HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Nov. 7, 2024) – Well known for being one of the more fickle lakes on the Tennessee River, Wheeler Lake produced a tightly packed leaderboard on Day 1 of the 2024 Toyota Series Championship at Wheeler Lake. It took nearly 17 pounds to crack the Top 10, and 24 pros managed more than 14 pounds – not terrible by any means.
That said, Hayden Marbut of Birmingham, Alabama, was the star of the show. The only man to catch more than 20 pounds, the Alabama native waylaid 21-6 for the lead. In second, Mike Raber of Elkhart, Indiana, caught 19-13 on Day 1, and Ethan Fields of Breese, Illinois, edged into third with 18-5.
Catching his two kickers on nearly back-to-back casts at his first stop, Marbut may have been leading the event since about 7:45 Thursday morning.
“It was a good day for sure,” said Marbut. “I didn’t really know what to expect coming into the day. I had a good first day of practice and pretty much stopped fishing after that and just looked around. But I spent a lot of time out here in pre-practice and tried to make myself as much like a local as I could, and it worked out today.”
A standout in college for Auburn and an impressive performer in the Central Division this year, Marbut is one of many new-school anglers who are lighting things up at a young age. Weighing four smallmouth and one fish of indeterminate species, Marbut had a hot start and then a slow afternoon.
“I didn’t catch a ton of fish today, but they were the right size,” he said. “So, I’m excited to get back out there tomorrow. I probably caught caught 10 or 12, but probably nine keepers, and I culled a couple of times. But other than that, it was really slow, and it happened pretty fast this morning.”
One thing is for sure: Marbut is all-in on this. He’s got his eye on the $235,000 top prize and the REDCREST berth that comes with it. In 2025, MLF’s championship event is on Guntersville.
“I mean, I’m always all-in, but there’s definitely some extra juice with REDCREST on the home pond,” he said. “In pre-practice, I was grinding out here.”
The long-running bass-fishing championship, hosted by the Huntsville-Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Madison County Commission and the Huntsville Sports Commission, features the nation’s best Toyota Series pros and international anglers, and is the culmination of the 2024 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats season.
The top 20 pros after Day One on Wheeler Lake are:
1st: Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 21-6
2nd: Mike Raber, Elkhart, Ind., five bass, 19-13
3rd: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 18-5
4th: Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., five bass, 17-10
5th: Austin Swindle, Parrish, Ala., five bass, 17-9
6th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., five bass, 17-7
7th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 17-5
8th: Jake Lawrence, Buchanan, Tenn., five bass, 17-4
9th: Levi Thibodaux, Thibodaux, La., five bass, 17-2
10th: Buddy Benson, Dahlonega, Ga., five bass, 16-15
10th: Phillip Dutra, Arab, Ala., five bass, 16-15
10th: Laker Howell, Guntersville, Ala., five bass, 16-15
13th: Donavan Carson, Bluff City, Tenn., five bass, 16-11
14th: Brady Duncan, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-5
15th: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., five bass, 15-15
16th: Brad Vice, Tanner, Ala., five bass,15-14
17th: Donny Beck, Killen, Ala., five bass, 15-13
18th: Ty Faber, Pagosa Springs, Colo., five bass, 15-11
19th: Nicholas Hoinig, Port Saint Lucie, Fla., five bass, 15-10
20th: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., five bass, 15-8
20th: Blake Schroeder, Whitehouse, Texas, five bass, 15-8
20th: Zane Parker, Kingwood, Texas, five bass, 15-8
For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 845 bass weighing 1,877 pounds, 15 ounces caught by 193 pros Thursday. The catch included 140 five-bass limits.
Eric White of Cullman, Alabama, leads the Strike King co-angler division with five bass weighing 13 pounds, 12 ounces, followed by Stephen Draghi of Sparrow Bush, New York , who weighed five bass totaling 12-13 to end the day in second place. Co-anglers are competing for a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard.
Back in February, both Marbut and White won their respective divisions in the Central Division event on Lake Guntersville. So, moving down the chain by one dam wasn’t enough to trip either of them up.
The top 20 Strike King co-anglers after Day One on Wheeler Lake are:
1st: Eric White, Cullman, Ala., five bass, 13-2
2nd: Stephen Draghi, Sparrow Bush, N.Y., five bass, 12-13
3rd: Steven Schantz, Alexandria, Va., five bass, 12-8
4th: Joe Lee, Midlothian, Texas, five bass, 12-3
5th: Alejandro Morales, San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico, five bass, 11-6
6th: Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., five bass, 10-13
7th: Jonathan Green, San Pablo, Calif., five bass, 10-3
7th: Tim McGlenn, Welcome, Md., five bass, 10-3
9th: Jerry Armstrong, Shelbyville, Tenn., five bass, 9-15
10th: Matt Krekovich, Granite City, Ill., five bass, 9-12
11th: Jerry Pyles, Middletown, Md., five bass, 9-9
11th: Casey Dunn, North Highlands, Calif., five bass, 9-9
13th: Dennis Young, Olathe, Kan., five bass, 9-8
14th: Lenny Bays, Dayton, Ky., three bass, 9-5
15th: Oliver Siebert, Fenton, Mo., five bass, 9-4
16th: Patrick Brown, Swainsboro, Ga., two bass, 9-3
17th: Rabih Itani, Granville, Australia, five bass, 9-2
17th: George Malcolm, Gainesville, Fla., four bass, 9-2
19th: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, five bass, 8-13
20th: Jeremy Smith, Arbela, Mo., five bass, 8-11
Anglers will take off daily at 7 a.m. CT from Ditto Landing, located at 293 Ditto Landing Road, in Huntsville. Weigh-ins will also be held at the landing and will begin at 3 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend the daily takeoffs and weigh-ins and also follow the action online through the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2024 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Bass Boat Technologies will premiere on CBS Sports in 2025.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/toyota-wheeler-11724.html
MLF Toyota Series