Practice makes perfect for Bragg on Day 1 at Kentucky Lake
PARIS, Tenn. — A productive practice turned into an excellent Day 1 for Caige Bragg at the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship at Kentucky Lake presented by Bill Dance Signature Lakes.
The Springville Anglers senior caught a three-bass limit weighing 14 pounds, 6 ounces to lead the field of 214 teams who qualified for the prestigious event. The Alabama senior will carry a 1-ounce advantage over the Kingston Fishing Team duo of Camdyn Cranfill and Turner Tharpe.
“I did think with what I found in practice that I could be leading today,” Bragg said. “I was either going to have a really big bag or I wouldn’t have much at all. It was just a matter of if they were going to bite.”
Sunny, bluebird conditions made for challenging conditions on the first day of the three-day competition. Only 101 teams corralled their three-bass limits on the massive Tennessee River reservoir.
Bragg, an 18-year-old who graduated in May, is looking for redemption after a third-place finish at Clarks Hill in 2025.
“I really just want to keep them hooked this year,” the Coosa River angler said. “I would’ve won last year, but I lost two really big ones on Day 1 and finished third.”
Using some of his knowledge of Lake Guntersville, Bragg specifically targeted offshore largemouth hanging around wood cover on Day 1. One bait was responsible for all of his bites.
The sunny conditions, especially later in the day, were exactly what Bragg was hoping for. In one zone, big largemouth set up on the wood perfectly during practice when the sun was high in the sky and they did the same thing again on Day 1.
An early morning 5-pounder helped Bragg achieve a quick start, but he went two hours without another bite before filling out his initial limit with 3-pounders. Around noon, Bragg landed a 4-pounder and another 5-pounder to cull up to his Day 1 total. Once he caught those fish, he let off the gas and went practicing for the next two days.
“The deal I found is really all largemouth,” Bragg said. “I figured you would need all largemouth to win, especially with it being a three-fish (tournament).”
Throughout practice, sunny conditions have prevailed over western Tennessee and Kentucky. Friday’s forecast calls for increasing clouds ahead of a cold front. Bragg isn’t sure how that will affect his bite but hopes the sun will stay out long enough to catch another good bag.
Cranfill and Tharpe anchored their 14-5 second-place limit with a 6-9 largemouth, the Big Bass of the Day. Weston Rigsby and Hudson Logan from the A1 Anglers Fishing Team are third with 13-5 followed by Bryce Griffin and Bryce Spann in fourth with 13-1. Reigning back-to-back National Championship Rex Reagan and Max Moody from Pickett County High School are fifth with 12-15.
The full field of teams will launch from Paris Landing beginning at 6 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 2 p.m. The Top 12 teams after Day 2 weigh-in will advance to Championship Saturday. Weigh-in will be live streamed on Bassmaster.com beginning at 2 p.m. each day.
The Henry County Tourism Authority is hosting this event.
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Lew's, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, VMC, Yokohama
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar
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2026 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship 7/30-8/1
Kentucky Lake, Paris TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Caige Bragg - Springville Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 14-06 Total: 3 14-06
2. Camdyn Cranfill - Turner Tharpe Kingston Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 14-05 Total: 3 14-05
3. Weston Rigsby - Hudson Logan A1 Anglers Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 13-05 Total: 3 13-05
4. Bryce Griffin - Bryce Spann Waverly High School 0
Day 1: 3 13-01 Total: 3 13-01
5. Rex Reagan - Max Moody Pickett County High School Fishi 0
Day 1: 3 12-15 Total: 3 12-15
6. TJ Murray - Brack Robertson Meigs County High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 12-11 Total: 3 12-11
7. Hudson Mynatt - Wilson Shepherd Karns High School 0
Day 1: 3 12-10 Total: 3 12-10
8. Brayden Griffin - Jacob Cernosek Willis High School 0
Day 1: 3 12-02 Total: 3 12-02
8. Hunter Dickinson - Case Payton Central Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 12-02 Total: 3 12-02
10. Joshua Adams - Dakota Morris Carroll Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 11-15 Total: 3 11-15
11. Brenden Gallier - Little Cypress Mauriceville Jr 0
Day 1: 3 11-13 Total: 3 11-13
12. Zac Arnold - Ross Clark Good Hope Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 11-11 Total: 3 11-11
13. Fisher Sickafoose - Sadler Harrison Corner Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 11-09 Total: 3 11-09
14. Colby Frazier - Weston Payne Marion County High School - FL 0
Day 1: 3 11-05 Total: 3 11-05
15. Elijah Wylie - Gibson Huntley Chapman Hs Bass Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 11-04 Total: 3 11-04
15. Nash Taylor - Kolby Michael Aybn Southern High School 0
Day 1: 3 11-04 Total: 3 11-04
17. Luke Collins - Laken Hudnall Hardin High School 0
Day 1: 3 11-00 Total: 3 11-00
18. Crews Mcferrin - Colin Bourne Karns Jr High School 0
Day 1: 3 10-13 Total: 3 10-13
18. Blake Loida - Landon Hogan Mahtomedi High School 0
Day 1: 3 10-13 Total: 3 10-13
18. Travis Meche - Chance Watson Rayne High Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 10-13 Total: 3 10-13
21. Canyon Padgett - Levi Tomlinson 0
Day 1: 3 10-10 Total: 3 10-10
22. Mack Delaune - Brae Babin St. Amant High Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 10-06 Total: 3 10-06
23. Ryker Reed - Cooper Rouse D'iberville Hs Warrior Bass Nati 0
Day 1: 3 10-05 Total: 3 10-05
24. Bryson Wade - Alex Smith Saraland High School - AL 0
Day 1: 3 10-04 Total: 3 10-04
25. Hunter Lambert - Lena Lambert Boyd High School Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 10-02 Total: 3 10-02
25. Tyler Nelson - Sawyer Reynolds Bandys High School 0
Day 1: 3 10-02 Total: 3 10-02
27. Thomas Wilson - Adam Jaugstetter Greenbrier High School 0
Day 1: 3 10-01 Total: 3 10-01
28. Rankin Williams - Griffin Gaston Lee Scott Academy 0
Day 1: 3 10-00 Total: 3 10-00
29. Jacob Janning - Ben Wilson Jefferson High School 0
Day 1: 3 09-15 Total: 3 09-15
30. Harrison Hobbs - Cade Speligene Music City Bass 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Total: 3 09-13
31. Justin Gilpin - Dalton Green Trhs Devildog Anglers Travelers 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Total: 3 09-13
32. Ben Johnston - Will Canada Mass Nation High School - Hs 0
Day 1: 3 09-09 Total: 3 09-09
33. Aj Amonett - Austin Beard Abilene Wylie Bass 0
Day 1: 3 09-07 Total: 3 09-07
34. Weston Bouchikas - Luke Hoskinson Northeastern Oklahoma Hs Bass Cl 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Total: 3 09-06
34. Benjamin Burke - Latexo Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Total: 3 09-06
36. Thomas Newman - Cayden Ryman Frederick County Bass 0
Day 1: 3 09-04 Total: 3 09-04
36. Kieran Stephenson - Grady Stanley Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 09-04 Total: 3 09-04
38. Oliver Williams - Corvin Katzban Eagleton Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-04 Total: 3 09-04
39. Logan Parker - Hudson Howell Cherokee Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-02 Total: 3 09-02
40. Brycen Bergman - Connor Baldwin Honey Creek Mafia 0
Day 1: 3 09-00 Total: 3 09-00
41. Carter Pjesky - Landon Gabby Southern IllinoisFuture Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 08-14 Total: 3 08-14
42. Bryden Tyler - Bobby Lane III Lakeland Christian School 0
Day 1: 3 08-14 Total: 3 08-14
43. Grayden Neumann - Landon Ebert Zimmerman Thunder 0
Day 1: 3 08-13 Total: 3 08-13
44. Mavrick Grove - Kerry Johnson Waverly Central High School 0
Day 1: 3 08-10 Total: 3 08-10
45. Brody Allen - Parker Jackson Lake And Trail Usa Youth Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 08-09 Total: 3 08-09
46. Ashton Woodall - Carson Hamilton Springville Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 08-09 Total: 3 08-09
47. Weston Childers - Austin Berry Thomas Nelson High School 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Total: 3 08-07
47. Rhett Corley - James Davis III Northwest Rankin Jr Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Total: 3 08-07
47. Zavian Smith - Colton Hembree Lake Cumberland High School Bass 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Total: 3 08-07
50. Greyson Harper - Garreson Currie Capital City High School Bass Cl 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Total: 3 08-07
51. Ethan Rose - Grant Arnold Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 08-06 Total: 3 08-06
52. Jay Kruse - Drew Jenson Southwest Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 08-04 Total: 3 08-04
52. Ragyn Mohney - Dian Coxen Okeechobee Brahmans 0
Day 1: 3 08-04 Total: 3 08-04
54. Dustin Coleman - Brayen Barnhill 757 Bass 0
Day 1: 3 08-03 Total: 3 08-03
54. Jake Gluszek - Jack Weissenburger Nj Hs Club 0
Day 1: 3 08-03 Total: 3 08-03
54. Alexis Virgillito - Katie Gray High School Bass Trail 0
Day 1: 3 08-03 Total: 3 08-03
57. Jack Sharpe - Patrick Givens Sumner County Bass Team - TN 0
Day 1: 3 08-02 Total: 3 08-02
58. Chase Ewert - Cole Strop North Of 8 Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 07-15 Total: 3 07-15
59. Sam Hayes - Chamber Stockard Music City Bass 0
Day 1: 3 07-14 Total: 3 07-14
60. Colton Robinson - Reid Stein Melissa High School 0
Day 1: 3 07-13 Total: 3 07-13
61. Levi Stanley - Landen Bean Triangle Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 07-12 Total: 3 07-12
61. Cade White - Maddux Yates Horseshoe Bend Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 07-12 Total: 3 07-12
63. Mason Bush - Hayden Berryman Club Florida High School Bassmas 0
Day 1: 3 07-11 Total: 3 07-11
63. Caston Carden - Sawyer Sheffield Shelby County 0
Day 1: 3 07-11 Total: 3 07-11
65. Murphy Childers - Ryder Colee Brewer High School Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 07-09 Total: 3 07-09
65. Bryson Hamilton - Austin Boltinghouse Owen Valley Patriots 0
Day 1: 3 07-09 Total: 3 07-09
67. Blake James - Samuel Ballard Sale Creek Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 07-09 Total: 3 07-09
68. Carter Cunningham - Landon Glander Dawson County High Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 3 07-08 Total: 3 07-08
69. Corbin Bornstein - Logan Tolbert Lipscomb Academy 0
Day 1: 3 07-07 Total: 3 07-07
70. Jake Williams - Grant Porter Mannford High School Bass Fishin 0
Day 1: 2 07-07 Total: 2 07-07
71. Grayson Dykes - Paxton Wormsley Campbell County High School 0
Day 1: 3 07-05 Total: 3 07-05
71. Drake Haub - Jaxon Hudson Herrin HS Fishing Tigers 0
Day 1: 3 07-05 Total: 3 07-05
73. Drake Burchfield - Tyler Laughlin Walker High School 0
Day 1: 3 07-04 Total: 3 07-04
74. AJ Reardon - Cole Boersen Michigan A1 Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 07-02 Total: 3 07-02
75. Grayson Goss - Wally Wolcott Lakeside Rams Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 07-01 Total: 3 07-01
76. Griffin Sheets - John Hicks SML Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 07-00 Total: 3 07-00
76. Noah Written - Rooster Didion Prior Lake High School 0
Day 1: 3 07-00 Total: 3 07-00
78. Josiah Ennes - 314 Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 2 06-14 Total: 2 06-14
79. Lucas Martin - Xander Campanell Spencer County High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-13 Total: 3 06-13
80. Mac Pardue - Rex Fontenot South Beauregard Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 06-13 Total: 2 06-13
81. Trevor Allen - Bryson Stewart Lake And Trail Usa Youth Fishing 0
Day 1: 2 06-12 Total: 2 06-12
82. Lohgan Gosnell - Easton Peeler Byrnes High School Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 3 06-11 Total: 3 06-11
82. Hayes Henderson - Caden Harris Headland Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 06-11 Total: 3 06-11
84. Jacob Hicks - Kinsley Wooten Sml Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-09 Total: 3 06-09
85. Connor Kennedy - Brennan Enfinger Bainbridge High School Bass Cats 0
Day 1: 3 06-06 Total: 3 06-06
85. Brayden Rivest - Zach Stall Off The Hook High School Bassmas 0
Day 1: 3 06-06 Total: 3 06-06
87. Lane Spell - Hunter Mcdaniel South Beauregard High School Bas 0
Day 1: 3 06-05 Total: 3 06-05
88. Sullivan Mohlman - Luke Hendrick Michigan A1 Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-04 Total: 3 06-04
88. Hudson Skidmore - Oliver Skidmore Guntersville High School Bass Cl 0
Day 1: 3 06-04 Total: 3 06-04
90. Layne Judalet - Abbi Wheeler Kountze High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Total: 3 06-03
91. Landon Parker - Jake Watson Dewitt High School Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 06-03 Total: 2 06-03
92. Griffin Antunes - Henderson High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-01 Total: 3 06-01
