Opening day on Wheeler Lake

Day 1 of the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Elite Series event on Wheeler Lake begins and all 108 anglers scatter across the Alabama fishery.

As we arrived with Brandon Coulter he was swinging in a fish.

This one goes in the livewell and it gives him two early on the first morning.

He continues to cast and put his limit together.

He hooks up with a small fish and brings it aboard his boat.

It doesn’t keep, but he he is getting bites so he keeps pounding away.

Cast by cast anglers put an early pattern together in hopes of taking advantage of the morning bite.

Coulter hooks up.

It jumps at the side of the boat…

But Coulter captures another keeper early on Day 1.

He takes the tie to retie so no mistakes are made on his part.

With three keepers in the livewell he heads off to newer water and tries to fill his limit.

Skeet Reese was nearby fishing a shallow bank.

Reese finished second place last week at the dual-lake event in Arkansas.

Reese picks up the trolling motor and makes a move from the back of the shallow pocket to another pocket in this creek.

Local favorite Jordan Lee comes cruising by us.

Lee was cruising the shoreline with three fish in his livewell.

Lee is in his second year on the Elite Series after a very good rookie campaign.

Lee heads out to find some more productive water on Wheeler.

Although we are in Alabama, Shaw Grigsby found himself around some fishy cover that looks more like his Florida waters back home.

Grigsby worked very slow and casted numerous times around the same pieces of cover.

Grigsby sets the hook and begins to fight the fish.

He had a few early fish and was hoping this one would measure to give him another keeper.

You would think it was a giant based on Grigsby’s reaction, but his celebration is due in-part to conquering the fish he missed moments prior.

This one didn’t keep though.

Fred Roumbanis was feeling at home as well based on the shallow nature and cover he was around.

Roumbanis filled his limit moments before we arrived and was on the prowl for a big bite.

Boom Boom works around the backside of a few bushes…

…before idling across the shallow pocket.

Elite Series newcomer Dave Lefebre fishes in the back of a pocket with multiple types of cover nearby.

Lefebre sneaks around the back of some bushes.

He said he had a limit for about 12 pounds, but he just missed a big one.

Lefebre bounced back from a tough finish at the St. Johns and almost got a Top 12 at Winyah Bay and then backed it up again with a decent finish at stop #3. A good finish here will have him sitting in a good position in points.

Casey Scanlon cruises by in his Nitro Z21.

Lefebre stays poised as he fishes around some fishy looking cover.

We saw Lefebre rotate between numerous baits during our short time with him.

David Mullins was in the next pocket as he was putting the pieces to the puzzle.

He idles across a shallow flat with four fish in the boat for about 7 pounds.

Mullins is sitting 20th in the Toyota Angler of the Year Standings and did well at Bull Shoals/Norfork last week.

He told us how this bridge was key for his finish in a BFL Regional and he almost went to the All-American based off this spot.

Bill Lowen scoots past Mullins as he heads to the back of the creek.

Mullins saw numerous slow and methodical anglers back in the creek and he wanted no part of that. So he stayed further out and fished unpressured water.

Cliff Crochet idles out of the pocket with roughly 10 pounds in the livewell early on Day 1. His fast start had him sitting high early on according to BASSTrakk.

Lowen wasn’t having a great morning by his standards and was hoping to get going soon.

We found the unofficial BASSTrakk leader soon after.

John Crews already had close to 20 pounds in the livewell and he was practicing for the rest of the event as he wanted to nail down a solid backup plan.