Lucas Edges Wheeler By A Single Ounce At Erie

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

Justin Lucas became a two-time tour-level winner this year by beating the other guy who holds that distinction by a single ounce.

A 19-10 stringer on a windy final day propelled Lucas to victory at the Lake Erie FLW Pro Circuit Super Tournament out of Sandusky, Ohio with a 4-day total of 79-02. It was his second win in as many months on a smallmouth-dominated fishery – he also triumphed in the Bass Pro Tour season finale at Sturgeon Bay in Michigan.

Prior to Sturgeon Bay he'd gone almost 4 years without a victory, although he did put together a B.A.S.S. Angler of the Year campaign in 2018. With the $35,000 bonus he picked up for running a Phoenix boat, his take from this event was a hefty $160,000.

"This one isn't quite as emotional because I'd won one recently and hadn't gone through a drought, but it feels really good," he said. "I just love fishing for smallmouth and I always feel like I should be able to put myself in a good position in any 4-day smallmouth tournament."

He finished 1 ounce ahead of Jacob Wheeler, the winner of the first Super Tournament at Lake Chickamauga in June and also the runner-up to Tom Monsoor at the Mississippi River 2 weeks ago. The No. 1 angler in the BassFan World Rankings came within 2 pounds of sweeping all three expanded-field events.

Wheeler boxed 18-08 on the final day to finish with 79-01. Josh Bertrand, the leader after days 1 and 3, managed just 11-14 in the final round and ended up 3rd with 74-10.

Scott Dobson concluded a fine Pro Circuit season with a 4th-place finish (19-02 on day 4, 74-06 aggregate). Spencer Shuffield, who was 2nd to Ron Nelson in the final Pro Circuit points standings, rounded out the Top 5 with 73-12 (15-14 on day 4).

The remainder of the Top 10 consisted of Alton Jones Jr. with 72-14 (15-14), David Dudley with 68-07 (15-12), Jim Moynagh with 67-10 (13-04), Russ Lane with 66-12 (14-10) and Jason Lambert with 53-03 (zero on the final day).

Lucas compiled the bulk of his day-best bag between over a 3-hour period in the middle of the day. Those fish came from a location where he'd wanted to begin the round, but had to take a detour because the wind-generated waves were too big.

"I got to that area at 10 o'clock and between then and 1 it was pretty good," he said. "Everything I was catching seemed to be close to 4 pounds."

He caught 8 keepers – one more than his high mark for any of the 3 previous days. The biggest was a 4 1/2-pounder.

Just like at Sturgeon Bay, he caught everything on a Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm fished on a dropshot rig. Full details of his winning pattern, as well as those of the other top finishers, will be published in the coming days."

Wheeler, who pocketed a combined $195,000 from the three Super Tournaments, was at the popular Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky (billed as "The Roller Coaster Capital of the World") within an hour of the final weigh-in. His already-massive lead in the World Rankings will get an additional boost in the upcoming edition.

"I'm not going to lie; this one hurts more (than the close call at the Mississippi)," he said. "I had plenty of opportunities in this one, but I've had an unbelievable year and I've caught them consistently and I can't sit here and gripe. There's a lot of guys who would've loved to finish 2nd.

"I'm so fortunate to get to do what I love and be successful at it and work with a lot of great companies. I've got a great wife and my little girl is healthy – my blessings are endless. There's a lot worse things going on in the world than me finishing in 2nd place by an ounce."

Bertrand went through his best stuff twice during the early part of the day, but it wasn't until the sun had gotten fairly high in the sky and he had improved visibility that he realized it had been dirtied up by the strong northeast wind.

He ran from Erie back into Sandusky Bay to catch a pedestrian limit of largemouths just as a protective move in case the entire Top-10 field struggled. In hindsight, he had some regrets about doing that.

"You just don't get that many opportunities to win," he said. "I only needed 17 pounds and I probably wouldn't have caught that with the way things were, but I didn't give myself a chance. I've got the whole offseason to chew on it, but it's all good."

Notable

> Day 4 stats – 10 anglers, 8 limits, 1 four, 1 zero.

Day 4 (Final) Standings

1. Justin Lucas -- Guntersville, Al -- 21-7 (5) -- 19-14 (5) -- 18-3 (5) -- 19-10 (5) -- 79-2 (20) -- $160,000

2. Jacob Wheeler -- Harrison, Tn -- 20-6 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 22-5 (5) -- 18-8 (5) -- 79-1 (20) -- $35,000

3. Josh Bertrand -- San Tan Valley, Az -- 22-6 (5) -- 17-8 (5) -- 22-14 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 74-10 (20) -- $30,000

4. Scott Dobson -- Clarkston, Mi -- 17-14 (5) -- 19-6 (5) -- 18-0 (5) -- 19-2 (5) -- 74-6 (20) -- $25,000

5. Spencer Shuffield -- Hot Springs, Ar -- 18-3 (5) -- 20-8 (5) -- 19-3 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 73-12 (20) -- $22,000

6. Alton Jones Jr -- Lorena, Tx -- 19-0 (5) -- 21-13 (5) -- 16-3 (5) -- 15-14 (5) -- 72-14 (20) -- $21,000

7. David Dudley -- Lynchburg, Va -- 15-13 (5) -- 18-9 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 68-7 (20) -- $19,000

8. Jim Moynagh -- Shakopee, Mn -- 18-4 (5) -- 17-14 (5) -- 18-4 (5) -- 13-4 (4) -- 67-10 (19) -- $18,000

9. Russell Lane -- Prattville, Al -- 15-9 (5) -- 19-3 (5) -- 17-6 (5) -- 14-10 (5) -- 66-12 (20) -- $17,200

10. Jason Lambert -- Michie, Tn -- 16-9 (5) -- 16-15 (5) -- 19-11 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 53-3 (15) -- $16,000