“If I can just survive Florida, everything will be ok.”
That’s what a whole bunch of pros say just about every year. Indeed, this season’s two events in the Sunshine State provided a typical siren’s call – dreams of big bags, which sometimes come crashing down due to finicky Florida strain bass, quickly changing weather and a crowded playing field.
But the idea everything will get easy after leaving Florida is a ruse. This season in particular has been filled with potential stumbling blocks. There was the Pasquotank River, with little prior history and a whole lot of water. There was Lake Hartwell, where the difference between 20 places can be as little as a couple of spit-up bluebacks. Then there was the Sabine River, where weights are low and one random 3- or 4-pounder can make all the difference in the world.
Now we have another potential stumbling block in Lake Tenkiller. It will make some seasons and break others – and we’re finally at the point in the schedule where no one can argue “it’s too soon to start thinking about Angler of the Year.” After this tournament there are just two more, both on highly familiar, relatively predictable fisheries.
Here’s what I’m looking for as the tour heads to Oklahoma:
Youngest AOY? – Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat, the current Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year leader, will turn 26 a week after the Tenkiller event. Were he to win AOY, he would become the youngest AOY in the 20-year Elite Series run. The previous youngest was Brandon Palaniuk, who was just a few months shy of his 30th birthday when he won the title in 2017. Przekurat is one of three anglers currently in the top 10 who would set the record – the others being Trey McKinney, who is 20, and Kyoya Fujita who will turn 30 next April. Notably, they’re all in the top four right now, with Chris Johnston (second place; DOB: 7/13/89) being the only outlier.
AOY traditions – Ten of 19 Elite Series AOY winners have been in their 40s with nine of them being between 40 and 43. Of course, those numbers are skewed by the fact that KVD won four in a row from 2008 through 2011, when he was 40 through 43. No one in the top 10 right now is in their 40s. Six of them are between 31 and 38.
Oldest AOY? – Bill Lowen, child of the 1970s, will turn 51 later this year. He’s currently in seventh place in AOY, but even if he were to overtake those ahead of him, he still wouldn’t be the oldest winner of that award in Elite Series history. Clark Wendlandt was 54 when he won the title in 2020.
Northerners, uno – Don’t look now, but if Przekurat holds on to win the title, he’ll be the fourth AOY from the North in the past five years, following on the heels of Chris Johnston (2024, Ontario), Brandon Palaniuk (2022, Idaho) and Seth Feider (2021, Minnesota). Alabama’s Kyle Welcher broke up the streak in 2023. Johnston is currently directly behind Przekurat. We don’t get to a true southerner until Alabamian Will Davis in fifth.
Northerners, dos – If Przekurat manages to hold on and win the title, will young pros start relocating to the 44th parallel? His hometown of Plover, Wis., is at 44.4564°N. Otonabee, Ontario, where Chris Johnston lives, is at 44.14°N. Seth Feider lives in New Market, Minn., which is at 44.5717°N. Kalamazoo, Mich., KVD’s home, is south of them all at 42.2897°N. Rathdrum, Idaho, where two-time AOY Brandon Palaniuk resides, is further north than any of them – 47.8124°N.
International hardware – Last year Johnston became the first international angler to win the Elite Series AOY title. If he were to win the trophy again in 2025, he’d become the first angler to win them consecutively since the KVD fourpeat of 2008 through 2011. He’s not the only non-American in the hunt, however. Japanese anglers Kyoya Fujita and Taku Ito are in third and ninth, respectively. Johnston’s brother Cory has an outside shot in 24th, as does fellow Canadian Cooper Gallant in 28th.
West Coasting – Bryant Smith is currently 10th in the AOY race, a little over 100 points out of the lead. Were he to make a late-season charge to claim the title — I don’t think it can’t happen, but remember his record smallmouth limit in 2023? — he would become the first California resident since Skeet Reese in 2007 to claim the title. California natives Aaron Martens (AOY in 2013 and 2015) and Justin Lucas (2018) both earned AOY trophies, but by the time they won them both were living in Alabama.
Oklahoma pros – If there was ever a time to feast on home cooking, Tenkiller is it. The three Oklahomans in the field, Luke Palmer, Jason Christie and Blake Capps, are in 26th, 55th and 101st, respectively. Kenta Kimura, who has an Oklahoma mailing address when he’s in the U.S., is in 82nd. After qualifying for five Classics in a row, Palmer missed the 2025 event on Lake Ray Roberts. Christie had fished three Classic in a row and 10 total before missing RayBob.
