Chad Pipkens sees the curtain dropping on his time in the show, but he’s holding out hope for an encore.
The pro from Holt, Mich., is among the dozen or so Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series anglers sweating requalification for 2026. Pipkens knows his 13-year Elite run will most likely end after the final two events of 2025, but he vows to return to the big stage.
“It’s the highest level in our sport,” Pipkens said. “I’d love to keep doing it and I plan to keep doing it. If I can’t perform, I deserve to go down, regroup and try to work my way back up.”
Requalifying for the top circuit in B.A.S.S. is based on career average finish in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. Each of the past two years, the bottom 10 have been replaced by Opens anglers waiting in the wings.
Pipkens’ hopes to requalify this year via the points lie in climbing to the safe spot of 70th or better in the AOY standings. It is a long shot.
“Mathematically, it’s not great,” Pipkens said. “Even if I made two Top 10s, it’s going to depend on what other people do.”
Pipkens first qualified to the Elites with three top 30 finishes in the 2012 Northern Opens. In 167 Bassmaster entries, he’s been in the money 91 times, recorded 18 Top 10s and won one title. Pipkens has $810,000 in B.A.S.S. earnings and qualified for six Classics, including four consecutively from 2020 to 2023.
The past three seasons have walloped Pipkens’ career average. He made only one Top 50 cut in 2023 to finish 85th in points. Last year, he never made a cut and finished third from last in points.
This year, Pipkens stands 95th with 209 points. Brad Whatley is 70th with 333, which extrapolated to nine events moves the estimated number to hit at 428, which can move either way.
Winning earns 104 points, 103 for second, etc., so even with two top finishes, the odds are Pipkens will fall short.
“Mathematically, that’s likely what will happen,” he said. “I’m not bitter about it. I just have to figure it out and make the most of it. I’d like to go try to win one.”
His best chance might be Aug. 7-10 Yokohama Tire Elite at Lake St. Clair, his home water and site of his 2014 Open title. Pipkens made a long run to Lake Erie where he caught better-than-average bass. Pipkens said his successful pre-practice might prove beneficial.
“I just hope the weather’s stable, and I get my chances,” he said.
The Elites then finish the season Aug. 21-24 on the Mississippi River out of La Crosse, Wis. Pipkens should have his Elite fate determined by Day 3, his 42nd birthday.
If he falls short, Pipkens said he would try to requalify in this year’s three fall Elite Qualifiers, which award Elite berths to the Top 10 in points.
“You can’t afford to not catch them a couple years in a row,” Pipkens said. “However, it shakes out, you still got the three qualifiers. I’ll do that. If not, there’s things I need to work on, things I need to get better at, and I think I will be better in the end.”
Pipkens has been down this path before, losing his Elite status in 2016 only to requalify through the Opens that same year. He said he believes anglers bouncing between series might become the new normal.
“It’s the nature of the sport with the growth we’ve had,” he said. “There’s 100 guys at the top and if you’re going to make a living, I think a lot of people will be shuffled in and out.”
Pipkens is far from the most-tenured veteran in jeopardy of not requalifying. Mark Menendez, who has fished 289 B.A.S.S. events since 1991, stands 89th in AOY while Bernie Schultz, who has 42 years and 379 Bassmaster events under his belt, is 98th in points.
Menendez has an outside chance to finish 70th or better. With 246 points, the three-time champ could mathematically make it with two Top 10s, however, it would still be dependent on how others above him fare.
Winners aren’t exempt either. Two-time Elite champs Paul Mueller and Joey Cifuentes are among those who might not requalify this year. Mueller stands 96th in AOY after making only two cuts this year with three finishes in the 90s.
“Joey Cifuentes is a perfect example,” Pipkens said. “He won two events his first year, won Rookie of the Year. If he doesn’t catch them the last two events, he could be out.”
Cifuentes is on the positive side, sitting 61st in the AOY standings and is safe if he stays above 70th.
Pipkens said he has hope, but it’s more of an uphill battle after several poor seasons.
“I had four Classics in a row, but you can’t afford to have two bad years in a row,” he said. “It’s just the law of averages; somebody has to go. My first few years, nobody left. Now I feel like a lot of careers in fishing are going to be more like other sports, four to eight years.” Pipkens will continue working toward a third act. He’d certainly enjoy a curtain call because, as they say, the show must go on.
