Another Bassmaster Classic in the books
Having just returned from Fort Worth, Texas, I am reflecting on an interesting week of fishing at the 2025 Bassmaster Classic. It’s the pinnacle of the year for bass anglers. The weigh-ins each day took place at Dickie’s Arena and the Bassmaster Classic Expo took place nearby at the Fort Worth Convention Center. More than 150,000 people were estimated to be in attendance.
Having just returned from Fort Worth, Texas, I am reflecting on an interesting week of fishing at the 2025 Bassmaster Classic. It’s the pinnacle of the year for bass anglers. The weigh-ins each day took place at Dickie’s Arena and the Bassmaster Classic Expo took place nearby at the Fort Worth Convention Center. More than 150,000 people were estimated to be in attendance.
I was proud to be in the media center press room to get first access to the anglers after they weighed in their fish.
Just like Oklahoma, it was colder at the start of the week and terribly windy with gusts 45 mph and up.
Faced with adverse weather conditions, 56 of the world’s top bass fishermen converged on Lake Ray Roberts near Sanger, Texas, last week to compete in the 55th annual event.
Dubbed as the Super Bowl of bass fishing, anglers from as far away as Japan and Australia competed for a first-place purse of $300,000 plus a plethora of endorsement deals.
High winds coupled with low lake levels made it tough on many fishermen. However, true to form, this group of anglers rose to the occasion.
With the aid of forward facing sonar, old school tactics, some last-day adjustments and an eightpound behemoth in the last hour of competition, Easton Fothergill, 22, of Grand Rapids, Minn., managed to solve the puzzle.
Across the three-day competition, Fothergill’s catches weighed in at 76 pounds, 15 ounces, the highest total in the history of the Classic breaking the previous record held by all-time great Kevin VanDam.
Fothergill’s record-setting weight was 8.5 pounds over second-place finisher, 21-year-old Trey McKinney of Carbondale Ill., who weighed in a respectable three-day total of 15 bass for 68 pounds, seven ounces and took home $50,000 for his efforts.
Third place went to Lee Livesay of Longview, Texas, with a nice three-day total of 15 bass weighing 66 pounds, 10 ounces which netted him $41,000.
The big fish honors went to John Garrett, who weighed an eight-pound, 12-ounce lunker that he caught on Day 1. It earned the title of Mercury Big Bass and won the Tennessee angler $2,500.
To add a little icing on the cake, Fothergill became the second-youngest Bassmaster Classic winner behind only Stanley Mitchell, who won at age 21 back in 1981.
Muskogee native Blake Capps, competing in first Classic, was the only Oklahoman in the field.
“Things didn’t go my way,” Capps said. “The fish were scattered, and I just couldn’t figure things out. Just to have this experience is something I’ve dreamed about and worked toward my entire life.”
Having known Capps since he was a toddler, I have no doubt the young man with the million-dollar smile and easy-going personality will go far in this sport. With Capps, you get the real deal. He represents all that’s right in the world of fishing, leaving no doubt he will be a great ambassador both on and off the water.
Capps will continue touring with the Bassmaster Elite Series circuit next month when they visit the Pasquotank River and Albemarle Sound in Elizabeth City, N.C.
• • •
John Kilgore is the former Greenleaf State Park manager. He can be reached by emailing him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com.
