Ehrler/Lucas and Connell/Wheeler Advance to Championship

October 28, 2024 at 6:59 pm Derrick Stuckly

The Team 7 Brew Coffee duo of Brent Ehrler and Justin Lucas caught 14 scorable largemouth bass on Lake Brownwood, Monday, weighing 34 pounds even to win Match 2 of the Knockout Round at the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq in Early, Texas. The win secures Team 7 Brew Coffee a spot in Tuesday’s finale. Also advancing, in second place, is the Team Lucas Oil squad of Dustin Connell and Jacob Wheeler, who caught 15 bass totaling 31-1.

Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches – pros Luke Clausen and Martin Villa – were eliminated from competition with 11 bass weighing 21-14.

The Championship Round field is now set for Tuesday in the third General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops event of the season. Ehrler/Lucas and Connell/Wheeler will compete against Team Builders FirstSource (Ott DeFoe/Alton Jones Jr.) and Team Coign (Jeff Sprague/Bryan Thrift), with the team that weighs in the highest one-day total being declared the Patriot Cup champions.

Anglers spent the Elimination Round competing on O.H. Ivie Lake, then shifted to Lake Brownwood for the Knockout Round. With all fisheries within a 60-mile radius of Early, Texas, in play for the Championship Round, it will make for an exciting finale for anglers and fans alike.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Patriot Cup Match 2 of the Knockout Round Winner Team 7 Brew Coffee (Ehrler/Lucas)
Link to HD Video Clip of Patriot Cup Match 2 of the Knockout Round Highlights
Link to Photo Gallery of Patriot Cup Match 2 of the Knockout Round Highlights

“We had a good day and it was a lot of fun. We are obviously happy with how everything went, but we had the bites to have more weight,” Ehrler said. “I think we could probably have had another 9 or 10 pounds in our total, but we missed a few. But when you’re throwing big swimbaits, that’s a part of it.”

The team caught their fish in a variety of ways. Ehrler boated scorables using four different baits – early on a topwater, a worm, and a jerkbait before settling in with the big swimbait, while Lucas landed keepers with a jighead minnow and a finesse jig before doing the heavy lifting with the big swimbait. The duo did most of their damage with the swimbait, targeting steep wind-blown rocky banks.

“We tried to just cover as much water as possible, and it was a lot of fun,” Lucas said. “The bait that clued us in to what we were going to do the rest of the day was the 6-inch Berkley (PowerBait) CullShad in Albino (color). Brent put on a similar swimbait in the afternoon and caught several on it, as well. I was throwing that thing on 17-pound (Berkley) Trilene (100%) Fluorocarbon with a 6:6:1 gear ratio reel and a 7-foot, 6-inch heavy rod.

“I had a good feeling about this week, and so far, it’s feeling pretty good,” Lucas went on to say. “You’ve got to get to the finals before you can win, so that’s the next goal.”

“I’ll take the win, today, but I’d definitely rather have it tomorrow,” Ehrler added.

“At least we know we can do it,” Lucas responded.

The Team Lucas Oil duo of Connell and Wheeler struggled early – they caught only one scorable bass in the first period. After starting the third period with a 1-pound, 12-ounce deficit, they rallied and caught four of the final five bass of the day to overtake Clausen and Villa and claim the final Championship Round spot.

“It took us a little bit to figure out, but the wind was the key,” Connell said. “Jacob caught that 5-pounder on the ChatterBait. Then he had another bite and then it was like, alright. That was the clue we needed.”

Connell and Wheeler caught the majority of their bass in the afternoon using vibrating jigs.

“That was the key for us today, throwing the ChatterBait out on flat points,” Wheeler said. “We were using the (Z-Man) Jack Hammer ChatterBait with a (Rapala CrushCity) gizzard shad Freeloader, and a (Rapala CrushCity) green-pumpkin-disco Freeloader.”

“We punched our ticket to the Championship Round,” Connell said. “We’ve got an opportunity, and that’s all we need.”

“Heck yeah, I’m in, and I am ready,” Wheeler added.

The top two teams from the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq Knockout Round Match 2 that now advance to the Championship Round are:

1st:        Team 7 Brew Coffee, 14 bass, 34-0
                Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., seven bass, 13-10
                Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., seven bass, 20-6
2nd:       Team Lucas Oil, 15 bass, 31-1
                Dustin Connell, Clanton, Ala., five bass, 8-6
                Jacob Wheeler, Harrison, Ark., 10 bass, 22-11

Eliminated from competition are:

3rd:       Team Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff & Pouches, 11 bass, 21-14
                Luke Clausen, Spokane, Wash., seven bass, 10-0
                Martin Villa, Charlottesville, Va., four bass, 11-14

Complete results from throughout the week can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 40 bass weighing 86 pounds, 15 ounces caught by the three teams in the second and final Knockout Round match on Lake Brownwood Monday. Team Lucas Oil pro Jacob Wheeler caught a 5-pound, 7-ounce largemouth that earned the Berkley Big Bass of the day honors.

The Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq is hosted by Visit Early and takes place over six days in west-central Texas. 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.

The Championship Round will take place Tuesday, featuring Team 7 Brew Coffee (Brent Ehrler/Justin Lucas), Team Builders FirstSource (Ott DeFoe/Alton Jones Jr.), Team Coign (Jeff Sprague/Bryan Thrift), and Team Lucas Oil (Jacob Wheeler/Dustin Connell). Anglers are driven directly to the day’s competition area launch ramp by their officials. Competition begins on the water Tuesday at 8:45 a.m.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!® is live streamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

The Patriot Cup features 12 two-man teams divided into three groups as they entered 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 & 5. In the Knockout Rounds, three teams competed each day, with the top two teams from each Knockout Round match now moving on to the Championship Round on Day 6. In Tuesday’s Day 6 Championship Round, the final four teams will compete in a one-day shootout to determine which team will win the 2024 Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq.

The 2024 General Tire Team Series is comprised of four events – Challenge Cup, Heritage Cup, Patriot Cup and Summit Cup – featuring two-man teams of MLF Bass Pro Tour pros competing from the same boat. Each event features a roster of 24 anglers, teamed up and working together to claim part of a season purse of more than $720,000. Teams were formed through a selection process, where 48 team captains – based on Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings throughout the 2024 Bass Pro Tour season – selected a teammate. Teams will compete throughout the fall of 2024.

Television coverage of the Folds of Honor Patriot Cup Presented by recteq will premiere on Outdoor Channel as six two-hour episodes in March 2025. New MLF General Tire Team Series episodes will premiere each Saturday morning on Outdoor Channel and posted to MOTV.

Proud sponsors of the MLF General Tire Team Series include: 7 Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Barbasol, Bass Boat Technologies, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, Builders FirstSource, C-MAP, Coign, Epic Baits, Ferguson, Fishing Clash, General Tire, Knighten Industries, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, Mossy Oak, Nitro Boats, Onyx, Plano, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala Baits, REDCON1, Smokey Mountain Herbal Snuff, Star brite, Toyota, USAA, WIX Filters and YETI.

For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the General Tire Team Series Presented by Bass Pro Shops, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 17 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.