It’s time to select your Phoenix Boats Fantasy Fishing lineups for the first Bass Pro Tour event of the 2025 season, B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Power-Pole at Lake Conroe. Need help deciding who to pick? We’ve got you covered. We asked a panel of experts – including one of the competitors this week, BPT pro Josh Bertrand – who they like on Conroe.
Flight 1: James Elam, Alton Jones Jr., Nick LeBrun, Gerald Spohrer, Jacob Wheeler
All those guys have had success in this region and have the ability to catch both the deep and shallow fish, which is going to be important given the new forward-facing sonar restrictions.
Flight 2: Josh Bertrand, Brent Ehrler, Edwin Evers, Justin Lucas, Bryan Thrift
The latter four of those guys have had good events here and always come into the season really prepared. Of course, I had to pick myself, too, because if you don’t think you can win or have a good event, there’s no point in showing up!
Flight 1: Zack Birge, Alton Jones Jr., Andy Morgan, Michael Neal, Jacob Wheeler
I’m changing my approach this year and sticking with more “non-’Scopers” than I have in the past. That’s where Morgan and Birge fit in. Lake Conroe could be set up as a shallow-water power fishing deal, and these two are among the best. Some may see my other three picks as ’Scopers because they’re so good at it, but they all have proven they could catch them well before the technology hit the scene. I think they’ll each have extra motivation this year to remind people how good they are at every facet of the game, especially Wheeler.
Flight 2: Ott DeFoe, Brent Ehrler, Edwin Evers, Alton Jones, Bryan Thrift
For Flight 2, I’m focusing on past success at Conroe. Both Evers and Ehrler have a great history here, and Jones is a Texan who has fished his home state his entire life. DeFoe and Thrift have been strong contenders on the Bass Pro Tour even before the forward-facing restrictions despite not heavily using the technology. These two fish their way and always seem to catch them, and this year should be no different. Also, if you look back far enough, you’ll see that Thrift has already claimed a win on Conroe – although it was 13 years ago now, he won the 2012 Toyota Texas Bass Classic. That was a fall event, but his confidence here should be a little higher than usual, and he’s undoubtedly hoping to kick off the new season with an excellent finish.
Flight 1: Zack Birge, Alton Jones Jr., Nick LeBrun, David Walker and Jacob Wheeler
Zack Birge has proven he can do it all, from roaming around with his Lowrance ActiveTarget to picking apart cover with a bladed jig. He got the monkey off his back last year, and he may need to make room for a twin trophy on the mantle. Next in my lineup is Alton Jones Jr. Do I really need to give an explanation for picking this Texas pro? For my third pick, I feel confident Nick LeBrun is going to bring the boom. Another versatile angler who excels in a shallow, junk-fishing environment, LeBrun is coming off an eighth-place finish in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race and managed to cut a check at each event in 2024. Leaning into my belief that a bladed jig (the bait used to win at Conroe in 2019) and a standard flipping jig will both play a major role again this week, my fourth pick is an interesting one in David Walker. While Walker has struggled a bit the past few years, he finished fifth in the 2019 Conroe event. Any time David gets around bass hungry for a Z-Man ChatterBait or CrossEyeZ Flipping Jig, he’s dangerous. Finally, I’m eager to see how Jacob Wheeler performs with the new FFS restrictions. Considering he’s on my roster, I don’t expect him to necessarily struggle. But will the Tennessee pro be as dominant as he has been in recent years? We shall see.
Flight 2: Ott DeFoe, Edwin Evers, Alton Jones, Andy Montgomery, and Jeff Sprague
Diving into my Flight 2 selections, Ott DeFoe is the golden example of consistency, which makes him a strong pick anywhere we go. Is it scary that Ott finished 55th on Conroe in 2019? Yes. Has the Tennessee pro redeemed himself in the Lone Star State since then with multiple wins? Also yes. My second spot goes to one of DeFoe’s traveling partners, Edwin Evers. It may be slightly important to note: The 2019 Conroe event I’ve mentioned, yeah, Edwin won it. Confidence on a specific lake goes a long way in tournament fishing, and as long as Edwin’s mind isn’t on his pecan farm, I expect another strong finish from the Oklahoma pro. Next up, I’ve chosen Alton Jones. Similar to his son, “Senior” has a fantastic track record in his home state, and being an angler who isn’t particularly known as an FFS junkie, I think he will excel in 2025. Another member of the After the Cast YouTube crew (check it out if you haven’t already) and the third amigo to Ott and Edwin, Andy Montgomery is my fourth pick. Similar to Walker, Montgomery is a bladed jig guru who I expect will pick up a Strike King Thunder Cricket on Thursday and only set it down Sunday afternoon to hoist his first Bass Pro Tour trophy. Wrapping up my selections, Jeff Sprague seems to be an obvious choice. According to my math, the Texas pro has finished in the Top 10 a little over 30% of the time in BPT regular-season events and is another angler I expect to excel in 2025. Maybe Sprague will lift his first red trophy this year – and if he can do it in his home state, it’d be that much sweeter.
Flight 1: Todd Faircloth, Drew Gill, Alton Jones Jr., Nick LeBrun, Jacob Wheeler
Jones and Wheeler need no explanation. Faircloth and LeBrun are both local enough that they should have a sense for what the bass are doing this time of year, and they’re both strong power fishermen who can also finesse them if need be. Gill might raise some eyebrows given the forward-facing sonar limitations, but I look at him as a value pick. I’m confident he’s going to have a sound strategy, and if Conroe is anything like other East Texas lakes, there should be a population of big, suspended bass that he can target during his one FFS period each day. I’m happy to get the guy who caught more weight than anyone else on tour last year on my roster when most other players probably aren’t.
Flight 2: Ott DeFoe, Brent Ehrler, Edwin Evers, Cole Floyd, Jeff Sprague
In my opinion, Flight 2 is loaded. I had a hard time leaving Justin Lucas and Bryan Thrift off my lineup, and I considered Jesse Wiggins as well. But DeFoe, Ehrler, Evers and Sprague all have stellar track records either on Conroe itself or in Texas, and I always like to try and include one angler who I feel like isn’t going to be widely rostered. Floyd fits that bill – for now. After a 2024 season that saw him notch Top 10s in three of the first five events and finish 15th in the points, I think he could be on the verge of a breakout year.