93. Beau Bennett - Jack James Newton High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-00 Total: 3 06-00
93. Anderson Mesplay - Holden Cone Keowee Outdoors 0
Day 1: 3 06-00 Total: 3 06-00
95. Logan Brown - Caleb Southerly Lake Anna Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Total: 3 05-15
95. Harrison Malone - Hoyt Gull Topeka Jr Hawgs 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Total: 3 05-15
95. John Paul Nelson - Miller Goggans Vestavia Hills Rebel Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Total: 3 05-15
98. Westin Carver - Laken Fletcher Tennessee Valley High School Bas 0
Day 1: 3 05-12 Total: 3 05-12
98. Ayden Schulte - Ayden Correll Boothill Bass Club High School 0
Day 1: 3 05-12 Total: 3 05-12
100. Kannon Wood - Gulf Port High School 0
Day 1: 2 05-12 Total: 2 05-12
101. Eli Cruze - Jordan Clark Sam Houston Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 05-10 Total: 2 05-10
102. Easton Gray - Arkansas YBN Northern 0
Day 1: 3 05-06 Total: 3 05-06
103. Owen Thigpen - Dylan Gregory Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 2 05-04 Total: 2 05-04
104. Brody Brinson - Greer Gammon Mt Juliet Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 05-01 Total: 3 05-01
105. Landon Vaughn - Jaxson Beard Pendleton High School Fishing Te 0
Day 1: 3 05-01 Total: 3 05-01
106. Connor Gartman - Arkansas Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 05-00 Total: 2 05-00
107. Jay Delk - Konner McLarty Little Cypress Mauriceville Hs 0
Day 1: 3 04-15 Total: 3 04-15
108. Hunter Hoffer - Zaden Kopp Ohio Community Club 0
Day 1: 3 04-12 Total: 3 04-12
109. Hunter Barnett - Hayden Hardy High School Bass Trail 0
Day 1: 2 04-11 Total: 2 04-11
109. Donnie Periard - Anthony Oliver Michigan A1 Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 04-11 Total: 2 04-11
111. A.J. Bagby - Toombs County High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Total: 2 04-10
111. Anderson Thrower - Wade Spooner Vestavia Hills Rebel Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Total: 2 04-10
113. James Barkley - Samuel Lacasse Lebanon High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-09 Total: 2 04-09
114. Mark Renteria Jr - Ian Antolos Team Arizona 0
Day 1: 2 04-08 Total: 2 04-08
115. Aidan Cohan - Tristan Topa Oneida Lake Hs Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 04-07 Total: 3 04-07
116. Billy Allison - Christopher Priest Aybn Southern High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-07 Total: 2 04-07
117. Madison Dawson - Jonah Phillips Cincinnati Youth Bass Club Sr 0
Day 1: 1 04-07 Total: 1 04-07
117. Tucker Larrance - Jaxson Pierce Jefferson County Patriot Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 04-07 Total: 1 04-07
119. Owen Satterwhite - Wyatt Pinson Ldhs Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 04-03 Total: 2 04-03
120. Grayson Thomas - Bryce Holloway Brunswick Academy Vikings 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Total: 2 04-02
121. Evan Bush - Cason Thomas Lowndes High School Lip Rippers 0
Day 1: 1 04-02 Total: 1 04-02
122. Granger Brasuell - Jude Nichols Aybn Northern Junior 0
Day 1: 2 03-13 Total: 2 03-13
122. Jakob Fullerton - Kaden Tomblin Southern Garrett Bass Slayer 0
Day 1: 2 03-13 Total: 2 03-13
124. Tristin Hathorn - Arkansas Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 03-13 Total: 1 03-13
125. Britton Alery - Owen Wiggins 0
Day 1: 2 03-12 Total: 2 03-12
125. Grant Sheffield - Bryce Rich Benjamin Russell Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 03-12 Total: 2 03-12
127. Holden Crawford - Jack Rogers Haywood Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 03-12 Total: 1 03-12
128. Zachary Tanner - Cody Tanner East Central Bass Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 2 03-11 Total: 2 03-11
129. Brodie Beech - Noah Rawls Sumrall High School 0
Day 1: 2 03-11 Total: 2 03-11
130. Nolan Savage - Mebass High School 0
Day 1: 2 03-10 Total: 2 03-10
131. Conner McClellan - Drew Mcclellan Southeastern Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 2 03-07 Total: 2 03-07
132. Landon Horton - Kaden Steiner Payette River Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 03-05 Total: 3 03-05
133. Carson Mccurdy - Landon Smith Pisgah High School 0
Day 1: 2 03-05 Total: 2 03-05
134. Atticus Adams - Isaiah Adams North Augusta High School Fishin 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Total: 1 03-05
134. Evan Bradshaw - Ryan Stanton Russell County Hs Bass Club 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Total: 1 03-05
136. Noah Chandler - Kolt Jones Sumrall High School 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Total: 1 03-05
137. Parker Terrell - Dylan Terrell Port City Jr. Bassmasters - NY 0
Day 1: 2 03-04 Total: 2 03-04
138. Landon Ezell - Jake Jouret Hebron High School Bass 0
Day 1: 1 03-03 Total: 1 03-03
139. Tayson Stiehl - Teigen Marbry Borderline High School Bassmaste 0
Day 1: 1 03-00 Total: 1 03-00
140. Hunter Colvin - Ryan Murphy Sek Fishing 0
Day 1: 1 02-13 Total: 1 02-13
140. Asher Ramerth - Xavier Lauwagie Lake Crystal Bass Bashers 0
Day 1: 1 02-13 Total: 1 02-13
142. Skip Howell - Tupelo Golden Wave Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-12 Total: 1 02-12
143. Dawson Shultz - Cooper Aldridge Hamblen County Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Total: 1 02-11
144. Logan Samaha - Callian Watkins Denham Springs High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Total: 1 02-11
145. Lane Forbes - Luke Mire Central High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-10 Total: 1 02-10
146. Benjamin Allen - Diesel Everest Nmbn High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-07 Total: 1 02-07
146. Jace Childers - Rhylen Watkins Bandys High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-07 Total: 1 02-07
146. Layne Ethington - Mason Teater Jessamine County High School Eli 0
Day 1: 1 02-07 Total: 1 02-07
149. Trace Mara - Wylie Buckman Paradise Junior Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 1 02-06 Total: 1 02-06
149. Tucker Ricks - Preston Smith Putnam County Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 02-06 Total: 1 02-06
151. Jake Drennan - Hemphill Hornet Bass Club 0
Day 1: 1 02-05 Total: 1 02-05
152. Caleb Mclean - Phoenix Kekki Kawartha Hs Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 02-04 Total: 1 02-04
152. Hayden Reynolds - Caleb Logue Bainbridge High School Bass Cats 0
Day 1: 1 02-04 Total: 1 02-04
154. Nic Sitton - Dawson Cooper Aybn Northern High School 0
Day 1: 1 02-03 Total: 1 02-03
154. Cutler Wooten - Peyton McAndrew Sml Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 02-03 Total: 1 02-03
156. Ethan Holcomb - Braeden Godfrey Kanawha River Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 02-01 Total: 1 02-01
156. Gavin Williams - Channing Jordan Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 02-01 Total: 1 02-01
158. Drew Todaro - Chase Muller Hahnville High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
158. Logan Welch - Josh King Bolivar Hs 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
158. Reece Williams - Sc Lower State Hs Bass Club 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
161. Kaden Mangrum - Kyler Harsh Sulphur Fishing Team - Sulphur H 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Total: 1 01-14
161. Jackson Pittman - Matthew Gregory Aybn Southern High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Total: 1 01-14
163. Grant Reese - Devin Epps North Augusta High School Fishin 0
Day 1: 1 01-13 Total: 1 01-13
163. Landin Sholty - Gavin Walterscheid Walker High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-13 Total: 1 01-13
163. Mason Symes - Deaglan O'kane Ct Bass Thunder 0
Day 1: 1 01-13 Total: 1 01-13
166. Caden Bradley - Charlie Sojourner Copiah Educational Foundation 0
Day 1: 1 01-13 Total: 1 01-13
167. Cason Curry - Jaxon Curry Nmbn High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
167. Taylor Hubert - Kaden Paprocki Porter High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
167. Brayden Jenner - Kasyn Arender Vancleave High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
167. Caleb Moore - Dean Austin Off The Hook IL Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
167. Mace Ridgeway - Brian Gibbs Galatia High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
172. Dominic Webb - 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Total: 1 01-11
173. Brady Garrison - Madison County High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-10 Total: 1 01-10
174. Cooper Mick - Daeshon Tuttle Hurricane High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-08 Total: 1 01-08
175. Tanner Ortega - Hannah Sage Nmbn High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-07 Total: 1 01-07
176. Evan Breckenfelder - Kaden Farmer West Delaware High School Bass F 0
Day 1: 1 01-07 Total: 1 01-07
177. Carson Tithof - Maverick Hardebeck Grand Haven High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-06 Total: 1 01-06
178. Larson Morgan - John Balcerzak Southlake Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 00-02 Total: 1 00-02
179. Ashton Alday - Jacob Beach Keystone Heights Bassmasters Hig 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Nathan Banach - Madysen Meyer Off The Hook Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Hunter Bolt - Zander Morton Hctc Hs Fishing 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Gavin Burnett - Justin Ackel Sulphur Fishing Team - Sulphur H 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Lane Clark - Cutter Mccauley Kirbyville High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Parker Creech - Lawton Rollison Central Florida Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Eli Ellege - Aaron Crawford Warrior Hs Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Logan Ethington - Dylan Teater Jessamine County High School - K 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Michael Florio - Christian Da Silva Hamilton Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Eli Herring - Greene County Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Nathan Holderness - Sawyer Adams Gilbert Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Jack Hughes - Karter Phillips Eastern Nebraska High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Dillon Huskey - Harper Hicks Eureka High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Parker Jones - Brady Jones Sc Lower State Hs Bass Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Cooper Kent - 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Chance Lawrence - Jaxin Douglas Northeastern Oklahoma HS Bass Cl 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Owen Leprie - James Cotter Front Range Bass Club Hs Distr 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Ty Magargle - Brady Gunkle Wildcat High School Fishing 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Sloan McGhee - Myles Frazier Kokosing Valley Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Isaac Mcmath - Drayden Whitten Straughn High School Fishing Tea 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Wick Medlin - Clarks Hill Hs Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Dawson Morris - Bridge City High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Sarah Parker - Asher Wheat Petal High School Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Tripp Parks III - Russell Gibson Clarks Hill HS Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Landon Pierce - Eli Childers Casey County High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Cash Rath - Parker Clennon Aybn Northern High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Kane Ross - Caden Wright Hemphill Hornet Bass Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Tytus Sadowski - Spencer Goehrig Seminole Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Eli Scroggins - Drew Berling Northern Kentucky High School Ba 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Jack Sebring - Mason Turner Highlands County Anglers Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Tyler Smith - Trenton Nyland Zeeland Fish Hawks 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Shade Snyder - Steven Murray Holly Hill Academy 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Grifinn Thomas-Hamm - Tahlen Thomas-Hamm Edgewood Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Jax Whitaker - Eli Kline Highlands County Anglers Club - 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Huntlee York - Colton Smith Arkansas Youth Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
179. Izaac Zimmer - Chase Walz Esko High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 101 408 1114-15
------------------------------
101 408 1114-15
Angler favorite Susquehanna River on deck for Kayak Series
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. — Deciphering the water level and current flow will be key for anglers competing in the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Susquehanna River presented by Native Watercraft.
