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LA CROSSE, Wis. — Aug. 25, 2025 -- Yamaha Pro Pat Schlapper won the season-ending 2025 Bassmaster^® Elite series tournament on Sunday Aug. 24, at Mississippi River with a total weight of 66 pounds, 5 ounces. The win marks the second victory of the season for the pro angler from Eleva, Wis., who also won an Elite tournament earlier this season at the Sabine River. Schlapper took home the $101,000 top prize as well as an invitation to fish the Bassmaster Classic, March 13-15 at the Tennessee River.

This is the sixth Elite Series win for the Yamaha Pro team during the 2025 season. Bill Lowen won on the St. Johns River, Brandon Palaniuk won on Lake Okeechobee, Paul Marks won on Lake Hartwell and Wes Logan won on Lake Tenkiller. In addition, Yamaha Pro Easton Fothergill took home the Bassmaster Classic^® championship title in March.

“This one’s so sweet, it means a lot to me,” said Schlapper. “The people that I get to fish with down here, it’s for them. We put in a ton of work down here (prior to the off-limits period a month prior to the event) and it paid off.”

On day 1, he caught a fourth-place limit of 18 pounds, 8 ounces. Adding a second-round bag that weighed 15 pounds, 4 ounces, he rose to third. A limit of 14 pounds, 2 ounces kept him in third for Semifinal Saturday. Concluding with a Championship Sunday limit of 18 pounds, 7 ounces, Schlapper recorded the heaviest winning weight in a Bassmaster Elite event at the Mississippi River.

In a week marked with fluctuating water levels from heavy pre-tournament rains and strong winds the third and fourth days, Schlapper adjusted to the changing conditions and kept himself in the hunt. On Championship Sunday, Schlapper caught two in the 4-pound class — one around 8:45 a.m., the other around 2:25 p.m. Schlapper’s 4 pound, 5 ounce was the final day’s biggest bass.

“I wasn’t lying on the dock this morning when I said that these guys should be scared if they knew what I was around,” Schlapper said. “They thought I was just trying to get into their heads, but that was the caliber of fish I’ve been around all week. It’s just been tricky to get them to bite. Today, I got five of them to bite and I got all of them in the boat.”

Yamaha Pros took two of the top 10 spots during the tournament. Kyoya Fujita finished sixth with a total weight of 61 pounds, 1 ounce. As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Schlapper earned an additional $4,000, while Fujita claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

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