Elite

Best of 2025: Dalton Tumblin’s favorite shots

From fishing action to weigh in, see photographer Dalton Tumblin's favorite pics.

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Dalton Tumblin
The 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season is a wrap. That makes it time to look back at another incredible season of fishing, memories, and my favorite shots of the year.
We kicked off the season off at the St Johns River in February. What sets it apart from everywhere else is the diversity of the scenery and fishing scenarios. 
First stop on the river was with Beau Browning, a guy I love to see succeed. Watching him land some good fish was a great kickoff to the season.
I met up with Bill Lowen, who was already setting himself apart from the pack on the leaderboard.
One of the first catches I shot with him happened to be this cool angle through a tree. 
Lowen put on a show for me to share with you. Fishing shallow and constant fish jumps made this gallery special. 
Lowen managed to stay consistent.
Landing studs like these every so often set him apart as the winner. 
I enjoyed every minute of it, and we were certainly having a great time out on the water. 
Then to top it all off …
Towards the end of the final day, Lowen hooked into a massive largemouth.
After putting up a good fight, he got it in the boat.
This fish would seal the deal, right at the very end, ultimately give Lowen the win.  What an incredible way to start the season. 
Our next stop was Lake Okeechobee. As everyone knows, this place is known for giant largemouth. 
This fish catch was impressive to watch, to say the least. 
Kyle Welcher was staring at this fish on a bed for every bit of an hour. Welcher managed to finally trick it into biting, and the fight was chaos.
This sequence made for a cool experience and a great start to the Okeechobee event.
This isn’t a sight you see often in professional bass fishing. Several anglers found ‘THE’ spot on Okeechobee, loaded with a winning weight. Instead of being territorial, they decided to work together. It made the tournament even more exciting.
While all these anglers were stacked in together, Brandon Palaniuk was the one with the magic to get the fish biting. 
Palaniuk also has some the best landing techniques, that always turn into some of my favorite photos. Such as this one.
As the tournament progressed. It was all laughs, smiles and jokes between the anglers sharing this spot. It was a positive vibe the entire time, keeping the energy levels high and the days entertaining.
I think every single muscle in his body went into this hookset.
And he got it in the boat, of course. 
As many may know, there’s hardly a dull moment on the water with Palaniuk. Including times like this when he lands a giant, and gets the treble hook stuck in his facemask in the process.
Luckily the hooks didn’t grab his face. After carefully removing his hat and mask, he managed to break the lure free. 
Palaniuk continued to put on a show, ultimately taking home the win. It made for some great photography, and one of my favorite events of the season.
Following that was the biggest tournament of the season at Lake Ray Roberts. The Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour would not disappoint.  
Just like any Classic, the fans are out and more pumped up than ever. This is something that always becomes a talking point at the Classics, because the fans know how to bring the energy and a good time.
While I didn’t manage to see a lot of fish catches at the Classic, I didn’t leave empty handed. Such as some solid shots with Corey Johnston, who ended the week with a Top 10 finish.
And this…
By far the biggest fish I caught on camera all year. An absolute massive catfish hauled in by Drew Cook. He was nice enough to pull it up out of the water for a quick pic. 
And no Classic goes by without me shooting some stage side shots of the final weigh in. Here are a few of my favorite shots as we wrapped up the Classic in Fort Worth. 
The man to beat.
Then came the most electric moment of every season. Crowning the Classic Champion. And who better than Easton Fothergill to take the trophy home!
Following the Classic, we made traveled to the Pasquotank River and Albemarle Sound on the North Carolina coast. This was a first time visit for me and a lot of us, and hopefully not the last. The Pasquotank will go down as one of my favorite bodies of water to visit on tour. 
This place was incredible, and it’s loaded with giants. Jay Przekurat was one of my first stops of the tournament, and it didn’t take him long to haul in a monster. 
It’s not a good feeling for Stetson Blaylock, of course, but missed hooksets make for some cool shots every now and then. 
I ended the tournament watching Tyler Williams do what he does best, throw a jig. It never gets boring to watch. 
And it was off to weigh-in.
The Pasquotank gets the winning spot in my book for the most electric regular season weigh-in of the year. The crowd was huge, the fans were enthusiastic, and the fish were giant. 
I ended that tournament capturing some of my favorite weigh in shots of the year, including Kyle Welcher earning a dominating victory.
As we entered the season halfway point, I wanted to pause and show a sequence of my favorite casting shots. This is something I try to be creative with and find new ways of capturing it every time I’m on the water. Here are a few favs. 
Another one of my favorite side missions is capturing miscellaneous shots inside the anglers’ boats. Tackle clutter, top lure shots, and everything in-between. 
Up next, we had lake Hartwell. And what better way to start than with a previous Hartwell champ, Will Davis Jr.
As always, he knows how to find them on my home lake in South Carolina.
The next angler I visited was Jay Przekurat, who was having a strong run and dominates at this style of fishing. 
Right before getting off the water this day, I stopped in on Lee Livesay, who was just hooking up on a fish he found on bed. Sometimes I just get lucky with location, timing, lighting, or all the above like this catch sequence here. It was awesome!
I ended Hartwell with this being my favorite catch sequence of the tournament. 
Next on the list was Lake Fork, and we all know what this premier trophy lake is all about. 
Snakes. 
No but seriously, Lake Fork was nothing short of showing out with giant largemouth per usual. Seth Feider was my first stop, and he was putting the hammer down. 
If you notice an ongoing pattern in this gallery, you’re correct. I’m following Jay Przekurat once again, because he’s putting on a dominating performance and is the top contender for Progressive Bassmaster Angler of The Year. 
Przekurat managed to haul in several giants off this spot. It was a fun day, nonetheless.
also had to go show Tyler Rivet some love on the water. He was having a solid tournament, also catching some giants. 
The last stop was with Kyoya Fujita, who had a solid chance of winning this tournament. 
Fujita is incredibly talented and a fun angler to watch for a camera guy. His techniques and the way he brings fish to the boat always makes for some great photos. 
 
