The Bassmaster Elite Series is headed back to La Crosse, Wis. for the 6th time since 2012. The first three events up until 2016 were frogging slugfests, but this section of the river has seen a significant boost in angling and tournament pressure in recent years, resulting in a slightly tougher fishery. It feels like there are either fewer fish or smarter fish, but there is also an uptick in larger fish to be caught.
There are still a ton of largemouth and smallmouth bass in this section of the Mississippi river, but they are a little less abundant and seem to be getting a whole lot smarter when it comes to destroying hollow body frogs with reckless abandon.
On top of an evolving fishery, with this being the final event of the season, we have anglers trying to lock up Bassmaster Classic spots, a dog fight at the top of AOY, anglers trying to requalify for 2026 and a win and in scenario for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic. When you look at the risk vs. reward scenarios that come with locking, there should be some very interesting story lines.
River levels are close to normal summer pool and seem to be slowly dropping as we head into tournament week. In June and July there were some spikes in water levels, but the vegetation has been slowly doing its thing and cleaning up the water. As we close in on the end of summer in the upper Midwest, the shad and bass will begin to think about their fall feeding locations. These conditions should help spread the field out and keep anglers on their toes. Seems unlikely that this will be won in a small single area or spot, and it will probably be a little bit of junk fishing involved to stay consistent.
We will likely see both largemouth and smallmouth bass play this week, and they will be caught on a variety of techniques and locations. 14-16 lbs will be very strong bags this week, but we will probably see a few 18-19 lb bags. However, that will be tough to duplicate back to back days. I think the winning weight will be between 65-75 lbs over four days.
While my Fantasy season has been decent, we are going to be in the mood for a little more risk with our picks for this event.
BUCKET A: PRZEKURAT
Even though Jay Przekurat has missed two cuts in a row, he has a decently solid track record fishing larger events out of Pool 8. I suspect Przekurat will have a strong finish and make the anglers that have jumped him in the AOY race have to catch them.
Tin Man
John Cox has had some experience and some success on these pools earlier in the year, but it should fit his fishing style and he has one of the best boats for breaking down this river quickly in practice. Honestly, this is a fan pick wanting to have a live camera in John’s boat for the final weekend of the season.
BUCKET B: MEYER
Cody Meyer was super consistent in last year’s Bassmaster Open out of La Crosse and he has plenty of experience on these pools. Meyer is not a flashy pick, but I believe he will senko his way to a solid event.
Hometown Hero
Pat Schlapper has been putting in his homework on these pools before the cutoff. I expect the Wisconsin pro to finish the season strong and make a Bassmaster Classic. Also, he’s is an easy guy to foot for and if he is in contention, the Schlapper crew will be heard at the weigh-ins.
BUCKET C: HOWELL
If you look back at the Bassmaster Open results from 2024, Randy Howell’s finish won’t look amazing, but he fell victim to the day two lock and he dumped a good bag of bass that would have had him in contention on the final day. Howell has plenty of experience fishing these pools over the years and shallow fishing is his wheelhouse.
Another lock victim
Robert Gee was another angler that had to dump a healthy creel of bass back into the river while watching the lock from the wrong side of pool 8 in the 2024 Bassmaster Open. Maybe there is something he can bring into this year’s Elite event. How do I know? I watched him dump the fish while bobbing next to him waiting for the lock.
BUCKET D: BROWNING
Beau Browning was a respectful 20th in the 2024 Bassmaster Open out of La Crosse. In general, it has not been a bad bet to wager on the young anglers. He loves a chatterbait and power fishing shallow. I look for a strong finish from Browning!
Experienced alternative
Matt Arey has seen his share of success in Pool 8. He could be a safe pick for most any team in the final event of the season.
BUCKET E: KENNEDY
Normally I am adverse when it comes to picking Steve Kennedy in Fantasy Fishing, but hey, maybe it’s time to take a chance on this season. We all know Kennedy loves a frog and is not afraid to put his boat in tough situations.
Shallow specialist
Logan Latuso like most anglers in Bucket E, really needs a win. His comfort with frogging and flipping should be a good skill match up for the Mississippi River.
Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge
As we hit the final event, is your cupboard bare? Do you have enough quality river anglers to field a solid team?
Here is my Bassmaster Drain the Lake roster:
Randy Howell
Cody Meyer
Gerald Swindle
Bill Lowen
Pat Schlapper
Bob Downey
Caleb Kuphall
Wes Logan
