by Brynna Williamson
You’ve heard of Bassmaster, or “B.A.S.S.” I know you have. They’ve got the Bassmaster magazine, the B.A.S.S. Times, The Bassmasters T.V. show, and the Bassmaster Elite tournament series for the highest level of professional bass fishing anglers. According to their website, the Bassmaster membership base is “more than half a million strong.”
So, all that being said, I betcha 23 year-old Bassmaster Elite rookie Tucker Smith was really excited when he won the recent Bassmaster Elite Tournament series last month, which this year hosted a tourney on Lake Fork in East Texas.
See, Smith must have been surprised and excited because, the first day, he took 20th place with a total 5-fish weight of 25-4. The second day, however, he jumped up in the ranks, taking 4th place with a total weight of 59-9. The third day showed him improving again, at third place with 92-10; finally, he ended the four-day tournament in, obviously, first place, with a 4-day total weight of 127 pounds 8 ounces. He caught his fish on a jighead minnow with a ¼ ounce Picasso jig head and a ¾ ounce Picasso football head with a Yamamoto Yama Craw.
That is just 1.3 pounds larger than the Bassmaster second-place winner, Paul Marks (who, funny enough, is also a 23-year old Bassmaster Elite rookie). In fact, according to the Bassmaster website, Smith’s catch weight is “the seventh best total of all-time.”
“Man, what an awesome week,” said Smith with a smile, according to a post on the Bassmaster website. “I feel like I’m in a dream right now.” “I think finding my rotation every day was the biggest thing,” he continued. “It seems like those offshore fish, especially, have bite windows, and I found the bite windows on the five best places I had, and ended up pulling up to them at the same time every day.”
When Smith won the tournament, he won $100,000 in cash.
Yeah, you heard me. A hundred thousand dollars cash. That’s how big of a deal this tournament is.
In fact, Bassmaster tournaments give away quite a bit of prizes, goods, and cash to the winning anglers. Why? Because their Elite tournament series is only for the best of the best. This series, which is held every year, is to compete for the progressive Angler of the Year title, the Bassmaster Classic champion title, and many Bassmaster Opens winners.
The Elite series is made up of a nine-event season, spread out at fisheries across the country. At each event, the full list of anglers compete for two days; on the third day, only the top 50 of these best-of-the-best bass anglers are eligible to continue; and on the fourth day, only the top 10 compete.
So, yeah: according to the Bassmaster website, the series (which began in 2006) is “the highest level of professional bass fishing tournaments… the world’s premier professional bass angling circuit.”
“Today you saw anglers demonstrating what got us all into fishing in the first place – pure joy, abetted by mastery,” wrote Pete Robbins on the Bassmaster website regarding the Lake Fork tournament.
Well, starting a few years ago, the people out at Lake Fork – the Love Wood County marketing team, that is – decided that they should hold a “Lake Fork Family Fest” alongside the competitive fishing tournaments. That way, they said, locals, fans and competitor families can be just as entertained, and have just as much fun, as the competitors themselves.
Boy, did they make a showing. In 2025, the two-day Lake Fork Family Fest had food trucks, of course; dozens and dozens of vendors, who sold everything from candles to fishing lures, boats, jewelry, free crafts, and more; a wine and beer garden; cornhole tournaments; a 5K race; a special concert from country music star Chris Cagle; pickleball tournaments; a catfish tank; axe throwing; a chainsaw carving demo; and a really cool hands-on “creature teacher” exhibit for adults and kids alike. There is truly something for everyone; and the chance to meet and greet the professional angler competitors.
Oh, and a sunny, pretty temperature reigned over the whole thing. You get the “drift.” It was pretty cool, to be honest.
All this, and the fishing tourney itself, should be coming back to Lake Fork – which Bassmaster ranked 5th in the Top 10 Bass Lakes of 2024 – next spring.
So, rookie Tucker Smith is making Birmingham, Alabama proud in East Texas, where he won ROY – Rookie of the Year – in the 2025 Bassmaster Elite Tournament. Just you wait until next year, Alabama – Texas is coming!