Tournament days are scheduled for Aug. 1-2 with tournament headquarters located in Bloomsburg, Pa. All anglers will earn Pro-Guide Batteries Angler of the Year points, and the Top 5 finishers will punch their tickets to the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft at Lake Murray, to be held in October.
Full of giant smallmouth, the Susquehanna River has become a favorite destination for kayak anglers across the country. B.A.S.S. has visited the lengthy system twice, once in the fall of 2023 and again in the summer of 2024. The summer event was won by Ewing Minor with a two-day total of 187.75 inches, and the top 16 anglers averaged more than 90 inches per day.
The playing field is extensive, but anglers who understand current and which current breaks hold the best quality smallmouth will excel. Emergent vegetation and eelgrass are common in the river as well as rock and wood.
In a normal year, the river is as low as it’ll be all year in August, with reduced current, but a major rain event could change the dynamic significantly.
Several baits will come into play, including topwater, soft jerkbaits, ChatterBaits and finesse presentations such as a Ned rig or shaky head.
Columbia Montour Visitors Bureau is hosting this event.
2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series
2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Presenting Sponsor: Native Watercraft
2026 Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year Sponsor: Pro-Guide Batteries
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, [email protected]
Lachniet hits goals for 2026 season, earns Bass Pro Tour bid and Rookie of the Year trophy
| PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 30, 2026) – In the waning hour of the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech regular season, as the gravity of his accomplishments started to hit him, Virginia pro Ryan Lachniet expressed his gratitude about a season that had lived up to some lofty preseason goals.“Something seemed to go right for me every tournament,” Lachniet said on the MLFNOW! livestream as he finished up his final day at VOSKER Stop 6 on Lake Champlain. “Whether it was the first spot I pulled up on was really good, or (catching) a giant one at the end of the day, something has gone my way, every tournament. I’m just super thankful that God blessed me like that.”
It was a breakout year for Lachniet, who put an exclamation point on his 2026 campaign with a Rookie of the Year title, a second-place finish in the 7 Brew Angler of the Year race, a Top 5 on Lake Champlain, and an invitation to fish the Bass Pro Tour in 2027. The 22-year-old graduate of Campbellsville University in Kentucky anted up for the Pro Circuit with the goal of earning a spot on the Bass Pro Tour – six months later, he walked offstage at Plattsburgh City Marina with one of the five golden BPT tickets in hand. “I wanted to make the Bass Pro Tour, that was the goal I was chasing,” Lachniet said. “I always thought the Rookie of the Year was a cool deal, but my goal all along was the Bass Pro Tour. I definitely didn’t think it would be easy – only five people make it; it’s a hard thing to do.” Holding serve on Champlain |
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| Lachniet entered Stop 6 with 930 points and a realistic attitude about his chances of making up 13 points on defending 7 Brew Coffee AOY Banks Shaw (“There was no way that Banks was going to finish worse than 13th here,” Lachniet said). He left the marina on Day 1 with Dylan Nutt (927) and Carter Nutt (923) hot on his heels for Rookie of the Year honors, with travel partner Connor Jacob (899) and Brody Campbell (890) representing the fourth and fifth potential invites to the Bass Pro Tour.
The Virginia pro held serve on Day 1, collecting 20 pounds, 1 ounce to start the tournament in 10th place. Shaw settled in eighth to add 2 points to his AOY lead over Lachniet, but the Nutt brothers faltered that day, Carter finishing 51st and Dylan finishing 102nd (falling 48 and 95 points back, respectively). Jacob and Campbell maintained, and Cal Lane replaced Dylan Nutt in the fifth position inside the BPT cut line. Lachniet effectively locked up both a Bass Pro Tour bid and the ROY title on Day 2, climbing to fourth place in the tournament with 21-8 to increase his rookie lead over Jacob to 40 points and expand his cushion in the Bass Pro Tour race to 65 points over Will Harkins in the final spot. Shaw sewed up the AOY trophy early the next day, blasting 21 pounds in quick fashion and eventually finishing third in the event, while Lachniet corralled 19-9 to finish fifth. But Rookie of the Year hardware, a spot on the 2027 Bass Pro Tour and momentum going into the September Pro Circuit Championship on the Kissimmee Chain in Florida felt just fine to Lachniet, thank you. “I’m just so satisfied, I literally couldn’t be happier,” he admitted after weigh-in. Lachniet stayed steady |
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Lachniet’s rookie Pro Circuit campaign was a study in consistency: he made all six cuts and finished no worse then 25th in six events (with three Top 10s). The other contenders had some notable surges, but (minus Shaw) they also hit some speed bumps that cost them points to Lachniet’s steady pace.
Lachniet’s consistency is no accident – it’s something he’s worked on diligently since his freshman year in college, when he had “a pretty rough go of it” in tournaments. “I try hard to limit the risks, and take the safest bet for a consistent finish,” Lachniet said. “I’m always looking for as many points as I can get consistently. I started to figure out three or four years ago that the only way I was going to qualify to fish a major tour was to be super, super consistent. I’ve worked on it, a lot. “My first year of college, I couldn’t figure that out. If I had two choices – one that was safe and consistent and one that was risky – I’d take the wrong one. I’d catch a 6 and a 4 … and then nothing else. The biggest thing for me now is, anytime I have a place where I might catch some big ones and a spot that I know will produce solid limits, I’ll take the layup. I’ve just learned that approach fishing a lot of tournaments. I know the differences between ‘It might be really good’ and ‘It’s good and safe’.” Lachniet practiced what he preaches |
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| Lachniet started the season strong with a Top 10 at the February season opener on the Harris Chain in Florida, and followed with a 25th-place finish at the Santee Cooper lakes. Those two early-season tournaments affirmed Lachniet’s play-it-safe approach, and set him up for the follow-through in Stops 3, 4, 5, and 6.
He caught 13-13, 13-9 and 9-3 in three days on the Harris Chain – a far cry from the 20- to 26-pound bombs being dropped at the top of the leaderboard, but still good enough for 10th place on a fishery that had previously given him fits. “The Harris Chain was the only place on the schedule that I was really worried about,” Lachniet said. “I’d been there a bunch of times and my best finish had been maybe 70th or 80th. That place really had my number. But I found a place that had a decent population of fish. They weren’t huge, but consistent. I stayed with that all week, and it just kinda worked out.” He faced a choice at Stop 2 at Santee Cooper, where two wildly different scenarios revealed themselves in practice. Lachniet chose the safer option, opting for an area with good numbers versus a more risky area with bigger fish, and sticking with the safe bet after weighing only 17 pounds on Day 1 for 36th place. He upgraded with 21 pounds on Day 2 to climb to 25th. “I definitely had to choose between something that was maybe really good, and something safe,” Lachniet said. “I had something down in Lake Moultrie that was really good, but risky. I knew that it could go wrong. I also had some fish in Potato Creek that weren’t big, but there were a bunch of them. We had that big fog delay (on Day 1), I ended up catching a solid limit in Potato Creek and culled up to 21 back in that same area on Day 2. I made the safer choice.” Lachniet can now look forward to the Pro Circuit Championship in mid-September on the Kissimmee Chain and gear up for his 2027 rookie campaign on the Bass Pro Tour. It’s a scenario that’s fueled him since his first derby. “I fished my first tournament when I was 12 and thought ‘This is the coolest thing in the world. I have to figure out how to make this my job’,” he said. “I didn’t figure that was super realistic, but it’s something I’ve had on my mind since I was a kid. It seems a little hard to believe, but I’m ready and excited for it.” The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech featured a field of 155 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit. The next event for the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech is the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship, Sept. 18-20, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimme, Florida. Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. About Major League Fishing |
Shaw Slams the Door on Second Straight 7 Brew Angler of the Year Title
| PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 29, 2026) — A year after breezing to the Angler of the Year title in record fashion during his first season competing on a national tour, Banks Shaw got a reality check in 2026.
His Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit season started with, at the time, his worst finish as a boater in nearly three years. He had to navigate the fallout from a boat fire early in the year. He never held a comfortable lead in this season’s AOY race, with the battle coming down to the final day of Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER at Lake Champlain. Yet in the end, Shaw emerged holding the 7 Brew Angler of the Year trophy for the second year in a row. With a third-place finish on Champlain, he topped Ryan Lachniet by 15 points to win a new Phoenix Boats package worth $50,000. And by some measures, his 2026 season was even better than 2025. “Last year was an incredible year,” Shaw said on stage shortly after clinching the AOY crown. “The goal was this year just to top that year. I was like, man, I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that. Somehow, here we are – we topped last year’s season.” Bouncing back from a slow start |
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| From the outset, defending his Pro Circuit points title was always going to be more difficult for Shaw than winning it in the first place. His dominant 2025 campaign, during which he made the Top 10 at all seven events on the then-Invitationals, earned him a spot on the Bass Pro Tour as well as an expanded sponsorship portfolio, both of which demanded lots of time and focus.
