
Kicking off in Florida is a tradition in tournament bass fishing that has stood the test of time and has most fans of the sport licking their chops to see if the big girls show up to play while most of the country is still hunkered down with ice or cold conditions.
Bass angling in Florida is synonymous with big bass and bed fishing, but will the fish actually make the big move before or during the event? The Jacksonville Airport did record measurable snow for the first time since 1989. Will that delay the spring movements of the bass on this renowned tidal fishery? That is the big question when selecting your fantasy team to kick off this 2025 Bassmaster Elite season.
You may recall many stories from the Elite Series past, where anglers had found mega schools of staging fish in practice that either dwindled or flat out disappeared by tournament morning because the fish made a massive movement to the bank and their eventual spawning locations. Likewise, there are often a few anglers who were on pretty much nothing in practice and still were aware enough to feel that change and look in the right areas to come in with big Day 1 limits.
So what does that mean to you? You need to decide if you are going all in on anglers that excel at sight fishing or banking on guys that dominate with pre-spawn staging fish?
I personally like to be a glass half full fantasy picker, so I am going to lean a little more towards loading my team with sight fishing anglers.
BUCKET A: LESTER
Brandon Lester has an amazing spring track record in Florida and has notched six consecutive Day 3 appearances back to 2016. There are definitely a few anglers in Bucket A that have had some higher finishes, but they have come with some inconsistency. Lester is due for a big Florida event.
AOY swagger: Chris Johnston accomplished just about everything on the Bassmaster Elite series in 2024 outside of a win. He outlasted the field to become Angler of the Year but watched his brother hoist two blue trophies during that campaign. Chris has many great finishes on the St. Johns, he will be looking for a win this time.
BUCKET B: COX
We all know John Cox is a wizard when he can get eyes on big shallow bass. In four Bassmaster visits to Palatka, he has cashed top 50 checks in all four, but only one top 10. I am confident he gets another top 10 this week out of Palatka.
Flip a Drew Coin: Both Drew Benton and Drew Cook are top level sight anglers with solid resumes on this fishery. You can’t go wrong with either one.
BUCKET C: DOWNEY
Bob Downey has a 2nd and a 15th in his last two visits to St Johns River; he almost made the Bassmaster Classic after missing an event in 2024. I look for Bob to get off to a hot start in Florida in 2025.
Ice Cream Cut: Brandon Palaniuk has had his ups and downs in Florida events, but has devoured cut ice cream in his last five trips to Palatka, that is a solid stat for Bucket C.
BUCKET D: LOBERG
I think this year’s EQ rookies will be a factor all season long much like last year’s incoming class. My strategy is to tap into the lower buckets while I can. Andrew Loberg doesn’t on paper doesn’t have any Palatka experience that I can find, but he is a California angler with Delta experience and has done well in other Florida tournaments.
Sight Fishing Alternate: Brandon Cobb’s St. Johns River history is pretty mediocre, but he is a heck of a sight fishing angler if the big females roll up on beds for this event.
BUCKET E: BROWNING
Beau Browning had a good event in Florida last year in the Bassmaster Opens, he loves shallow power fishing and slinging a bladed jig. I think his style will be a good matchup here in Palatka.
Non-Rookie Elite: Dakota Ebare was an EQ angler, but he is no rookie. Ebare has been a monster on just about every circuit he has ever fished. I don’t expect he will be in Bucket E very long.
Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge
We are kicking off season five of the Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. This additional fantasy fishing game not only offers a fresh way to play the game, but a completely separate prize pool. Drain the Lake is an elimination/survivor style game where you can only use an angler once all season.
For 2025 we will have 10 events and 104 anglers. You will need to use up 80 of the 104 anglers. Who are you willing to burn in the first event?
Here is my St. John’s River Drain the Lake roster:
• John Cox
• Drew Benton
• John Crews
• Kyle Patrick
• Brandon Palaniuk
• Trey McKinney
• Chris Johnston
• Cory Johnston