No Ego. No Hooks. His First REDCREST Trophy.

Jacob Wheeler's championship strategy was built on one idea most competitors can't stomach: checking your ego at the door.

Jacob Wheeler and seven-year-old daughter Olivia celebrate his first REDCREST title on Table Rock Lake. On Saturday, Olivia had given her father the best advice of the tournament: "Dad, you don't have to win today. Just win tomorrow." | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

At some point during the third period of qualifying Saturday at REDCREST 2026, Jacob Wheeler’s boat official leaned in toward him with a concern.

"It's getting pretty close, Jacob," he said. "You gonna put some hooks on?"

With only the Top 10 moving on to Championship Sunday, and Wheeler having dropped from second to ninth place, it was only natural for his official to be a bit worried. At some point that day, Wheeler had removed his hooks, intentionally shaking fish off instead of catching and weighing them—right in the middle of the biggest tournament of the year.

But Wheeler was very intentional about his strategy. This was a master angler executing a well-thought plan to perfection. By not hooking fish at the end of Day 2, he was gathering the most current data possible for maximizing his catch on Day 3—the only day you need to win to take home the trophy. His Championship Day catch of 21 scorable bass (two pounds or larger) weighing a total of 51 pounds, 11 ounces was good for a $300,000 payday in his seventh appearance at the event.

Fishing the End Game

Egos don't win tournaments. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

"When I drop my trolling motor on day one of practice, I'm thinking about the end game," Wheeler said after claiming his first REDCREST title on Table Rock Lake. "I'm not thinking about the check. I'm not thinking about the cut. I'm thinking about what is my end game."

And because REDCREST and the entire Bass Pro Tour Series has a unique set of rules, the end game really is everything. The final day of competition starts with all of the qualifying anglers tied at zero. So, in Wheeler’s mind, the two days of qualifying exist only to get yourself to the final day with as many of your best spots as fresh and untouched as possible.

But that philosophy requires something most competitors struggle with.

"You can't get your ego in the middle of qualifying," Wheeler said. "I don't care. There's no ego. It's all about setting myself up for Championship day.” Wheeler understands that whether you qualify in first or in tenth, it doesn’t make any difference. “You realize egos don’t win tournaments.”

Wheeler just sneaked into Championship Sunday, second from the bottom of the ten-angler field. To anyone not paying attention, it would appear that he’d had a modest two-day performance. By Wheeler's design, it was exactly where he wanted to be.

In the video below, Wheeler explains his championship strategy in his own words — including what his boat official said when he noticed Wheeler wasn't actually hooking any fish.

Wheeler’s Big Move

Jacob Wheeler heads out on the final day of competition, confident that his plan is about to come together. | Photo by Craig Mazurek

Again, it would be easy to think that it was Sunday, when Wheeler's mixed bag of Table Rock largemouth and smallmouth weighing over 51 pounds, won him the tournament. But the real breakout move happened on Saturday, when Wheeler was the only angler in the top ten to save his forward-facing sonar period for the final qualifying session. While other competitors used theirs earlier in the day, Wheeler waited until last period—and then intentionally didn’t hook any fish.

"I put a lot of my chips in the center of the table," he said. "I said I'm going to play as close as I possibly can. Because if I do, I feel like I’ll set myself up to win this tournament."

The Championship Sunday Phone Call

Wheeler's daughter Olivia knew exactly what her dad needed to hear on the way to his first REDCREST trophy. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

And even with his plan coming together perfectly, Wheeler got a boost he didn't expect during the break between periods. He called his wife, who was watching the SCORETRACKER with their seven-year-old daughter Olivia. The day before, Olivia had offered one of the sport’s most accomplished anglers some sage advice. “Dad, you don't have to win today. Just make sure you win tomorrow.”

So, with one period left on Championship Sunday, she asked, ‘Dad, you're going to win?’" Wheeler recalled. "And I said, Olivia, we're going to try. If daddy doesn't win, we're going to give it all we got. And it's okay if we don't—just as long as we give everything we can." He paused. "She was a little teared up. It put a little more pep in my step. It was definitely a moment for me and a life lesson I hope she'll remember long term."

Omori Answers Late on Sunday

Takahiro Omori looked like the only angler who had any chance of catching Wheeler in the final period—but it was too little, too late. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

While Wheeler was fishing a virtually perfect tournament, veteran angler and 2026 Bass Fishing Hall of Fame inductee, Takahiro Omori gave him the only real scare of the day. Omori found something in the third period that really started working—aggressive bass moving into his water. He began making up ground quickly.

"I found some shallow pockets that warmed up," Omori said. "Fish were moving in to spawn." Asked if another hour might have been enough to catch Wheeler, he didn't hesitate. “I should have had another hour—I might have caught him. But my time ran out."

When the Game Plan Comes Together

Jacob Wheeler crosses the stage as the 2026 REDCREST Champion. | Photo by Craig Mazurek

With Wheeler’s professional fishing career stats, everyone has assumed he’d win REDCREST every year, since the very first one. He’s been close before, but this time, he said, “everything played into my hand perfectly. And I think when your whole game plan comes together and it happens—that's your time."

Ninth place qualification. Zero ego. One REDCREST trophy—and likely not his last.