ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Kyle Welcher feels like the chosen one at the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at the Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. Not because he was expecting to do well after practice, but since the warm-up period ended everything has been almost perfect.
Alabama's Kyle Welcher leads Day 2 of the St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound in Elizabeth City, N.C., with a weight of 60-14. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.
Welcher took a commanding lead over the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series field on Day 2 by adding 30 pounds, 3 ounces to his 30-11 limit from Day 1. His 60-14 two-day total is 22 pounds better than second place Trey McKinney.
“I don’t feel like I have any kind of a secret figured out or a special area figured out,” the Opelika, Ala., native said. “For whatever reason, I have caught big ones for the past two days. I feel like I’m getting lucky.”
Day 2 brought waves of rain and storms across the Albemarle Sound, but it was an overall calmer day for anglers making longer runs across the system. The bite seemingly improved as well, with 84 limits and 1,285 pounds of bass caught.
Growing up on the Chattahoochee River in Alabama, Welcher is a river fisherman at heart, and he has been able to show off his roots this week in eastern North Carolina.
“They set up the same places during the same time of year on every single river,” he said. “I love fishing rivers. I fish tons of rivers at home, and I feel really comfortable.”
Welcher returned to the same area he caught the bulk of his weight on Day 1, a mile-long stretch in a river close to takeoff. The 2023 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year winner has been targeting hard cover in 5 feet of water or less. On Day 1, Welcher felt he was catching prespawners, but on Friday he felt the big females he caught were guarding nests. The water also seemed cleaner without as much wind coming through.
A Texas-rigged Rapala CrushCity Bronco Bug with a ¼-ounce weight is the only bait Welcher has thrown thus far.
Forward-facing sonar has been a player for Welcher as well.
“I’m using it to find the areas the bass are using. I’ll throw at the fish I see, but I’m really just using it to see if it is a good area,” he said. “Today all five of them were spawning.
“Yesterday I did a little too much running around early on,” he added.
Welcher started Day 2 off with a bang by landing a 7-pounder within the first hour of fishing. While adrenaline pumped through him, it was exactly the bite he needed to settle down in his area.
“I didn’t feel settled down when I was fishing for it or fighting it,” Welcher explained. “I knew how big it was and how important that bass was going to be. I was shaking and nervous. To catch it and get it in the boat, that was a big momentum swing.”
He proceeded to land three more keeper bass before 9:15 and capped off his initial limit with another 7-pound largemouth.
“I settled down in one of my better areas,” Welcher said. “I picked them off. It wasn’t a flurry or anything, but I was getting consistent bites. I didn’t want to run around a lot because I had one zone that was a little better than the rest. I hunkered down and sort of stair-stepped my way up.”
From there, he added two more quality bass before noon and spent the rest of the afternoon searching for different areas to try the rest of the tournament. He didn’t find much during his practice time, but he feels there are still plenty of bass to be caught in his primary area.
“I am going to keep doing the exact same thing. I gotta finish strong,” he said. “Half of this tournament is left, so we need to catch them just as good for the next half.”
Hailing from Carbondale, Ill., McKinney sits in second with a two-day total of 38-14. After a 23-7 Day 1, he suffered a much tougher Day 2, only landing 15-7. He salvaged his day with a last-minute catch that gave him a 2-pound upgrade.
“That was huge. I pulled in a place I have never fished. I cast my jig to a seawall and caught a bass that culled me up 2 pounds,” McKinney said. “We lost a few big ones today, though.”
The 2024 Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year returned to his primary area in the North River on Day 2, but did not see the same amount of activity as he did on Day 1.
“I really don’t know why it was different,” he said. “I felt like conditions were alright. Maybe the sun makes them bite better? Maybe we are running out of fish.”
The bass he did find were not willing to eat a jig, either, and he had to switch to a Neko-rigged worm. With winds shifting to the northwest, McKinney isn’t sure how he is going to tackle Day 3. In a perfect world, McKinney would run to the Chowan River, but he isn’t sure the weather will allow him to do so.
“Tomorrow, I don’t know what I am going to do. In the grand scheme of things, I didn’t have enough bites today and didn’t see enough fish. I didn’t have a warm fuzzy feeling. It wasn’t a good 15 pounds.”
Meanwhile, Tennessee pro Jacob Foutz climbed into third place with a total of 38-2. The two-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier opened the tournament in fifth with 18-10 before landing 19-2 on the second day of the tournament.
Foutz is one of the anglers making the long run to the Roanoke River on the southwest side of the Albemarle Sound. After a slow first two hours, Foutz was able to find a rhythm as the morning wore on.
