Kristine Fischer is one of the brightest stars in bass fishing. She is a dedicated angler, a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, and YouTube sensation.
The Early Years
Fischer was brought up in a fishing family in which vacations centered around fishing throughout the summer months.
Fischer worked summers to save money to buy a bass buggy. She took the small boat with her on family vacations in Minnesota so she wouldn’t have to use a paddle boat.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
While working as a bow tech in an outdoor sporting goods store, a customer brought in a flyer for a local kayak fishing tournament. The thought of a tournament in a kayak intrigued Fischer.
“I got on Craigslist that night, bought a kayak, entered the tournament and placed third and the rest is history,” Fischer said.
The Big Stage
“When I first started fishing these kayak tournaments, I was very intimidated,” she said. “I had some local success, but when I started fishing the national tournaments, I got my butt kicked. I was the only woman fishing these tournaments and contemplated quitting.”
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
After a year of fishing the bigger tournaments she broke into the top 10. She was the first woman to ever do so, but Fischer was not finished. This was the confidence boost she needed. Fischer became the first woman to qualify for the Hobie Worlds held that year in Sweden, the first woman to qualify and win the Hobie Tournament of Champions, the first woman to win a Hobie Open. In 2025, on Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma she became the first woman to record a victory in a Bassmaster tournament.
“Theres nothing more I can accomplish with kayak fishing,” she said. “I’ve won championships, won over 15 national tournaments, been at the top of the Angler of the Year every year for the past six or seven years but it didn’t start out that way. I had a really rough year and then had a breakthrough.”
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Transitioning to the Big Boat
Fischer entered her first Bassmaster Open in 2025. This tournament is fished from bass boats, not kayaks.
“The fishing is the same, but the approach and mentality is different,” Fischer admits. “There are many more challenges. For instance, boat positioning and boat handling are wildly different.”
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Fischer also sees a lot of similarities between kayak fishing and the Opens.
“The Open trail has been eerily similar,” she said. “I felt as though I was fishing the kayaks all over again. I didn’t know anything, had all this stuff to learn, I had never docked a boat before or run a trolling motor and again I was humbled.”
Though Fischer had a difficult season she believed in herself and never lost focus.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
Another breakthrough came on April 23-24, 2026, with an 11th place finish on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees on Oklahoma missing the cut to fish the final day by 3 ounces. Fischer also set the record at this event for the largest single-day bag by a female angler in Bassmaster history — weighing in 20 lbs. 4 oz on Day 1. She finished the tournament with 34 lbs. 9 oz.
The Bassmaster Opens are a multi-day event; the field is cut on the 3rd day with only the top ten anglers vying for the top angler prize of over $40,000.
Mentors
Fischer is quick to say she doesn’t idolize anyone for their fish catching ability instead she admires anglers like Brandon Palaniuk and Carl Jocumsen both anglers on the Bassmaster Elite series.
Advertisement — Continue Reading Below
“I look up to them because of their positivity and character, they have their priorities right, even after a bad tournament,” she said.
Fischer believes it’s more important to have a good attitude after the bad tournaments.
“The folks that come out and want to talk with you. You have to be there for the fans and have a good attitude even if I had a bad tournament. We can have an impact no matter how the day on the water goes.”
Fischer’s Goal
Fischer has a singular goal.
“Give glory to God in all that I do,” she said. “My goals are not centered around myself. Maybe they should be, but I’ve learned if I can give glory back to God and bring more people to know him. No number of tournaments are going to bring glory to the Kingdom. But if He can use me through this journey to just be a light in a very broken world that is everything I could want and more.”
The Future for Fischer
For Fischer, the Bassmaster Classic which is bass fishing’s Super Bowl is a lifelong dream. Fischer says a win in an Open series would qualify her to fish the Classic and just speaking of it gives her goosebumps.
A Woman Competing In A Male Dominated Sport
“There will always be those who don’t feel women belong,” she said. “When you are a woman competing against men you’re given a lot of opportunities. There are thousands of men, but just a handful of women and we are given opportunities because we are a female. The majority of the men, my peers, know I work really hard and go about things the right way. I’ve earned a lot of their respect and feel nothing but overwhelming support.”
Mentoring Female Anglers
One of Fischer’s favorite things to do is mentoring college and high school female anglers.
Her advice is simple.
“Don’t focus on how hard it is to be a woman in this sport,” she said. “I never take that approach, don’t focus on the obstacle, focus on the opportunity and go after it. Those who focus on the obstacle will never make it over that hurdle. There will be those who say you can’t do it. You have to drown all that out. I think many women drop out because they don’t believe in themselves.”
The Secret Reason for the YouTube Channel
Fischer has one of the most visited fishing YouTube channels. However, her reason for starting the channel 10 years ago may surprise most viewers.
“I started the channel because I was accused of cheating in the tournaments,” she revealed. “I’ve dealt with that for years with people claiming someone was catching my fish for me or getting help on the water. I started using the GoPro and filming every single tournament to prove I’m fishing totally alone and making my own decisions. In hindsight, when you have success, people are going to come after you and try to take it away. Just because a woman had never won before, they thought I had to be cheating.”
Kristine Fischer will continue to fish more tournaments, break more records and there’s little doubt she will win an Open to make the Classic. It’s not a matter of if but when.
WHY OUR ARTICLES/REVIEWS DO NOT HAVE AFFILIATE LINKS
Affiliate links create a financial incentive for writers to promote certain products, which can lead to biased recommendations. This blurs the line between genuine advice and marketing, reducing trust in the content.