BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. has announced the 2024 winners of the Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing Challenge and the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Fantasy Fishing Challenge, the Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing companion games to the Bassmaster Elite Series.
More than 32,000 players picked their lineup of fantasy anglers for each Elite Series event as well as the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, and two contestants stood above the rest at the end of the season.
William Knight, winner of the Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing Challenge, claimed the top spot and a $15,000 Bass Pro Shops gift card, a $500 Bass Pro Shops gift card (B.A.S.S. member bonus), $5,000 cash, a Rapala prize package including a hat, shirt and lures and a trip to the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth, Texas, March 21-23, 2025. The total prize package has a value of $21,500.
“Winning Fantasy Fishing is awesome, and I’m headed to Bass Pro Shops soon,” said the Fantasy Fishing winner from Nashville, Tenn. “My strategy consisted of angler momentum, the weather forecast and water conditions.
“The keys to winning are doing your research and being lucky,” Knight added with a laugh.
Jenesa Balaski, the Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Fantasy Fishing Challenge winner, took home the first-place prize, including a $2,500 Bass Pro Shops gift card, a $500 Bass Pro Shops gift card (B.A.S.S. member bonus) and a fishing trip package for one person to fish with Elite Series angler Luke Palmer in Oklahoma. The total prize package has a value of $4,050.
“This feels pretty amazing,” said the Drain the Lake player from International Falls, Minn. “We play a small league within our friends … that’s how I got involved. I never thought I would win the entire league.
“I live in northern Minnesota, and I save the Northern guys for the Northern lakes,” Balaski added. “I grew up loving to fish and have learned more and more about bass fishing over the last few years … I do research on the lakes and where the guys come from as well.”
Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing Challenge players register for free at Bassmasterfantasy.com, set their “buckets” to assemble their team of five Elite anglers per event and earn points based on their fantasy anglers’ performance during the tournaments.
Falcon Rods Bassmaster Drain the Lake Fantasy Fishing Challenge contestants register for free at Bassmasterfantasy.com, then select eight anglers for each event. Again, players earn points based on their fantasy anglers’ performance during the tournament. Drain the Lake, however, has a twist: You can only use any given angler once during the season, so players must make their picks wisely based on an angler’s strengths and weaknesses on the individual tournament bodies of water.
