MINOCQUA, Wis. – Rain, clouds and shifting conditions kept the field guessing Tuesday at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies on Minocqua Lake. As the final seconds ran out on SCORETRACKER®, it was Team O’Reilly Auto Parts – made up of Jacob Wheeler and Mark Daniels Jr.– that made the right adjustments on Day 3 to finish the day in the top spot at the second event of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series.
After a slow start with forward-facing sonar offshore, Wheeler and Daniels pivoted shallow midway through the first period and found the winning combination. A productive stretch of boat docks produced multiple quick bites, and before long, the duo mixed in a handful of quality largemouth from nearby milfoil beds to separate themselves from the field. Their final tally of 47 pounds, 3 ounces was 24 pounds more than any other team, an emphatic statement that secured them a spot in the Knockout Round.
But the real drama Tuesday came around the Elimination Line. Team 7Brew Coffee (Zack Birge and Keith Poche) held on in the closing minutes after Poche landed a 1-pound, 13-ounce bass with 5 minutes to spare. That catch was the difference that pushed them past Team Smokey Mountain (Terry Scroggins and Casey Ashley), who staged a furious rally with Neko rigs late in the third period but came up 1-12 shy to finish in third.
Despite a strong start with topwater baits and vibrating jigs that briefly gave them the lead, the competition day ended with Team B&W Trailer Hitches (Jared Lintner and Todd Faircloth) bowing out. They finished with 12 scorable bass for 15-12.
Link to Hi-Res Photo of Heritage Cup Elimination Round Match 3 Winner Team O’Reilly Auto Parts
Link to HD Video Clip of Heritage Cup Elimination Round Match 3 Highlights
Link to Afternoon Photo Gallery: Anglers dial it in on Minocqua Lake during Elimination Match 3
“That was a heck of a first day of competition, man,” Daniels said. “We couldn’t have asked for anything better. I honestly just feel like we had a really good day overall just fishing. We didn’t figure out a super strong pattern – we just bounced around and caught a few doing this and a few doing that, and thankfully that was enough to put us in the lead and keep us there.”
Four-time Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) Wheeler described the team’s effort as “hodge-podge fishing.”
“We started the day without much of a game plan in mind, just looking at everything with fresh eyes,” Wheeler said. “Up north, the toughest thing is figuring out if it’s going to be a better smallmouth fishery or a better largemouth fishery. We just tried to draw in some fish, look around at what was available and make the right adjustments from there.
“The No. 1 bait for both of us today was a jig. Mark was flipping grass, I was skipping docks, and we just kept it simple. Old-school bass fishing.”
Once they established the dock-and-grass mix, momentum carried the team through the final two periods.
Wheeler’s 22 scorable bass for 35 pounds alone outpaced the other three teams’ totals, while Daniels added key fish including a 3 1/2-pounder from deeper milfoil.
“The boat docks were definitely more consistent for us, but we caught some really good ones out of the grass, too,” Daniels said. “It doesn’t get any better, man. Hopefully everybody watching us today enjoyed it. For us, the focus was just getting through today.
“We owned this round, but we definitely got our work cut out for us in the rest of the event,” Daniels finished.
“We do, we do,” Wheeler added. “But one thing’s for sure – we aren’t driving home yet.”
The top two teams from Elimination Round Match 3 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies that now advance to the Knockout Round are:
1st: Team O’Reilly Auto Parts, 30 bass, 47-3
Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Tenn., 22 bass, 35-0
Mark Daniels Jr., Tuskegee, Ala., eight bass, 12-3
2nd: Team 7Brew Coffee, 16 bass, 23-1
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., seven bass, 10-14
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., nine bass, 12-3
Eliminated from competition are:
3rd: Team Smokey Mountain, 15 bass, 21-6
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., five bass, 6-8
Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., 10 bass, 14-14
4th: Team B&W Trailer Hitches, 12 bass, 15-12
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, three bass, 3-14
Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., nine bass, 11-14
Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 73 bass weighing 107 pounds, 6 ounces caught by the four teams in Elimination Round Match 3 on Lake Minocqua. Team O’Reilly Auto Parts pro Jacob Wheeler caught the Berkley Big Bass of the day – a largemouth weighing 4 pounds, 2 ounces.
The three teams that will compete Wednesday in Knockout Round Match 1 at the Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies are:
Team Fishing Clash:
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla.
Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash.
Team BUBBA:
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C.
Team 7Brew Coffee:
Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla.
Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala.
The Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies is hosted by the Minocqua Area Visitors Bureau and takes place over six days in Minocqua, Wisconsin. 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 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MLF and MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) apps, RFD-TV Now, Game & Fish TV and Rumble. The final period of every day of competition of the 2025 Fishing Clash Team Series is broadcast live on RFD-TV, from 1:30-4 p.m. CT.
The Heritage Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they enter 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 and 5. In the Knockout Rounds, 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 Friday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2025 Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies.
The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops will feature four Cup events in 2025 – the Challenge, Heritage, Patriot, and Summit Cups – with 12 two-man teams of Bass Pro Tour anglers competing for a share of $560,000 in prize money. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2025.
The MLF Fishing Clash Team Series Knighten Industries Heritage Cup Presented by Bass Boat Technologies will also air on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour original episodes each Saturday afternoon starting Feb. 14, 2026. The complete television schedule for the Fishing Clash Team Series on Outdoor Channel will be posted at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Proud sponsors of the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, NITRO Boats, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Smokey Mountain Caffeinated Pouches, Star brite, Toyota, YETI and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on the MLF Fishing Clash Team Series, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.