Gear

Top lures of the 2025 Classic

See the lures used by the Top 25 at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

Posted on
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Chase Sansom
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Championship Sunday began with fireworks on Lake Ray Roberts and concluded in Fort Worth, Texas, with confetti on the weigh-in stage at the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. It was mid-afternoon and Easton Fothergill had only four bass in his livewell until an 8-pounder ignited on his Neko rig. 
The 22-year-old Bassmaster Elite Series rookie from Grand Rapids, Minn., knew something special had occurred. Indeed, it had. The clutch catch anchored his final day weight of 22 pounds, 10 ounces for a three-day winning total of 76-15, or a margin of victory of 8 1/2 pounds.
It was the biggest winning weight in the 55-year history of the Classic, with Fothergill also becoming the second-youngest champion in its history. 
Versatility was key to the win with the anglers confronted by extreme winds on Day 1, calm conditions the next day and more wind on Championship Sunday. Rising temperatures started the spawn, and bass were scattered across the 23,950-acre reservoir as they began migrating to shallow water. See the lure lineup of the Top 25 anglers and get stocked up for the spawning season. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Greg Hackney (25th; 34-10)
Hackney targeted bedding bass with a flipping package. 
The primary bait was a Strike King Rodent, Texas rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Pitch Hook, with a 5/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Bullet Weight. 
Stetson Blaylock (24th; 38-12)
Blaylock rotated through an old-school jerkbait and a flipping rig. 
A 5-inch Smithwick Rogue was a top choice. 
As was a Yum Christie Critter rigged on a 4/0 flipping hook, with a 3/8-ounce weight. 
Jeremiah Kindy (23rd; 40-11)
Kindy fished a pair of two types of worms around heavy cover and trees. 
A top choice was a 5-inch NetBait ION supercharged with BaitFuel rigged weightless with a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook. 
Alternatively, he used a NetBait T-Mac infused with BaitFuel trick worm on a Neko rig. 
Bryan Schmitt (22nd; 40-15)
Schmitt rotated through a lipless crankjbait, crankbait, swim jig and drop-shot rig. 
Leading off the lineup was this Spro Aruku Shad 75. 
Another top choice was this Spro Little John MD 50. 
For slower presentations he used this Hayabusa Lil’ Schmitty Finesse Swim Jig, with a Missile Baits Chunky D for a trailer.
Schmitt also made a drop-shot rig with a Missile Baits Magic Worm, rigged on a 3/0 hook with a 3/16-ounce weight. A Floatzilla Float Tail was added for strike appeal. 
Drew Benton (21st; 41-9)
Benton targeted bass with a crankbait and jerkbait. 
A Spro RkCRAWLER 50 was a top choice
As was a Spro McDart 110.
Scott Martin (20th; 42-15)
Martin used bladed jigs, favoring lighter sizes for shallow bushes and heavier versions for deeper water bites. He also used a flipping package. 
A 3/8- and 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with Yamamoto Zako for trailer was a top choice. 
For flipping heavy cover he used a Googan Baits Bandito Bug, rigged on a 4/0 Eagle Claw Trokar TK110 Extra Wide Gap Worm Hook. He alternated between 3/8- and 1/2-ounce weights depending on wind velocity. 
Connor Jacob (19th; 43-1)
Jacob’s primary lure was a jerkbait.
That choice was this Megabass 110 +1 Junior 
Drew Cook (18th; 45-7)
A flat-sided crankbait was a primary lure for Cook. 
He favored this Spro Little John Micro 45. 
Kyoya Fujita (17th; 46-0)
A trio of Japanese lures gave the bass a different look for Fujita. 
He made a Neko rig with this Jackall Yammy 4.5. 
For spawning bass, he used this Jackall Shibo Flat 4.0. 
A Jackall Vividus swim bait did the trick for cruising bass. 
Tyler Rivet (16th; 46-12)
A jerkbait and flipping jig made up the lure arsenal of Rivet. 
A primary bait was this Bill Lewis Scope-Stik 120. 
For heavy cover he used this 1/2-ounce Big Bite Baits prototype jig, with a Big Bite Baits Swimming Craw for a trailer. 
Ben Milliken (15th; 47-0)
Milliken smashed big bass with a jerkbait and stick bait. 
He covered water with this 6th Sense Fishing Provoke 106X jerkbait.
For a changeup he used this 6th Sense Clout 6.3 rigged on a 4/0 hook. 
Tyler Williams (14th; 50-1)
Williams used a mainstay bait of his lure arsenal for his Classic week.
That was a 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig with a Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog for a trailer. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Jay Przekurat (13th; 50-2)
Przekurat switched between a finesse worm and jig for his cover-oriented patterns. 
For fishing in heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce Strike King Structure Jig with a Strike King Rage Menace for a trailer. 
He also used a Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Fat Baby Finesse Worm, Neko rigged on a Gamakatsu G-Finesse Weedless Wacky Hook. 
Jordan Lee (12th; 51-8)
Lee covered his strike zone with a jig, swimbait and jerkbait. 
For reaction strikes he used a Berkley Stunna. 
A Berkley PowerBait Cull Shad was the choice for slower presenations. 
For heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce jig with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Chunk. 
Carl Jocumsen (11th; 52-5)
Jocumsen rotated through a glide bait, bladed jig and Neko rig. 
For big bite potential he used this Storm Arashi Glide Bait. 
He made the Neko rig with a CrushCity Janitor. 
For fishing through heavy cover, he used this Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a CrushCity Freeloader.
Justin Hamner (10th; 53-3)
Hamner alternated through a soft plastic minnow, jerkbait and glide bait.
Hamner’s top lure choices included this 6 1/2-inch NetBait Prop Duster Minnow.
Alternatively, he used this Megabass Vision 110 +1. 
For big bites, Hamner used this Clutch Swimbaits Baby Boss.
Patrick Walters (9th; 55-12)
A jerkbait and Carolina rig did the trick for Walters. 
He used a Rapala PXR Mavrik 110 to cover water. 
He made the Carolina rig with a 6-inch Zoom Super Fluke, a 5/0 VMC WG Hook and a 1-ounce weight. 
Chris Johnston (8th; 55-15)
Johnston used a vibrating jig and flipping setup for his primary baits. 
Leading off was a 1/2-ounce SPRO CJ Flip Jig with a Zoom Salty Chunk Jr. for a trailer. 
To cover water, he used the new 1/2-ounce size Spro Thumper vibrating jig. 
Brandon Lester (7th; 56-5)
Lester’s primary lure was a shaky-head rig. 
He made it with a 1/8-ounce Spanker Jigs Magnum Shakey Head equppied with a 5/0 Mustad Hook. Completing the package was a 6 1/2-inch LiveTarget Straight Tail Worm. 
John Cox (6th; 56-13)
Cox went old school with a spinnerbait and crankbait for his prespawn/spawn bite. 
For fishing through heavy cover he used a 1/2-ounce Berkley Power Blade Standard Colorado/Willow spinnerbait with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flatnose Minnow. 
For open water and wood he used this Berkley Frttside 5 crankbait.
Cory Johnston (5th; 58-7)
Bladed jigs in two sizes for varying wind conditions were top lures for Johnston. 
The choices were the 3/8- and 1/2-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a 6th Sense Flush soft jerkbait for a trailer. 
Hunter Shryock (4th; 64-14)
Shryock finessed his way through heavy cover with an old-school tube jig. 
The choice was this 3 1/2-inch Berkley PowerBait Power Tube. 
Lee Livesay (3rd; 66-10)
Livesay rotated through a soft jerkbait, bladed jig and swimbait. 
Leading off the lineup was this 6th Sense Flush 5.2, rigged weightless on a 5/0 BKK Hooks Offset WG HD Worm Hook. 
He also used a 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait JackHammer with a 6th Sense Flush 5.2 for a trailer. 
Another top choice was a 6th Sense Whale 4.5, rigged on a 6/0 BKK Hooks WG HD Worm Hook, with a 3/16-ounce 6th Sense Pitch Black Tungsten Weight. 
Trey McKinney (2nd; 68-7)
A swim jig featuring wide claws to displace water for added strike appeal was McKinney’s top bait of choice. 
A 6th Sense Bongo 3.7 was a key component of his swim jig. 
Easton Fothergill (1st; 76-15)
Fothergill’s primary lure was a Neko rig. 
He made it with a 6-inch Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Finesse Worm, rigged on 1/32- or 3/32-ounce weights with a 1/0 Ryugi Heavy Guard Talisman Hook. 

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