BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Entering the 2025 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft season, Abby Abbondanza’s goal was to achieve a level of consistency worthy of winning Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year.

Mission accomplished.

Abbondanza earned AOY honors and the $5,000 first-place prize by collecting 733 points in his three-best events of the six-tournament season, ultimately winning the total inches tiebreaker over New Hampshire’s Jake Angulas with 541 inches in his three best events.

“With the field we have, it is pretty humbling. There are so many sticks on this circuit,” he said. “Wins are few and far between. I have focused more on being consistent and not worrying about winning. My goal this year was to achieve AOY, and to make it happen, there’s a lot of moving parts.

“I had honestly already congratulated Jake on winning AOY, because I thought he had won the tiebreaker,” he added. “I ended up winning by 20 inches. One bass. I was shocked when he called my name. Such a blessing.”

The Greensburg, Pa., angler earned three Top 10s during the 2025 season starting with a sixth-place finish at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in February.

“I found some fish in a canal and it was like they had never seen a lure before,” he said.

Following a 37th at Dale Hollow, Abbondanza finished 10th at Lake Tenkiller before wrapping up the season with a 56th at Lake Champlain and then a fourth at the Toledo Bend season finale.

Abbondanza learned how to bass fish on smallmouth dominated fisheries like Lake Erie where finesse tactics usually resulted in success. His style of fishing has changed over the last several years, becoming more of a power fisherman than a finesse angler.

Several different styles of fishery showed up on the Kayak Series schedule this year, but one bait consistently generated big bites for Abbondanza. Whether he was fishing grass at the Kissimmee Chain or flooded bushes at Tenkiller, a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Tungsten ChatterBait Elite EVO paired with a Z-Man RaZor ShadZ trailer was his confidence lure.

“I fish a ChatterBait 95 percent of the time. It is like a glidebait, you have to keep it in your hands. You’ll get the five bites you need if you keep throwing it,” he said. “The knock is a little different than the JackHammer and the head on the bait is flat with two ridges, so when it hits wood or rock it will skip up instead of rolling over.”

His AOY season wouldn’t have been possible without several late day rallies.

“Almost every tournament I caught a bass in the last five minutes that was key,” he said.

With only an hour left on Day 2 at Tenkiller, Abbondanza found himself struggling to generate bites with a shaky head. He switched to his trusty ChatterBait and caught several key bass to lift him into tenth place.

The fishing was unusually tough at Toledo Bend, and Abbondanza struggled to generate bites in the morning hours, but one key observation turned his tournament around on Day 1.

“It was challenging,” he said. “I didn’t have a fish until 10 o’clock. Around then, I saw a crawfish that was dark green with bright red pinchers. I changed the colors of my ChatterBait to match that and caught 19 bass in four and a half hours.”

Then on Day 2, he landed the most important bass of his year, a 21.5-incher that helped him jump up the leaderboard and proved to be the difference in the AOY race.

“I caught that fish at about 11 o’clock and it was the key fish that helped me win it,” he said. “That was the last big fish I caught during the day.”

2022 Angler of the Year Drew Gregory wrapped up the season in third with 726 points followed by Virginia’s Ewing Minor in fourth, also with 726 points while Connecticut’s Ryan Nye finished fifth with 722 points. Guillermo Gonzales, Jody Queen, Joshua Sharp, Garrett Morgan and Derek Brundlerounded out the Top 10.

The Top 50 finishers in the points race claimed a spot in the 2026 Kayak Series National Championship that will be held in conjunction with the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour in Knoxville. Details of that event will be announced at a later date.

2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Title Sponsor: Newport

2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Presenting Sponsor: Native Watercraft
2025 Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year Sponsor: Dakota Lithium

About B.A.S.S.
B.A.S.S., which encompasses the Bassmaster tournament leagues, events and media platforms, is the worldwide authority on bass fishing and keeper of the culture of the sport, providing cutting-edge content on bass fishing whenever, wherever and however bass fishing fans want to use it. Headquartered in Birmingham, Ala., the organization’s fully integrated media platforms include the industry’s leading magazines (Bassmaster and B.A.S.S. Times), website (Bassmaster.com), TV show, radio show, social media programs and events. For more than 50 years, B.A.S.S. has been dedicated to access, conservation and youth fishing.

The Bassmaster Tournament Trail includes the most prestigious events at each level of competition, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, Strike King Bassmaster High School Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter and the ultimate celebration of competitive fishing, the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.