Last year, Justin Hamner's life changed forever when he won the Bassmaster Classic. That win solidified him in bass fishing history and officially put his name on the map. Now, he's the only angler in the 2025 Bassmaster Classic field with a chance to repeat as champion. While driving to Texas, Hamner reflected on the pressures as a Bassmaster Classic winner and shared how he plans to attack Lake Ray Roberts for this year's event.
Added Pressures as a Classic Champ
As the defending champion of this significant event, Hamner has many more eyes on him than last year. The humble angler is taking it all in stride.
"Now, everyone wants to talk to me for some reason," he said with a laugh. "This year, there have been way more phone calls, interviews, and things for TV than last year. It's a little bit more to deal with, but very good at the same time. But that will all go away when we get out on the water and start fishing."
Hamner did not visit the lake before it went off-limits to the anglers, but that was by design. He's also never been there, so he plans to take things as they go. "I didn't pre-practice, and I wanted to go into this event cleanly," he said. "I did my research, map study, and stuff like that, but that's it. With it being this time of year in Texas, I feel like we're going to crack 'em pretty good."
One other thing Hamner has been watching is the conditions, both the lake level and the weather forecast. Both look good to him, as they should have the lake in a stable condition with bass looking to spawn.
"It seems like the lake is full, and they haven't had any crazy weather lately, so things should be pretty stable," he said. "There's also a nice warming trend, which means everything should be pointing to bass pulling up and getting ready to spawn. The weights will be good, and everyone should catch nice fish."
As for weights, Hamner is thinking big. "I did my research on past tournaments, and it fluctuates so much, but the place can kick out some giant bags," he said. "I believe we'll see some daily weights over 30 pounds. I wouldn't be surprised if we see the all-time Bassmaster Classic weight record broken in this one."
Predicted Patterns
With fish shallow and hungry, Hamner thinks there will be many different ways to catch them. He also believes there will be a population of fish staging in slightly deeper water as they get closer to pull up. One of his favorite ways to fish for these staging fish, and how he won the Bassmaster Classic last year, is with a jerkbait, and he thinks it will factor again this year.
"The first thing in my mind is a jerkbait; that's always a big player for me, and the time of year and all the timber in the lake should be perfect," he said. "I'll fish it on my new signature series, Halo Rod in the BB Series. It's a 6-foot, 11-inch rod I designed just for jerkbaits. It's a little different because it has more of a super parabolic action for landing fish with treble hooks, but it feels somewhat stiff at the same time and allows you to work the bait better."
He is one of the best in the game with forward-facing sonar and thinks a jighead and minnow will be in his rotation. "Lately, the trend has been bigger and bigger minnows, 6- and 7-inch baits, and there's a new one coming out from Netbait with the perfect rolling action," he said. "I like to fish it on my 7-foot, 1-inch BB Series Halo Rods spinning rod. It's a unique rod in that it has the backbone of a medium, but the tip is more like a medium-light so that you can get the perfect shaking action."
If the forward-facing sonar bite is not happening, Hamner is still prepared to go shallow, and a classic jig would be his top choice. "A good thing to look for this time of year is isolated stumps and trees, stuff like that," he said. "That's where I like to throw a big jig and try to find those places where the fish are set up, staging before they pull up."
For his jigs, he likes to add a NetBait BaitFuel HexTek The Rascal Craw as the trailer, and he fishes it on another signature series, Halo Rod. "It's a 7-foot, 1-inch rod that's a heavy action but still has a very soft tip. I built that rod so you can skip a bait around well with it or swim a jig, but it's also still perfect for pitching to cover."
Alabama pro Justin Hamner is eager to get back on the water after plenty of added media distractions that tend to come for a Bassmaster Classic champion. He's expecting big things from this Texas Classic and thinks it could be a record-setting week.
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