Just one week before the inaugural Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour event kicks off in Kissimmee, Fla., MLF pro Jacob Wheeler and his wife, Alicia, welcomed their first baby into this world: Oliva Hollyn Wheeler.

Their beautiful baby girl weighed in at 9 pounds even and was born at 11:23 this morning.

“I don’t know a better feeling that I’ve ever had in my life. So much joy I can’t even express it,” Jacob beamed.

Now that Jacob is a brand-new father, it will be a struggle for him to leave his family to compete in Stage One of the MLF Bass Pro Tour. Friends and family tried to prepare him for the emotions he’ll face in the coming days, but he says he couldn’t comprehend it until he held his baby girl in his arms for the first time.

“It doesn’t get real until you have the baby. It’s feelings I can’t even describe,” Jacob said.

On the other hand, Jacob says he’s more motivated now than ever to perform well on the Bass Pro Tour.

“It’s going to be tough. But at the same time, I know that fishing is the way I provide for my family,” Jacob continued.

Jacob knew that Alicia was due around the same time as the start of the first Bass Pro Tour event, and he was stressed because he couldn’t imagine missing the birth of his daughter. But when they learned that baby Olivia was breech, they decided to schedule a C-Section so Jacob could be there for his wife and daughter.

“It was a blessing in disguise to have a C-Section. I’m so glad I got to be there,” Jacob said. “It’s nice to not have the stress of being in Florida and waiting for that one call while I’m out there on the water.”

Many anglers have had career-highlighting seasons after a big event happened in their personal lives. For example, MLF pro Justin Lucas won the Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship the same year his son was born.

In the fishing world, it’s known as the “baby pattern”.

2019 is off to an exciting start for Jacob, which makes you wonder if the baby pattern will help him out this season.

“Hopefully everything works out for this year and I can use baby Olivia as a good luck charm,” Jacob laughed.