Another offseason has gone by and we’re back like we never left. After a fantastic 2024 Champions Tour Season with new venues, Kyle Schutta bringing home the coveted Championship title where he won a NEW Skeeter ZX200, as well as the Angler of the Year; and finishing it up with longtime Owner of Classic Bass, Scott Bonnema handing over the reigns to Dane Vocelka. A year filled with triumph, new experiences, new faces, and ultimately a lot of excitement has come to an end, and now we look forward.
The 2025 Champions Tour, Presented by Skeeter Boats, kicks off in the beginning of June and our field of 67 Anglers is ready for another go at it. Once again, the Champions Tour will feature 3 different stops for the season, with the 3rd Annual Pro/Am event being hosted in the middle of July on Lake Minnetonka. There’s still time to register for the Pro/Am, as you DO NOT have to be fishing the Champions Tour season to fish as a Pro in this event. The Tour season will be bringing us all over the great state of Minnesota, and even a few miles into Wisconsin.
LOCATIONS
Starting with a trip to Lake Vermilion, a venue with lots of Champions Tour history, but a vast majority of it being held in the middle of the summer. This time our field will be heading to the Iron Range in the beginning of June, where Mother Nature will be the biggest factor in how this event will play out. Will the largemouth bass population now play a larger factor in the event, or will it still be heavily dominated by smallmouth bass? This is one of the ultimate questions heading up to Tower, MN.
The 2nd stop of the Champions Tour will be another new venue for the Tour. The field has had multiple tournaments on the Mississippi River over the years, and even ventured up to the St Croix in 2024, but this will be the first time heading down to La Crosse, Wisconsin. A venue that now is viewed as a premier stop for Bassmaster and MLF, it’s one that’s not been visited yet by the Champions Tour. The question when visiting the Mississippi River is always, largemouth or smallmouth, and that will be a very interesting topic as our field ventures south. The summer topwater bite and slop bite should be starting to take off as we arrive, and barring any crazy river level fluctuations, we expect to see some impressive weights in La Crosse.
The season will ultimately end at another location that our field will be familiar with, and that is the Le Homme Dieu Chain of Lakes in Alexandria, MN. Known for its robust population of largemouth bass, and increasing smallmouth, this one is sure to be a barn burner to end the regular season, and we’d have it no other way. Featuring miles of deep weedlines, and hundreds of shallow boat docks, this chain of lakes always plays out a little bit differently than we expect it to.
And the Championship? It will be announced at the first event. As is tradition with the Champions Tour.
One thing we know heading into this season, our Angler of the Year is going to have to be very versatile. As this schedule is one of the most diverse the Tour has seen over its history.
ANGLERS RETURNING TO THE CHAMPIONS TOUR
The 2025 Champions Tour field boasts a large number of anglers that have been fishing for several years now, with very little turnover. But heading into the season it’s important to take a look at who has returned after a year or two hiatus. This year, the man nicknamed as the Yeti is back, Big Fish Matt Thompson. Thompson took a year off fishing the Champions Tour to travel the north fishing the Bassmaster Opens, and now being back in this field we know we can expect this big fish specialist to find his way into contention. A younger angler returning to the field is Charlie Wright, the College Angler has spent years fishing down at Montevallo University in Alabama and looks to bring what he’s learned around the country back up to Minnesota. Wright had a strong finish at the Champions Tour Pro/Am on Mille Lacs last season, and we’d expect to see him in contention during at least one of the events this season.
THE DEFENDING CHAMP
Last year the question was asked, “Can anyone beat Noah Schultz?” Turns out, Kyle Schutta was the man for the job. Looking at the past years of history of the Champions Tour, Noah Schultz receives a ton of notoriety, as he should, when there’s a boat and big money on the line, he often shows up in a big way. But in 2024 the Champions Tour saw a “sleeping giant” come to life, as arguably the most consistent angler to ever fish the Champions Tour, Kyle Schutta, was able to bring home multiple titles. After taking home a clean sweep of Angler of the Year, as well as winning a Skeeter ZX200 at the Championship on Minnewaska last year, Schutta had a year that many who cover the Tour were anticipating him to have. In his 4 year history of fishing the Champions Tour Schutta now has 2 wins and 8 Top-10’s, that is simply, impressive. Now the question is, can he back it up? If past history is any indicator, it’s safe to bet that he will be right up there once again.
