2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 1: Trey McKinney Score 26lbs and Lead.

Canadians Cory Johnston 2nd,  Jeff Gustafson 26th,  Chris Johnston 29th & Cooper Gallant 53rd

By Andrew Canulette

BASS Press Release 

FORT WORTH, Texas — When Trey McKinney hopped onto the stage at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, the infectious beat of “Church Clap” by Christian hip-hop artist KB filled Dickies Arena.

Though conventional wisdom says don’t ever change what’s working, McKinney’s hype song might as well be “The Kids are Alright” by The Who, because things are, indeed, quite alright for the whiz kid from Carbondale, Ill.

McKinney, who celebrated his 20th birthday only last month, holds the Day 1 lead in the world’s most-celebrated fishing tournament. His limit of five bass totaled 26-9 and gave him a 1-pound cushion over Canada’s Cory Johnston, who’s in second with 25-9.

Rounding out the Top 5 in the 56-angler field are, third, Minnesota’s Easton Fothergill, 24-15; fourth, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat, 23-7; and fifth, Texas pro Lee Livesay (who many pundits consider the favorite here,) with 23-0. The entire field will fish again Saturday, and the Top 25 anglers will make Sunday’s cut, with the winner pocketing $300,000 cash.

McKinney’s performance in B.A.S.S. events has belied his youth from the start. At 18, he finished second in the Bassmaster Opens EQ standings and became the youngest angler ever to qualify for the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series. He took the Elites by storm, too, winning Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and finishing second in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings.

Justin Hamner Wins 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors on Grand Lake!

Canadians Cory Johnston 6th, Gallant 12th & Chris Johnston 25th

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS Release

When most anglers win the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing, they at least pretend like it came as the biggest surprise of their lives.

But not Justin Hamner.

The fourth-year Bassmaster Elite Series pro from Northport, Ala., said openly that he “just had a feeling” coming into this year’s Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors that he was going to win — and in three days on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, he turned that feeling into a hard-core reality.

Hamner completed an assault on B.A.S.S. history with a Championship Sunday limit of five bass that weighed 15 pounds, 13 ounces, and pushed his three-day total to 58-3. He became only the 10th angler in the 54-year history of the event to lead all three days.

“I have no idea what’s been going on, but this past month has been pretty dang good,” said Hamner, who earned $300,000 and the coveted Ray Scott trophy. “I can’t explain it, but I really did feel like I had a good chance to win.”

That feeling wasn’t exactly reinforced during a tough practice when Hamner said the best bass he caught was a 3-pounder. But he started the tournament on the spot where he caught that fish and used a shad-colored, deep-diving jerkbait to put together a limit that weighed 22-6 and gave him the Day 1 lead.

He went back there for Day 2. But, just like in practice, he couldn’t replicate a pattern and was forced to redirect.

“The wind was blowing a ton of bait into the pocket I was fishing,” he said. “When all of that bait got in there, those fish were keyed in on the bait and they wouldn’t bite my jerkbait. I couldn’t make them bite it, and I still can’t really explain it.”

That’s when Hamner relocated again and started using Garmin LiveScope to target largemouth in brushpiles. He quickly caught two 5-pounders that pushed him to a 20-pound limit and helped him maintain the lead going into the final day.

Despite being in the most visible spot a professional angler can hold, Hamner said he never got nervous until around 1 p.m. on Championship Sunday. At that point, he said he lost four big bass, but he couldn’t say if nerves caused him to lose the fish or if losing the fish caused the nerves.

Tyler Steward Wins 2024 Tackle Warehouse Invitationals Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki on West Point Lake!

Tyler Stewart is heading to REDCREST in 2025 with an extra $80,000 in hand thanks to winning Stop 2 with a three-day total of 45-3. Photo by Jody White

By Jody White, Invitationals

LaGRANGE, Ga. – The final day of Stop 2 Presented by Suzuki on West Point Lake was as dramatic as anticipated. With the clock ticking, none of the leaders had pulled clearly ahead or had spectacular days, until Tyler Stewart iced it with a last-minute kicker.

“Honestly, I was hoping to catch a 2 1/2-pound spot to get a few more pounds, because I knew it was going to be so close,” Stewart said of his final fish. “There was a dock that I caught one 2-pounder on in practice in front of the ramp. I rolled up to that dock with 10 minutes left, slung a ChatterBait under it and caught a 3 1/2-pounder and culled out a 1-pounder. When it’s meant to be, it’s gonna happen.”

