Defending the Crown - 2025 AMS Big 20 Champion Joshua Mertens joins the BB (Ep.120)

About this episode

Derrick and Mathew discuss the upcoming AMS Big 20 Challenge with defending champion Joshua Mertens, covering tournament prep and strategies.

We want to hear from our fellow bowfishers! Shoot us a text! The countdown is on! On this episode of the Bowfishing Buzz Podcast , Derrick and Mathew are officially in Big 20 mode as the 15th Annual AMS Big 20 Challenge is only days away.Joining the show for a portion of the episode is Joshua Mertens , team captain from last year’s winning team. Joshua talks about what it was like taking home the Big 20 title, the pressure of coming back as defending champs, how his team is preparing, whether any scouting has started, and what expectations look like heading into tournament weekend.Derrick and Mathew also dive into tournament prep, scouting talk, changing conditions, strategy, and the excitement building around one of the biggest weekends in bowfishing. They cover new BAA records , break down the Big Fish Categories and the prizes up for grabs, and reveal a staggering Big 20 average weight that proves the state of Wisconsin means business when it comes to giant common carp.Plus, this week’s Fish You Wish and Derrick and Mathew make their official winning weight predictions for the 2026 AMS Big 20 Challenge.Boats are getting rigged, weather apps are getting abused, and every…

People in this episode

Hosts: Derrick Schmidt, Mathew

Guest: Joshua Mertens

Topics covered

• bowfishing
• tournament preparation
• Big 20 Challenge
• scouting
• fishing strategy
• competition

Keywords

• bowfishing
• Big 20 Challenge
• Joshua Mertens
• tournament prep
• Wisconsin
• fishing strategy
• common carp

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AMS Bowfishing

Books & works: Bowfishing Buzz Podcast

Places: Wisconsin

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