTH, Ga., Aug. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --Link to photo of Fatheadz pro Jacob Wheeler

Forty-six of the best professional bass anglers from all over the world began their four-day battle for a top cash award of $500,000 at the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing, on Lake Lanier on Thursday.

Fatheadz pro Jacob Wheeler of Indianapolis, Ind., weighed a five-bass limit for 21 pounds, 15 ounces to take the early lead in the tournament. Wheeler now holds an impressive 5-pound, 6-ounce lead over Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury of Springville, Ala., who caught five bass weighing 16-9.

"Every decision I made today was the right decision," said the youngest competitor in the Forrest Wood Cup field. "I was so blessed with the big bites that I had.

"It was everything from having the opportunity to catch a big one and my co-angler not casting there so I could catch the big one," Wheeler added. "It was just an awesome day, and you just don't have those very often."

Although Wheeler was reluctant to give up too much information on his techniques on the first day of competition, he did say that he fished in water that was 10 feet deep or less. He said he targeted largemouth, but did catch a few spotted bass, for a day's catch of 15 bass, including 10 keepers. All of Wheeler's weigh fish were largemouth.

"I knew going into this tournament that it was going to be tough to be consistent with largemouth," Wheeler said. "I could bust 21 pounds a day and go out again tomorrow and catch nothing. That can happen. I know my chances, but that's where my comfort level is.

"Throughout this whole year, the tournaments I did well in I fished my style and what I was confident in," Wheeler added. "So I said, 'I'm going to fish my way, my style, and if it works out, it works out, and if not, I'm going to have a heck of a time."

The top 20 pros after day one on Lake Lanier are:

1st

Fatheadz pro Jacob Wheeler, Indianapolis, Ind., five bass, 21-15

2nd

Straight Talk pro Scott Canterbury, Springville, Ala., five bass, 16-9

3rd

Chevy pro Dion Hibdon, Sunrise Beach, Mo., five bass, 14-15

3rd

Cody Meyer, Auburn, Calif., five bass, 14-15

5th

Cody Bird, Granbury Texas, five bass, 14-11

6th

National Guard pro Scott Martin, Clewiston, Fla., five bass, 14-9

7th

Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 13-12

8th

Castrol pro David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 13-11

9th

Kettle Brand Chips pro Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., five bass, 13-1

10th

Chevy pro Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., five bass, 12-5

11th

Chevy pro Jay Yelas, Corvallis, Ore., five bass, 12-4

12th

Adrian Avena, Vineland, N.J., five bass, 11-10

12th

Gary Yamamoto, Palestine, Texas, five bass, 11-10

14th

Folgers pro Scott Suggs, Bryant Ark., five bass, 11-7

15th

Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 11-2

16th

National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, five bass, 11-0

17th

Troy Morrow, Eastanollee, Ga., five bass, 10-15

18th

Cheez-it pro Shinchi Fukae, Palestine, Texas, five bass, 10-14

19th

Clent Davis, Montevallo, Ala., five bass, 10-12

20th

Chevy pro Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., five bass, 10-9

Nick Hensley of Cumming, Ga., leads the Co-angler Division with five bass weighing 12-2 followed by Matt Krekovich of Granite City, Ill., in second place with four bass weighing 11-9. Co-anglers are fishing for a top award of $50,000.

The top 20 co-anglers are:

1st

Nick Hensley, Cumming, Ga., five bass, 12-2

2nd

Matt Krekovich, Granite City, Ill., four bass, 11-9

3rd

Timothy Dearing, Loudon, Tenn., five bass, 9-6

4th

Bryan New, Belmont, N.C., four bass, 9-0

5th

Ralph Myhlhousen, Council Bluffs, Iowa., five bass, 8-12

5th

Shane Winchester, Glasgow, Ky., three bass, 8-12

7th

Rob Hicks, Lula, Ga., four bass, 7-13

8th

Corey Leonard, Castalia, N.C., four bass, 7-3

9th

Hoyt Tidwell, West Point, Tenn., three bass, 6-15

10th

David Lauer, Loxahatchee, Fla., three bass, 6-1

11th

Doug Caldwell, Kane, Pa., four bass, 6-0

11th

James Waller, Cypress, Texas, four bass, 6-0

13th

Brant Grimm, Kingsport, Tenn., three bass, 5-15

14th

Brandon Hunter, Benton, Ky., four bass, 5-12

15th

Mike Helton, Jeffersonville, Ind., two bass, 5-9

16th

Todd Lee, Jasper, Ala., three bass, 5-4

16th

Brook Pauley, Morgantown, W. Va., four bass, 5-4

18th

Chad Billiot, Radeland, La., three bass, 5-2

18th

Bryan Partak, Marselles, Ill., three bass, 5-2

20th

Kevin Spooner, Vero Beach, Fla., two bass, 4-14

Anglers will take off from Laurel Park located at 3100 Old Cleveland Highway in Gainesville, Ga., at 7 a.m. each morning. Weigh-ins will be held at the Gwinnett Convention Center located at 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth, Ga., beginning at 5 p.m. daily.

Fans will be treated to the FLW Expo at the Gwinnett Convention Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. prior to the weigh-ins. The Expo includes Ranger boat simulators, the opportunity to interact with professional anglers, enjoy interactive games, activities and giveaways provided by sponsors, and fans can learn more about the sport of fishing and other outdoor activities. All activities are free and open to the public. On Saturday 500 free rods and reels will be given away to the first 500 children 14 years and under who are accompanied by an adult. On Sunday 1,000 free rods and reels will be given away to the first 1,000 children 14 years and under who are accompanied by an adult. The rod and reel giveaways are courtesy of the Gwinnett Daily Post. Also on Sunday, one lucky fishing fan will win a Ranger Z520 with a 250-horsepower Evinrude, Lowrance electronics and Minn Kota trolling motor. The Ranger boat giveaway is courtesy of the Gwinnett Daily Post and is free to enter, but the winner must be present at the conclusion of Sunday's final weigh-in to win.

Coverage of the Forrest Wood Cup will be broadcast in high-definition (HD) on NBC Sports Network when "FLW" airs Sept. 16 from 1-2 p.m. ET. "FLW" is hosted by Jason Harper and is broadcast to more than 559 million households worldwide, making it the most widely distributed weekly outdoors-sports television show in the world.

For complete details and updated information visit FLWOutdoors.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/FLWFishing and on Twitter at Twitter.com/FLWFishing.

ABOUT FLW FLW is the industry's premier tournament-fishing organization, providing unparalleled fishing resources and entertainment to our sponsors, fans and host communities. FLW is offering anglers of all skill levels the opportunity to compete for millions in prize money nationwide in 2012 over the course of 191 tournaments across five tournament circuits, each providing an avenue to the sport's richest payday and most coveted championship trophy the Forrest Wood Cup. FLW is committed to providing a lifestyle experience that is the "Best in Fishing, On and Off the Water," through a variety of platforms including tournaments, outdoor expos and the world's richest fantasy sports game FLW Fantasy Fishing. For more information about FLW and FLW Fantasy Fishing, visit FLWOutdoors.com or FantasyFishing.com and look for FLW on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE FLW