“I mainly wanted to prioritize the Bass Pro Tour and potentially give some of those guys a run for AOY,” Shaw said of his mindset entering the season. “But it turned out, the schedule would go to a Pro Circuit event, and then we would go straight to a Bass Pro Tour event. So, it kind of seemed like I was more prepared for a lot of the Pro Circuit events.” Of course, Shaw wasn’t going to give up his crown without a fight. But it took just one event for him to think he’d blown his shot at a repeat. In Pro Circuit season-opener on the Harris Chain, a cold front made the bite brutal for just about everyone, Shaw included. He weighed just one bass on Day 2 and nearly missed his first cut as a touring pro. He wound up finishing 35th – still good enough to earn a check, but a shock to an angler who had gone eight-for-eight in making Top 10s at national-level events to that point in his life. “It bothered me quite a bit,” Shaw said. “The conditions were horrible, just super cold, and I lost a couple good fish during that tournament. I felt like I just threw it all away.” Shaw bounced back with an eighth-place finish on Santee Cooper, then quickly reasserted himself as the AOY favorite with a comeback win at Stop 3 on Wheeler Lake. That put him back atop the points standings. However, at the following event on Douglas Lake, Shaw stumbled again (at least by his lofty standards). He finished 17th, which allowed event winner and Shaw’s longtime friend Carter Nutt to gain a 13-point advantage over him atop the AOY standings. “It was one I thought I was going to do really well in,” Shaw said of Douglas. “I thought maybe then (AOY) might have been kind of out the door as well. But I was just thinking, like, I knew Eufaula – that was our next tournament, and I knew that was an event where anybody could slip up, just because it was a super tough fishery.” That feeling proved prescient. While the points count the same in every event, if there’s one that played the biggest role in Shaw defending his AOY title, it was the penultimate stop of the season on Oklahoma’s Lake Eufaula. Nutt stumbled, weighing just two bass on Day 2 and finishing 34th, and Shaw charged through the open door. He moved up the leaderboard each day, vaulting from 27th to third to first and reclaiming the points lead in the process. Entering the season, one of Shaw’s primary goals was to convert more of his close calls into wins (he finished between second and fourth place at seven events in 2025). Now, he believes closing out wins is one area he’s even better than he was a year ago. Eufaula marked one of two Pro Circuit triumphs and four total victories on the year, which helped him nearly double his earnings total from 2025. He’s already cashed more than $558,000 in 2026 with several more high-paying events left on the schedule. “That was one of the biggest goals coming into this season from how many close finishes I had last year,” Shaw said. “I think I had like a 4-point-something average finish on the Pro Circuit, and I only won one event. I was like, man, I can definitely turn these into wins if I play my cards right. And I’m just glad I was able to win two this year.” Sealing the deal at Champlain |
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| Shaw followed up the win on Eufaula with his first Bass Pro Tour victory on Grand Lake. No surprise, he arrived at Champlain brimming with confidence.
But after strong winds hampered practice for him and everyone else, Day 1 didn’t start as well as Shaw had hoped. And with Lachniet 13 points behind him entering the event, he knew he couldn’t afford to slip up. So, Shaw did what he does better than perhaps any pro in the game: He figured out something new on the fly. After not catching a single largemouth during practice, he weighed three green bass over the first two days. Without them, he estimated he would have had about 18 pounds per day, which would have put him around 25th place and needing a rally to run down Lachniet on Day 3. “I planned on strictly fishing for smallmouth, and I ran all my stuff Day 1 when I only had 18 pounds after using my forward-facing, and none of that stuff panned out,” Shaw explained. “So, I pretty much just completely scratched that. I didn’t plan on fishing for largemouth – I tried it in practice and didn’t catch anything at all, not even a single largemouth. And I just went and did it.” Nutt, who has known Shaw since their junior years of high school and fished alongside him at the University of North Alabama, said Shaw has always had a knack for “thinking like a fish.” But he pointed to Shaw’s ability to adapt during a tournament as his biggest area of improvement and a major reason why he’s won back-to-back points titles. “He just gets dialed in on a bite very quickly, and he’s very good at expanding on what he does during a tournament,” Nutt said. Entering the final day in eighth place, Shaw still didn’t technically have the title clinched. He figured he’d need around 18 pounds to get it done. It took all of about 15 minutes from the time he made his first cast until he put more than 20 pounds of smallmouth in the livewell and removed any doubt. Shaw’s 21-14 limit marked the best Day 3 of anyone in the field and the fourth time in six events that he’s caught his biggest bag on Day 2 or 3. “I knew I had AOY won – as long as I made it back (to weigh-in) – in the first 15 minutes,” Shaw said. “It was insane. The spot I had, it kept on getting better.” A historic two-year run |
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| Even with this year’s Championship still to come, Shaw has a strong claim to the best two-year run in the history of the Pro Circuit/Invitationals/FLW Tour. Three prior anglers have won AOY in back-to-back seasons – David Dudley in 2011-12, Andy Morgan in 2013-14 and Michael Neal in 2021-22. However, of those three, no one logged more than two wins and seven Top 10s during their two-year reign (both marks set by Dudley). Shaw is up to three wins and 11 Top 10s in 13 Pro Circuit events.
Include his stats from other tours, and his success becomes even more mind-boggling. Since the start of the 2025 season, Shaw has racked up five wins and 24 Top 10s in 30 solo MLF events. After cashing another $18,100 at Champlain, he’s over $900,000 in career earnings. With one more Bass Pro Tour event, the Pro Circuit Championship and the Toyota Series Championship all still to come, there’s a real chance he could eclipse the mark set just last fall by Drew Gill and become the youngest millionaire in MLF/FLW history by year’s end. That might be the scariest part for Shaw’s competition. He just turned 23 on Wednesday. When asked where he’d rank Shaw among touring pros, Nutt didn’t hesitate. “There’s nobody that I would put above him,” Nutt said. “There’s people that have a whole lot more accomplishments and a lot more winnings, but they’ve just been doing it for longer than him. Him in 20 years is going to be pretty incredible.” No matter where Shaw’s career takes him, he won’t forget this season anytime soon. The adversity he overcame made him understand just how special his 2025 season was. Learning that lesson while still winning twice, cashing more than half a million dollars and maintaining his perch on the Pro Circuit throne isn’t something he’ll take for granted. “It made me kind of realize how hard it is to win one of these AOYs,” he said. “Because last year, it felt pretty easy. I definitely put in the work and everything for those finishes, but it was like, everywhere I went, I couldn’t do wrong, and nobody was really competing with me. So, this year, it definitely opened my eyes. It showed me what it really means to have the best average after a full season.” 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit 7 Brew Angler of the Year Final Standings: 1st: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn. - 1,141 points Full standings for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com. The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech featured a field of 155 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit. The next event for the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech is the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship, Sept. 18-20, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimme, Florida. Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling. For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. About Major League Fishing |
Major League Fishing Announces 2027 Toyota Series Schedule
Toyota Series Championship to be held on Bill Dance Signature Lake Dale Hollow Lake
BENTON, Ky. (July 29, 2026) – Major League Fishing (MLF) announced today the 2027 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats schedule featuring 15 regular-season tournaments across five divisions and the season-ending Toyota Series Championship. The 2027 season will begin in February on Florida’s legendary Lake Okeechobee and conclude in November with the Championship held on Bill Dance Signature Lake Dale Hollow Lake in Byrdstown, Tennessee.
“The 2027 Toyota Series schedule offers our anglers a tremendous mix of iconic fisheries, regional favorites and venues that consistently produce exciting tournament action,” said MLF Toyota Series Tournament Director Mark McWha. “The Toyota Series continues to provide grassroots anglers with an affordable opportunity to compete for significant payouts while testing their skills against some of the best anglers in their region. We are excited about the schedule we have assembled and believe it will deliver an outstanding season of competition from the opening event through the championship.”
Recognized as one of the nation’s premier tournament trails, the Toyota Series provides anglers with the highest payouts at the lowest entry fees available on a national level. Competitors can fish close to home on familiar regional waters while pursuing substantial awards and the opportunity to advance to the nationally televised Toyota Series Championship.
The 2027 championship on Dale Hollow Lake continues the strong relationship between Major League Fishing, the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce, Tennessee Department of Tourist Development and the Bill Dance Signature Lakes program. The event will showcase one of Tennessee’s most celebrated fisheries while bringing championship-level competition and anglers from across the country to Byrdstown and Pickett County.
“We are thrilled and honored to host the Major League Fishing 2027 Toyota Series Championship in Byrdstown and Pickett County on beautiful Dale Hollow Lake,” said Bryan Arms, Executive/Tourism Director of the Byrdstown-Pickett County Chamber of Commerce. “This event will bring anglers, visitors and fans from around the world to our destination. We look forward to helping them create memorable experiences while giving our community the opportunity to share everything that makes our Tennessee small town so special.”
“Dale Hollow Lake is a world-class fishery with a rich history, and it is an ideal setting for the Toyota Series Championship,” said Dennis Tumlin, Chief Customer Officer of the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development. “Our partnership with Major League Fishing allows us to showcase not only the incredible fishing opportunities available on Tennessee’s lakes, but also the communities, businesses and people who make these destinations so welcoming. We are proud to help bring this championship to Byrdstown and look forward to a world-class event for the anglers and everyone who comes to experience Dale Hollow Lake.”
The winning pro at the 2027 Toyota Series Championship will also earn a coveted invitation to REDCREST 2028, Major League Fishing’s most prestigious championship event, where a top prize of $300,000 will be on the line.
2027 MLF Toyota Series Schedule:
Central Division
Feb. 25-27 Lake Guntersville
Hosted by Mountain Lakes Chamber of Commerce
April 22-24 Pickwick Lake Florence, Ala.
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 Lake Guntersville
Northern Division
June 24-26 Potomac River
July 29-31 Lake Champlain
Sept. 16-18 Lake Erie Marblehead, Ohio
Plains Division
Mar. 11-13 Beaver Lake Rogers, Ark.
April 1-3 Kentucky Lake
Sept. 23-25 Lake of the Ozarks Osage Beach, Mo.
Southern Division
Feb. 11-13 Lake Okeechobee
March 23-25* Harris Chain of Lakes Leesburg, Fla.
April 29 – May 1 Lake Eufaula Eufaula, Ala.
Southwestern Division
March 16-18* Grand Lake
May 12-14** Lake Ray Roberts Denton, Texas
June 17-19 Lake Dardanelle
Toyota Series Championship
Nov. 4-6 Dale Hollow Lake Byrdstown, Tenn.
* denotes Tuesday-Thursday event
** denotes Wednesday-Friday event
Full program rules and details for the 2027 MLF Toyota Series will be announced later this year.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
FOTHERGILL WANTS HIS NEXT WIN TO BE THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY
By Walker Smith, Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
At a very young age, Toyota Bonus Bucks pro Easton Fothergill has already accomplished what most professional anglers spend an entire career chasing. The Minnesota native burst onto the national scene with a dominant collegiate career before capturing the coveted 2025 Bassmaster Classic title. Since then, he's proven he belongs among the sport's biggest names, collecting impressive finishes while showcasing the confidence and composure that have quickly become his trademark.
Like many anglers of his generation, Fothergill has become exceptionally skilled with forward-facing sonar. The technology has undoubtedly played a role in his success, allowing him to maximize opportunities offshore and compete with the best anglers in the world. But if you ask Fothergill what he's thinking about as the Bassmaster Elite Series heads to Lake Champlain, it isn't electronics. It's legacy.
Elite Series anglers will compete without forward-facing sonar, creating a playing field built on instinct, experience and decision-making.
