At 42, Pat Schlapper broke through with his first Elite victory, adding to the impressive haul by B.A.S.S. Nation graduates.
With his wire-to-wire win in the MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River, Schlapper became the fifth former Nation angler to hoist a blue trophy. He joined Mike Iaconelli, Brandon Palaniuk, Paul Mueller and Will Davis Jr., each with multiple Elite wins.
“The Nation is a big deal and should be celebrated and talked about,” Schlapper said. “The Nation is definitely one of the reasons I’m here.
“I qualified through the Opens the same year, but I still latch on to the fact that I made it through the B.A.S.S. Nation route.”
The Nation is the grass-roots level of B.A.S.S. competition. Amateur anglers vie to make its National Championship, where the top three finishers realize the dream of qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic.
Schlapper won the 2020 TNT Fireworks B.A.S.S. Nation Championship to culminate a fantastic year of fishing, which included four top 25 finishes in the Eastern Opens. (See Mark Hicks’ article on why Schlapper decided to go all-in in his mid-30s.)
“It was one of the last years the Nation was truly, truly, a championship of the best of the best,” he said. “I won my club point race the year before to qualify me to state, then I won state, which qualified me to the regionals.”
After winning that Northern Regional at Minnesota’s Lake Vermilion, Schlapper blew away the field at Pickwick Lake in Alabama. As Nation champion, he earned $20,000, an Elite Series berth with $16,000 entry fees and use of the Nation’s Best boat package.
“It’s definitely one of the hardest routes to make, because you can’t skip a step,” Schlapper said. “That was the old route; the new one is completely different.”
Last year, the Nation changed formats, allowing anglers more opportunities to make the championship. Instead of fields around 50, there were 244 competitors in the 2024 championship on Grand Lake.
“It gives more people the opportunity to have that chance,” Schlapper said. “It’s definitely not easier, but it’s easier to get to nationals.”
Blake Capps of Muskogee, Okla., won at Grand and became the ninth Nation angler on the 2025 Elite Series. Making only one Top 50 cut through six events, Capps will be hard-pressed to make a second consecutive Classic.
Schlapper similarly struggled his first Elite season, finishing 55th in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Gaining his footing, he’s qualified for the past three Classics via the points and now feels bona fide after his victory. Accolades for Nation anglers are piling up.
In 1994, Bryan Kerchal, a 23-year-old fry cook from Connecticut, became the only B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier to win a Bassmaster Classic. For years, the Nation berths were considered token gifts, but Kerchal ignited the dream for weekend anglers.
Kerchal’s stunning accomplishment inspired current Nation anglers on the Elites, several of whom are in the midst of Hall of Fame careers. Iaconelli, who won the 2003 Classic and 2006 AOY title, has racked up 20 Classic appearances and eight Bassmaster titles in his 30 years competing. Palaniuk has won two AOY titles, fished 13 Classics and won his sixth blue trophy this year at Lake Okeechobee.
Mueller and Davis, the only two-time Nation champion, each have two Elite victories. Other Nation champs on the Elites are Caleb Sumrall (four Classics), Matty Wong (one Classic) and Timothy Dube (one Classic).
“There’s a lot of iconic names who have gone through the Nation and have gone on to be successful,” Schlapper said. “I’m by no means an iconic name, but I’ve proven myself, making Classics, and coming close and now winning an Elite.
“It shows that the Nation guys are competitors too. They’re not just lucky to be there. They have the skill set to compete.”
Schlapper first made some Elite noise at Santee Cooper Lakes in 2022, reaching his first Top 10 behind the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event, a 9-10. He doubled up on big bass bonuses with a 10-5 in the next event at Chickamauga Lake, but he was one fish shy of successive Day 4s.
In 2023, Schlapper posted his best Elite finish with a fourth at Lake Seminole, and he improved on that last year with a third at Toledo Bend.
With 38-12 at the Sabine, Schlapper set the lowest Elite winning weight. Coming just a year after his brother died, Schlapper’s celebration on the weigh-in stage became emotional as his parents had arrived unannounced.
“This means a lot to me that my friends and family surprised me and showed up,” he said. “This is for my family and my brother.”
Schlapper said he feels a definite part of the Nation family. Over the week since his win, he’s been overwhelmed by congratulations and well-wishes. He’s taken the Elite trophy to sponsors who’ve helped him along in his career.
“It’s all been good, so now I’m just trying to captalize, help support the people who have supported me and hope not to mess up,” he said. Former B.A.S.S. Nation director Jon Stewart “was a big part of me getting here, a big supporter of mine … like he was the face of the Nation. He was one of the first people to congratulate me after winning. Those are the people you want to remember, those who supported you when you’re not doing well.”
Schlapper hopes he can continue to make them proud. Making his fourth consecutive Classic would help, but there’s some work left. He was 89th in AOY points before a 32nd at Lake Fork and his win moved him to 56th. He now has a reasonable shot of climbing into the Top 40 who automatically qualify for next year’s Classic.
After competing in a local tournament, Schlapper will prepare for the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Lake Tenkiller, June 12-15, where he hopes to stay in contention. In August, the Elites finish the year with two events in his region, first at Lake St. Clair before the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis., about an hour from his Eleva home. It was the event he circled when the schedule was released.
“I could do well down there — I might not,” he said of La Crosse. “I’m going to fish it to win it like I did on the Sabine. I’m not going to be conservative. I’m not going to be scared to lock. I’m not going to be scared to take risks with time.
“I think truly fishing to win, instead of just saying you are, that’s what I have got to do to have a chance.”
After his fifth season, Schlapper’s worst year can be dropped from his re-qualification average, but as long as he keeps performing, he’s in little danger of dropping below 70th and not returning.
“I haven’t really had a bad year yet,” he said. “Some of the Nation guys get here, and they make it the two years and they’re gone. Once you make it, you have to perform.”