“I lost a big one, and then after that they started biting,” he said. “I caught 19 pounds in about two hours. I didn’t get a bunch of bites, but they were the right size. I don’t know how many more fish I have in my area.”
Foutz has been fishing a Megabass Magdraft swimbait around shallow cover as well as a ChatterBait.
“When I get a bite on the swimbait, it is a good one,” he said. “I will probably lock it in my hands tomorrow and ride the horse that got me here.”
Gonzales, La., pro Greg Hackney landed an 8-4 largemouth on Day 2, which was the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Day and overtook Keith Combs’ 8-2 bass from Day 1 as the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament.
Welcher continues to hold the CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament with his Day 1 catch of 30-11.
North Carolina’s Jake Whitaker and Tennessee’s John Garrett lead the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings with 270 points each. Wisconsin’s Jay Przekurat is third with 267 points followed by Alabama’s Will Davis Jr in fourth with 261 points and Texas pro Lee Livesay in fifth with 256 points.
Alabama’s Tucker Smith leads the Dakota Lithium Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 199 points followed by Georgia’s Paul Marks in second with 180 points and Arkansas’ Beau Browning in third with 163 points
The Top 50 anglers will launch from Waterfront Park in Elizabeth City on Semifinal Saturday beginning at 7 a.m. ET and return for weigh at 3 p.m. The Top 10 anglers following the Day 3 weigh-in will compete on Championship Sunday for the top prize of $100,000.
Bassmaster LIVE coverage of the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound will be available on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. before moving to Bassmaster.com in the afternoon. Championship Sunday coverage will be broadcast on FS1 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
Visit Elizabeth City is hosting the tournament.
2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River 4/10-4/13
Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound , Elizabeth City NC.
(PROFESSIONAL) Standings Day 2
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Kyle Welcher Valley, AL 10 60-14 104
Day 1: 5 30-11 Day 2: 5 30-03
2. Trey McKinney Carbondale, IL 10 38-14 103
Day 1: 5 23-07 Day 2: 5 15-07
3. Jacob Foutz Charleston, TN 10 38-02 102
Day 1: 5 18-10 Day 2: 5 19-08
4. Tyler Williams Belgrade, ME 10 37-09 101
Day 1: 5 17-14 Day 2: 5 19-11
5. Brandon Lester Fayetteville, TN 10 36-05 100
Day 1: 5 17-07 Day 2: 5 18-14
6. Kyle Patrick Cooperstown, NY 10 36-04 99
Day 1: 5 16-11 Day 2: 5 19-09
7. Easton Fothergill Grand Rapids , MN 9 34-09 98
Day 1: 5 23-13 Day 2: 4 10-12
8. Brock Mosley Collinsville, MS 10 33-12 97
Day 1: 5 18-05 Day 2: 5 15-07
9. Shane LeHew Catawba, NC 10 33-03 96
Day 1: 5 16-01 Day 2: 5 17-02
10. Drew Benton Panama City, FL 10 32-13 95
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 20-04
11. Seth Feider Elko New Market, MN 10 32-09 94
Day 1: 5 15-06 Day 2: 5 17-03
12. Jake Whitaker Hendersonville, NC 10 32-04 93
Day 1: 5 12-12 Day 2: 5 19-08
13. Caleb Kuphall Mukwonago, WI 10 31-11 92
Day 1: 5 13-07 Day 2: 5 18-04
14. Chris Johnston Otonabee Ontario CANADA 9 31-05 91
Day 1: 4 07-00 Day 2: 5 24-05
15. Keith Combs Huntington, TX 10 31-02 90 $1,000.00
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 15-06
16. Jay Przekurat Plover, WI 10 30-13 89
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 16-04
17. Austin Felix Eden Prairie, MN 10 30-11 88
Day 1: 5 15-03 Day 2: 5 15-08
