Pasquotank River Recap: Kyle Welcher’s Dominance and the Patterns That Shaped the Show
The waters of North Carolina’s Pasquotank River turned into a proving ground for some of the best bass anglers in the world, and no one brought the hammer quite like Kyle Welcher. In what can only be described as a career-defining moment, Welcher didn’t just win—he put on a clinic. A four-day total of 118 pounds, 12 ounces gave him the most dominant victory in Bassmaster Elite Series history, winning by a jaw-dropping 45 pounds and some change.
But behind the headlines were the subtleties—the decisions, the bait choices, and the water each angler leaned on. Here's how the top sticks cracked the code.
1. Kyle Welcher – The Blueprint of Efficiency
118-12 total | 1st Place
Welcher didn’t stumble into this win—he dissected a section of the Pasquotank with surgeon-level precision. The key was a mile-long stretch peppered with isolated cypress trees and stumps—classic spawning cover, but Welcher elevated the game using forward-facing sonar to locate individual fish and structure.
His bait of choice? A black and blue Rapala CrushCity Bronco Bug, Texas-rigged with a ¼-ounce tungsten and a 4/0 G-Power hook. He pegged the weight to keep his presentation tight and controlled around cover—every pitch had a purpose.
“The fish were coming to me,” Welcher said. “I wasn’t chasing them. That whole stretch was a transition zone, and every day more fish moved in.”
This was textbook pre-spawn meets technology meets relentless execution.
2. Brandon Lester – Mixing Finesse with Hard Spots
72-1 total | 2nd Place
Lester didn’t make the long runs. Instead, he picked apart a bridge and nearby creek—classic river fishing 101 with a finesse twist. He found a hard bottom near a bridge piling and milked it with a shaky head rigged with a 6½-inch LiveTarget Straight Tail Worm. When he moved shallow, a drop-shot with a LiveTarget Finesse Worm helped him pick off roaming fish around docks.
His setup was simple but deadly, and his ability to pivot between the two zones kept him in contention all week.
3. Trey McKinney – Cypress Knees and Confidence Baits
72-1 total | 3rd Place
The young gun McKinney leaned on the North River and stuck to his strengths—shallow wood, visual targets, and making every cast count. Early on, he relied on a prototype jig with a twin-tail trailer, flipping it to anything with shade or structure.
When things slowed, he shifted gears to a Neko rig—either the 6th Sense Bamboosa Worm or the Divine Shaky Head Worm, letting the finesse game clean up what the power game missed.
“It was all about timing and not overworking an area,” McKinney noted. “Those fish were moody, and you had to show 'em the right look.”
Honorable Mentions & Notable Patterns
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Jacob Foutz swung big with a Megabass Magdraft and a ChatterBait, working shallow cover in the Roanoke River. He hunted quality over quantity, and when the big bites came, they came on the move.
The Takeaway: Precision Wins in the Jungle
This wasn’t a slugfest. It was a chess match on the vast Albemarle Sound, where understanding fish movement, pressure, and timing ruled the day. Forward-facing sonar helped, but it didn’t win the event—it was the decisions made behind the screen that told the story.
Soft plastics, subtle colors, and tight presentations dominated. Whether it was a pegged creature bait or a perfectly weighted drop-shot, the top finishers used restraint and patience to unlock the bite.