That fish bumped Stewart up to 14 pounds, 4 ounces on the day, enough to clear Todd Walters by 7 ounces and win his first Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event with a three-day total of 45-3. For the win, Stewart takes home $80,000 and a spot in REDCREST 2025. 

Docks and largemouth earn Stewart the victory 

Having fished as a pro on the FLW Tour and its various iterations since 2018, Stewart has competed in the Forrest Wood Cup and the TITLE and been in the hunt to win before. A winner in college in 2016, Stewart fished at the University of Louisiana-Monroe and has since fished his way around the country. 

Scott Martin Wins 2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee!

Martin Break Open Records!

David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Bassmaster Elite Series pro Scott Martin’s no weatherman, but his spot-on prediction described a scenario that enabled him to sack up a 31-pound, 7-ounce limit Saturday and lock up a record-setting wire-to-wire victory at the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN.

“Whoo! I’ve had to hold it in all week,” said a clearly emotional Martin, who notched his first B.A.S.S. victory. “To win here in front of my mom, in this parking lot where my dad (nine-time Bassmaster Angler of the Year, Roland Martin) won (the 1991 Bassmaster Florida Invitational) it’s just a blessing.

“To have that come full circle and to stand on this stage in front of my family and friends is just so amazing. I’m beyond appreciative of the sport, beyond appreciative of B.A.S.S. This is just special.”

Taking the early lead with a Day 1 limit of 33-2 — the event’s largest — Martin added a second-round bag that went 25-13 and held on to the top spot. After the Day 2 weigh-in, the hometown favorite said he believed the week’s increasingly stable, warming trend could deliver the opportunity he needed to seal the deal.

With Championship Saturday bringing more calm, sunny conditions and slightly warmer water, Martin slammed the door shut with a Day 3 catch that included a pair of 9-pounders he caught about an hour apart.

2024 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee Day 1: Scott Martin Drops 30 Plus Limit!

Martin mashes 33 pounds, 2 ounces to take Day 1 lead at Okeechobee

Clewiston resident Scott Martin smashes 33-02lbs to grab
leaded on Day 1. (Photo Andy Crawford/BASS)

David A. Brown

BASS Press Release 

CLEWISTON, Fla. — Local knowledge certainly helped, but Bassmaster Elite Series pro Scott Martin said patience was the key to his massive limit of 33 pounds, 2 ounces, which leads Day 1 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Lake Okeechobee presented by SEVIIN.
Martin, who grew up fishing Florida’s largest lake, heads into Day 2 with a lead of 5-12 over Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala.
“When you fish in Florida, you have to be slow and methodical and make accurate casts and pitches,” Martin said. “That’s the only reason I caught ’em — I stayed very patient.”
Noting that he did not fish the same places he targeted during the 2023 Elite Series opener on his home lake, Martin said he dialed in his main area late Wednesday afternoon. Knowing how to exploit what he found was the difference maker.

Kelly Jordon Wins 2023 Tackle Warehouse Invitations on Lake Eufaula

By Jody White

MLF Fishing

EUFAULA, Okla. – Weighing the biggest bag of the tournament on Championship Sunday – 22 pounds, 9 ounces – Kelly Jordon vaulted from fourth to the win in Epic Baits Stop 3 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches on Lake Eufaula. With Ron Nelson faltering on the final day, the door was open, and Jordon blasted through it.

Even partway through the day with an incomplete limit, Jordon was in contention thanks to the quality of his fish. When he made two last-minute culls despite dead trolling motor batteries, the veteran pro slammed the door. Totaling 57-3 on the event, Jordon earned $83,500 and locked up qualification for next year’s REDCREST.

A founding angler on the Bass Pro Tour, this was Jordon’s first foray into the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, and it turned out to be a great move. The veteran pro has struggled on the BPT, and was overshadowed a bit in the Top 50, with young guns and rising stars all around him in the standings. But, while the fishing got harder for most on Day 3, the wily Texan saved the best for last.

Setting up for success

Having fished a tournament or two at Eufaula before, Jordon came into the event a fan of the lake, but admitted that he had an idea how he wanted to fish it. It turned out that he was pretty much right on from the get-go.

