2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/ Albemarle Sound Day 1: Kyle Welcher Hammers 30lbs!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 33rd, Gallant 55th, Gustafson 63rd & Chris Johnston 84th (Kung unknown)

Alabama's Kyle Welcher leads Day 1 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound in Elizabeth City, N.C., with a weight of 30-11. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS) 

BASS Press Release

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. —  Bites were hard to come by for Kyle Welcher during practice for the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. He received only seven keeper bites on Day 1, but they resulted in the best bag of the day.

 

The 2023 Progressive Angler of the Year caught a limit of largemouth weighing 30 pounds, 11 ounces to take the Day 1 lead in eastern North Carolina. He anchored his impressive performance with three 7-pounders and a 6-pounder.

 

The Alabama native holds a nearly 7-pound lead over second-place Easton Fothergill.

 

“It was very fortunate,” he said. “My practice was terrible. I was really struggling with the confidence to catch a limit. The second one I caught was a 7-pounder, and that was the key to the puzzle for today. I’ve got a little clue now.”

 

After several cold nights to end practice, sunny and windy conditions persisted over the Albemarle Sound on Thursday. Navigating to the many rivers that flow into the Sound proved challenging for anglers, and the colder weather made the bite stingier than anticipated. Even with the tough bite, 71 limits were caught. 

 

Welcher’s best day in practice produced five to six bites, none as big as what he received on Day 1, and on the final day of practice he caught just two keepers.

 

“I didn’t get a good feel for the place, but something was telling me to go to this one area. That is where I went today,” Welcher said. “I really don’t know what changed.”

 

When he arrived in that one area today, he found the big ones waiting. Welcher landed two of his bigger bites when he first arrived at his area before suffering a long lull. After trying to adjust with little success, he returned to the same spot he landed his first two bites and caught his third quality keeper. 

2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 2: Easton Fothergill Take Big Lead!

Canadians Cory Johnston 2nd, Chris Johnston 9th,  Jeff Gustafson 29th & Cooper Gallant 41st

Easton Fothergill takes over the lead at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a two-day total weight of 54 pounds, 5 ounces. (Photo: Grant Moxley/BASS)

By Andrew Canulette

BASS Press Release 

FORT WORTH, Texas — All it took was 53 magical minutes on Lake Ray Roberts for Easton Fothergill to take complete control of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

The 22-year-old native of Grand Rapids, Minn., entered Day 2 of the Classic in third place, less than two pounds out of the lead. He had high hopes for Saturday morning, but it didn’t start out exactly as he planned, with only one bass in his livewell at 10 a.m.

Then, what he called “the 180” started — and what a turnaround it was. 

Between 10:28 a.m. and 11:31 a.m., Fothergill caught three hogs that added a whopping 19-10 to his total. He finished the day with a limit of five bass weighing 29-6, giving him a two-day total of 54-5, exactly 8 1/2 pounds more than his nearest competitor.

No lead is too big, but the Classic compass clearly points to the young ace from the North Star State. And barring a complete collapse on Championship Sunday, coupled with one of his closest competitors yanking a huge sack of bass, Fothergill is a day away from winning the Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic Trophy and the $300,000 prize that goes with it.