"I've won some events at the highest level with forward-facing sonar but now, I really want to win one traditionally because I know I have what it takes," Fothergill said. "This season so far has been up and down for me."
It's a refreshingly honest perspective from one of professional bass fishing's brightest young stars.
The debate surrounding forward-facing sonar has dominated conversations throughout the sport over the last several years. Some view it as an incredible advancement while others long for a return to a more traditional style of competition. Fothergill has never shied away from embracing new technology, but he also understands that great anglers were catching giant bass long before live sonar ever existed. That's why this tournament carries a different kind of significance.
"I grew up fishing without forward-facing sonar, so I absolutely know I can catch 'em without it."
There's conviction behind those words. Long before he became one of the Elite Series' youngest winners, Fothergill spent countless hours learning to read shorelines, identify seasonal patterns and understand how bass relate to changing conditions. Those foundational skills don't disappear because new technology arrives. If anything, they're about to become more important than ever. Lake Champlain has always rewarded anglers who can think on their feet.
Stretching across New York and Vermont, the sprawling fishery offers virtually endless opportunities. Vast grass flats produce quality largemouth while expansive rock shoals and offshore structure hold some of the finest smallmouth populations anywhere in the country. Success often comes down to choosing the right species, or knowing when to chase both. Fothergill believes versatility will ultimately decide this tournament.
"It could be won on all largemouth but that would be very hard, in my opinion," he said. "The quality it takes to win up there makes smallmouth the popular choice to target. But when it's all said and done, I think it will be a mixed bag that ends up winning."
That prediction reflects a level of maturity that's remarkable for an angler so early in his professional career. Young anglers are often stereotyped as relying heavily on technology or committing too strongly to one approach. Fothergill has shown the opposite. He understands tournaments are rarely won by forcing one pattern. Instead, they're won by recognizing changing conditions and making smart adjustments throughout the day.
That philosophy has become one of the biggest lessons he's taken away from this Elite Series season. Professional fishing has a way of exposing every weakness, especially the mental ones. Over the course of a long season, every angler experiences momentum swings. One missed fish can change a tournament. One poor decision can derail months of preparation. The best competitors learn how to move on quickly instead of dwelling on mistakes. For Fothergill, that's become a major point of emphasis.
"The biggest lesson I've learned this season revolves around mental preparation," he explained. "When I fish a tournament now, I put as many baits in as many high-percentage places as I possibly can."
It's a deceptively simple approach. Rather than becoming overly attached to one lure, one area or one pattern, Fothergill focuses on maximizing every opportunity. Every cast is made with purpose. It's less about chasing perfection and more about consistently making high-percentage decisions over the course of four long tournament days.
That's the kind of mindset that often separates good anglers from great ones. It also explains why Fothergill has climbed so quickly through the professional ranks.
His success hasn't been built solely on technology. It's been built on preparation, confidence and an eagerness to learn from every tournament. Now, as Champlain approaches, he admits there's a little more riding on this event than usual.
“Going into Champlain, I have high hopes and a little extra motivation."
That motivation isn't rooted in proving that forward-facing sonar doesn't matter, or about validating or invalidating anyone else's opinion. Instead, it's about checking off another personal milestone. Every Elite Series competitor develops goals that only they truly understand. Championships matter. Trophies matter. But so do the victories that answer questions you've been asking yourself.
For Fothergill, winning an Elite Series event without forward-facing sonar would be one of those moments.
It would validate the confidence he built years before live sonar became commonplace. It would reinforce the fundamentals that carried him from Minnesota's lakes to college fishing, then onto bass fishing's biggest stage. Most importantly, it would remind him that while technology may evolve, the heart of competitive bass fishing remains unchanged.
Whether Easton Fothergill leaves Lake Champlain holding the trophy or simply another valuable lesson, one thing is certain. His remarkable rise through professional bass fishing is only beginning. If his career so far is any indication, there are plenty more wins ahead whether they're earned by watching a screen or by trusting the instincts that first made him believe he belonged among the best in the world.
Lippert joins Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am as presenting sponsor
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. announced today that Lippert, a leading global manufacturer and supplier of highly engineered products for the outdoor recreation and transportation industries, has signed on as the presenting sponsor of the inaugural Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am presented by Lippert, set for Aug. 31 on the world-renowned St. Lawrence River in Clayton, N.Y.
The unique event will pair Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series anglers with Pro Football Hall of Fame members for a one-day Pro-Am competition, bringing together two of America's most passionate fan bases while celebrating the shared values of teamwork, dedication and the outdoors.
In addition to serving as presenting sponsor of the Pro-Am, Lippert will join Bassmaster at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Weekend Fan Fest Aug. 5-9 in Canton, Ohio. The companies will host a joint activation designed to introduce football fans to the sport of bass fishing through interactive exhibits, product displays, giveaways and opportunities to learn more about the Bassmaster Elite Series and upcoming events.
"This is an incredible opportunity to connect with fans who share a passion for outdoor recreation and unforgettable experiences," said Phillip Johnson, B.A.S.S. Chief Operating Officer. "Lippert has built a reputation for helping people enjoy life outdoors, making them a natural fit for this exciting event. Their support of the Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am presented by Lippert and their presence alongside Bassmaster during Enshrinement Week will help us introduce competitive bass fishing to thousands of new fans while creating an unforgettable experience for anglers, Hall of Famers and football enthusiasts alike."
"This partnership reflects where Lippert is headed as a company," said Jarod Lippert, Chief Marketing Officer for Lippert. "Across marine, RV and automotive, our mission is to help people experience the outdoors with products they can depend on. We're honored to partner with Bassmaster and the Pro Football Hall of Fame on this unique event, giving us the opportunity to showcase LEWMAR™ Shallow Water Anchors while supporting one of the most passionate communities in outdoor recreation. It's an exciting opportunity to support the sport, connect with anglers and fans, and showcase the innovation behind the Lippert family of brands that help people make the most of every adventure outdoors."
The Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am presented by Lippert will be held following the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River. Hall of Fame members will be paired with Bassmaster Elite Series pros for a day of fishing on one of the nation's premier smallmouth bass fisheries before returning to Clayton for a fan expo and ceremonial weigh-in celebrating the crossover between professional football and professional fishing.
The event is part of a broader collaboration between B.A.S.S. and the Pro Football Hall of Fame that aims to bring together two iconic American sports while highlighting the values of competition, conservation and community.
"Events like this showcase the power of bringing together world-class brands and organizations that share a passion for creating memorable experiences," Johnson said. "We're excited to welcome Lippert to this landmark event. Their commitment to enhancing outdoor lifestyles aligns perfectly with our mission to inspire more people to get outside and experience the excitement of bass fishing. Whether fans meet us in Canton during Enshrinement Week or in Clayton during the Pro-Am, they'll see firsthand why Bassmaster continues to be the premier brand in competitive fishing."
During Enshrinement Weekend in Canton, Bassmaster and Lippert will engage fans through interactive displays showcasing professional bass fishing, conservation initiatives and the Bassmaster tournament trail. Lippert will also highlight its LEWMAR™ Shallow Water Anchors, giving fans an opportunity to learn more about the innovative technology while exploring the company's growing portfolio of products designed for boating and outdoor recreation. The activation will provide attendees with opportunities to meet Bassmaster representatives, learn about Elite Series competition and discover ways to become involved in recreational fishing.
The collaboration continues later in the month when Bassmaster Elite anglers and Pro Football Hall of Fame members gather in Clayton, where the St. Lawrence River has earned a reputation as one of the world's finest smallmouth bass fisheries. The river has hosted numerous Bassmaster events and routinely produces record-setting catches, making it an ideal backdrop for the inaugural Pro-Am.
The Bassmaster Randy Moss Pro Football Hall of Fame Pro-Am presented by Lippert will complement a full slate of fan activities surrounding the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River, including an outdoor expo, angler meet-and-greets and daily weigh-ins. Fans will have the opportunity to interact with Elite Series anglers, Hall of Fame members and industry partners throughout the event.
The Pro-Am is one of several initiatives connecting B.A.S.S. with the Pro Football Hall of Fame during the month of August. Bassmaster's presence at Enshrinement Weekend Fan Fest will introduce thousands of football fans to the excitement of competitive bass fishing while highlighting the similarities between two sports built on preparation, performance and passion. The Aug. 31 Pro-Am will then bring those worlds together on the water, offering fans a rare opportunity to see Hall of Fame legends and Bassmaster Elite anglers compete side by side.
Additional details, including participating Pro Football Hall of Fame members, Bassmaster Elite Series anglers and the complete schedule of fan activities, will be announced at a later date on Bassmaster.com.
About Lippert
From over 140 manufacturing and distribution facilities located throughout North America, Africa and Europe, Lippert™ supplies a broad array of highly engineered components for the leading manufacturers of recreational vehicles, automobiles, watercraft and prefab homes. It also operates in adjacent markets, including hospitality, transportation, construction and agriculture. Lippert™ serves a wide range of aftermarket segments, providing high-quality products for the recreational vehicle / caravanning, automotive and marine industries. With over 12,500 team members and a diverse portfolio of best-in-class brands, Lippert™ adopts a team-based business philosophy and has proven that, by putting people first, the possibilities for growth and development are truly endless.
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
Lake Erie Set for MLF Bass Pro Tour Suzuki Marine Stage 7 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches
51 pro anglers to compete in season finale in Sandusky, Ohio, competition live all four days at MajorLeagueFishing.com
SANDUSKY, Ohio (July 28, 2026) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour (BPT) concludes its regular season next week with a tournament on Lake Erie, Aug. 6-9, as Suzuki Marine Stage 7 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches brings the league’s high-intensity, every-fish-counts format to Ohio.
Hosted by Shores & Islands Ohio, t he four-day event will feature 51 of the world’s top professional anglers competing for a $125,000 top prize and their share of a $600,000 purse, along with valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2027 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – and the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event. Competition will unfold under MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, where every bass over the 2-pound minimum counts and SCORETRACKER® – the MLF live leaderboard – keeps the pressure on throughout the day.
"There's something special about seeing the best anglers in the world compete on waters that have earned the respect of fishermen everywhere,” said Jon Limber, Sports Tourism Manager, Shores & Islands Ohio. “Hosting the Major League Fishing Bass Pro Tour on Lake Erie is an incredible opportunity to showcase not only one of the world's premier bass fisheries, but also the welcoming communities, waterfront experiences and outdoor recreation that define Shores & Islands Ohio. We look forward to welcoming competitors and fans from across the country and inviting them to experience the excitement of professional bass fishing while discovering why so many people return to the Shores & Islands Ohio region, year after year."
The Lake Erie field is stacked with championship pedigree, led by reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year and REDCREST 2026 champion Jacob Wheeler and three-time REDCREST champion Dustin Connell. Joining them are a host of proven winners and fan favorites, including Matt Becker , Zack Birge and Ott DeFoe.
While Lake Erie has often served as an option for anglers in tournaments launching from the Detroit River, not many multi-day events have been held solely on Erie through the years. Only once has a national tournament launched on Lake Erie – the 2020 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Super Tournament, which Justin Lucas won. At that event, anglers were allowed to access the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair, but this time the field will be confined to roughly the western third of Erie itself.
