MINOCQUA, Wis. (Major League Fishing) — For the second time in as many days on the water together at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies, Jacob Wheeler and Mark Daniels Jr. of Team O’Reilly Auto Parts topped the field in convincing fashion. Wheeler and Daniels stacked up 55 scorable bass totaling 88 pounds, 11 ounces on Big Arbor Vitae Lake to win by more than 34 pounds in Knockout Match 2 of the second Fishing Clash Team Series event of 2025.
The victory earns them a spot in Friday’s Championship Round, where the Heritage Cup trophies will be up for grabs. Claiming the final berth were Marshall Robinson and Drew Gill of Team Star Tron. Gill and Robinson kept pace early with a productive topwater bite, mixing in both largemouth and smallmouth before transitioning to wood and docks in the afternoon. Their 54-9 total wasn’t enough to challenge Team O’Reilly Auto Parts for the win, but it was more than enough to secure the second qualifying spot. Team Ferguson (Marty Robinson and Nick LeBrun) mustered just 16-6 and was eliminated.
The field is now set for Friday’s Championship Round. The two teams that advanced Thursday will join Ott DeFoe and Andy Montgomery of Team BUBBA – the reigning Heritage Cup champions – as well as Luke Clausen and Keith Carson of Team Fishing Clash.
Old-school rules for Wheeler and Daniels
Wheeler led all anglers with 46 pounds, 3 ounces on 30 scorable bass, and both he and Daniels credited a back-to-basics approach for the dominant showing.
“Today was another solid day for us,” Wheeler said. “We just went old school. Flipping a jig around docks and shallow cover was the No. 1 thing, and where we got the majority of our bites today. Mark would throw the wacky worm when the fish got a little more pressured, but the jig carried us. Hopefully, we can keep that momentum rolling into the Championship Round.”
Daniels agreed, noting that their quick adjustment set the tone.
“The jig was a big player on Day 1 on Minocqua Lake, so we knew we’d probably get bites,” he said. “Big Arbor Vitae didn’t have nearly the number of docks on it, so we were a little worried about that at first. But we were the first boats to get on them, and we started catching them right off the bat. We just rolled with that, even circled back to the same docks later with different baits and got a few more bites. I’ll tell you what – 20-pound fluorocarbon line, a flipping stick, and a jig, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
Wheeler and Daniels admitted that they started the morning trying to find a group of fish in Big Arbor Vitae’s offshore grass. About an hour into Period 1, they scrapped that plan and went shallow. A spree of 13 consecutive scorable bass for more than 20 pounds proved that it was the right decision and gave them a lead they’d never relinquish.
“We tried hard to find a group in that offshore grass this morning, and we picked off a few,” Daniels said. “The quality is better out there, to be honest. But in this game, every fish counts, and we just couldn’t find a group of them.”
Wheeler echoed the sentiment, noting that their large lead gave the duo the chance to sample a bit of everything the lake had to offer.
“They definitely weren’t wadded up out there like we needed them to be to make something happen, and we never really found that one mystical group of bass,” he said. “Toward the end of the third period, we ran some more grass lines quickly, just trying to check the temperature of some hard cover and laydowns, too.”
With their win, Wheeler and Daniels know what’s ahead – strong competition and a lake that may fish very differently.
“I know Ott and Andy, if there’s an opportunity to be fishing docks tomorrow, they’re going to be fishing docks,” Wheeler said. “We’ll be doing that, too, and I’m sure Drew and Marshall are going to try to stay out there wide. So, we’re just keeping our minds open and our options available as we go into the Championship Round.”
“If it’s half as good as this place was, we’ll be alright,” Daniels added. “I feel like this whole area up here is great. Tons of fish. When we get up north, there are so many lakes, especially in Wisconsin and Minnesota, that don’t get the pressure we see down south. These suckers bite.
Championship Round on Friday
Major League Fishing: Catch it LIVE on RFD-TV.
Watch all the action through Sept. 19 live on the RFD-TV Now livestream from 10 AM - 5 PM ET each day, or at MajorLeagueFishing.com. RFD-TV will also air the final period of each competition day LIVE on TV from 3-5 PM ET.
CATCH IT LIVE: HERITAGE CUP, CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND
