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Top lures at St. Johns River 2025

See the prespawn lure lineup of winner Bill Lowen and other top finishers.

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Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Bill Lowen, one of the OGs of the Bassmaster Elite Series, got the 20th season started with a win at the 2025 FXR Pro Fish Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River. This season, Lowen will also compete in his 200th Bassmaster event in a career that now includes a second blue trophy that goes home to Indiana. 
The $100,000 win was epic. Mere ounces separated the top three anglers with “Dollar Bill” coming out on top by 4 ounces. Lowen’s winning weight of 73 pounds, 14 ounces played out during prespawn conditions that played into his angling strengths.  
Lowen closed the deal in a tidal creek where he would flip, pitch and swim his signature series jigs in and around heavy cover. See his lure lineup and the top baits used by the Championship Sunday anglers. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Jake Whitaker (10th; 57-14)
Whitaker fished a wacky rig around canals and docks and a flipping rig in pads. 
He made the weightless wacky rig with a Big Bite Baits Trick Stick, rigging it on a 2/0 Ryugi Talisman Wacky/Neko Hook. 
The heavy-cover rig was a Big Bite Baits Trick Stick that he rigged on a Ryugi Infini Wide Gap Offset Worm Hook, with a 5/16-ounce weight. 
Patrick Walters (9th; 58-12)
Walters rotated between a weightless fluke and a jerkbait for reaction bites. 
A key lure was this 6-inch Zoom Super Fluke rigged weightless on a 5/0 VMC RedLine Series Hybrid Wide Gap Hook.
For a change-up setup he fished a weightless 5-inch Zoom Winged Fluke on a 4/0 VMC RedLine Series Hybrid Wide Gap Hook. 
Reaction bites came on a Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait. 
John Cox (8th; 59-4)
Cox probed the shallows for signs of early bedding bass and prespawners, opting for a finesse worm and creature bait for flipping and pitching. 
A top choice was this Berkley PowerBait Speed Boss that Cox rigged weightless on a 4/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook. 
For heavy cover he fished a Berkley PowerBait Crick Craw, rigging it on a 3/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook, with a 1/4-ounce weight. 
Gerald Swindle (7th; 63-0)
A wacky rig, swim jig and jerkbait covered the varying strike zones for Swindle. 
Swindle finessed a wacky-rigged Zoom Trick Worm with a No. 1 VMC RedLine Series Drop Shot Hook.
For covering water, he used a 3/8-ounce Buckeye Lures G-Man Finesse Swimbait Jig with a Zoom Z Craw for a trailer. 
A Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 Jerkbait was the lure of choice for reaction strikes. 
Brock Mosley (6th; 68-6)
Mosley fished a bladed jig and flipping rig to catch his bass in heavy cover. 
A top pick was a 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a with a Yamamoto Zacko for a trailer. 
For heavy-cover flipping, Mosley used a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog that he rigged on a 3/0 Eagle Claw Trokar Pro V Flipping Hook, with a 1-ounce weight. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Cory Johnston (5th; 68-6)
Johnston keyed on prespawn largemouth in heavy cover. 
Johnston’s key bait was a 3/8-ounce 6th Sense Braid Swim Jig with a 6th Sense Bongo for a trailer.
John Garrett (4th; 71-0)
Garrett caught prespawn staging fish with a deep-diving crankbait. 
The choice was this Strike King 5XD crankbait.
Shane LeHew (3rd; 73-9)
LeHew rotated through a jerkbait for reaction bites and a flipping rig for heavier cover. 
The reaction bait was this Berkley Stunna. 
For heavy cover, LeHew fished a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Stank-Bug, rigged on a 4/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook with 1/8-ounce weight. 
Jay Przekurat (2nd; 73-10)
Przekurat alternated between a jerkbait for reaction strikes, and a drop shot for finesse fishing. 
A Strike King KVD Elite 300 Jerkbait was the choice for covering water. 
For slower presentations, he made a drop shot with a Strike King Baby Z-Too Soft Jerkbait, rigging it on a 1/0 hook with a 1/4-ounce WOO! Tungsten Drop Shot Weight. 
Bill Lowen (1st; 73-14)
Lowen fished a tidal creek surrounded by areas of 20-foot bottom. 
He flipped and pitched his way to the win in heavy cover. Lowen relied on a staple of his lure lineup in two signature jigs. 
Those baits included this 3/8-ounce LurePartsOnline Bill Lowen Signature Series Jig with a Lowen Series Blue Craw Skirt. He used a Zoom Super Chunk for a trailer. 
Alternatively, Lowen used a 5/16-ounce LurePartsOnline Bill Lowen Signature Series Swim Jig with the Lowen Series Blue Craw Skirt. A Zoom Super Speed Craw was his choice for a trailer. 

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