Aoki’s consistency and decision making are keys for win at Bassmaster Open at Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley
March 8, 2025
PARIS, Tenn. — Nothing was certain on the final day of the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley presented by SEVIIN.
But this much was true — Japan’s Yui Aoki, who led by more than 6 pounds when the day began, would have to stumble substantially to not win the tournament.
He didn’t stumble at all. In fact, he shined.
The 25-year-old Aoki finished the three-day tournament with a total of 66 pounds, 14 ounces, which was 3 ½ pounds more than his closest competitor in the field of 10 that survived Friday’s cut to Championship Saturday.
He sealed the deal with the second-heaviest bag on Day 3, a limit of three smallmouth and two largemouth bass that weighed 18-10. Coming into the tournament, many pundits predicted that the angler who caught a mix of the two would be hard to beat this week.
Aoki proved them right, collecting $50,305 cash with the victory. That was part of a $334,028 cash purse split among the Top 45 competitors in the field of 226 that began the derby on Thursday. Aoki also clinched a berth in the 2006 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour when it’s held next March 13-15 in Knoxville, Tenn., on the Tennessee River.
Though he doesn’t speak much English, the signs of happiness are a universal language. A wide smile spread across Aoki’s face when he closed Saturday’s weigh-in with a bang. He pumped his fists high into the air with delight and he posed for photos with fishing fans and fellow competitors gathered at Paris Landing State Park.
“This feels so good,” he said of his first B.A.S.S. win.
As for earning a trip to the Classic?
“A dream come true,” he acknowledged.
Aoki was fishing some 6,600 miles from his home in the Minamitsuru District of Japan, but he looked right at home on Kentucky Lake — the mammoth 160,000-plus-acre impoundment of the Tennessee River he was fishing for the very first time.
Perhaps what was most impressive about Aoki’s win was the consistency he showed on what can be quite the fickle fishery. It’s not uncommon for the best anglers in the world to catch a 25-pound sack one day, fall to 12 pounds fishing the very same spot the next day, only to catch 25 pounds again a day later.
Aoki defied that possibility, working instead with machine-like precision. He bagged 24 pounds of smallmouth bass on Day 1 of the tournament to put himself in second place, trailing only local ace Jordan Hartman and his 25-4 limit.
Then the weather changed, going from cold and clear on Thursday to overcast and blustery on Friday. Aoki didn’t flinch, returning to the main channel and bagging a 24-4 limit, with three of five fish in his creel being largemouths.
Aoki gave bass fishing fans more of the same clinical approach on Championship Saturday, and he didn’t make long runs to do it. Though he focused on flooded timber in a stretch of the main channel just north of Paris Landing for the first two days of the derby, he decided instead to fish the Big Sandy area just south of takeoff on Day 3.
Another sharp decision from the young angler.
“I had to expand my area, look for new (fish),” Aoki said, “It was windy, but it helped me today.”
He used a variety of swimbaits to hook his best catches on Kentucky Lake, most in white or smoke colors to mimic the threadfin shad which were thick throughout the reservoir this week. Aoki’s key lures included a Dstyle Virola Tail Swimbait 145 and a Dstyle Virola 4 or 5 rigged with a 3.5-gram jighead.
The win secured for Aoki valuable points in the Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers points race, too. He already finished 10th in the St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Sam Rayburn Reservoir presented by SEVIIN in February and now has a first-place finish to his credit. Aoki is scheduled to compete in the final two Division 2 Bassmaster Opens this year — April 3-5 on Arkansas’ Norfork Lake and Aug. 14-16 on Minnesota’s Leech Lake.
The Top 50 anglers in both the Division 1 and Division 2 Open standings will qualify for the EQ Series which starts in September. The Top 10 anglers in that inaugural three-tournament competition will win invitations to compete in the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series.
Rounding out the Top 10 anglers on Kentucky Lake, and furthering their cause to reach the EQ Series, are second, Illinois resident and McKendree University angler Ethan Fields, 63-5, $20,122; Kentucky Elite Series pro Matt Robertson, 56-3, $15,092; fourth, Kentucky’s Clint Knight, 56-0, $14,086; fifth, Kentucky’s Jordan Hartman, 55-9, $13,079; sixth, Tennessee’s Sam Hanggi, 53-5, $12,073; seventh, Alabama’s Laker Howell, 52-1, $11,067; eighth, Colorado’s Ty Faber, 49-6, $10,061; ninth, Georgia’s Tanner Hadden, 48-9; $10,061; and 10th, Tennessee’s Miles Burghoff, 43-0; $10,061.
Nebraska’s BJ Miller won $750 and the Phoenix Boats Big Bass Award for the 8-3 he caught on Day 1.
The City of Paris hosted the event.
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Title Sponsor: St. Croix
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Presenting Sponsor: SEVIIN
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster Opens Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew’s, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC
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 Bassmaster Elite Series, St. Croix Bassmaster Opens Series presented by SEVIIN, 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, Bass Pro Shops 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.
-30-
Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Chad Gay, Communications Manager, 205-313-0945, cgay@bassmaster.
2025 St. Croix Bassmaster Open at Kentucky Lake/Lake Barkley presented by SEVIIN 3/6-3/8
Kentucky Lake, Paris TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 3
Angler Hometown No./lbs-oz Pts Total $$$
1. Yui Aoki Minamitsurugun JAPAN 15 66-14 200 $50,305.00
Day 1: 5 24-00 Day 2: 5 24-04 Day 3: 5 18-10
2. Ethan Fields Breese, IL 15 63-05 199 $20,122.00
Day 1: 5 20-12 Day 2: 5 20-03 Day 3: 5 22-06
3. Matt Robertson Kuttawa, KY 15 56-03 198 $15,092.00
Day 1: 5 14-03 Day 2: 5 24-05 Day 3: 5 17-11
4. Clint Knight Russellville, KY 14 56-00 197 $14,086.00
Day 1: 5 22-15 Day 2: 4 15-14 Day 3: 5 17-03
5. Jordan Hartman Benton, KY 15 55-09 196 $13,079.00
Day 1: 5 25-04 Day 2: 5 14-08 Day 3: 5 15-13
6. Sam Hanggi Knoxville, TN 14 53-05 195 $12,073.00
Day 1: 5 18-14 Day 2: 5 21-07 Day 3: 4 13-00
7. Laker Howell Guntersville, AL 13 52-01 194 $11,067.00
Day 1: 5 20-14 Day 2: 5 21-05 Day 3: 3 09-14
8. Ty Faber Pagosa Springs, CO 14 49-06 193 $10,061.00
Day 1: 5 17-12 Day 2: 5 20-05 Day 3: 4 11-05
9. Tanner Hadden Appling, GA 13 48-09 192 $10,061.00
Day 1: 5 20-03 Day 2: 5 19-11 Day 3: 3 08-11
10. Miles Burghoff Dayton, TN 11 43-00 191 $10,061.00
Day 1: 5 14-11 Day 2: 5 25-06 Day 3: 1 02-15
——————————
PHOENIX BOATS BIG BASS
Bj Miller Adams, NE 08-03 $750.00
——————————
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 62 607 1993-00
2 46 482 1545-12
3 5 40 137-08
——————————
113 1129 3676-04
