Elite

A look at St. Johns River 2025

The 20th season of the Bassmaster Elite Series blasts off Thursday from Palatka, Fla., for the FXR Pro Fish Elite at St. Johns River.

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Captions by
Mike Suchan
And away we go. The 20th season of the Bassmaster Elite Series blasts off Thursday from Palatka, Fla., for the FXR Pro Fish Elite at St. Johns River. The Feb. 20-23 tournament begins the six-month, nine-event schedule across seven states.
Florida’s longest river, the St. Johns is a familiar venue for the Elites, who are making their 10th visit. It’s the 26th pro level B.A.S.S. tournament at the tidal fishery, the first coming in 1973 when big fish records were set.
The Elites have approximately 100 miles as their playing field, including Lake George, Crescent Lake, et al, but Rodman Reservoir is off limits.
Tournament central is the Palatka City Dock & Boat Ramp on 319 River Street. The blastoffs are scheduled at 7 a.m. ET daily with weigh-ins there set for 3 p.m. ET. The Expo on the grounds opens Saturday and Sunday at 11 a.m. All B.A.S.S. venues are free to attend.
Florida has long been a big bass destination, and a monster caught not far from the St. Johns in 1923 held the world record for 9 years. Fritz Friebel’s 20-pound, 2-ounce fish is the heaviest documented largemouth in Florida and is the non-certified state record. The heaviest document bass from the St. Johns is an 18-13 caught by Buddy Wright in 1987.
Ray Scott took the Bassmasters to the St. Johns in 1973 in hopes they would show off some of the Sunshine State’s big fish. It worked. Bob Tyndall (above) landed a 12-13 and Bill Bailey caught a 12-3. Tyndall’s fish stood as the largest in B.A.S.S. for 24 years, and both still rank in the all-time Top 10.
Justin Atkins shows the type of cull one might make at the St. Johns. In Elite competition, there have been more than 10 10-pounders weighed in, with John Crews’ 11-2 from 2019 the largest.
Last year, Brad Whatley landed an 8-7, the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the event. It helped the Texan weigh the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of 31-4 and finish second. Whatley’s one-day total stands sixth at St. Johns, where the biggest bag has been Chris Lane’s 37-9 in 2014.
Last year, Canadian Cory Johnston added his name to the list of St. Johns winners, which includes Rick Clunn, Shaw Grigsby, Guido Hibdon, Hank Parker and Billy Westmorland. It was the first Elite title for Johnston, who won his second in 2024’s final event.
Legendary anglers Rick Clunn had a resurrection of sorts when he won at the St. Johns in 2016. Clunn, who hadn’t won since 2002, became the oldest Elite winner at 69 years, 8 months, taking that accolade from Denny Brauer. His line, “never accept that all of your best moments are in your past,” lived again in 2019, when he doubled up at the St. Johns, breaking his mark at 72 years, 6 months old.
It was fitting that Clunn was fishing his 500th event with B.A.S.S. last year at the St. Johns. He had announced he was stepping down from Elite competition before the season and was celebrated throughout the year for his 50 years of competition.
Florida’s Drew Benton provided a rundown of what to expect this year. With a cold winter and low water, he said anglers could potentially do well in the entire allowable waters, north to I-95 in Jacksonville and south to State 44 in DeLand. Greg Hackney (above) plies cypress trees last year.
 “If a guy finds a place where they’re pulling up before they spawn and they’re stopping on a shellbed or a little drop on that river, that’s what’s gonna win this tournament,” Benton said. “That’s because you’ll have fish coming to you and fish stopping on their way back out.”
Benton said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has done great work to restore submerged vegetation, which should help with water clarity. “From what I’ve seen online, some of those planted areas have taken off,” he said. “That little bit of grass will help with water quality.”
With a cold winter, Benton said any warming trend could set up a slugfest, but the Elites will experience several fronts with colder snaps. Benton said he expects it will take around 19 pounds a day to make Championship Sunday and 88 pounds to win.
B.A.S.S. instituted no-entry fees for the Elites this year, making the events more performance-based. Winners still receive $100,000 and valuable Angler of the Year points, and now many anglers believe much more of the field will go for broke in attempts to win.
To follow all the action, continue to visit Bassmaster.com for the live leaderboard, BassTrakk, and be sure to tune into Bassmaster LIVE. The shows air beginning at 8 a.m. ET. The weekend coverage will be broadcast on FS1.

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