Whitewater Fishing pro, Jay Przekurat, eyeing vaunted Angler of the Year title

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Anglng for AOY

Whitewater Fishing pro, Jay Przekurat, eyeing vaunted Angler of the Year title

MUSKEGON, Mich. (May 28, 2025) – Currently holding first place in the race toward the 2025 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year (AOY) with 544 points, Jay Przekurat is looking forward to several more events to capture the prize. Whitewater Fishing is proud of his success and continues to root for the young Wisconsin native.

In terms of finishes, 26-year old Przekurat started the season off with 2^nd place at the Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River; 30^th on Lake Okeechobee; 15^th on the Pasquotank River; 5^th on Lake Hartwell; 9^th on Lake Fork; and most recently, 25^th on the Sabine River.

What’s been impressive is the young angler’s skill at catching largemouth bass, when he’s regularly pigeonholed as a smallmouth guy.

“I’ve been able to fish with instinct and my confidence baits – like wacky rigs and dropshots – at some of the early events. Still, I’ve had to fish several baits a little outside my confidence zone, like frogs on Lake Okeechobee and deep-diving crankbaits on Lake Fork. But it’s worked out,” stated Przekurat.

“We started out the Elite Series season on the St. John’s River. I had a solid event and wound up in second place. I fished my strengths: some site fishing, some fishing in the canals. I fished that tournament exactly how I wanted to and ended up one bite away from the win.”

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

“I got a little bit out of my comfort zone on Okeechobee. I did some flipping and frogging and ended up in 30^th place. I didn’t catch a lot of big fish, but enough to give me a better than average weight.”

After Okeechobee, Przekurat competed on the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, which he said is a unique fishery with a wide variety of places to fish.

“I caught most of my fish on Pasquotank with a jerkbait, wacky worm, and dropshot for some of the spawning fish. But the jerkbait was my main bait for the prespawn fish. It wasn’t spectacular, but I came out of there in 50^th place.”

Following Pasquotank, Przekurat landed at Lake Hartwell, which he had fished as a co-angler years ago. “I focused on catching spawn-related fish on a wacky worm and dropshot in clear water and mainly largemouths for 5^th place.”

“Lake Fork was next, and I had to do well, but knew it was going to take some huge weights. I had to deep crank with 6-, 8-, and 10- Strike King Pro Model XD’s offshore to pull fish off the bottom in waters up to 22 feet deep.”

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

Przekurat said he found two spots during practice where he could catch good fish, and come game days, pulled fish from 4- to 8-pounds, including a 9-4 that ended up being the big fish of the tournament and put him in ninth place, also breaking the Century Club mark for the event.

And just this past week, Przekurat fished the Sabine River, which set a record for the lowest winning weights in recent B.A.S.S. history.

“The Sabine River is one of the toughest fisheries I’ve encountered,” said Przekurat. “So, I just went old school and flipped the entire tournament with a Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Craw like I’d do back home. I went straight to braid, fishing any trash mats and wood I could find – typical river stuff, super shallow, and main river oxbows. Anything with a little bit deeper water nearby was best. So, I just worked those areas and kept my fingers crossed that a two-pounder would eat it, which were big fish for that event.”

Upcoming Events

Przekurat is back home prepping for Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller in June, which he’s excited about, because it will be clean water and has a population of smallmouth bass. “Still, I’m not sure how it will set up in June with the hot weather. Could be a grinder tournament and not easy to catch them, but hopefully, I can figure something out and put fish in the boat.”

Following that, Przekurat will be back on two waters where his strengths will surely play out and keep him in the Bassmaster Elite AOY race: Lake St. Clair and the Mississippi River in Lacrosse, Wisconsin.

Photo courtesy of B.A.S.S.

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