2025 ROOKIE CLASS
The Champions Tour has had a surge of youth over the past couple seasons, as has been the case across the bass fishing tournament landscape. The likes of Hunter Wendt, Tommy Parker, and Walker Krampitz have brought home a COMBINED 5 TITLES in the past 3 years, and a dozen or so Top-10 finishes. But last year’s Rookie of the Year was arguably one of the most seasoned Rookies we could have had join the field, John “Nellie” Nelson. Proving that although the youth is surging right now, they still have to beat the savvy veterans, and in this format it’s anyone’s ballgame.
As we head into 2025, we have a few very notable rookies hitting the Champions Tour; Rich Lindgren, Kevin Ruh, and Nate Nipper. Lindgren is a bass fishing tournament junkie from the Twin Cities Area, having competed Nationally through the Bass Nation throughout his life, Lindgren has proven his skill set at catching bass all across the country. Throw in the dozens of local and regional wins he’s amassed over his career, it’s safe to bet he’s going to be a threat in this field. Ruh may be a new name for those who have followed tournament fishing in Minnesota exclusively, but he’s known very well in the Mississippi River valley, especially La Crosse. With 2 BFL wins, and 18 MLF Top-10’s in the past decade, the proof is in the pudding, Ruh can catch ‘em and we’re excited to see what he brings to the Champions Tour. Lastly, Nipper, and for those who have been following the Team Trails around Minnesota and Wisconsin the past decade you’ve seen his name frequently. Nipper is a model of consistency in tournament fishing, he’s seemingly always chilling in check range, and catches them everywhere he goes. Having finished 2nd on the MNBN Team Trail TOY Race in 2022, qualifying for the Bassmaster National Team Championship, he’s shown his ability to remain consistent no matter what the body of water calls for.
And as this is written, we already know we’re in for a few surprises from this incoming rookie class. It happens every single year, and we’re excited to see who surges to the top of this Rookie of the Year race.
WHO WILL STEP UP IN 2025
As mentioned above, Wendt, Parker, and Krampitz have already made a significant impact on the Champions Tour in the past 3 years, and we expect this year to be no different. But who else on the Champions Tour has been “heating up”.
Kevin Fassbind is an angler the fans should be keeping their eye on, after a 6th Place finish in the Angler of the Year Race in 2024, and taking Schultz down to the wire on Serpent Lake in 2022, Fassbind has proven his place in the Champions Tour. Having come so close to several different wins now, Fassbind always seems to find himself in check range. Evan Blakley stormed into the Champions Tour in 2023 and hasn’t slowed down since. Having won the first Champions Tour Pro/Am on the Whitefish Chain, and has already amassed 4 Top-10’s in 2 years, he’s got a really high batting percentage. Lastly, Matt Holweg is someone to keep an eye on. Holweg is another angler that seems to shine when the lights are the brightest. In his 2 years on Tour he now has 2 Top-10 finishes, and has been right in the mix of the Championship both of his times fishing.
The list of anglers to keep an eye on this year is LONG, but that’s what is so intriguing about the 2025 Champions Tour Season. The field has a group of extremely proven veterans that continue to catch ‘em, and now we’ve got a group of newer anglers that are looking to make some waves.
AOY WATCH / PUNDIT PICKS
Looking at the 2025 Season there’s a lot of different stories that are going to unfold, and covering them is going to be exciting as usual. But who should fans put on their “watch list” for the 2025 Champions Tour Season? Jack Gavin and Adam Bartusek have had front row seats to the Champions Tour for years now, and will be giving some insight all year long on what anglers to keep an eye on, no matter where we go.
Rookie of the Year
Bart: This is a really tough Rookie Class to pick from, as I think there’s several different anglers that could win it, and there’s always the “unknown” (to us) Rookie that makes an impact immediately. But if I was a betting man, I’d bet on Rich Lindgren. Lindgren catches them all over the country and this schedule actually lays out really well for him. Experience wise, two of these locations have hosted Bass Nation State Tournaments in recent years (Vermilion and Le Homme Dieu) and he has more experience on the La Crosse pools of the Mississippi River than anyone in the field, not named Kevin Ruh. His fishing style also fits the Champions Tour well, as he’s proficient offshore, but can be absolutely dominant shallow, and I see that strength suiting him well in all of these events.
