When a CrushCity Monster Bag hits the scales, you know that angler is taking the lead or is making a huge surge up the leaderboard. The 2025 season saw some incredible bags, and at each event, it was someone else who claimed that top honor. The winner of the CrushCity Monster Bag for Elite Series events wins $2,000 and for the the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic wins $7,000.
Three of the 10 CrushCity Monster Bag winners went on to take home the big blue trophy. Let’s take a look at some other interesting stats.
• Only 1 Monster Bag was on Day 1
• 6 Monster Bags were on Day 2
• 2 Monster Bags were on Day 3
• 1 Monster bag was on Day 4
• 4 Monster Bags were over 30 pounds
• 6 Monster Bags were over 25 pounds
• No one caught the Monster Bag of the event twice this year
Here is a deeper look at each of the CrushCity Monster Bags.
Elite #1: St. John’s River
31-6
John Garrett started the year off strong by bringing in a monster St. Johns River stringer on Day 3 of the event. All these fish came off one magical shellbar and gave him a chance at the victory. However, the spot did not hold up on Day 4 and Garrett only managed three bass to finish fourth, just under 3 pounds from the win.
Elite #2: Lake Okeechobee
34-6
Who doesn’t love to see Brandon Palaniuk wrangle up two 9-pounders and a 34-6 sack on the famed Lake Okeechobee? What’s more impressive is doing so while sharing a tiny spot with three other competitors. Palaniuk had other solid bags to back up this Day 2 stringer and claim his sixth Elite title.
Bassmaster Classic: Lake Ray Roberts
29-6
If you’re going to catch a CrushCity Monster Bag, why not catch it in the Classic? Elite Series rookie Easton Fothergill bounced back after two uncharacteristic Florida events and not only caught the biggest bag of the Classic but also took home the win. The 29-6 Day 2 bag propelled him to break the all-time winning Classic weight, previously held by Kevin VanDam.
Elite #3: Pasquotank River
34-0
Another major record was broken with the help of Kyle Welcher’s Day 3 Monster Bag of 34 pounds as he went on to win by the largest margin of victory in Elite Series history. Welcher’s four-day total accumulated to 118 pounds, 12 ounces brining his margin of victory to 45 pounds, 7 ounces. Oh, and he also had a 10-pound, 8-ounce kicker in that Monster Bag.
Elite #4: Lake Hartwell
21-11
Randy Howell surged to the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 with the CrushCity Monster Bag of the tournament weighing 21 pounds, 11 ounces. This bag was greatly helped by two big largemouth Howell found up in shallow water. While he couldn’t keep the pace, this bag push him to a solid seventh-place finish.
Elite #5: Lake Fork
38-2
Lake Fork as been incredibly good to Trey McKinney. So good that he’s caught over 30 pounds in seven of his eight days of Elite competition there. This season, while he didn’t win, he did claim the CrushCity Monster Bag with 38 pounds, 2 ounces. This bag helped him claim third in the event.
Elite #6: Sabine River
12-9
After 38-2 at Lake Fork, 12-9 may not look like much, but at the Sabine River a bag like that is just as valuable. While the other days proved difficult for Crews, the CrushCity Monster bag kept him in the Top 10.
Elite #7: Lake Tenkiller
18-4
Elite Series rookie Andrew Loberg nearly clinched his first Elite win after leading wire-to-wire. Loberg’s Monster Bag came on Day 2 and put him in control. Unfortunately, lost fish and missed opportunities on the final day made him fall 1 ounce short of the win.
Elite #8: Lake St. Clair
26-2
The 2025 Rookie of the Year Tucker Smith really made a strong charge nearing the end of the season to claim the title. His 26-pound Monster Bag came on Day 2 and propelled him to one of his five Top 10s of the year. This comes with extremely smart and pressured smallmouth on legendary Lake St. Clair.
Elite #9: Mississippi River
21-11
After a challenging Day 1, Livesay went out and captured a monster Mississippi River bag on Day 2 of almost 22 pounds. This bag included some epic backwater and topwater strikes and helped Livesay secure his Classic spot.
While the CrushCity Monster Bag is a fantastic contingency prize for the Elite Series and Classic, the weigh-in bags used across Opens, College Series, High School Series and Nation are provided by Rapala.
