WALKER, Minn. — The major storyline heading into the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Leech Lake presented by SEVIIN was that the global bass-fishing community would get its first look at what’s heralded as one of the sport’s best, yet relatively unknown, fisheries.
Everyone watching, meanwhile, already knew that Easton Fothergill is one of the best young anglers on the water today.
The two forces collided during a spectacular two-day derby in northern Minnesota this week, and both shined under pressure — Leech as host of its first B.A.S.S. tournament and Fothergill as the young prodigy looking to make hay on home water.
The 22-year-old Fothergill, a Grand Rapids, Minn., native who grew up 30 minutes from Leech Lake, bagged a two-day total of 10 bass weighing 49 pounds, 13 ounces and clinched the tournament championship Saturday at Walker Public Dock. He collected $45,936 cash with the win, part of a $300,034 purse split among the Top 45 of 203 pros competing at Leech this week.
The victory at Leech continued a hot streak not often seen at any level of professional fishing. In the past 10 months and change, Fothergill won the 2023 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’son Kansas’ Milford Lake last October, finished 16th of 56 anglers in the 2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors on Oklahoma’s Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees in March, and followed with his first St. Croix Bassmaster Opens win of the year in June on Lake Eufaula, also in the Sooner State.
Leech was Fothergill’s second victory in an Open tournament this year, making him only the third angler to accomplish the feat (Terry Scroggins did it in 2007 as did Randall Tharp in 2008).
The young angler had to search for the right words to describe what he was feeling.
“It’s crazy to be in the company of those two great names,” Fothergill said. “I had no idea.”
What Fothergill did know is that he was anticipating this tournament as much as any other this year.
“I absolutely circled this one on the calendar,” he said. “Being 30 minutes away (from home) and the first time B.A.S.S. has come to Leech Lake and Walker, Minnesota … I’ve spent so much time out here through my childhood … It means the world to me to pull off the win on my home lake.”
Fothergill and the rest of the field would have to wait an extra day to start the tournament as high winds canceled Thursday’s competition. That made this a two-day derby, which despite a full field fishing both days, likely favored Fothergill, whose deep knowledge of Leech belies his young age.
This week, Fothergill favored the chunky smallmouth bass that stay near rockpiles in the main lake each summer. He amassed some 60 waypoints across this 112,000-acre gem and crisscrossed what felt like every inch of it both days of the tournament. He used his electronics to locate sizable smallies and threw soft plastics to spark bites.
“My main bait is called a Dice (a smoky soft plastic bait made in Japan),” he said. “It’s a super finesse-style bait, and with the wind really being calm the last two days it allowed me to really fish to my strength.”
Fothergill said the Dice’s color resembled one type of crawfish Leech’s smallmouth bass love to eat. But because there are so many crawfish in the lake, the fish are well fed and sparking bites can be tricky.
“You get one cast on these fish and then they’re screwed up,” he continued. “They come to the boat and they’re not on their structure anymore. The reason I was running around so much was because I wanted to throw at a fresh fish every time.”
The frenetic pace paid dividends.
Fothergill jumped to the top of Friday’s leaderboard with a 26-10 limit, including a 6-4 monster smallmouth that was the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament. He was just as smooth on Saturday, closing with a 23-3 limit that sealed the victory.
The past year has been a full-circle turn of events for Fothergill. He underwent emergency brain surgery last year and rebounded remarkably, if not unfathomably, well.
“There was a while there where I didn’t know if I would see another sunrise,” he said. “Every tournament takeoff is really meaningful to me now, whether I catch a fish or not. I really think that’s why I’m having so much success. I just appreciate everything so much more.”
The winner of each of the nine 2024 Bassmaster Opens earns a spot in the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors, which is scheduled for March 21-23 at Lake Ray Roberts in Fort Worth, Texas. But because Fothergill already qualified for the Classic with his win at Eufaula, the berth from the Leech Lake Open falls to the Elite angler on the bubble of the 2024 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. That lucky pro is Australia’s Carl Jocumsen, who finished 44th in the Elite points race this year.
Others in the Top 5 at Leech Lake are second, Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat, 43-8, $18,074; third, Virginia’s Chase Clarke, 42-12, $13,556; fourth, Idaho’s Cody Meyer, 42-0, $13,152; and fifth, Mississippi’s Brett Cannon, 41-8, $11,748.
Anglers who compete in each of the nine Opens and finish among the Top 9 in the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers (EQ) standings, will qualify for the Bassmaster Elite Series in 2025.
Also, on Saturday at Leech Lake, Tennessee’s Gary Haraguchi won the non-boater division with a two-day total of six bass weighing 17-9. He won $11,560, as well, part of a $39,923 cash purse divvied among the Top 40 of the 102 competing non-boaters. Minnesota’s Jim Nordlund also caught 17-9 at Leech, but Haraguchi won the tiebreaker (having the biggest bag on Day 1). Nordlund won $2,720. Fellow Minnesotan Curt Blomquist placed third with 17-2, good for $2,040.
Jeff Somers, of Crystal, Minn., won the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award among non-boaters with a 4-11 on Saturday.
The Leech Lake Area Chamber of Commerce hosted the event.
