Jay Przekurat expanded his lead over second-place Will Davis Jr. as the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series race passed the halfway point last week at Lake Fork. The lead grew from 28 points to 45 points as Przekurat recorded his third Top 10, finishing ninth, and Davis placed 26th at Lake Fork.
The nine-tournament Elite Series comes to stop No. 6 this week at the Sabine River in Orange, Texas. The Sabine River feels like the wildcard of the season, where the AOY standings could shift dramatically. But they shifted pretty significantly at Lake Fork. Only Przekurat, Davis and 10th-place Bill Lowen held their spots in the top 10:
- Bryant Smith dropped from third to eighth
- Shane LeHew dropped from fourth to sixth
- Lee Livesay dropped from fifth to 20th
- John Cox dropped from sixth to 15th
- Chris Johnston jumped from seventh to 4th
- Trey McKinney jumped from eighth to third
- Logan Parks dropped from ninth to 27th
- Tucker Smith jumped from 14th to fifth
- Kyoya Fujita jumped from 16th to seventh
- Paul Marks jumped from 18th to ninth
It’s interesting to note that a year ago after five tournaments, eventual Angler of the Year winner Chris Johnston was in third place in the AOY standings, 55 points behind leader Trey McKinney. This year, Johnston is fourth, 54 points behind Przekurat. Johnston did one of his signature Day 2 recoveries at Lake Fork. He did this multiple times in taking the 2024 AOY title. At Lake Fork last week he was in 63rd place with 18 pounds on Day 1. Johnston zoomed up to 15th place on Day 2 with 30-1, and that’s where he would finish on Day 3.
There may be no place where past performances predict future results less than the Sabine River. But for reference, the last time the Elite Series was here, June 1-4, 2023, Przekurat finished 40th, Davis was 39th and Johnston placed 63rd. Of the current AOY top 10, McKinney, Tucker Smith and Marks haven’t competed at the Sabine, and the others placed as follows: Fujita 19th, LeHew 45th, Bryant Smith 69th and Lowen 71st.
Finally, it’s worth noting that the Championship Sunday Top 10 anglers at Lake Fork continued the youth trend this season. What follows is the average age of the Top 10 through five tournaments:
- No. 1 – St. Johns River – 37 years old
- No. 2 – Lake Okeechobee – 34 years old
- No. 3 – Pasquotank River – 32 years old
- No. 4 – Lake Hartwell – 30 years old
- No. 5 – Lake Fork – 25 years old
Editor’s note: See the AOY standings