A heartbreak moment as Fujita loses a big one that would’ve helped him out. I don’t enjoy these moments, but capturing the story and the emotion is just part of the job.
It didn’t take him long to shake that one off and get back in the game, though. This fish catch was insane and probably my favorite of this tournament. 
After Fork, we made our way down to the bayous of the Sabine River in southwest Texas. What this place may lack in fish size is entirely made up by the large crowds, atmosphere, and scenic views on the river. This is still one of my favorite places to visit on the Elite tour.
And while the fish were not huge, time on the water was still a good time. Here’s a few photos of the sites and catches from the Sabine River. 
Up next was Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma. I immediately met up with Brandon Cobb, who had landed on some good ones.
As the tournament progressed, I ended up sticking with Andrew Loberg as he was putting together a solid tournament.
Loberg had his area dialed in, and it was fun to watch as he landed Tenkiller studs like this one.
But that was interrupted briefly by one of the heaviest rainstorms I’ve experienced on the water, so it had to make the gallery. Photos never did it justice, but due to the rain and lightning, we found us a covered boat dock to hide under. 
And Loberg wasn’t having it either. Safety first. So, we got to hang out for a bit and shoot some extra content.
After the rain let up, it was back to fishing.
And this little guy didn’t stand a chance to that hookset. 
Loberg continued to put quality fish in the boat and walked away with a close 2nd place finish by only a couple ounces. 
I’ve been around Wes Logan for a long time now, and always root for his success. That combined with a close weight margin between first and second. I decided to get some shots of the of the weigh-in.
I can only I imagine the nerves running through Logan in this moment. Seconds before weighing in, no one knew who the winner would be, and only ounces separated him and Loberg on Basstrakk. 
But he did it! 
Capturing Wes Logan take home his second Elite Series victory was certainly a highlight of my season.
And then came smallmouth season. One of my favorite times of the year. Great weather, beautiful water, and some of the best fishing in the world.
And these anglers did nothing short of catching the heck out of them.
Smallmouth fishing photos are always at the top of my favorites list. Here are a few that stood out to me the most this year at Lake St. Clair in Michigan. 
The smallmouth are strong, acrobatic, there’s and endless pile of them, and they make for the best photos. After a fun week at St Clair, it was off to our last stop of the season.   
Last but not least, was the Upper Mississippi River in La Crosse, Wisconsin One of the best places to visit for great food, atmosphere, and most importantly, the fishing. I always have a great time, and I especially love how this body of water offers any style of fishing you prefer.
I started off following Tucker Smith. An absolute hammer, who was in the lead for Dakota Lithium Rookie of The Year.
Tucker started strong. 
And ended strong. He had a solid tournament and took home the title. It was awesome to experience these emotions and moments in person. 
I eventually caught up with Bryan Schmitt, who had his sights set on the tournament victory.
I probably watched Schmitt put 75 plus fish in the boat over the course of a couple days, which was nothing short of entertaining. He’s an all-around great guy to hang out with on the water. 
This was probably my favorite Schmitt catch of the week.  Catching them out of the grass and pulling in some grass with it. This photo is a great representation of how fun of a fishery the fishery really is. 
I ended the tournament and the season with Schmitt, who steadily fought and put solid fish in the boat. It was an incredible tournament to watch as he walked away with a very respectable fourth place finished, and I ended the season with some great photos to look back on.
Thanks to everyone and the anglers who make this job one of the best in the world, and for the memories along the way. I’ll continue to do my best to continue to capture the journey behind the camera. See you all in 2026!   

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