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Bryan Thrift Wins 2023 Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Shore Lunch!

Mason Prince

BASS PRO TOUR

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – He was the favorite to win before the week began. He was the man to beat all week. He was the leader for the past two days. On Sunday, Bryan Thrift made the inevitable a reality. Thrift is the Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Presented by Shore Lunch Champion.

The North Carolina native proved to be too much for the pursuing Alton Jones Jr. and Edwin Evers to overcome. Thrift finished with five bass for 13 pounds, 10 ounces, pushing his three-day total to 46-12 and 4-6 clear of the second-place Jones.

Thrift becomes the first angler in history to win both a REDCREST and Forrest Wood Cup trophy as well as the fourth different pro to win the Bass Pro Tour championship since its inception.

How Thrift got it done on Norman

The weights were indeed lower on Sunday just as Jones Jr. predicted on Saturday — the heaviest limit of the day belonged to Casey Ashley at just 15-11 — but that’s to be expected with the frigid and wet weather that rolled through the Lake Norman area. Thrift wasn’t immune to the struggles that the rest of the Top 10 faced. After two limits over 15 pounds before the final day, Thrift only managed 13-10 on Sunday.

Jeff Gustafson Wins 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee River with 63lbs!

Canadians Cory Johnston 33rd & Chris Johnston 46th

By Christopher Decker

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Smallmouth and moping gives Canadian his first Elite win.
(Photo: BASS)

While check-in for the Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee River was scheduled for 3 p.m. ET, Jeff Gustafson was waiting in the parking lot behind the World’s Fair Park Performance Lawn by 2. 

With his limit of smallmouth filled and potentially treacherous waters ahead, the Keewatin, Ontario, native wanted to make sure he was back in plenty of time. 

“I figured it would take a really big bag to catch me,” Gustafson said. “And being 40 miles down the river and with all the logs on the river, there was room for something to happen and I just wanted to get these fish in and get back here.” 

Turns out, Gustafson could afford to quit early.

With a 14-pound, 3-ounce limit, the Canadian pro claimed his first career Bassmaster Elite Series victory with a four-day total of 63-0, just over 7 pounds ahead of second-place finisher Steve Kennedy.

With the coveted blue trophy in hand, Gustafson reflected on all of the people who’d helped him reach his lifelong dream of scoring an Elite Series win.

“My dad took me fishing every chance I wanted to go when I was a kid and I just caught the bug for it,” Gustafson said. “This is my whole life doing this stuff. It means everything to me. I think about a lot of people that I did it for, my family and I have a lot of good buddies at home that have the talent to do this and just have a different direction in their lives. 

“They all really support me and send me messages all the time, good or bad. I can’t wait to show them all this trophy.”

Brian Latimer Wins 2019 FLW Tour Lake Seminole with 80-15lbs!

B. LAT BECOMES A CHAMPION

by Kyle Wood

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Finesse and pitching key for B.Lat's first Tour win.
(Photo: FLW)

Brian Latimer has dreamed his entire life of being crowned an FLW Tour champion, and after years of hard work and dedication, it has finally paid off. The Belton, S.C., pro led coming into the final day of the FLW Tour event on Lake Seminole, presented by Costa, and though it wasn’t easy, he sacked up 21 pounds, 3 ounces to lock up the win with 80-15 overall. He edged out day-one leader Braxton Setzer by 2 pounds, 1 ounce in one of the most emotional victories seen on the FLW stage.

While his weights may reflect a somewhat easy week on the water, the truth is far from it. With just a handful of bites each day, “B. Lat” had to make them count, and despite losing some fish in the last few days, he stayed focused and determined, avoiding the dreaded spinout that many pros would experience.

“It happened,” Latimer says of his win. “It really happened.”

To make it happen, Latimer had to evolve over the week, adjusting to the fish as he went. While flipping shallow grass did much of the heavy lifting, without his cranking spot on day one to catch the majority of his 19-1 limit, who knows what would have happened?

“I caught my 19 pounds on day one cranking in the [Flint River],” he says. “On days two and three, I started in the river again hoping that would materialize again, because that’s easy, and I was hoping to catch a limit quick, but it never happened. So, today, I went straight down to my flat early so I could spend all my time where I’ve been catching my biggest fish.

