Elite

Big bass of St. Johns River 2025

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
Florida fisheries are known for big bass, and the FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River followed suit despite a cold snap affecting the bite. Oversized largemouth were certainly in the mix for Bill Lowen, but a 1-pounder ended up giving the Indiana pro his second title in the tightest Elite finish here. Check out the big bass that made a difference.
With an ailing elbow, Mike Iaconelli headed to Florida not sure he would even fish, but the New Jersey pro reeled in a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass that helped him weigh 16-7 on Day 1. With only 8-8, Ike ended Day 2 just 3 ounces and one spot out of the cut, but a disqualification allowed him to take 50th and cash a check.
Reigning Classic champ Justin Hamner started ninth with 19-1, but big bites eluded him the next two days. Never eclipsing 10 pounds, he fell to 47th.
In his first Elite, Beau Browning of Hot Springs, Ark., caught a 7-1 in totaling 17-8 to stand 17th, but only two fish on Day 2 knocked him outside the cut to 55th.
Canadian rookie Evan Kung stuck around a bit longer. He started eighth with 19-5 with good cookie cutters. Kung moved up to fifth with 16-1 but 10-11 set him back to 16th after Semifinal Saturday.
Alabama’s Wes Logan had a pair of fatties, including a 5-8, in his limit going 19-12 that put him seventh. After a three-fish Friday, Logan roared back with 20-5 but missed Championship Sunday by 6 ounces, finishing 11th.
Brandon Card posted a 5-8 on BassTrakk early Thursday, and he built a limit weighing 20-0, one of only six above the magical mark. With a Bassmaster LIVE camera on Day 2, Card battled  winds in Crescent Lake for 13-9, which kept him in the Top 10. Three fish on Semifinal Saturday pushed him back to 27th.
Bryan New, who won at the St. Johns in 2021, posted a 6-5 on Day 1 that helped him stand fifth with 20-10. His course was similar to Card, as 12-11 in post-front conditions dropped him to 11th, then two fish pushed him back to finish 41st.
Fishing north of takeoff in a deep creek, Lowen had Day 1’s third-best limit of 21-5. The Indiana pro, who’s fished every Elite since the series’ inception in 2006, was thrilled for a great start after a subpar 2024.
On Day 1, 93 of the 104-man field caught limits, with the average fish weighing 2-10. Texan Lee Livesay doubled that mark with 22-13 that put him in second place. The anglers were greeted with temperatures in the 30s on Friday, which cooled Livesay’s bite. Two fish for 5-9 knocked him down to 32nd but he stormed back with 17-9 to finish 17th.
Jay Przekurat made noise on BassTrakk with an 8-0 and 6-0 and a total of 22-0, which on the scales translated to a tournament-leading 24-15. The fourth-year Elite from Plover, Wis., looked to take Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day with an 8-4.
Florida’s John Cox posted a 6-0 on BassTrakk, but he was a touch low as it weighed 8-13, the Phoenix Big Bass of the day and the event. Cox started 13th with 18-5 and stayed in the Top 10 with 16-13 and 14-12. Plying the Oklawaha River below Rodman Reservoir, another kicker wasn’t in the works for Cox, who had 9-6 on Championship Sunday to take eighth.
A comeback is always a possibility at the St. Johns, as is a fall, and Day 2 saw plenty of each. With a limit of 8-14, Connecticut’s Alex Wetherell started 86th. Things looked bad at 11 a.m. with only one fish in the boat, but behind two bass weighing 5-14, Wetherell totaled 17-8 to get inside the Top 50 and cut a check.
Pat Schlapper’s move was even more dramatic. A 7-12 limit had the Wisconsin pro tied for 93rd, but two fish near 5 pounds helped him weigh 19-1 to climb to 42nd and salvage the tournament in a big way.  
While the average fish size equaled Day 1, the chilly Day 2 was tougher, with only 81 bringing in five-fish limits. With much of his weight coming from this 7-10, Clifford Pirch moved from 80th to 40th with 17-8. Five for 10-13 saw the Arizona pro finish 35th.
Alabama’s Gerald Swindle played the slow and steady game. With a best of around 5 pounds, the two-time Angler of the Year made the Top 10 after weighing 14-0 before two rounds at 17-5. His Championship Sunday bag of 14-6 gave him a seventh-place finish.
Second-year Elite Robert Gee of Knoxville, Tenn., rallied on Day 2 behind a 5-8 in his 18-8 limit. He moved from 54th to 19th and with 15-5 finished 14th, the second-best from the stellar 2024 rookie class.