The 2020 Super Tournament featured a stout, 187-boat field, and five of the top seven finishers will compete in this event. Lucas edged Wheeler by 1 ounce for the win, while Spencer Shuffield, Alton Jones Jr. and David Dudley finished fifth through seventh, respectively. There’s only one home-state angler in the field for this event – Cole Floyd – although Fletcher Shryock spent most of his life in Ohio before relocating to Lake Guntersville.
Ohio native Cole Floyd of Leesburg has been making trips to Lake Erie since he was a kid, giving him a familiarity with one of the country's most expansive fisheries. While he expects anglers to spread across the massive playing field, Floyd said he believes the Bass Pro Tour's every-fish-counts format will create opportunities for both smallmouth and largemouth specialists.
"It’s a massive body of water so there's a ton of fishable water within the boundary limits of this event and pretty much everything will be in play on that lake,” said Floyd. “I've fished there ever since I was little, so I know the lake pretty good.
"My plan is to focus on largemouth, and I feel like they are going to be a big player in this tournament and a lot of guys will do really well largemouth fishing,” Floyd continued. “But at the end of the day, I really feel like there's a good chance that smallmouth could end up winning it.”
Pro Spencer Shuffield of Hot Springs, Arkansas, won a 2024 MLF Team Series event alongside Becker in Presque Isle Bay on Lake Erie, and said he is eager to make the annual trip north, where cooler temperatures and world-class fishing typically produce some of the season's most exciting competition. After spending six days scouting Lake Erie last summer, Shuffield said he also expects anglers to capitalize on both smallmouth and largemouth, but believes brown fish will ultimately dominate the leaderboard.
"Anytime we go north, the fishing's always incredible," Shuffield said. "Whether you're fishing for smallmouth or largemouth, you're going to be able to catch plenty of them. That's really what I'm most looking forward to."
Shuffield said the unique layout of Lake Erie will force competitors to make critical strategic decisions, as the most productive smallmouth and largemouth waters are separated by long runs that could cost valuable fishing time.
"I think it's predominantly going to be dominated with smallmouth," Shuffield said. "There'll be a couple guys who do really well strictly largemouth fishing, but for most of the field it's going to be kind of a 50-50 deal, with guys relying heavily on smallmouth, especially during the ‘Scope period."
Unlike many fisheries where anglers can quickly transition between patterns, Shuffield said Lake Erie's geography makes chasing both species in the same day a risky proposition.
"The best largemouth area I found was 50 miles away from the best traditional smallmouth fishing,” Shuffield said. "Running that far on Lake Erie could take two and a half hours, so you're giving up an entire period without making a catch just to switch from one species to the other."
Because of those lengthy runs, Shuffield expects anglers to face a difficult choice between committing to one species or sacrificing valuable fishing time to chase both.
"I think it'll take around 80 pounds to make the Knockout Round," Shuffield said. "There'll be some guys that have more than 100 pounds over two days, probably multiple guys, but I think a lot of anglers are going to lose fishing time unless they commit to one species."
Shuffield said he expects to see anglers targeting smallmouth with drop-shot rigs, Ned rigs and jerkbaits, and largemouth with frogs, ChatterBaits, Texas rigs and little, shallow-running crankbaits.
Anglers will arrive each morning starting at 5:45 a.m. ET to Shelby Street Public Boat Launch, located at 101 Shelby Street in Sandusky, Ohio, with takeoff starting at 6:45 a.m. Anglers will return to Shelby Street Public Boat Launch each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to watch the event live online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® livestream and follow along with SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 8-9, from 3 to 6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to the Paper District Marina, located at 611 Shoreline Drive in Sandusky, for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the Bass Pro Tour pros live on the MLFNOW!® big screen, enjoy free food for the first 100 fans each day, enter hourly giveaways, browse MLF merchandise and the bargain bait bin, participate in a free fishing derby and casting contest, and cheer on their favorite anglers. Live music begins at 4 p.m. (Paul Bogner on Saturday and Mike Risner on Sunday) followed by top-10 angler interviews and the trophy presentation at 5 p.m., including autographs and photos with Bass Pro Tour finalists. The first 50 kids ages 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day.
The Suzuki Marine Stage 7 at Lake Erie Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2026 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 51 of the best professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2027 championship.
The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finish 2nd through 25th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.
The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW!® will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the Suzuki Marine Stage 7 at Lake Erie Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 3 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Force, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, OFF! Deep Woods, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota, Yuengling and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram , Rumble and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Carson’s 2 lures for the hottest week of the year
Climate experts say late July marks the highest average temperatures of the year across the U.S., and while Florida native Keith Carson lives in tropical temps most of the year, it was actually a tournament he fished in Iowa 20 years ago that still marks the hottest he ever remembers being while fishing.
“It was a Bassmaster event on the Mississippi River, and it was so hot the tournament director had an ambulance on standby at the boat ramp in case anybody suffered heat exhaustion,” remembers Carson.
Not only did he survive the sultry beatdown, but he also went on to finish 6th in that event by throwing a topwater frog around lily pads.
So, who better to ask what lures to throw in this broiler-like weather than the Vexus AVX2100 pro who has claimed victory and AOY titles across America’s three most prominent pro bass trails?
The two lures he recommends share two things in common. They’re easy to use, and they both generate a lot of bites.
Berkley Choppo – “This is a fun topwater to throw, and all you need to do is cast it and wind it back in with a slow to medium retrieve,” says Carson. “It’s great around shady shorelines or around the shady sides of boat docks, and they’ll bite it all day long.”
He ties the Choppo to 40-lb X5 braid, and holds his rod tip at the 10:00 position when retrieving it.
Wacky rigged Berkely General – “This is one of the top all-around fish catchers in bass fishing all year, and that includes the hottest days of summer,” emphasizes Carson. “Again, I look for shaded areas if possible, and it’s so versatile I can catch bass on it from a laydown tree on the shoreline, around a floating dock, or the flooded roots of a cypress tree.
That’s simple and straightforward advice from Carson on how to survive the hottest weeks of the year on the water, and how to generate a lot of bites in the process.
Just don’t forget to stock the insulated fiberglass cooler of your Vexusâ with plenty of fluids to keep you hydrated, because nobody wants to need an ambulance at the boat ramp.
One Ounce is Enough For Clarkston’s Dobson to Earn Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River
Michigan’s Gilmore Earns Win in Co-Angler Division
TRENTON, Mich. (July 27, 2026) – Boater Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Michigan, caught a total of five bass weighing 21 pounds, 15 ounces, Sunday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River . The tournament was the third of five events of the season for the BFL Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company, and the second event of a back-to-back BFL tournament weekend on the Detroit River. Dobson earned $2,690 for his victory.
Dobson, who has fished the Detroit River for 33 years, went into the tournament with a game plan built on experience.
“I used my knowledge of the water and tried to time everything just perfectly to catch in the Detroit River and St. Clair,” Dobson said.
Dobson targeted current-related spots in 14 to 25 feet of water dropshotting a Berkley Powerbait Maxscent Flat Worm, as well as a finesse jig and a Carolina rig tipped with a Berkley Powerbait Chigger Craw.
Dobson said he caught several fish on the Detroit River, including a key weigh-in fish, and then ran to Lake St. Clair and started his Garmin LiveScope period on the north end of the lake. There he caught several fish, including another key weigh-in fish.
“I went to a deeper current spot on the St. Clair River and caught some more keepers, Dobson said. “Then I came back to the Detroit River and culled one final time.”
Dobson said the skies were overcast and cloudy most of the day, but the sun popped out and triggered the big ones to bite from 12:30 to 1:30.
“I never weighed my fish,” Dobson said. “I knew I had three good ones that were over 4 pounds, but I didn’t know how much over 4 they were. I had two fish I was desperately trying to cull that were like 3¾ pounds, but I never did get rid of those fish.”
Dobson approached weigh-in thinking his limit might not be enough for a win. He knew St. Clair could give up a 25- or 26-pound bag on any given day. He said he was tired, but knew he gave it his best shot.
“I’m so beat up and tired from running up and down the Detroit River,” Dobson said. “You haven’t lived until you’ve taken a ride down the Detroit River in the afternoon. It’s like a washing machine. You get yachts and freighters going through there and the waves never subside.
“You take the wins whenever you can,” Dobson added. “When you hold the trophy it’s great and you’re elated, but you’re so tired all you really want to do is get home and take a shower.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 21-15, $2,690
2nd: Heath Wagner, Angola, Ind., five bass, 21-14, $1,330
3rd: Aaron Limber, Northwood, Ohio, five bass, 20-4, $700
4th: Matthew Davis, Morenci, Mich., five bass, 20-3, $570
5th: David Horstman, Adrian, Mich., five bass, 19-15, $510
6th: Aidan Lindsay, Howell, Mich., five bass, 19-8, $450
7th: Joe Hale, Carleton, Mich., five bass, 19-4, $430
8th: Tanner Hampton, Bourbon, Ind., five bass, 19-1, $620
9th: Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 19-0, $900 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
10th: Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 18-11, $540
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tanner Hampton of Bourbon, Indiana, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200.
Anthony Gilmore of Livonia, Michigan, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,295 Sunday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Anthony Gilmore, Livonia, Mich., three bass, 12-1, $1,295
2nd: Scott Davis, Morenci, Mich., three bass, 11-9, $715
3rd: Mike Mueller, Delaware, Ohio, three bass, 11-6, $350
4th: Steve Pennington, Delton, Mich., three bass, 11-5, $270
4th: Jeremy Middleton, Mansfield, Ohio, three bass, 11-5, $370
6th: Scott Lutz, Bremen, Ind., three bass, 11-1, $225
7th: Kade Oliver, Muncie, Ind., three bass, 10-14, $220
8th: Colin Town, Paris, Ont., three bass, 10-12, $205
8th: Caleb Edgerton, Dayton, Ohio, three bass, 10-12, $305
10th: Rosario Murello, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 10-11, $195
Jeremy Middleton of Mansfield, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $100.
After three events, Scott Dobson of Clarkston, Michigan, now leads the 7 Brew Michigan Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 739 points, while Mike Mueller of Delaware, Ohio, leads the Michigan Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 736 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Ohio’s Burton ‘Cleans House’, Wins Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River
Michigan’s Beach Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division
TRENTON, Mich. (July 27, 2026) – Boater Wilson Burton of Findlay, Ohio, caught five bass Saturday weighing 22 pounds, 4 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River . The tournament was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company, and the first of a back-to-back BFL tournament weekend on the Detroit River. Burton earned $3,450 for his victory.
“I went out in practice on Lake Erie, and it’s not like me to get skunked, but I did not catch a fish on Lake Erie in 10 hours,” Burton said. “Friday during practice I went to St. Clair and found a pretty good wad of them up there.
“So, (Saturday) I started out in the (Detroit) River and fished my river stuff and had a limit,” Burton went on to say. “Then I went up to St. Clair and culled out three or four fish, and it worked out for me pretty good. There are a lot of fish up there right now.”
Burton said he relied heavily on a Berkley Dredger 17.5 Crankbait that he burned through the water column. Burton said he missed a few fish with the crankbait but caught around 30 smallmouth during the tournament.
“I caught 100 during practice,” Burton said. “It was stupid.”
Even though Burton had 22-4 in the livewell, he didn’t feel his weight would be enough to earn a win.
