Fantasy Fishing: Hard to spell, harder to predict

Written by

Pete Robbins

As a fan, the highlight of a typical Elite Series season for me is when the pros descend upon a new-to-them fishery, one without a clear-cut pre-tournament favorite. This year, that’s North Carolina’s Pasquotank. As far as I know, prior to the announcement of the schedule, the entire field had spent fewer days on this particular waterway than Easton Fothergill has spent as Classic champion.

The Pasquotank (is there a shortened name for it – “The ‘Tank’,” perhaps? – is a tributary of the Albemarle sound, and while I haven’t fished it, back in the early 2000s I spent some time on the neighboring Chowan River, so I feel like I have a sense of how it’ll fish…or at least how it would’ve fished 15-20 years ago. They’re habitat-rich areas, mostly quite shallow, and I would’ve assumed that they were not primed for scoping, except for the fact that another tour went to the Chowan last year and many of the leaders video gamed their fish.

Accordingly, when it comes to techniques, I’m not sure that we can rule out much if anything. The bass should be heading into the spawn, so they’ll want to push toward the bank – or toward lily pad stems or cypress knees. My strategy here is to focus on anglers who have a history of breaking down big river systems, including but not limited to tidal fisheries. Follow me at your peril – just like the time I went into a little gut on the Chowan and had to push my boat out.

We’re entering the third event of the season, and while this one won’t necessarily be make-or-break (both for the Elites and for Fantasy Fishing players), storylines are starting to develop. Make some bold choices, take a risk, and think about my river-favoring strategy when you make your own picks:

BUCKET A: THE TIN MAN

REGISTERED RIVER RAT: John Cox rewarded Fantasy players at the Bassmaster Classic and I’d be shocked if he doesn’t do so again in North Cackalacka. While his boat may not enable him to cover massive expanses of the fishery, it does allow him to get into places that others can’t. Nothing against current leader John Garrett, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cox atop the AOY leaderboard after this event and/or the one after that. It’ll be a hell of a party when he wins the title.

SOLID BACKUP: It’s rare for me to pick a rookie in Bucket A this early in the season, but Beau Browning is no regular rookie. He started strong in Florida and has a river pedigree like few youngsters. His father won multiple times on the Red River and you can be sure he passed that knowledge, and those genes, along – and young Beau built upon that base.

BUCKET B: MISSISSIPPI MUDDER

REGISTERED RIVER RAT: Brock Mosley is currently in the top quarter of the AOY race, and needs to get back to the Classic – he missed the 2025 version after fishing five in a row. After a long stretch of runner-up finishes he finally broke through with his first win on the Sabine in 2023. He’d finished 2nd there the year before.

SOLID BACKUP: While I don’t think of the Albemarle Sound tributaries as traditional tidal rivers like the Potomac or the James, there is a tidal influence and Bryan Schmitt is exceptional any time there’s flowing water. He’s a spot ahead of Mosley in the standings, and needs to keep his Classic streak – currently at four – alive and growing.

BUCKET C: SWEET VIRGINIA

REGISTERED RIVER RAT: Another mid-Atlantic river rat who simply makes the Classic every year he’s eligible is Jacob Powroznik. I think this is the time of year when he’s best, too, plinking around a Senko. He’s due for a memorable signature win and while he’s not a home-stater, this one would be pretty close.

SOLID BACKUP: I think of Bernie Schultz as excelling in Florida and New York in particular, but he has decades of experience breaking down big new waters. Like JPow, he’s due for a signature win, and while this fishery doesn’t remind me of a Classic Florida grass lake, it has enough similarities that I expect he’ll put some pieces together.

BUCKET D: LACROSSE STAR

REGISTERED RIVER RAT: I expect that half of the battle in Elizabeth City will be eliminating water that looks good but is generally barren or unproductive. Anyone used to navigating the mazelike channels of the Upper Mississippi should have a handle on that, and Pat Schlapper could swim jig ‘em to death.

SOLID BACKUP: I really don’t have a sense of whether sight fishing will play a role, but if it does, expect Drew Benton to figure something out. And if it doesn’t – he still figures something pretty good more often than not.

BUCKET E: OLD FAITHFUL

REGISTERED RIVER RAT: I’ve gotta pick Greg Hackney here. He’s a bargain on the rare occasions that he’s in Bucket E, and the year is too young (and he is too experienced) to rule him out this early. He’s won on the Sabine, excels on the Arkansas and Mississippi Rivers, and is patient enough to find one good stretch away from everyone else and milk it for four days.

SOLID BACKUP: What’s happened to Kenta Kimura? He went on a tear in 2022 and 2023, but since then has faded a bit. He’s a crazy tackle tinkerer and not afraid to go big. That’s what propelled him to an Open win on the James River in ’22, and he’s also earned BASS top tens on the Sabine, Red River and Arkansas River. It’s prime time to get the train back on the rails.