The rookie race – Hartwell champion Paul Marks leads the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Rookie of the Year race over fellow 2025 trophy-hoisters Tucker Smith and Easton Fothergill. Emil Wagner, 27th in the AOY race, is also inside the Classic cut. With a few good tournaments, Beau Browning (54th) could also qualify, while it will take a greater effort from Evan Kung (63rd), although it’s certainly not impossible that he’ll get to compete in Knoxville.
Sophomore class – Nine of 10 members of last year’s vaunted rookie class qualified for and competed in the 2025 Classic. Currently, either seven or eight of them are in line to fish it in 2026 – Wesley Gore is in 44th, which, depending on various factors, might be inside the cut. Right now, McKinney (fourth) is the only one inside the top 10 overall. Tyler Williams (14th) is the only other soph in the top 20. Last year, seven of them ended up in the top 20. Logan Parks is consistent – he finished 21st last year and is 21st now.
The Classic cutline – As noted above, depending on double-qualifiers and other factors, the number of Classic qualifiers from the Elite field could stretch down into the forties in AOY standings. Past Tenkiller winner Carl Jocumsen is in 57th, which sounds like a great distance to climb, but he’s only 47 points out of 40th. Two-time AOY Brandon Palaniuk, who missed the 2025 Classic, the first time he’s failed to make it when eligible to do so, is in 50th, just 22 points outside of 40th.
Past Classic winners – Of the eight past Bassmaster Classic winners on this year’s Elite Series roster, only the most recent two — Easton Fothergill (19th) and Justin Hamner (17th) — are currently inside the Classic cut. If Fothergill remains in that position, he’ll double-qualify, making room for another Elite colleague to join the field next year in Knoxville. If Fothergill were to win, he’d join back-to-back champs Rick Clunn (1976 and 1977), Kevin VanDam (2010 and 2011), Jordan Lee (2017 and 2018) and Hank Cherry (2020 and 2021). Jordan Lee (52nd), Randy Howell (59th) and Cliff Pace (66th) still have a reasonable shot to requalify. If Lee were to compete in Knoxville and win, he’d become a three-time Classic winner, leaving KVD and Rick Clunn as the only competitors to win more. If 2014 champ Howell were to qualify and then win in Knoxville, it would mark a 12-year gap between Classic victories beating the past record of a 10-year gap set by Hank Parker (1979 and 1989). KVD had a 10-year gap between his first and last Classic victories, although he had two in between. Rick Clunn had a 14-year gap between first and last Classic victories, although he likewise had two in between.
Past AOYs – Of the eight past AOYs in the field, Chris Johnston (second), Seth Feider (18th) and Kyle Welcher (35th) are the only three currently inside the Classic cut. As noted above, were Johnston to win the title again, he’d become the first back-to-back winner since KVD in 2010 and 2011. If any of them were to win the title, they’d become the first two-time winner since Brandon Palaniuk (2017 and 2022), and only the fourth in Elite Series history, joining VanDam, Martens and Palaniuk. Other anglers in B.A.S.S. history have multiple AOY titles, including Gerald Swindle, but not during the Elite Series era.
Win and you’re in – The season’s last tournament will take place in La Crosse, Wis., on the Upper Mississippi River, one of the most fish-filled frequent stops in Elite Series history. It’s a “win and you’re in” event, giving the champ a pass to the Classic no matter how he’s done the rest of the year. One angler with special interest in it should be Jeff Gustafson, who has won both a regular season Elite tournament and a Classic in Knoxville, but finds himself mired in 86th in the AOY race. In his one Elite tournament there (2022), he finished 26th.
The last time at Tenkiller – Of the current top 10 in the AOY race, only four — Chris Johnston, Patrick Walters, Bill Lowen and Shane LeHew — competed in the 2019 derby at Tenkiller. In a 75-man field, LeHew was the top finisher of the bunch, ending up in 15th. Of the 10 current Elites who finished in the top 12 in that tournament, none is ranked higher than 24th now (Cory Johnston), three are in the thirties and six are outside of the Classic cut, including three ranked between 93rd and 96th.
