Reyes Takes Lead at Lake Chickmauga FLW Super Tournament, Wheeler Solid in Second

Meyer Climbs into Top 5 with 21-4 as Field Cuts to 50

Jacob Wheeler's 22-1 on Day 2 kept him in second place on Lake Chickamauga. Photo by Joel Shangle

June 24, 2020 • Joel Shangle • Bass Pro Tour

DAYTON, Tenn. – Everyone knew that it would take a Herculean effort to unseat MLF pro Jacob Wheeler from the lead after the first day of competition in the FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament on Lake Chickamauga. Turns out that Hercules’ name on Day 2 is Jason Reyes.

Reyes – a 13-year FLW pro from Huffmann, Texas – brought 27 pounds, 4 ounces to the scales Wednesday at Dayton Boat Dock to boost his two-day total to 49-14. Wheeler held on to second place with 22-1, giving him 46-10 heading into Day 3, followed by Cole Floyd (whose 26-2 included a 9-pounder) and John Cox.

Fellow MLF pro Cody Meyer weighed in 21-4 to climb into fifth place.

“There are a lot of fish to be caught in this lake, but you have to catch big ones to win,” said Wheeler, who weighed two 6-pounders on Day 1. “There are just a ton of fish out there, but you have to find the right ones. I spent my morning fishing places where if I got a bite, it would be a big one. I just never got a bite. I wanted to commit to some offshore spots a little more, but after having a tough morning, I had to start moving through my rotation.”

Meyer Makes Hay Early

Heading out as boat number 164 out of 204, Meyer found himself in a surprising position when he arrived at his first spot – a community hole downriver from launch – to find it totally empty. The Daiwa pro proceeded to catch 17 quick pounds before stalling for much of the rest of the day.

“I ran around and really struggled to find anything, and just stopped on a huge community hole in the last hour and caught two of my better fish there,” Meyer said. “Nothing awesome or exciting, just light line, drop-shots and shakey heads, to try to get these fish to bite in these community holes.

Roumbanis, Lucas, Atkins in Top 20

Fred Roumbanis’ 19-14 (which included a 7-pounder) pushed him into eighth place with 36-12. Justin Lucas fell out of the Top 5 with 14-12 and sits in 14th place heading into Day 3 with 34-15. Justin Atkins rounded out the roster of MLF pros in the Top 20 with his second straight bag of 16-13, which puts him in 20th with 33-10.

Bobby Lane’s 16-14 on Day 1 and 13-13 on Day 2 put him inside the Top 50 cut line. Photo by Joel Shangle

19 MLF Pros in Top 50

In addition to Wheeler, Meyer, Roumbanis, Lucas and Atkins, 14 other MLF pros made the Top 50 cut to fish on Thursday: Andy Morgan, Alton Jones, Terry Scroggins, Brent Ehrler, Dean Rojas, Adrian Avena, John Murray, Michael Neal, Anthony Gagliardi, David Dudley, Mark Daniels Jr., Bobby Lane, Casey Ashley and Jesse Wiggins.

Watch Live Coverage on FLWFishing.com

Follow the live coverage of Day 3 of the FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament at FLWFishing.com. FLW Live will stream from six boats daily, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT.

Live weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. EDT. Fans can follow the action via the FLW live blog, or the live leaderboard at FLWFishing.com