Jack: It’s hard to pick against Lindgren for so many reasons, but my 2025 ROY prediction is Nate Nipper. His consistency in tournament fishing combined with a schedule that appears to line up very well for Nate makes all the sense in the world. His smallmouth and big water abilities check the box for Vermilion. To my knowledge, he spends a fair amount of time on the upper pools of the Mississippi and will find himself right at home in LaCrosse. And his offshore abilities will have him finding summer schools of largemouth in Alexandria with the best of them.
Angler of the Year
Bart: The first name that came to mind when I saw this schedule and thought, “Who is going to win Angler of the Year” was Jim Moynagh. The Minnesota Tournament Legend has been a model of consistency in the tour, he’s got 14 Top-10’s in 6 years, and somehow he hasn’t won an event yet or an Angler of the Year. I believe that changes this year. Moynagh is known for how dominant he is offshore, but he is incredibly versatile. One of Moynagh’s best skills is finding fish that other competitors don’t, and he has this crazy ability to have a monster half in these events doing something different than the rest of the field, and all of these locations bode well to that strength.
My other pick for Angler of the Year is going to be Kevin Fassbind. Fassbind has fished the Champions Tour for 4 Years now, and has 7 Top-10 finishes in those years. The biggest reason for picking Fassbind this season is that you can make a pretty strong argument that he’s the best overall shallow water fisherman on the Champions Tour. It’s pretty rare to see him in more than 5 ft of water, and it doesn’t matter what’s in front of him: docks, slop, reeds, rock, you name it. He’s going to fish it, and fish it well. I think his shallow water prowess is going to carry him a long way this year, as I think this year’s schedule lines up for a shallow water angler much better than previous years. Fassbind always says to the camera crew. “I’m always the bridesmaid” and even if that was true, a couple bridesmaid finishes go a long way to winning an Angler of the Year, and I think he’s got a great chance at doing it this year.
Jack: This almost feels like a sleeper pick when it SHOULDN’T be that whatsoever. I’m leaning on Brad Leuthner as my first pick for the 2025 AOY. After some time away from the Champions Tour, Brad found his way back into the “Every Fish Counts” groove last season and I expect him to have fully worn off any rust he may have had going into this season. You can easily argue that Brad has fished more, dialed in more skills, and encountered more tournament situations than anyone in the field during the last few years with his time fishing the Bassmaster Opens across the country. His versatility is insane and he’s won a Champions Tour tournament on Vermilion already. His experience on pressured bodies of water fits LaCrosse perfectly and he’s been known to catch a largemouth or two in grass fisheries like LHD.
My second pick is Hunter Wendt. Hunter has proven in a big way that he can win against this field and I feel that he’ll combine that with just a bit more consistency this season that could put him over the top in the points race. Hunter thrives in the Champions Tour format and he should certainly be in contention down the stretch. The big question mark for all of these predictions is the Championship. The Championship counts for AOY points and that location is still unknown. I would expect any of these anglers to perform well in the Championship but pending location, things could swing one way or another for any of these guys when that lake is announced. Do they have experience there, does the lake fit their skill sets well etc.
Who Makes The Leap?
Bart: This is always a tough one to pick, because there’s so many anglers in this field who feel like they’re on the cusp of winning one or an Angler of the Year title, but I’m going to go with Aaron Teal. Teal is a bass fishing junkie and I think he’d be the first to tell you that fishing the Champions Tour was a big adjustment for him, after fishing 5 fish tournaments for so long, but now he’s seemingly obsessed with this format. We’ve seen glimpses of Teal going after multiple wins now, but the past few years it’s seemed like consistency has been what he’s been trying to find. I think this schedule lines up well with Teal’s uncanny ability at finding multiple different intricate patterns on a body of water, and I think this is the year the stars align for him. I’m not sure if he’s going to win an event, give AOY a run for its money, or both; but I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing a lot of Aaron Teal this year.
Jack: Three names jump out at me in this category. Ron Mehr, Chad Keller, and Terry Vang. All of these guys have been very good on the Champions Tour, even Terry who was a rookie just last year. There’s not a huge distance for any of them to jump since they’re already right there but I expect at least one of them to get a win this year and/or compete for AOY. Mehr is a threat anywhere we go and has been so close so many times. Chad Keller was right on the doorstep of huge things a couple years ago on East/West Rush and he seems to be getting better and better every Champions Tour tournament. I expect Terry to fully engrain himself this season on the list of Champions Tour anglers that are serious problems for their competitors. He had two top 10’s last year and expect him to make the next step in 2025.
