Kuphall manages challenging conditions to remain atop Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River

Kuphall manages challenging conditions to remain atop Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River LA CROSSE, Wis. — Conditions changed, but Caleb Kuphall’s game plan did not. Sticking with a technique he employed the previous two days, the pro from Mukwonago, Wis., tallied a three-day total of 50 pounds, 12 ounces and remained atop the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River. Kuphall, who claimed a wire-to-wire win at the 2021 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, took the Day 1 lead at the Upper Mississippi River with a limit of 18-15. Following with 17-3, he maintained his position by a margin of 1-13 over Bryan Schmitt, who won the 2022 Guaranteed Rate Bassmaster Elite at Mississippi River. On Semifinal Saturday, Kuphall added 14-10 and heads into Championship Sunday leading Schmitt by the same amount. “I would love to win this tournament,” Kuphall said. “It would absolutely be incredible. I have a ton of family and friends that would make the trip up. I want to win it for them, for sure.” All week, Kuphall has been fishing the middle of Pool 8 and targeting undercut banks where big fish move up to feed. Having learned this pattern over 20 years ago, Kuphall has systematically worked through particular areas where he knows the scenario occurs. He’s mostly working in depths of 3 feet or less and, while the fish could be on any section of the undercut banks, he has found that isolated details such as a laydown tree, a weed clump or a small point tend to be most consistent. After relatively calm conditions on Days 1 and 2 brought early action, Kuphall endured a slow Day 3 start. That was likely the result of the third day's 15- to 20-mph winds and changing river level. “Falling water and wind pretty much wrecked my day, compared to what I’d been catching,” Kuphall said. “I think I caught one or two fish off the stuff I had been hitting. My biggest fish came the previous day’s area. “I kinda had to scramble and get into some new areas. Mid-morning, I started to get some bites, I put them in the boat and the rest of the day kinda rolled.” As Kuphall explained, the falling water increased turbidity and elevated the current strength. That pushed most of the fish out of the areas he had previously fished and forced Kuphall to seek sheltered areas. “I was fishing the same type of habitat, but I went further into the areas to try and find cleaner water and a little slower current,” Kuphall said. “I’m fishing about a 5-mile area, just bouncing from one end to the other, trying to feel it out and trying to get bites.” Kuphall has caught all of the fish he’s weighed on a 3/8-ounce Do-it Molds Sparky Head jig with a Big Bite Baits 2.75-inch Chunk. The combination of a lighter jig and the trailer hung on the hook, rather than threaded, created the right fall rate and presentation that enticed the bites. Kuphall said he’s hopeful his pattern will hold up for one more day. “I don’t know what tomorrow’s gonna bring,” Kuphall said. “The conditions are really changing out here. Today, we got that wind that came in and tomorrow, it’s not gonna let up. We’ll just have to see what happens.” Hailing from Deale, Md., Schmitt added 14-10 to his previous day's limits of 17-3 and 17-2 for a 48-15 total. Schmitt said he believes he’s getting himself dialed in with the changing conditions, but he needs to refine his game for Day 4. “We have a shot,” Schmitt said. “We’re not fishing just right; we were off just a little bit today. We had some opportunities. We just have to make the right adjustment. “The water’s falling, so there will be some fish that move around tonight. They’re going to adjust and they’re going to get into a little deeper water and, hopefully, we can get right on top of them.” Schmitt caught his Day 3 fish on a frog, a buzzbait and a ChatterBait. Pat Schlapper of Eleva, Wis., is in third place with 47-14. His daily weights were 18-8, 15-4 and 14-2. Schlapper, who won the 2025 MAXAM Tire Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River, said he also struggled with the day’s windy conditions. Spending most of his time on Pool 7 and a few hours in Pool 9, Schlapper did what he could to find leeward fishable areas. “I couldn’t fish my main area; I caught one there that I weighed, but it was really hard to fish, so I scrambled,” Schlapper said. “I fished my other main area and got ’em there. I got one big one and lost a really big one. “I just used a lot of local knowledge to scrap together what I had.” Tucking behind wind breaks, Schlapper caught fish on a variety of baits that included a frog, a Texas-rigged worm, a tube, a ChatterBait and a punch rig. Cooper Gallant of Bowmanville, Canada and Jonathan Kelley of Old Forge, Pa., are tied for the lead for Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors, each with 5-pound, 9-ounce fish. Chris Johnston of Otonabee, Canada won the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year title with 776 points. Johnston, who also won the 2024 title, became only the fourth angler in Bassmaster history to win consecutive AOY titles. Previous consecutive winners were Roland Martin (1971-73, 78-79, 84-85), Guido Hibdon (1990-91) and Kevin VanDam (2008-11). “Just being mentioned among those anglers, I never even thought it would be possible for a kid from Canada to come down here and compete and make a living fishing,” said Johnston, who finished 19th in the tournament, with 43 pounds. “Kevin VanDam has been one of my idols and to even come close to one of his records is unbelievable. “What a year it’s been. I can’t do this without my family and my friends. They’ve supported me since I was 2-feet-tall. Now they’re here cheering me on, just like they did all my life, where it was fishing, hockey, baseball, whatever. They gave me the opportunity to do this and I’m super grateful for it.” Tucker Smith of Birmingham, Ala., won the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year title with 631 points. In mid-May, Smith won the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork. Sunday’s takeoff is scheduled for 7 a.m. CT at Loggers Stadium. The weigh-in will be held at the stadium at 3 p.m. Live coverage of the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite at Upper Mississippi River will be available Sunday on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com from Noon to 3 p.m. This event is being hosted by Explore La Crosse.