“My scale read 21-12, and I thought, ‘Man, if I’m catching them people are probably just wearing them out,’” Burton said. “I was thinking sixth or seventh place. I kept fishing the whole day.
“This feels great,” said Burton, who also claimed the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth. “I don’t catch big fish. I’m always catching 3½- to 4½-pounders. I don’t get to weigh in a big fish. And the cool thing about today was my co-angler won the co-angler side and won big bass. We kind of cleaned house in the boat today.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 22-4, $3,450
2nd: Aidan Lindsay, Howell, Mich., five bass, 21-13, $1,590
3rd: Nolan Mandel, Kimball, Mich., five bass, 21-5, $1,310 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th: Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 21-4, $800
5th: Trent Wilt, Manitou Beach, Mich., five bass, 20-9, $580
6th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 19-15, $500
7th: Jesse Richardson, Ligonier, Ind., five bass, 19-2, $470
7th: Angel Rosario, Kalamazoo, Mich., five bass, 19-2, $470
9th: Gavin Weted, Detroit, Mich., five bass, 18-12, $440
10th: Brayden Federer, Adrian, Mich., five bass, 18-11, $360
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tournament winner Burton also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award with a 5-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass worth $200.
Dan Beach of Clarkston, Michigan, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,725 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Dan Beach, Clarkston, Mich., three bass, 13-11, $1,725
2nd: Tommy Pritchard, Bargersville, Ind., three bass, 11-15, $795
3rd: Chris Nolte, Bowie, Md., three bass, 11-7, $405
4th: Thomas Spandau, Franklin, Ind., three bass, 11-5, $325
5th: Nicholas Veselka, Fishers, Ind., three bass, 10-13, $290
6th: Scott Lutz, Bremen, Ind., three bass, 10-9, $250
7th: Drew Simon, Risingsun, Ohio, three bass, 10-6, $240
8th: Brian Townley, Wyoming, Mich., three bass, 10-5, $225
8th: Tim Burnam, Martinsville, Ind., three bass, 10-5, $225
10th: Hiroya Hyodo, Troy, Mich., three bass, 10-4, $210
Beach also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 2-ounce bass worth $100.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Cal Lane Seals the Deal on Historic Win, Banks Shaw Clinches Second Consecutive AOY Title at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 on Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 26, 2026) – Cal Lane spent most of the 2026 season coming about as close as possible to winning without actually winning – a theme for him in 2025 as well. On Sunday, that all went out the window. Lane put together one of the best tournaments ever witnessed on Lake Champlain to take down Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER in style and close the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech regular season with a bang.
Weighing over 20 pounds every day of the event, Lane caught a three-day total of 65 pounds, 7 ounces, which broke the record for largest three-day catch at Lake Champlain in MLF/FLW history, eclipsing the 64-1 Kyle Cortiana caught in the 2024 Toyota Series event there. His 23-15 on Day 2 was the third heaviest five-fish bag in Champlain history for MLF/FLW, and for his efforts, he took home $100,000 as well as a spot in REDCREST 2027, which happens to be in his home state.
Finishing second, pro Matt Becker weighed 63-16, and also fished a basically perfect Champlain event. Banks Shaw cracked nearly 22 pounds on the final day to move up to third and also ice down his second consecutive 7 Brew Anger of the Year title.
Exploration earns Lane the win
For a few years, the theme on Champlain has been LiveScope, LiveScope and more LiveScope, as open-water and smallmouth have yielded the majority of the multi-day wins on the lake. If there’s a secondary trend, it’s that tournaments can be won all over the lake, maybe more than has ever been possible. Lane proved that at Stop 6 with a perfectly executed combo of smallmouth and largemouth.
On the first day of practice, Lane stuck to the Inland Sea (a historically excellent area) and put up terrible results. His second practice day, fighting big wind and a bad prior day, he expanded.
“I had to get out and go to a new area,” he said. “I went south where the wind wasn’t as bad. It was really the only option. I just started fishing stuff they should be on, like break lines. I saw some roaming on bait, and I had it all to myself. When it got really windy, I went way down into the most protected place that I could find. I felt like I was at home flipping grass. It was easy to get bit once you got around them.”
Lane didn’t need to do anything fancy to catch his fish. The smallmouth were roaming on breaks in 35 to 50 feet, and he whipped out a minnow for those fish, specifically a 6-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 3/8-ounce Epic Baits Shine Ball, backed up with Cortland line and a TigeRodz spinning stick. For the largemouth, he punched mats in 10 feet of water with a 2-ounce Epic Baits flipping weight, 55-pound Cortland MasterBraid and a 7-foot, 8-inch, heavy TigeRodz. More than anything, they key was his location – two zones more than 30 miles apart where there were lots of bass that were biting well.
After so many close calls, Lane was emotional on stage, even though he had an inkling that the win could be possible even back in practice.
“I still can’t believe it’s real,” he said, sitting next to the trophy. “Especially not on a smallmouth fishery – I never would have thought. I’m not big on smallmouth; I don’t understand them, but I caught some 4-pounders in practice and saw a bunch. I thought I could catch 18 pounds of smallmouth. When I got those largemouth bites, I was like, ‘Man, there’s a chance.’”
On the final day, once he dropped his Power-Pole Move in the water, Lane didn’t leave anything to chance.
“I was nervous going into today, which is weird because the past couple ones I haven’t been nervous at all,” he said. “Once I got out there, I got in a zone. I was locked in. I don’t even know how many I caught. I had to have caught 30 smallmouth this morning. And the largemouth, I had an insane amount of bites.”
It’s a win that’s been a long time coming, and Lane hopes it isn’t his last.
“It was a super blessed year. The Lord really guided me,” Lane said. “And they say once you get one win, the next one comes pretty easy, so I’m looking forward to seeing what He has in store.”
Points picture finally complete, five new faces headed to the Bass Pro Tour
With the final event of the regular season wrapped up, Shaw put a bow on his second 7 Brew Angler of the Year title, and Ryan Lachniet took home Rookie of the Year. As for the Bass Pro Tour berths, that went down to the wire.
In the end, after every fish was weighed on Day 3, Lachniet, Connor Jacob, Carter Nutt, Brody Campbell and Will Harkins earned invites to the big show. The five qualifiers all put together fantastic years, and each will bring exciting talent and personality to the BPT. Finishing eighth in the points, Lane was the first man out of the cut, though hopefully his winner trophy and $100,000 check will help him get over the miss.
The top 20 pros at the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER finished:
1st: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 15 bass, 65-7, $100,000
2nd: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 15 bass, 63-6, $22,600
3rd: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 61-13, $18,100
4th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 60-15, $16,500
5th: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., 15 bass, 60-1, $15,700
6th: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., 15 bass, 59-9, $14,900
7th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 15 bass, 59-8, $14,100
8th: Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 15 bass, 58-15, $14,050
9th: Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y, 15 bass, 58-13, $12,400
10th: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 15 bass, 58-6, $11,600
11th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., 15 bass, 58-4, $10,000
12th: Will Harkins, Blairsville, Ga., 15 bass, 58-4, $10,000
13th: Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., 15 bass, 57-12, $10,000
14th: Austin Pemberton, Tuscola, Texas, 15 bass, 57-8, $10,000
15th: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., 15 bass, 56-9, $10,000
16th: John Levesque, Nashua, N.H., 15 bass, 56-1, $10,000
17th: Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., 15 bass, 55-13, $10,000
18th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 15 bass, 54-13, $10,000
19th: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 15 bass, 54-12, $10,000
20th: Miles Burghoff, Dayton, Tenn., 15 bass, 54-12, $10,000
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 200 bass weighing 685 pounds, 5 ounces caught by the final 40 pros Sunday. The catch included 40 five-bass limits.
The full field of pros competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top third of the field – 40 pros in this event – based on their two-day cumulative weight, advanced to the final round on Championship Sunday. The winner was determined by heaviest cumulative weight from all three days and awarded the grand prize of up to $135,000.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 11 on VICE TV.
The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech featured a field of 155 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.
The next event for the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech is the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship, Sept. 18-20, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimme, Florida.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Birge Goes Wire-to-Wire in New York
Oklahoma pro adjusts on Championship Saturday to secure MillerTech NPFL Stop Five victory.
Despite the lock schedule, despite the long runs, despite barge traffic, and despite watching the fish leave his primary areas, Zack Birge prevailed at the MillerTech NPFL Stop Five on the St. Lawrence River, hosted by the Town of Massena, New York. Going wire-to-wire against one of the strongest fields in professional bass fishing, the Oklahoma pro weighed a three-day total of 70-4 to claim his second NPFL victory of the 2026 season, and third national win.
Birge set the tone on Day One with 24-12 before backing it up with 22-1 on Friday to carry a 3-7 lead into Championship Saturday. But the shallow bladed jig pattern that had carried him through the opening rounds was beginning to fade as fish continued to move, forcing Birge to trust his instincts one final time.
Finishing the event in second place, Florida pro John Cox steadily worked his way up the leaderboard all week, improving from ninth after Day One to fourth after Day Two before finishing runner-up with a three-day total of 65-12. A shallow-water expert, Cox spent the week targeting smallmouth he could see, rotating between roadbeds, flats, and other hard-bottom areas while picking off individual fish with finesse presentations. He weighed limits of 21-5, 21-1, and a final-day 23-6, earning his best finish of the 2026 season and providing a much-needed boost after a slow start to the year.
Wesley Gore rounded out the top three with a three-day total of 64-15, backing up a strong opening two days with a final-round limit of 21-9 to secure his best finish of the 2026 season. Kristopher Queen finished fourth with 64-7, while defending St. Lawrence River champion Drew Cook rounded out the top five with 61-14, putting together another consistent three-day performance.
Mike Quinlin claimed Phoenix Boats Big Bass honors with a 6-pound smallmouth on Day One, the largest bass weighed during the three-day event. Darrel Robertson earned the final check of the tournament, climbing to 38th place with a Championship Saturday limit of 19-15 to finish with 51-10.
A special happy 80th birthday to legendary angler Rick Clunn. The Hall of Famer marked the occasion with another solid finish in New York, finishing 22nd with 56-10.
Birge’s Final Day Adjustment
Rather than force a bite that was disappearing, Birge leaned on a crankbait pattern on Showdown Saturday that had produced during practice, though not with the same quality as his bladed jig. The shallow pattern carried him to a tournament-best 25-5 on Day One and another solid 21-8 on Day Two, but by Saturday morning he knew those fish were beginning to move. Rather than chase a fading bite, Birge trusted the crankbait program he had kept in his back pocket all week, and it proved to be the right decision.
It paid immediate dividends, producing a 21-pound limit early in the day, anchored by a 5½-pound smallmouth, and allowing him to fish free throughout the afternoon. The decision did not come easy, giving up what had been his most successful pattern, but he saw enough during practice to give it a shot.
“I learned in practice it's hard to catch five of the right fish cranking, but you get good numbers,” he said. “You can wear them out. Especially knowing the shallow fish were on the move, I went out looking for 20 pounds or so, and to catch that 5-pounder early in the morning, I knew I had a chance at catching 21 or 22 pounds with the Yo-Zuri crankbait.”
Birge located a handful of shoals holding smallmouth and positioned his boat upstream before making long casts across the high spots. Once the bait hit the water, the work began. He reeled as fast as he could, getting the 14- to 16-foot diver to the bottom and making constant contact with the bottom never giving the bass much time to look at the bait before reacting.
