While the blustery conditions of days 1 and 3 had the fish tightly hugging the bases of trees and rock piles, the second day’s calmer periods found them higher in the water column. Prespawners need sunshine to warm their bodies for egg development, so calmer spring days generally find them holding closer to the surface.
Bassmaster Classic winner Easton Fothergill did much of his work with a Neko rig (6-inch redbug Strike King finesse worm with a nail weight in the nose), but downsizing from a 3/32-ounce weight to a 1/32-ounce allowed him to make softer presentations to fish that were sitting 1-2 feet below the water’s surface.
“I was throwing it on their head, but the key was it had to land extremely softly, otherwise, they’d spook,” Fothergill said. “I had to be extremely stealthy and if I made the right presentation, they’d eat it.”
Presentation Tips
third-place finisher Lee Livesay did most of his work with a Z-Man Chatterbait Jack Hammer. That’s a common springtime bait, but while you see a lot of green pumpkin, black/blue and white color patterns this time of year, Livesay threw a pink Z-Man Chatterbait with a bubble gum colored 6th Sense 5.2 Flush (soft jerkbait).
This color scheme stood out better in the week’s muddy water and allowed the fish easier targeting.
When the wind diminished for the first half of Day 2, fourth-place Hunter Shryock replaced the bladed jig he used on Day 1 with a 3 1/2-inch Berkley PowerBait Tube, which provided a stealthier profile with erratic action. He Texas-rigged the tube and used 3/16- to a 3/8-ounce weights.
“I based my weight size on depth and wind,” Shryock said. “We dealt with a lot of wind that week and with a lighter weight, the wind drag on your line would pull the bait away from cover while it was falling. When I had a lot of wind blowing on my line, that’s when I switched to the 3/8-ounce.”
Shryock also offered a tip on windy day boat control. Fishing with the wind at your back makes it easier to flip/pitch, but wind also accelerates the boat.
“I let the wind push me and I would use my Power-Poles to pole down,” Shryock said. “The only thing is you don’t want to get too close to where you’re dragging your poles really close to whatever cover you’re fishing, because it can spook the fish.
“If you go slow and use your poles, you don’t have to use your trolling motor as much. You’re being stealthy, as opposed to going against the wind.”
The Comeback: The Classic’s most important lesson involved Fothergill’s mental toughness and the admirable resolve that kept him pushing forward. Starting his rookie Elite season in February, Fothergill bombed the first two events with a 101st-place finish at the St. Johns River and a 93rd at Lake Okeechobee.
Heading into the Classic with that burden on his shoulders reminded Fothergill of the 2023 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s, where he won just over a month after undergoing surgery to remove an infected abscess on his brain.
“Two times when I was at low points in my life were (at the Classic) and when I won the Classic Bracket,” Fothergill said. “Both times I was mentally kinda down, but I just had to dig deep both times.
“The biggest thing I want to say, for all you kids out there, ‘It is possible. I’m living proof.’”
Lauding the blueprint that B.A.S.S. provides, Fothergill said he committed himself ot working up the ranks, from the Bassmaster Junior Series, to the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, to the Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, and then to the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens.
Last year saw Fothergill win Open titles at Oklahoma’s Lake Eufaula and Minnesota’s Leech Lake and earn his spot in the 2025 Classic.
“Winning that College Bracket tournament was the reason I fished the Opens (along with a 2024 Classic berth, he received paid entry fees into the Opens and the use of a fully rigged Toyota Tundra and Nitro Boat),” Fothergill said from the Classic stage. “I ended up having a blessed year in the Opens and that’s the reason I’m here today.
“So, dream big, work hard and anything’s possible.”
The Takeaway: Bolstering his triumphant personal story, Fothergill and all who fared well on Ray Roberts did so despite the brutal lashing that whipped the lake into a muddy mess. Game plans were trashed and many never recovered.
No judgement here — it was definitely a tougher-than-usual Classic. But as Fothergill and others proved, persistence, flexibility and the drive to succeed often deliver big rewards.
That might be the Bassmaster Classic’s Ray Scott Trophy, or it might be your first bass caught with a technique you’ve practiced for months. In any case, hard-earned success feels pretty cool.
Bottom line: Sometimes “fishing” mean “catching”; other times, it means “learning.” Just remember that you can’t have the former without the latter.
More lessons from the 2025 Bassmaster Classic here.