18. Joey Cifuentes III Clinton, AR 10 30-09 87
Day 1: 5 18-12 Day 2: 5 11-13
19. Alex Redwine Blue Ash, OH 10 30-07 86
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 17-01
20. Lee Livesay Longview, TX 10 30-01 85
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 18-11
21. Drew Cook Cairo, GA 10 29-09 84
Day 1: 5 16-14 Day 2: 5 12-11
22. Bob Downey Detroit Lakes, MN 10 29-04 83
Day 1: 5 17-03 Day 2: 5 12-01
23. Justin Hamner Northport, AL 10 29-04 82
Day 1: 5 16-06 Day 2: 5 12-14
24. Gregory DiPalma Millville, NJ 8 28-14 81
Day 1: 3 05-00 Day 2: 5 23-14
25. John Crews Jr Salem, VA 10 28-14 80
Day 1: 5 15-00 Day 2: 5 13-14
26. Will Davis Jr Sylacauga, AL 10 28-12 79
Day 1: 5 11-04 Day 2: 5 17-08
27. Luke Palmer Coalgate, OK 10 28-11 78
Day 1: 5 12-06 Day 2: 5 16-05
28. Tucker Smith Birmingham, AL 10 28-08 77
Day 1: 5 15-12 Day 2: 5 12-12
29. Cody Meyer Eagle, ID 10 27-14 76
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 5 11-15
30. Michael Iaconelli Pitts Grove, NJ 9 27-06 75
Day 1: 4 12-13 Day 2: 5 14-09
31. Cory Johnston Otonabee CANADA 10 27-04 74
Day 1: 5 13-06 Day 2: 5 13-14
31. Logan Parks Auburn, AL 10 27-04 74
Day 1: 5 13-14 Day 2: 5 13-06
33. Kyoya Fujita Yamanashi CA JAPAN 10 26-14 72
Day 1: 5 15-13 Day 2: 5 11-01
34. Clifford Pirch Payson, AZ 10 26-09 71
Day 1: 5 12-08 Day 2: 5 14-01
35. Bryant Smith Roseville, CA 10 26-06 70
Day 1: 5 16-03 Day 2: 5 10-03
36. JT Thompkins Myrtle Beach, SC 10 26-02 69
Day 1: 5 15-04 Day 2: 5 10-14
37. Bill Lowen Brookville, IN 10 26-02 68
Day 1: 5 13-09 Day 2: 5 12-09
38. Carl Jocumsen Queensland TN AUSTRALIA 10 25-15 67
Day 1: 5 16-05 Day 2: 5 09-10
39. John Garrett Union City, TN 9 25-11 66
Day 1: 4 09-07 Day 2: 5 16-04
40. Stetson Blaylock Benton, AR 10 25-09 65
Day 1: 5 11-06 Day 2: 5 14-03
41. Logan Latuso Gonzales, LA 10 25-02 64
Day 1: 5 09-13 Day 2: 5 15-05
42. Alex Wetherell Middletown, CT 9 24-11 63
Day 1: 5 16-08 Day 2: 4 08-03
43. David Mullins Mt Carmel, TN 10 24-10 62
Day 1: 5 12-03 Day 2: 5 12-07
44. Jacob Powroznik North Prince George, VA 10 24-09 61
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 5 10-00
45. Kyle Norsetter Cottage Grove, WI 9 24-07 60
Day 1: 4 07-01 Day 2: 5 17-06
46. David Gaston Sylacauga, AL 10 24-06 59
Day 1: 5 13-15 Day 2: 5 10-07
47. Jonathan Kelley Old Forge, PA 10 24-02 58
Day 1: 5 10-02 Day 2: 5 14-00
48. Marc Frazier Newnan, GA 8 23-12 57
Day 1: 3 05-13 Day 2: 5 17-15
49. Blake Capps Muskogee, OK 10 23-11 56
Day 1: 5 09-02 Day 2: 5 14-09
50. Chris Zaldain Boyd, TX 10 23-11 55
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 13-02
51. Dakota Ebare Brookeland, TX 10 23-10 54
Day 1: 5 12-00 Day 2: 5 11-10
52. Mark Menendez Paducah, KY 10 23-02 53
Day 1: 5 11-15 Day 2: 5 11-03
53. Jason Williamson Aiken, SC 6 23-00 52
Day 1: 5 16-13 Day 2: 1 06-03
54. Justin Atkins Florence, AL 10 22-12 51
Day 1: 5 12-09 Day 2: 5 10-03
55. Brad Whatley Bivins, TX 9 22-08 50
Day 1: 4 08-00 Day 2: 5 14-08
56. Paul Marks Cumming, GA 7 22-04 49
Day 1: 2 03-06 Day 2: 5 18-14
57. Randy Howell Guntersville, AL 9 22-04 48
Day 1: 4 13-03 Day 2: 5 09-01
58. Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 7 22-03 47 $1,000.00
Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 5 16-10
59. Hank Cherry Jr Lincolnton, NC 8 22-02 46
Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 5 15-01
60. Emil Wagner Marietta, GA 10 22-02 45
Day 1: 5 09-07 Day 2: 5 12-11
61. Tyler Rivet Raceland, LA 7 22-01 44
Day 1: 2 02-12 Day 2: 5 19-05
62. John Cox Debary, FL 10 21-13 43
Day 1: 5 11-14 Day 2: 5 09-15
63. KJ Queen Catawba, NC 6 21-10 42
Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 5 19-07
64. Kenta Kimura Osaka OK JAPAN 7 21-09 41
Day 1: 5 15-15 Day 2: 2 05-10
65. Patrick Walters Eutawville, SC 10 21-09 40
Day 1: 5 12-15 Day 2: 5 08-10
66. Cole Sands Johnson City, TN 9 21-08 39
Day 1: 4 08-07 Day 2: 5 13-01
67. Jamie Hartman Newport, NY 10 21-08 38
Day 1: 5 10-08 Day 2: 5 11-00
68. Pat Schlapper Eleva, WI 10 21-05 37
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 5 08-04
69. Bryan Schmitt Deale, MD 10 21-02 36
Day 1: 5 11-11 Day 2: 5 09-07
70. Wesley Gore Clanton, AL 7 20-11 35
Day 1: 2 04-03 Day 2: 5 16-08
71. Taku Ito Dalton GA JAPAN 10 20-05 34
Day 1: 5 11-08 Day 2: 5 08-13
72. Scott Canterbury Odenville, AL 9 20-04 33
Day 1: 4 11-07 Day 2: 5 08-13
73. Timothy Dube Nashua , NH 6 20-01 32
Day 1: 1 01-05 Day 2: 5 18-12
74. Jeff Gustafson Kenora, ON Ontario CANA 10 20-01 31
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 5 10-02
75. Matt Arey Shelby, NC 10 19-12 30
Day 1: 5 07-11 Day 2: 5 12-01
76. Cody Huff Ava, MO 10 19-12 29
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 5 09-13
77. Cooper Gallant Bowmanville Ontario CAN 10 19-09 28
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 5 08-14
78. Brandon Palaniuk Rathdrum, ID 7 18-14 27
Day 1: 5 10-10 Day 2: 2 08-04
79. Hunter Shryock Ooltewah, TN 10 18-14 26
Day 1: 5 09-15 Day 2: 5 08-15
80. Ray Hanselman Jr Del Rio, TX 6 18-11 25
Day 1: 2 06-06 Day 2: 4 12-05
81. Wes Logan Springville, AL 10 18-07 24
Day 1: 5 08-11 Day 2: 5 09-12
82. Beau Browning Hot Springs National Pa 9 17-10 23
Day 1: 5 10-11 Day 2: 4 06-15
83. Jason Christie Dry Creek, OK 8 17-10 22
Day 1: 3 07-03 Day 2: 5 10-07
84. Gerald Swindle Guntersville, AL 10 17-08 21
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 5 08-10
85. Cliff Pace Ovett, MS 9 17-07 20
Day 1: 5 11-00 Day 2: 4 06-07
86. Caleb Sumrall New Iberia, LA 9 17-00 19
Day 1: 5 09-09 Day 2: 4 07-07
87. Andrew Loberg Guntersville, AL 9 16-07 18
Day 1: 4 08-00 Day 2: 5 08-07
88. Bryan New Leesville, SC 7 16-03 17
Day 1: 2 04-06 Day 2: 5 11-13
89. Chad Pipkens Dewitt, MI 5 16-00 16
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 16-00
90. Paul Mueller Naugatuck, CT 9 15-15 15
Day 1: 5 10-06 Day 2: 4 05-09
91. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 5 15-14 14
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 15-14
92. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 7 15-01 13
Day 1: 2 06-12 Day 2: 5 08-05
93. Jordan Lee Cullman, AL 8 14-11 12
Day 1: 5 08-09 Day 2: 3 06-02
94. Buddy Gross Chattanooga, TN 8 14-11 11
Day 1: 4 06-12 Day 2: 4 07-15
95. Brandon Card Salisbury, NC 8 12-13 10
Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 5 07-02
96. Matty Wong Honolulu, HI 6 12-03 9
Day 1: 5 10-03 Day 2: 1 02-00
97. Brandon Cobb Greenwood, SC 5 11-05 8
Day 1: 4 09-05 Day 2: 1 02-00
98. Evan Kung Pickering Ontario CANAD 5 09-11 7
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 5 09-11
99. Bernie Schultz Gainesville, FL 5 09-11 6
Day 1: 4 08-07 Day 2: 1 01-04
100. Ed Loughran III Richmond, VA 5 08-14 5
Day 1: 5 08-14 Day 2: 0 00-00
101. Ben Milliken Omaha, NE 6 08-13 4
Day 1: 2 02-14 Day 2: 4 05-15
102. Steve Kennedy Auburn, AL 3 07-01 3
Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 2 04-12
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PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Day
1 Keith Combs Huntington, TX 08-02 $1,000.00
2 Greg Hackney Gonzales, LA 08-04 $1,000.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 71 437 1150-07
2 84 469 1285-00
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155 906 2435-07