“Man, it was a blast; when you hook one of them, it's like hooking an anchor,” he said. “It was a workout for sure, but it is a whole lot of fun. I got into a bit of a lull there for a while but kept an open mind and eventually landed on another shoal, just wanting to fill a limit. I caught back-to-back 4-pounders and a 3.5.”
By that point, Birge was close to his goal weight and calculating what he might need to hold off the rest of the field. Before heading to the lock, he felt the shallow bite that had carried him through the first two days was worth one last try.
“I talked to the tournament director and things with the lock seemed good, so I ran back to my two best shallow stretches,” he said. “That was a good decision. I caught two, one a 4-4 and one a 5-2. The big one had two other giants with it, but they would not bite. It was a good decision to fish the crankbait, and I felt like it was the best choice to win. I would have won fishing only the crankbait, but the run back was even better with the 23 pounds.”
His primary pattern during the first two days, along with the late flurry on Championship Saturday, centered around a Hags Baits prototype bladed jig. During practice, Birge learned the areas had to have the right combination of ingredients to consistently hold quality fish: depth, grass, and rock.
“I focused on places that had 10 to 20 yards off the bank with 3 to 5 feet of water,” he added. “If you found that, and it had rock and it had grass, there were going to be some big ones on the inside edge of the grass. It worked perfectly, and I felt I could catch a bigger average fish than cranking. It was a great week.”
Birge's victory on the St. Lawrence River continued one of the most impressive seasons in NPFL history. He became just the fifth angler to win multiple events in a single season and the 11th to lead an event from start to finish. The win also moved him to third on the NPFL's all-time money list with more than $366,000 in career earnings while setting a new single-season earnings record with more than $265,000. Birge has now recorded seven consecutive Top 20 finishes in 2026 and, after trimming the Progressive Angler of the Year deficit to just eight points, will head to the season finale at Lake Dardanelle with both the AOY title and another victory well within reach.
“Above all, I think it's a combination of things, but trusting my gut instinct and making good decisions,” he said. “I am fishing what I am confident with and not listening to any talk about what baits are catching fish I just fish how I feel and I don't second guess my decisions. It's been a great season, and I am super happy to continue the success.”
Cox Finds Them Shallow
Knowing the off-limits boundaries for the event meant anglers making the long run couldn't reach Lake Ontario—or even some of the best water near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River—John Cox knew the tournament would play to his strengths. With the locking windows further limiting travel, the Florida pro was confident he could contend by staying shallow close to takeoff.
In practice, the windy conditions weren't ideal, so Cox spent his time throwing the new Berkley MaxScent Moeba and looking for places that might play during the tournament. With his extensive knowledge of the river, especially closer to takeoff, his plan revolved around fishing shallow, adjusting his presentations each day as conditions changed. The one constant throughout the week was Berkley MaxScent.
“Coming into Day One, the weather got better; the sun came out and the wind slowly died,” he said. “I was catching them on the Berkley MaxScent Moeba in practice, but on Day One things started to change. By Day Two, I was throwing a Fusion19 jig with a Berkley MaxScent Super Trooper. And today, I had to fish a General and even a drop shot with a MaxScent Flat Worm.”
Cox knows the productive stretches of the St. Lawrence well, and as the event progressed, he dialed in when fish would move onto the shallow areas. He'd slip into a spot, see smallmouth cruising, make a precise cast, and repeat the process throughout the week.
“I fished new water every day,” he said. “I have fished this place so much, I know where to go. Today, I was driving around and remembered a spot. I pulled in and caught a 5-pounder. Soon after, I remembered another spot, pulled in, and caught almost another 5-pounder. It was just a great week. Coming up North is a lot of fun, and it was a much-needed week to get back in the swing of things.”
Queen Survives Birge Surge, Work Sharp AOY Race Tightens,
With his wire-to-wire victory on the St. Lawrence River, Zack Birge did exactly what he needed to do to close the gap in the Work Sharp NPFL Angler of the Year race. But Kristopher Queen didn't make it easy.
Queen entered the week leading the AOY standings and battled to the very end, weighing enough bass to finish second before a self-reported culling infraction resulted in a two-pound penalty. The penalty dropped him to fourth place, but the North Carolina pro still left Massena with the unofficial AOY lead. Heading into the season finale, Queen holds an unofficial eight-point advantage over Birge, setting up a showdown for the Angler of the Year title.
Final Leaderboard
Zack Birge 70-4
John Cox (FL) 65-12
Wesley Gore 64-15
Kristopher Queen 64-7
Drew Cook 61-14
Shane Lineberger 60-13
Jacob Powroznik 60-6
Greg Vinson 59-14
Greg Hackney 59-12
Josh Hooks 59-8
Jon Canada 59-5
Logan Latuso 58-13
Jordan Osborne 58-11
Bill Lowen 58-10
Chad Grigsby 57-14
Hank Cherry 57-14
James Niggemeyer 57-12
Gary Adkins 57-9
Scott Wiley 57-8
Jared Lintner 57-0
Patrick Walters 56-13
Rick Clunn 56-10
Scott Suggs 56-8
Derek Lehtonen 56-3
Scott Hamrick 55-15
Andrew Upshaw 55-15
Ron Johnson 55-2
Wes Logan 55-0
Joey Bloom 54-15
Paul Browning 54-10
Jason Wilson 53-13
Gerald Swindle 53-9
Hunter Baughman 53-7
Christopher Whisenant 53-0
Brad Whatley 53-0
Nick Brown 52-7
Russ Lane 52-5
Darrel Robertson 51-10
Randall Tharp 51-10
Todd Goade 51-10
Pete Ponds 51-2
Quentin Cappo 50-10
Corey Casey 50-7
Dustin Reneau 50-7
Mike Quinlin 50-4
Darrell Davis 49-11
Jason Meninger 49-8
Cliff Crochet 49-5
Keith Bardolf 49-4
Kevin Rogers 49-1
James Watson 48-14
Andy Morgan 48-9
Tim Frederick 48-7
Lendell Martin 48-6
Adam Savage 48-6
Joseph Lineberry 48-4
Troy Roder 48-1
David Williams 47-15
Matt Herren 47-12
Bo Collins 47-8
Matthew McBee 47-4
JT Russell 47-2
Josh Butler 47-1
Gerald Spohrer 46-14
Alex Davis 46-12
Luke Clausen 46-7
J Todd Tucker 46-1
Todd Auten 46-0
Barron Adams 45-9
Dustin Williamson 45-5
Garrett Smith 44-5
Fred Roumbanis 43-1
Timothy Wilson 42-11
David Wootton 42-1
Josh Watkins 42-0
Buddy Gross 41-9
Lavoyd Lemmond 41-3
Dylan Freeze 40-11
Sean Alvarez 39-14
Troy Broussard 39-6
Hunter Sales 39-5
Kyle Glasgow 38-9
Rickey Morris 37-14
Ryan Satterfield 37-10
Richard Cooper 37-3
Chris Baker 36-2
Chad Marler 36-1
Timothy Reams 35-10
Charlie Apperson 35-0
Ray Hanselman 34-14
Mitchell Webb 30-0
John Cox (GA) 30-0
Jason Burroughs 29-5
Chip Harrington 29-4
Jamie Pierce 27-2
Bob Behrle 26-1
Jason Reyes 24-11
Austin Garland 24-5
Alton Wilhoit 20-10
Harmon Davis 19-10
Tim Cales 19-4
Johnnie Adams 19-3
Scott Canterbury 17-0
Jason Williamson 16-6
Stacey James 16-2
Brandon Cobb 12-15
Harry Moore 9-6
Brock Mosley 8-5
William Fletcher 6-13
Afternoon rally lifts Nieman and Mcmahon to victory at Junior Championship
PARIS, Tenn. — Adam Nieman and Charlie Mcmahon were randomly chosen to fish as partners during the Colorado B.A.S.S. Nation Junior qualifying tournament last September. It turned out to be the perfect stroke of luck.
Nieman and Mcmahon won the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship at Kentucky Lake with a two-day total weighing 26 pounds, 2 ounces, earning $2,000 in total scholarship money.
“It means the world (to win). This has been a dream for me since I first started fishing,” Nieman, a rising high school freshman, said. “I worked so hard to do this and this is the best thing ever. I’m so happy.”
Mcmahon, a rising seventh grader said, “I couldn’t be here without Adam and (boat captain) Sam (Ausbrooks). I can’t believe we won it. We had a rough start a couple of days, but it all ended well.”
The Front Range Bass Club duo caught 13-11 on Day 1 before landing 12-7 the final day to unseat Day 1 leaders Brooks Beaty and Caleb Coburn.
None of three teams that qualified for Colorado had boats of their own, so several student-anglers from Wabash Valley College’s fishing team volunteered to be their boat captains. Ausbrooks, a recent graduate, said it was an eye-opening experience.
“This was super cool. They put in the work all week,” Ausbrooks said. “I had to drag them off the water every day right before dark. It was super fulfilling on my part. I’m not that much older than they are and it was awesome to see how much the next generation loves this sport. It reassures me that tournament bass fishing isn’t going anywhere.
“You’ll see (these two) very soon at the higher levels.”
Hailing from the Denver metro area, Nieman and Mcmahon had never been to a lake this big and so well.
“This week has been the best bass fishing I have ever (experienced),” the 14-year-old Nieman said.
Donovan’s Pond, the fishery that hosted the qualifying event, was small enough that parents and adults could watch their kids from the bank as they made circles around the lake. Taking on the massive Tennessee River reservoir was a daunting challenge, but their home state prepared them for a potentially tough late summer bite.
“Colorado is tough fishing. We are used to catching one 1-pound bass every five hours,” Mcmahon, 12, said. “So, this week was absolute madness.”
After practicing daylight to dark every practice day they could, Nieman and Mcmahon moved between shallow and deep sections of Kentucky Lake during the tournament, but their best spot was a shallow shell bar located in 4 feet of water.
Along that bar, the duo threw ChatterBaits and mixed in a 6th Sense Bodega as well as a football jig.
“We really adapted to the conditions. We threw the ChatterBait when it was raining and then threw slower baits when it was sunny,” Nieman said.
On Day 1, the duo caught the bulk of their weight during the morning hours. On the second day, they only caught two keeper bass during the morning. With a little under two hours to go before check-in, they moved back to the shallow bar, caught their third keeper, and culled out several times before weigh-in time.
“We did terrible to start. We caught a 3-pound largemouth and a 2 1/2-pound smallmouth, but couldn’t catch any keepers after that,” Nieman said. “The decision that saved our day was going back to that bar and throwing the ChatterBait.”
Beaty and Coburn wrapped up the tournament with a two-day total weighing 24-9. The Northwest Louisiana Bassmasters opened the tournament with a 15-3 limit before catching 9-6 on the final day.
“It feels good to bring home a trophy,” Beaty said. “I wish we could have gotten first, but second is a start. Maybe we will get it next year.”
Targeting offshore bars in 6 to 10 feet of water, Beaty and Coburn tossed the Alpha Angler Ouchie, an urchin-style bait, as well as a drop shot with a morning dawn Roboworm and a magnum worm at isolated stumps.
A change in conditions hurt their bite on Day 2, