After a 2023 Bassmaster Elite Series season in which rookies earned four big blue trophies, and seven of 11 qualified for the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, it didn’t seem possible the youth movement could get any stronger.
Then the 2024 newbies blew the door off of expectations. They would’ve said, “Hold our beers and watch this,” except for the fact that one of their cadre wasn’t yet old enough to legally drink.
The nine anglers who qualified for the Elites through the 2023 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers may have “only” earned two Elite Series wins this year, but their consistency was a force beyond compare. Despite comprising less than 10% of the field, they claimed over a quarter of the Top 10 finishes. They averaged seven Top 50 finishes apiece. Most notably, all of them will compete in the upcoming 2025 Bassmaster Classic in March on Lake Ray Roberts.
Several of the nine rookies were in the hunt for Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year up to the season-ending Northern Swing, a confined space they shared with other great stories: Justin Hamner, who would’ve been the first pro to win AOY and the Classic in the same year since KVD; Jacob Foutz, whose offseason was marked by a truthful reckoning that earned him an equal number of fans and detractors; and two Canadian brothers vying to become the first non-American pro to win that title.
When an exhausted Chris Johnston finally claimed that title, and the books more or less closed on 2024, those of us who watched carefully were equally tired from the drama. I half expected a WWE-style surprise ending. Maybe next year.
In the meantime, here are a few of the stories that stood out to me:
Super-sophs – After a tremendous first year on tour, it seemed like the 2023 rookies leveled off. Part of that was the fact that the 2024 class claimed so much oxygen. Another part was that Joey Cifuentes, who had two wins in ’23 and finished fifth in AOY, couldn’t keep his bearings this year and fell a remarkable 91 spots to 96th. Kyoya Fujita, the other ’23 star, dropped from seventh to 36th. Across the board, though, it wasn’t quite as dire as it seemed. Yes, six of the 11 dropped in the standings from year one to year two, but four rose, including Kyle Norsetter (80th to 26th) and Alex Wetherell (88th to 37th), both of whom will compete in their first Classic. The uber-consistent Cooper Gallant finished 17th both years.
Rookie consistency — A 92nd-place finish at Smith Lake likely kept Trey McKinney from earning the AOY title. Finishes of 94th and 101st likewise did in JT Thompkins. Indeed, the only two rookies who avoided a “bomb” of 84th or worse were Kyle Patrick and John Garrett. Garrett’s worst finishes were 60th and 63rd. Patrick’s were 70th, 70th and 71st.
Top 10s — For two non-rookie members of the top 10 in the AOY race – Justin Hamner and Cody Huff – it was their first time in that lofty atmosphere. Both Johnston brothers have now made the top 10 three times. Patrick Walters saw his streak of years in the top 10 (actually, in the top five) end at four. He finished the year in 12th. Meanwhile, Jay Przekurat now has the longest streak of AOY finishes in the top 10 – in his three years on tour he’s ended up 10th, sixth and now seventh.
Leveling off — With a win to start the season at Toledo Bend Reservoir, Kyoya Fujita marked his sixth Top 10 in 10 Elite Series events, including two wins and a third-place finish over three in a row. Some pundits, perhaps this one included, may have prematurely anointed him the sport’s next superstar, and he may still prove that to be accurate. After all, when the Elite Series blasts off in 2025, he’ll still be a bit short of his 28th birthday. Nevertheless, after the Classic he fell back to earth a bit, with four straight missed cuts. He salvaged a Classic berth with three straight checks to end the season, although none were Day 4 appearances, and ended up 36th overall.
Class of 1970 – Despite the evident youth movement, two veteran pros – Cliff Prince and Ed Loughran, age 54 and a week shy of 54, respectively – earned their first B.A.S.S. victories. Prince won at Wheeler Lake in his 144th B.A.S.S. tournament, and Loughran won at Champlain in his 88th.
Best for last — On the heels of a 100th-place finish at Lake Murray, Carl Jocumsen was in 88th place in the AOY race, seemingly out of it, but then he rattled off four straight money finishes – including a season’s best 10th place at the St. Lawrence River in the finale – to end the year in 44th place. That was outside the Classic cut, but due to double qualifications, Easton Fothergill’s Leech Lake win pulled him back in. Lake Ray Roberts will be Jocumsen’s third straight Classic appearance.
Lee’s return — Jordan Lee’s return to the Elite Series after five years on another circuit would’ve been noisy under normal circumstances, but his excellence was also often overshadowed by the exploits of his younger colleagues. It’s hard to believe the one-time College qualifier is now entering his mid-30s. He finished ninth in the AOY race this year, which for most anglers would be a career season, but for Lee it paled in comparison to the sixth- and fourth-place finishes in 2016 and 2017. It matched what he did in his rookie year of 2015. By qualifying for the 2025 Classic, however, he does have further opportunity to distinguish himself. While Rick Clunn and Kevin VanDam are tied for the record for Classic victories with four apiece, no one else has three. Lee is next in line, tied with Bobby Murray, George Cochran and Hank Cherry with two apiece, but none of those other three will be fishing at Ray Roberts. The only other past Classic champs who will be competing are Justin Hamner and Jeff Gustafson. If Hamner were to win, he’d become the third pro (along with Lee and Cherry) to win two in a row in a space of nine Classics.
Wisdom and excellence — This year marked Rick Clunn’s last year on the Elite Series, and while he likely didn’t go out the way he’d have preferred, he was properly celebrated and feted at each event – and he’s now fished 505 tournaments with B.A.S.S. To put his longevity and excellence into perspective, Clunn won three Classics before any member of this year’s AOY Top 10 was born, and he claimed his fourth before eight of them were alive. That Classic total is one more than the 10 of them have earned combined. He has an equal number of AOY titles (one to one), and five more B.A.S.S. wins than the lot of them.
Hack’s attack — With Clunn no longer on the Elite Series, Gerald Swindle and Mike Iaconelli become the highest actives in Classics fished, with 20 apiece. Greg Hackney is on their tail. He will fish his 19th in March and fourth in a row. Other anglers in the 2025 Elite field who’ve fished 10 or more Classics include Brandon Palaniuk, Jason Christie, Matt Herren, Steve Kennedy, Bill Lowen and John Crews. Christie is the only member of that group who has won one.
Return to Ray Roberts — Hank Cherry won the last Ray Roberts Classic, held in June of 2021. He will not have an opportunity to defend that title four years hence when the Elites return. Anglers who will get a second bite at that apple include 2021 runner-up Matt Arey, Drew Cook (finished ninth), Patrick Walters (10th), Jeff Gustafson (21st), Hunter Shryock (26th), Drew Benton (27th), John Cox (33rd), Brandon Lester (35th), Chris Zaldain (38th), Taku Ito (41st), Pat Schlapper (43rd), Stetson Blaylock (48th) and Shane LeHew (53rd).
