When Dustin Connell and Jacob Wheeler teamed up to compete in the first General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops event of the season in August at Erie, Pennsylvania, many fans thought the reigning REDCREST champion and Fishing Clash Angler of the Year, respectively, would dominate the competition. Instead, a series of unfortunate on-the-water mishaps – including a hook to the hand that saw Connell leave the water and seek medical treatment for a period of time – resulted in the duo failing to advance out of the Elimination Round.

Saturday, in the third and final match of the Elimination Round at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq on O.H. Ivie in Early, Texas, the duo – representing Team Lucas Oil – dominated.

Wheeler accounted for 16 bass weighing 23 pounds, 5 ounces, while Connell added five for another 9 pounds to earn the Elimination Round win by a 14-pound, 11-ounce margin. Team Coign – Jeff Sprague and Bryan Thrift – finished the match in second place with 11 bass weighing 17-10. Team Star brite – Dylan Hays and Jacob Wall – and Team B&W Trailer Hitches – Todd Faircloth and Andy Montgomery – were eliminated from competition.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Patriot Cup Elimination Round Match 3 Winner Team Lucas Oil (Connell/Wheeler)
Link to HD Video Clip of Patriot Cup Elimination Round Match 3 Highlights
Link to Photo Gallery of Patriot Cup Elimination Round Match 3 Highlights

“We’re looking forward to advancing to the Knockout Round – our last time out we had an early exit in Erie. So, it feels good to qualify on this time around,” Wheeler said.

After a short stint fishing the bank in Period 1, the duo quickly pulled out their spinning rods and moved out to deeper water, targeting fish with their forward-facing sonar.

“Early on in the second period we made a major change,” Wheeler said. “Looking at the two baits, you wouldn’t think it is a big change. But we moved from the (gizzard shad-colored Rapala Crush City) Freeloader to the (Rapala Crush City) Mooch Minnow.

“The Mooch Minnow is a lower profile bait and really good around threadfin shad and smaller bait. We also downsized to an 1/8-ounce tungsten VMC (jig) head and then we caught a lot of fish. That change was key to generating more bites throughout the day.”

The duo spent the last hour and 15 minutes ‘big-fish hunting’ – using their forward-facing sonar to scan deep structure and points casting to specifically big fish.

“We did give it an honest try,” Connell said. “We could have sat back and caught more 2- or 2½-pounders, but we tried to fish for some big ones this afternoon. Ultimately, they never bit.”

The Knockout Round field is now set, with the Team Lucas Oil duo of Connell and Wheeler competing on Monday, while Sprague and Thrift will compete on Sunday.

“We had a fun time today, and we caught a lot of bass. Jacob caught them good and put on a clinic. I’m looking forward to getting back out on Monday and I think we can do this again,” Connell went on to say.

The top two teams from the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq Elimination Round Match 3 that now advance to the Knockout Round are:

1st:        Team Lucas Oil, 21 bass, 32-5
Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 9-0
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 16 bass, 23-5
2nd:       Team Coign, 11 bass, 17-10
Jeff Sprague, Wills Pont., seven bass, 10-1
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., four bass, 7-9

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd:       Team Star brite, six bass, 7-10
Dylan Hays, Hot Springs, Ark., two bass, 2-4
Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., four bass, 5-6
4th:        Team B&W Trailer Hitches, two bass, 2-10
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, zero bass, 0-0
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., two bass, 2-10

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 40 bass weighing 60 pounds, 3 ounces caught by the four teams in the third and final Elimination Round match on O.H. Ivie Lake. Wheeler caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a 3-pound, 1-ounce largemouth.

The Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq is hosted by Visit Early and takes place over six days in west-central Texas. The competition water for each day is top-secret and is only revealed to the anglers when they arrive at the boat ramp each morning. Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water at 8:45 a.m.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live every day of competition from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

The Patriot Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they entered the one-day Elimination Round matches. Each of the three Elimination Round matches featured four new teams, with the top two teams from each match of the Elimination Round advancing to the Knockout Round on Days 4 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds on Sunday and Monday, three teams compete each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Tuesday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq.

The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.

Television coverage of the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in March 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.

Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and  YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.