FantasyFishing.com Insider: Everything you need to know for the Bass Pro Tour opener on Lake Conroe
The 2025 season is finally here. As the Bass Pro Tour field kicks off practice today on Lake Conroe for B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole, it’s time for Phoenix Boats Fantasy Fishing players to start locking in their lineups.
There’s some new twists on the BPT this year that will affect Fantasy Fishing. For one thing, anglers will no longer be split into Group A and Group B. Instead, all 66 anglers will take the water together for the Qualifying Round on Days 1 and 2. However, for Fantasy Fishing purposes, anglers are still split into two groups (Flight 1 and Flight 2), with players picking five from each flight.
In addition, anglers will only be allowed to utilize forward-facing sonar for one of the three periods each day. For a breakdown on what that means for your fantasy picks (and a few other strategy tips), check out this season primer.
Here’s everything else you need to know to pick a winning lineup for Lake Conroe.
Start with the standbys
In recent years, a few anglers have emerged as safe picks just about anywhere. That list starts, no surprise, with Jacob Wheeler. Wheeler has finished among the Top 10 an astounding 25 times in 36 events over the past four years, which means there’s a nearly 70% chance you’re getting four days on the water from him – a major key to scoring fantasy points.
Wheeler’s running mate, Dustin Connell, has been nearly as good. He has 10 Top 10s and five wins over the past three years. Same goes for Alton Jones Jr., who has 11 Top 10s and two victories in that span. While forward-facing sonar has been a significant key to both anglers’ success, they’ve also both proven they can win without it.
One angler who definitely does not need forward-facing sonar to succeed is Ott DeFoe. Three of DeFoe’s four Bass Pro Tour victories have come in Texas, and he should be in his comfort zone breaking down the cover-filled fishery.
Past performers
Conroe isn’t nearly as popular a tournament destination as fellow Texas lakes like Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend or Lake Fork. But between a Bass Pro Tour stop there in 2019, a Bassmaster Classic in 2017 and a Toyota Texas Bass Classic event in 2013, most in the field have at least a little high-level tournament experience on the fishery.
The last time the Bass Pro Tour visited, Edwin Evers won. While that occurred slightly later on the calendar, in mid-February, he’ll certainly be one to watch this week. Brent Ehrler finished fourth in that 2019 event and third in the 2017 Classic. Bobby Lane also has a pair of Top 10s to his credit on Conroe, finishing eighth in the 2017 Classic and fourth in the 2013 TTBC.
Texans to watch
None of the 66 anglers in the field live close enough to consider Conroe a home lake. But there are six Texas natives who should be able to put their knowledge of wintertime fishing in the Lone Star State to good use.
Jeff Sprague may be the most popular pick of the bunch. Sprague finished second to Evers in 2019, and he’ll enter this season with some momentum after winning the General Tire Team Series Patriot Cup alongside Bryan Thrift in Texas last fall. Sprague’s 13 career BPT Top 10s are the second-most of any angler without a win, so he’s due. Todd Faircloth has also long been a consistent performer, but he had an uncharacteristic down year in 2024. Conroe should give him a good opportunity to have a better start this season.
Don’t discount the two semi-local rookies, either. While both Marshall Hughes and Colby Miller (who is technically from western Louisiana, but close enough) will have to adjust to the Bass Pro Tour’s scoring format, they both got off to a good start to the 2025 campaign with Top-10 finishes at the Toyota Series opener on Sam Rayburn last week.
Sneakier selections
There’s no mandate that Fantasy Fishing players select an angler below a certain place in the standings, as has been the case in some prior years – you can pick any five anglers from each group. That said, finding a couple pros who aren’t as widely rostered can be a good way to differentiate yourself in the battle to claim the prize packages on offer from Tackle Warehouse. Here are a few more under-the-radar names to consider.
Flight 1:
Bradley Roy – Roy finished seventh in the 2017 Classic, and his lone BPT victory came early in the season on a cover-filled, dirty-water fishery in Louisiana’s Bussey Brake. Perhaps he can find a similar deal on Conroe.
Wesley Strader – There will be tons of cover for Strader to pick apart with a spinnerbait and a jig, two of his favorite techniques. And if that isn’t working, he showed with a 12th-place finish at Toledo Bend last year that he’s not too bad with a minnow in his hands, either. Plus, the last time the BPT visited Conroe, he finished eighth.
Flight 2:
Cole Floyd – Floyd started last season strong, finishing 14th at Toledo Bend, 8th at Santee Cooper, 8th at REDCREST and 6th at Lake Eufaula. That tells me he can catch them early in the season, he can catch them with forward-facing sonar, and he can catch them out of dirty water around shallow cover. So, his bases should be covered this week.
Justin Lucas – It’s sort of cheating to include Lucas on a list of sneaky selections; he’s finished in the Top 10 of the AOY race in three of the past four seasons. But I needed to mention him somewhere. Lucas fits the bill as the type of angler who’s just as comfortable using forward-facing sonar to target suspended bass as he is yo-yoing a lipless crankbait through grass or dragging a shaky head. That versatile skill set will likely be valuable under the new BPT rules.