Jan. 23, 2025

LEESBURG, Fla. — Patience paid off with a double dose of Sunshine State smackdown, as Auburn University’s Jake Peck and Luke Wyle won the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Harris Chain presented by Bass Pro Shops. Their five-bass limit weighed 23 pounds, 2 ounces.

Topping a field of 231 teams, Peck and Wyle — senior and freshman, respectively — edged Syler Prince and Parker Stalvey of St. Johns River State College by a margin of 1-1. For their efforts, the winners took home the $6,000 top prize.

Notably, Peck notched his second College Series win, after topping the 2022 event at Norfolk Lake, alongside incoming Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Beau Browning. Making his Bassmaster debut, Wyle said the Harris Chain win was an unexpected thrill.

“It’s unbelievable; it doesn’t feel real,” Wyle said. “We really didn’t have any idea we’d even be in contention. We just assumed in Florida there would be big weights and big bags. It was a huge surprise that we ended up on top.”

After a strong cold front brought potentially unsafe weather conditions, including high winds, Tournament Director Glenn Cale postponed Wednesday’s scheduled start and shortened the event to one day. Peck and Wyle made the most of their time by committing to Lake Beauclair and adjusting their tactics to fit the frigid conditions.

“We picked up the trolling motor two times today; we fished eight different waypoints,” Peck said. “We weren’t really making one cast on each waypoint, we were just fishing the area.

“We fished Beauclair in practice, and I caught a 7-pounder on the first day of practice. We decided that we would pick that lake apart during the rest of practice. We went to Lake Griffin one day to keep it honest, and we decided that Lake Apopka was too much of a (time) risk with the lock cycle, so we decided to hunker down in Beauclair.”

As Peck explained, he and his partner targeted prespawn staging fish on shell bars amid sparse grass. The fish would pull up to those spots to feed, so the ones they encountered were generally cooperative — especially Wyle’s 8-pound, 14-ounce difference maker.

“It was toward the end of day, Jake had just caught a 6-pounder about five minutes before that, so we knew we were in a good area,” Wyle said. “We just hunkered down and grinded it out and ended up getting another really big bite.”

The winners caught all of their fish on Neko-rigged green pumpkin Berkley MaxScent Hit Worms. With several competitors sharing the same waters, Wyle said fishing a slow and subtle presentation was critical to tempting their fish.

“There were a lot of people fishing in Beauclair with us and a lot were moving around and fishing fast trying to trigger bites,” Peck said. “For us, waiting for bite windows was more effective. Those big fish were hard to pick off, so we were just waiting for them to come to us.

“With this cold front, we knew we had to slow way down. The majority of my casts took five minutes. In practice they were thumping it. Today, some were thumping, but some bites were just mushy. The fish were not as aggressive today.”

Peck said he and Wyle exercised great patience with their fish, as the feeding groups occasionally required a little more time to settle in for a meal.

“Whenever the fish pulled up to those shell bars they were (usually) ready to eat,” Peck said. “Sometimes you’d see them stationed on the bar, but they weren’t eating yet, so you’d have to wait for that bite window to open up.”

Their double dose of Florida largemouths came on the heels of a forage influx.

“In that instance where I caught a 6 and Luke caught that 8-14, a school of gizzard shad rolled over the top of that shell bar,” Peck said. “For 60 seconds, it got really active and that’s when I caught that 6-pounder.

“The shad kinda stayed around that shell bar for a few minutes and Luke also capitalized on that opportunity. It was just about sitting in an area that you had confidence in. You could sit there for a long time and not get any bites, but when that bite window opened up, it seemed like you could get a few bites pretty quick.”

Syler Prince and Parker Stalvey of St. Johns River State College finished second with 22-1. Committing to Lake Griffin, they threw 1/2-ounce Rat-L-Traps and 1/2-ounce Chatterbaits with 3.5-inch Bass Assassin Lit’l Boss trailers.

“The water temperature dropped 12 degrees, so we slowed way down,” Prince said. “We were dragging the Chatterbait along the bottom. We had to keep the ‘Trap out of the grass, but we were reeling that slowly, too.”

Prince said he and Stalvey had only one keeper at 10 o’clock, but a 10-minute flurry delivered all of their weight.

“We were just making a drift through the grass and we just ran into them,” he said.

Easton Bouma and Zachary Ward of Drury University placed third with 17-13. Working the north side of Lake Griffin, the anglers spent their day working a large grass flat in approximately 5 feet.

“We were throwing 3/8- and 1/2-ounce Chatterbaits in the golden shiner and B. Hite colors with a Yamamoto Zako trailer,” Ward said. “We were just hitting the grass and feathering the bait through the grass enough to where it wouldn’t spook a fish if it was behind the bait.”

Peck and Wyle won the $100 Big Bass award for their 8-14.

New for 2025, the top two highest-finishing teams in the Strike King Bassmaster College Series Bass Pro Shops Team of the Year race as well as each team that stands atop the rankings in the Legends and Lunkers divisions of the College Series will receive the exclusive honor of being named a Bassmaster College All-American. The All-Americans will be honored on the biggest stage in bass fishing, the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

The Greater Orlando Sports Commission hosted the tournament.

 

2025 Bassmaster College Series Title Sponsor: Strike King

2025 Bassmaster College Series Presenting Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops

2025 Bassmaster College Series Platinum Sponsor: Toyota
2025 Bassmaster College Series Premier Sponsors: Dakota Lithium, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Power-Pole, Progressive Insurance, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2025 Bassmaster College Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Garmin, Lew’s, Lowrance, Marathon, Triton Boats, VMC

2025 Bassmaster College Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar, Shimano

 

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.