“It was slow, just like it’s been every day, and the first bite I missed – just didn’t grab it good. But I think the heartbreaker was my first two good bites I hooked up with, I lost them. I was really down and out, and then I caught that big one that was probably 7 pounds. Then, a few minutes later, I caught another one that was pushing 4.”

After getting those good bites, he boxed another decent keeper and hit a dry spell. With three fish in the box around lunchtime, things were starting to look like the tournament may not swing his way.

“I didn’t get a bite for a very long time after that, so I decided to go do something else and mentally reset,” admits Latimer.  “I went sight-fishing, found one right away, immediately cast over there, hooked up on the fish and it comes off. I was like, ‘Oh, it’s a bed fish, it’ll swim back.’ The thing never came back.”

2018 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell Day 2: Christie Leads with 37-04!

Christie leads Evers by 5!

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jason Christie ready for Day 3 and the win.
(Photo: BASS)

Once again, Jason Christie is on the verge of winning the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
 
And once again, his good friend — and occasional nemesis — Edwin Evers, has a chance to take it away from him.
 
The Oklahoma anglers occupied the Top 2 spots in the standings for the second straight day at Lake Hartwell, and they will lead the remaining 23 anglers into Championship Sunday with a chance to win the $300,000 first-place prize and the most coveted trophy in professional bass fishing.
 
Christie caught 16-6 during Saturday’s second round to push his two-day total to a tournament-best 37-4. Evers had a much tougher day than he did on Friday, landing only 13-0. But he remained in second place with a two-day mark of 32-9.
 
“It was the same deal today where you just had to weed through them until you found a good one,” said Christie, who also led the first two days of the 2016 Classic on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, only to lose the title to Evers on the final day. “I had a chance to have a really good day, but I lost some fish. I don’t know if it was the lightning we had this morning or if the water’s clearing up or what, but they’re biting funny.”
 
Those funny bites led to some ragged hook sets that cost Christie on several occasions.
 
“I lost a 5-pounder and a 3- or 3 1/2-pounder,” said Christie, who won the GEICO Everyday Leader Award of $2,500 for the second straight day. “I also broke one off that was my fault. I hit a cable on one cast, and I didn’t retie. Then later on, I broke one off setting the hook.
 
“I caught a 4-pounder on my last cast, but I’m not getting enough of those kinds of bites. I can’t afford to booger those up when I get them.”
 

Tim Frederick Wins 2018 FLW Tour Lake Okeechobee with 85-04lbs!

Johnstons finish 9th and 10th.

By by Sean Ostruszka3

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Last minute 9 pounder seals the deal for Tim.
(Photo: FLW)

Tim Frederick and Bryan Schmitt both caught giant bass in the final minutes. Both thought their fish pushed them over the edge for the win. Frederick’s was bigger, and that was the difference.

With only 10 minutes left to his final day, Frederick knew he needed a giant to have a chance. That chance happened soon after when he stuck a 9-pounder that edged him above Schmitt by little more than a pound to win the FLW Tour presented by Evinrude on Lake Okeechobee.

“I couldn’t be happier,” says the Leesburg, Fla., pro of his first Tour victory. “This is what I’ve always dreamed about.” Frederick’s 19-pound, 14-ounce day four bag brought his total weight to 85 pounds, 4 ounces.

The dream had been steadily turning into a nightmare the longer day four went on. His pattern of target fishing for bedding fish he couldn’t see seemed to be failing him, as he struggled to get bit most of the morning. He finally stuck a 4-pounder around midday, but that still left him well short of the 17 pounds he figured he needed to hold on for the win.

“I was so stressed,” says Frederick. “I didn’t know if I should leave or stay. I figured it was all I had, so I ended up staying. I’m sure glad I day, because then I stuck that 9-pounder with 10 minutes to go, and that was the difference. The biggest key for me all week was patience, and it paid off today.”

Frederick focused his attention during the event on the Spoil Islands area near Harney Pond – an area that actually was inaccessible until Hurricane Irma ripped it open last fall. Once he got in there, he found vast patches of reeds, pads and various targets, which was key as he didn’t cast unless it was at a target, figuring there would be spawning females bedded nearby. That’s where his history as a Florida angler paid off, as he relied on his knowledge of how big females set up on pieces of cover – typically on the points and edges of a patch of cover – to direct his casts.
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