Bassmaster Classic Preview 2025

Some people must wonder why. Why do thousands of fans show up on sometimes-frigid mornings to watch a few dozen anglers motor away from the Bassmaster Classic launch site in big, fancy bass boats? Why do they wake long before daylight, make long drives, fight traffic and jockey for position on the lakeshore? Why do they cheer for anglers they’ve often never met as those competitors grow smaller and smaller speeding off into the distance? The answer is simpler than you might think. They just want to witness history. In the existence of professional bass fishing, there have only been 54 Classics, making it one of the youngest major sporting championships of any description. Classics only happen once a year — and an opportunity to witness any part of one…

I WAS SITTING at my desk inside The Birmingham News on the afternoon of Dec. 13, 1994, when I heard outdoors writer Mike Bolton sit back in his chair and mumble what sounded like some mild profanity. After a few seconds of silence, he then said, very much out loud, “There’s no justice in the world. Bryan Kerchal just died in a plane crash.” I thought for a second he might be joking. But then I realized that even one of the most naturally funny people I’ve ever known wouldn’t joke about something so terrible. Kerchal had, in fact, died. Just five months after doing what many thought could never be done — after winning the Bassmaster Classic as an amateur Federation qualifier — Kerchal was gone. He would never…

Do you think qualifying for the Elite Series carries extra meaning when you’re from the very heart of B.A.S.S. country? The direct answer is yes, but the explanation is because you go up against so many people that are so competitive. The tournament scene is so big here, and there are so many guys that have tried to qualify and don’t make it. In Alabama, you have a whole community around you that supports you, and you don’t want to let anybody down. When you started fishing the Bassmaster Opens, who was around you that really helped? I talked to Josh Stracner and Justin Hamner, but after them, I had a group of people I would call my true friends. I’ve made a bunch of friends in the fishing industry…

Wildlife Forever and Yamaha Rightwaters are sponsoring a fishing photo contest with an unusual twist. Through March 31, anglers are encouraged to “Catch, Kiss, & Cook” invasive species of bighead, black, silver and grass carp. “It’s a fun challenge. And our goal is to inspire anglers, chefs, influencers and everyday citizens alike to help protect our waters,” says Zach Burnside, Wildlife Forever’s invasive species program manager. Recent efforts to increase commercial harvest of invasive carp are ongoing but have not yet become profitable. By encouraging everyday anglers to catch and remove carp from fisheries, conservation organizations hope to raise awareness for the issue and remove some carp from non-native waters. To enter the contest, anglers are asked to use hashtag #CatchKissCook on social media for a chance to win fishing…

Situated just west of the Outer Banks, the charming Inner Banks town of Elizabeth City plays host to the first Elite Series tournament after the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour — the 2025 Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River. Translated from Carolina Algonquian, “Pasquotank” means “where the current forks,” and it’s here where pro anglers will put together the puzzle of shifting tides in the river and the adjoining Albemarle Sound April 10-13. 2025 marks the first time B.A.S.S. has visited the Inner Banks for a major tournament since the 1981 North Carolina Invitational. In Elizabeth City, known as the “Harbor of Hospitality,” a lively waterfront joins arms with a bustling local art scene, breweries and coffee shops to offer B.A.S.S. fans one of the most…

Applications are now being accepted for the 2025 Noreen Clough Memorial Scholarship for Females in Fisheries. Up to two $1,000 scholarships will be awarded by the Southern Division American Fisheries Society Black Bass Conservation Committee in summer 2025 to honor the late former B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Noreen Clough. Clough rose to one of the most prominent positions in sportfishing from a clerical desk in the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) during the 1970s. In doing so, she became a trailblazer for countless women to follow and left a heavyweight impact on recreational fishing. Clough’s career spanned projects from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to the Southeast. She worked in an array of leadership positions within USFWS in Washington, D.C., as a regional director, deputy director and deputy assistant director.…