Georgia’s Caleb Hudson has won the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops with a three-day total of 52 pounds, 6 ounces.
Photo by Andy Crawford/B.A.S.S.
Nov. 15, 2025
Hudson survives final day lull to win at Okeechobee
CLEWISTON, Fla. — Last September, Caleb Hudson didn’t know what direction he wanted to take in life. He came just short of winning the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s, what he assumed would be his best chance at qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic, at least in the foreseeable future.
But with the support of his family and a few good sponsors, the USC-Union grad decided to fish Division I of the 2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN and it was the best decision he ever made.
“I feel like I’m on top of the world right now,” he said.
With a three-day total of 52 pounds, 6 ounces, Hudson claimed the victory at the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops. The win not only sends him to the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, it also vaulted him into the Top 10 in Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops points.
Opening the tournament in 25th with 10-9, Hudson brought 25-7 to the scales on Day 2 before landing 16-6, which was enough to outlast Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Robert Gee, who finished with 51-12.
“This was never in my 2025 bingo card. It is the best kind of blindside. This is the last event on the schedule I would have ever thought I would win,” Hudson said. “God is the reason for this. Day 2 I was blessed, and it carried me the rest of the way. This is what exactly needed to happen to get me into the Elite Series. I sent it and it worked out.”
Despite warming temperatures, the final day proved to be just as difficult as the previous two. Only one 20-pound bag hit the scales on Saturday while five limits under 10 pounds were brought in.
Hudson spent his week fishing the Rim Canal on the southwest side of Lake Okeechobee targeting largemouth he saw on his Garmin LiveScope. While he didn’t know there was winning potential in the area after practice, Hudson knew he could achieve a solid finish if he could get the bass to commit.
Two different stretches of the canal produced all of his bites. The water in that area was dirtier than other areas of Okeechobee, which is usually a receipt for disaster in Florida, but a key ingredient for Hudson.
Most of the bass he caught were just under the surface, and because of the dirty water, he could get the largemouth to bite close to his boat. The first two tournament days, Hudson didn’t notice any baitfish in the area, but the final day he noticed much more activity.
A Spro McDart jerkbait and a jighead minnow were his two best presentations the first two days of the tournament, but with calmer conditions on the final day, only the minnow played. To keep the minnow in the strike zone, he used 1/16-ounce, 3/16-ounce or a 1/8-ounce jighead.
Hudson’s final day started with a bang, landing three bass in the opening hours, including a 4-pounder and a 5-pounder. The bite dissipated quickly after that, and he spent most the day trying to fill out his limit. Around midday, he caught two 1-pounders, which turned out to be the winning catches.
“Those two fish saved the day and put me over the top,” he said.
Gee, meanwhile, came up just short of qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic in his hometown of Knoxville. The Elite Series pro weighed in bags of 14-11, 19-9 and 17-8 to notch his third second place finish as a B.A.S.S. angler.
“It was a pretty good week,” he said. “First day, I lost two key fish that would have helped. That would have won me the tournament. But there is a lot of momentum to build on. I missed the Classic by one spot now, which sucks.”
Spending his time in a pocket in the J&S Canal on the east side of the lake, an area he shared with several other competitors, Gee targeted largemouth feeding on balls of bait. He rotated between the new Yamamoto Hinge Minnow on a jighead and a spoon given to him by fellow Elite pro Cody Huff.
The way he fished this week in Florida reminded him of fishing highland reservoirs in his home state.
“I was in the right area,” the Tennessean said. “It was a tough bite. There were a lot of bass in there, but they are so hard to catch. The fish I caught on the spoon were on the bottom, but as the day went on these started suspending.”
Weighing in bags of 14-9, 13-13 and 19-10, Eva, Ala.,’s Fisher Anaya finished third with a total of 48-0. Not only did he notch a Top 10, he claimed EQ Angler of the Year with 264 points.
“It’s crazy, honestly. I have never seen this place, and it is big and intimidating. After two days of practice, I was a little spun out. I ended up finding one little area and hunkered down there. I knew if I got bit, they would be big.”
Anaya spent the entire tournament in a short stretch of the Harney Pond Canal searching for largemouth with his forward-facing sonar with a new 6.25-inch Rapala CrushCity Freeloader on a jighead and a Rapala Mavrick jerkbait.
The majority of the bass he threw at never bit, but the ones that did were quality. That included the Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament, an 8-13 worth $500.
Joining Anaya in the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series are Russ Lane (244 points); Aaron Jagdfeld (242); Austin Cranford (240); Sam Hanggi (238); Matt Messer (237); Caleb Hudson (228); Tristan McCormick (228); Pake South (226); and Brock Reinkemeyer (222). Jaden Parrish, Riley Nielsen and Ryan Lachniet were the first three anglers outside the cut.
Visit Hendry County and Roland and Mary Ann Martin’s Marina and Resort hosted the tournament.
2025 Nitro Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Okeechobee presented by Bass Pro Shops 11/13-11/15
Lake Okeechobee, Clewiston FL.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Caleb Hudson Lincolnton, GA 15 52-06 95 $46,910.00
Day 1: 5 10-09 Day 2: 5 25-07 Day 3: 5 16-06
2. Robert Gee Knoxville, TN 15 51-12 0 $12,032.00
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 19-09 Day 3: 5 17-08
3. Fisher Anaya Eva, AL 14 48-00 94 $55,126.00
Day 1: 5 14-09 Day 2: 4 13-13 Day 3: 5 19-10
4. Austin Cranford Moore, OK 14 47-04 93 $18,145.00
Day 1: 5 19-01 Day 2: 4 15-06 Day 3: 5 12-13
5. Riley Nielsen Salt Lake City, UT 15 46-01 92 $8,663.00
Day 1: 5 09-04 Day 2: 5 16-08 Day 3: 5 20-05
6. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 13 43-02 91 $8,182.00
Day 1: 5 14-00 Day 2: 4 15-01 Day 3: 4 14-01
7. Tristan McCormick Bon Aqua, TN 15 41-11 90 $12,701.00
Day 1: 5 15-07 Day 2: 5 16-11 Day 3: 5 09-09
8. Ryan Lachniet Gum Spring, VA 14 41-06 89 $7,220.00
Day 1: 4 07-06 Day 2: 5 27-01 Day 3: 5 06-15
9. Aaron Yavorsky Palm Harbor, FL 15 40-06 88 $6,738.00
Day 1: 5 10-13 Day 2: 5 22-12 Day 3: 5 06-13
10. Pake South Winnsboro, TX 13 32-06 87 $10,757.00
Day 1: 5 13-01 Day 2: 3 12-12 Day 3: 5 06-09
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BIG BASS OF TOURNAMENT
Fisher Anaya Eva, AL 08-13 $500.00
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Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 47 305 661-07
2 40 279 692-15
3 9 52 135-11
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96 636 1490-01