In early June, pro kayak angler Kristine Fischer won her first Bassmaster Tournament, the 2025 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Lake Tenkiller presented by Native Watercraft, with 172.75″ inches.
We caught up with Fischer to hear about her tournament winning strategies:
Kristine Fischer’s Bassmaster win came as a surprise
While Fischer has won several other national tournaments in the past, the Bassmaster win still came as an honor – but it also came as a surprise for Fischer.
“I actually didn’t think I won at all. I thought the complete opposite, which is really funny. After the very first day, I was sitting in second but one of the, probably arguably the best, angler in our series was leading the tournament,” said Fischer. “He was ahead of me just barely and there were several just barely behind me, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy.”
From here, Fischer was hoping to make the top three; then she lost two of her two biggest bites of the day.
“I kind of just had that feeling where it’s like well… that was the one. That’s the one I needed.”
Fischer took a moment, then picked up her rod and kept casting, making peace with the idea that it wasn’t her time to win.
Fischer’s Bassmaster winning strategies
Fischer shared that the two main strategies that helped her secure victory boiled down to fishing the less obvious waters and anticipating fish movement in changing conditions. With so many anglers fishing the same lake, Fischer gravitated away from the water with obvious potential that was likely to get hit hard over the weekend and instead fished areas more likely to be passed over initially.
“I fished what I kind of call my B water,” explained Fischer, adding that she specifically targeted areas she anticipated would be overlooked.
Changing water levels throughout the tournament also complicated the bite. Rather than focus on where the fish had been, Fischer instead focused on areas that fish were likely to pull back toward with the dropping water levels.
“Typically part of my strategy is always trying to avoid those community holes… the really popular hotspots where there’s a lot of good fish,” explained Fischer. “I would rather go and trust my gut and do a little bit of power fishing.”
The community at the heart of competition
While hoisting the Bassmaster trophy certainly felt good, Fischer shared that the highlight of the tournament for her was the honor of being able to share the state with so many peers she admires.
“Being part of the kayak fishing community is really special to me,” said Fischer. “Whether it’s me just going to support the gals and guys that do well or it’s me being able to have my moment and hoist a trophy, I just love being a part of that community and being able to celebrate everybody that does well.”
Fischer also added that she’s fortunate to have a strong support system and a supportive social media platform.
“I get a lot of messages from young women and young girls,” shared Fischer. “I really just want them to know that I love to be able to do this, but I hope I get to see them beat my accomplishments and get up there on stage in the future.”
