It wasn’t quite Babe Ruth’s called shot, Joe Namath’s Super Bowl prediction or one of Muhammad Ali’s famous rhyming guarantees, but when Pat Schlapper told the rest of the field to be scared this morning, they should have listened.
On a day when no remaining Elite angler produced his best single best catch of the 2025 Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River, and seven of them had their worst day of the tournament, he turned a nearly 3-pound deficit into a winning margin of 2 pounds, 12 ounces.
For those of us watching, it was the perfect way to end the year, an old-school battle where just about everyone had a shot – unless they believed Schlapper’s warning. Indeed, in the two 2025 Elite derbies where forward-facing sonar played the smallest role, Pat Schlapper was at his best.
Cue up your squeezebox, channel the “Beer Barrel Polka,” and read the following notes that I took as the 20th Elite Series season rapidly rushed to a close:
Big Bag of the Day – As noted above, seven of the 10 anglers who competed today had their worst bag of the tournament. While his 18-pound, 7-ounce catch wasn’t Schlapper’s best, it only missed his Day 1 weight of 18-8 by a single ounce. Perhaps more importantly, it beat the second best bag of Day 4 by 2-11.
Teen Spirit, Continued – Six of the top seven anglers had at least 13 pounds each day of the tournament. The unfortunate outlier was Caleb Kuphall (2nd, 63-9), who led the first three days, but saw his weight go down each day. Today he had 12-13. Schlapper was the only angler to produce two limits over 18 pounds. Tucker Smith (7th, 60-12) was the only one besides Schlapper who topped 15 pounds three days.
Dave Mercer on the Home Crowd – “They love the Wisconsin anglers, but none more than Pat Schlapper.” That was this morning, before Schlapper sealed the deal. His bar tab may be large today, although I expect he’ll get at least a few comped.
Davy Hite on Bryan Schmitt – “If he spoils this and a Wisconsin angler does not win, he may need a police escort out of here.” Schmitt (4th, 62-1) may have left Cheeseland disappointed, but at least his kneecaps aren’t broken.
International Excellence – We had three non-American anglers in the Top 10 this week, two from Canada and one from Japan. To get a better sense of how exceptional they’ve been this year, five international pros ended up in the Top 15 in the AOY standings: two from Japan and three from Canada.
Who Says They’re Only Fishing for Pride? – Kyoya Fujita and Jay Przekurat entered the final day of the season tied in the AOY race with 749 points. However, while Prezekurat fell from 4th to 5th in the tournament, Fujita held his 6th-place position and therefore grabbed the higher AOY position and a few extra bucks.
AOY Averages – In the four years he’s been on tour, Jay Przekurat has finished 10th, 6th, 7th and 4th, an average result of 6.75. That’s just a hair below Chris Johnston’s 5.75 average over that same time period. Johnston was of course boosted by the two AOY finishes, but hurt by an 18th-place finish in 2023. In seven years on the Elite Series, he’s averaged just about a 10th-place finish, with a median finish of 3rd – that’s two titles, a second and a third.
Jay Przekurat – “I feel like I’m getting old already. Twenty six years old.”
Swinging for the Fences – Stetson Blaylock was the only angler in today’s Top 10 who was not already qualified for the Classic. He had to win to get in and his 12-5 limit dropped him from 8th place to 9th. Unless he elects to fish the EQs, and wins one, his consecutive Classic streak will end at six. His best results to date were twin 3rd-place finishes in 2020 and 2022.
Mentoring and Legacies – It’s been almost four years since Hall of Famer Aaron Martens passed away so it was heartwarming to see Tucker Smith – who was mentored by A-Mart – fishing one of the legend’s own Shimano Metanium reels on what would have been the late great pro’s 53rd birthday. No one will ever be able to replicate or match Aaron’s magic, but the best angling and life mentors don’t create copycats. They create students who are best able to get the best out of themselves. Tucker Smith is off to a fantastic start in that respect, with a $500,000 win, a rookie Elite win and the Rookie of the Year award under his belt. Bro, that’s good stuff.
Speaking of History – KJ Queen’s (8th, 58-8) choice of the old school Bassmaster theme for his walk-up music is inspired and never gets old.
Ronnie Moore – “I think you spell ‘lock and dam’ R-I-S-K.”
Two Outta Three Ain’t Bad – Prior to this tournament, Bryan Schmitt had fished and won two tournaments on the Upper Mississippi, including an Elite tournament, and he was in position to make it three-for-three. He fell just a bit short this week and ended up 4th. He’ll travel to Knoxville to fish his fifth consecutive Classic in March. His best one so far? A runner-up finish at that same place in 2023. The angler who beat him, Jeff Gustafson, is not qualified to fish the 2026 Classic.
The Chase Never Ends – When Dave Mercer asked Cory Johnston (3rd, 62-6) how his now two-time AOY brother Chris celebrated the latest title, he claimed not to have discussed it with him. “He was up and on the road before I even got up,” Cory replied. They’re heading straight from La Crosse to fish a major Canadian event. Matt Robertson will likewise fish the tournament, and therefore push off diaper duty for another few days, having been convinced by Jacob Powroznik to enter.
Repeat Offenders – Bryan Schmitt and KJ Queen were the only anglers in this week’s Top 10 who also made the La Crosse Top 10 in 2022. Jay Przekurat was the next closest that year, finishing 12th. No one from the 2018 La Crosse event finished in the Top 10 this week. The closest two-timer was Stetson Blaylock, who finished 14th seven years ago.
Bryan Schmitt, River Expert – “I look for places that the current pins ‘em.” Schmitt weighed in 62-1 this week, just 1-3 short of his 2022 winning weight. If he’d weighed 62-1 in 2022, he would’ve come up 15 ounce short of Chris Johnston. That weight would have been good enough for 6th place in 2018.
Trey McKinney – “When we touch that rod in the spring, we’ll be vibrating for it.” He’ll be taking some time away from the game to recharge and reload. Two years on tour, two runner-up finishes in AOY, plus a 2nd-place Classic finish is simply an unbelievable start to a career. More than anything else, he needs to figure out how to avoid the bombs. He had five Top 10 Elite finishes this year, to AOY Chris Johnston’s zero, but an 89th at the St. Johns to start the season made it an uphill slog.
Arkansas River Magic – Stetson Blaylock’s black Bandit crankbait.
Always Packed – Two presentations at opposite ends of the sexiness scale that seem to show up just about everywhere: A Carolina rig and a Megabass Magdraft.
This Week’s Villain – Floating eelgrass.
Still Probably Not Funny – When writing about both the Chickamauga tournament in 2022 and last year’s Toledo Bend event, each time I titled a section “Schlappin’ the Bass” and got no response. Is there seriously not a crossover in the Venn diagram of fishing fans and the those of us who love the movie I Love You, Man? If it doesn’t resonate this time around I’ll shelve it permanently.
Thank you all for reading. Thanks to the pros for always giving me something to write about. Thanks to Mercer and Zona for the occasional inspirational texts and to Ronnie Moore for always having the latest and best knowledge. Most of all, thanks to my wife Hanna, who had our 20th-anniversary dinner delayed by a half hour on Saturday when the weigh-in went long.
