Tuesday, May 20, 2025

Yamaha Pro Pat Schlapper Wins Bassmaster Elite at Sabine River

Yamaha Pro Pat Schlapper won the sixth 2025 Bassmaster® Elite series tournament of the season on Sunday May 18, on Sabine River with a total weight of 38 pounds, 12 ounces. Schlapper, from Eleva, Wisconsin, has a career that includes 55 Bassmaster tournaments, four Classic appearances, three wins and six top 10 finishes.

This is the fourth 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 and Paul Marks won on Lake Hartwell. In addition, Yamaha Pro Easton Fothergill took home the Bassmaster Classic® championship title in March.

“This means a lot to me that my friends and family surprised me and showed up,” said Schlapper, whose brother passed away last year. “This is for my family and my brother.”

Schlapper started strong with a day 1 limit of 12 pounds, 2 ounces. He followed with daily totals of 8 pounds, 7 ounces, 8 pounds, 9 ounces, and 9 pounds, 10 ounces to edge out fellow Yamaha Pro Patrick Walters by 2 pounds, 4 ounces. Schlapper earned the top prize of $101,000.

“I caught my fish a few different ways; I had figured out different things and knowing when to do (each one) was the key,” Schlapper said. “I think one of the biggest reasons I out-fished a lot people in the area is the fact that I was fishing a lot faster. “A lot of people were fishing really slow but I was just covering as much water as I could. I think that made a big difference.”

With cloudy, windy weather creating classic largemouth feeding conditions, Schlapper enjoyed his best morning of the week on the final day. Getting off to a quick start, he had a limit weighing just over 9 pounds by 9 a.m.

“I felt really good going into this tournament for some reason,” Schlapper said. “I was super confident, super calm. I feel like I made all the right moves and all the right decisions.”

Yamaha Pros took five of the top 10 spots during the tournament. Walters placed second with a total of 36 pounds, 8 ounces. Kyoya Fujita finished third with the same weight (ties are broken by heaviest single-day total). Taku Ito claimed fourth with 36 pounds, 2 ounces, while Justin Hamner placed ninth with 31 pounds, 9 ounces.

As part of the Yamaha Power Pay program, Schlapper earned an additional $4,000, while Walters claimed an additional $1,500 for being the second-highest placing entrant.

Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughout the United States and around the world. Yamaha Marine Engine Systems, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,000 U.S. dealers and boat builders with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard brand to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception. Visit www.yamahaoutboards.com.

REMEMBER to always observe all applicable boating laws. Never drink and drive. Dress properly with a USCG-approved personal floatation device and protective gear.