Hunter Shryock’s only misstep on Day 2 was admitting he wore his wife’s Lululemon workout pants for warmth. The Ooltewah, Tenn., pro weighed 19-10 to climb 33 spots to 12th. He was summarily razzed, but not wearing Felicia’s favorite grey Lulu’s Saturday produced only four fish and he fell to 29th.
It’s a good bet Seth Feider would never admit to such a thing, but he was hot the first two days, backing his Day 1 18-15 with 18-8 to land in third. Four fish for 9-5 knocked the Minnesota pro back to 13th. A fifth fish of about 2 pounds would have had him fishing Sunday.
Fellow Minnesotan Austin Felix was reeling in 72nd after Day 1, but 18-14 got him back in the game at 28th, where he remained after 12-3 on Saturday.
Another upper Midwest angler, Caleb Kuphall, rallied on Day 2. The pro from Mukwonago, Wis., was 30th after a solid 15-2, but he gained a camera for Saturday with 20-2, one of only three 20-pound bags on Friday. His 9-11 ended his hopes for a Top 10, dropping Kuphall to 19th.
Arkansas’ Joey Cifuentes, who suffered through a miserable year after being 2023 Rookie of the Year and a two-time winner, caught 21-15 to move from 56th to eighth. A tougher Day 3, with 9-0, saw him fall to 23rd.  
Chris Johnston, who was fifth last year when brother Cory won at St. Johns, mustered 10-13 on Day 1 and was 67th. An 8-12, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of Day 2, helped him total 18-12 to jump to 26th. With 16-15 on Saturday, the 2024 Angler of the Year finished 15th.
With a LIVE camera, Lowen enlightened viewers on his area and plan of attack. He chose the deep water thinking it wouldn’t be as affected by the cold, and a 6-0 in the morning proved him right. He had a fortunate catch of a bass hung up before the limb broke, then followed with a 5-0 and 5-13 to total 24-4 for a two-day lead of almost 8 pounds.
Bernie Schultz, the longtime Florida pro who does well in his home state, stood 14th after 17-7 and 14-1. He posted a 9-5 on BassTrakk, the potential big fish of the event. When he weighed in, the lunker went 8-5, and only one other fish saw him finish 26th.
With past success at St. Johns, Jake Whitaker was 30th before reeling in 20-9 to make Championship Sunday. However, the North Carolina pro didn’t run into any bigs, catching the day’s smallest limit of 8-13 to finish 10th.
Last year’s St. Johns winner, Cory Johnston started slow but picked up steam. A 14-4 limit on Day 2 moved him up to 37th, then Saturday’s second-biggest bag of 22-7, bolstered by a 6-5, propelled him to seventh, albeit 14 pounds back of the leader. He moved up to take sixth with 18-13.
Mississippi’s Brock Mosley was the picture of consistency. Fishing north of takeoff, Mosley produced limits of 17-11, 16-8, 18-3 and 16-0. He caught a kicker most every day, including this 6-8 on Saturday, and he had a 6-5 on Sunday to take fifth.
John Garrett, who won last year as a rookie on the Harris Chain, was the big story of Day 3. Finding a loaded shellbar in the river near Astor, the Tennessee pro lit up BassTrakk early with a 6-0, 5-0, 5-8 and an 8-0 kicker before limiting with a 3-8. At the scales, Garrett’s 31-6 earned him the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag and his 8-6 edged Schultz for Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day. Starting the day 18-9 back, Garrett pulled within 5-4 of Lowen.
On Sunday, Garrett said there was still a potential 40-pound stringer at his spot. He landed a 4-0 and 5-8 but an even larger fish broke off. Lack of current prevented Garrett from capitalizing further, and he ended up moving and only bringing in three fish for 12-10, which left him fourth just 2-14 back of the winning weight.
Shane LeHew, who made it the Top 10 with steady weights of 18-4, 17-3 and 17-14 with no fish over 4-4, finally ran into a big on Day 4. After filling his limit, LeHew brought in a 7-7 kicker, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the day. With 20-4, he totaled 73-9 to take over the YETI Hot Seat as leader.
It was a short sit as Jay Przekurat’s 19-5 supplanted LeHew by 1 ounce. On BassTrakk, Przekurat, Garrett and Lowen traded leads six times on the day. Weighing last, Lowen’s four fish went 10-4 for at 73-14 total and a 4-ounce margin of victory. The previous tightest St. Johns Elite was John Crew’s 2022 win over Bob Downey by 1-4.  
Lowen caught an early 1-pounder that LIVE analyst Davy Hite said might end up being the difference. Lowen regained the lead at 11:30 with a 6-11, then fell behind Przekurat at noon before catching his fourth, another dink, just after 1. Big bass throughout the event were key for Lowen, but the fish in each hand ended up being equally important in the 50-year-old’s second Elite title.

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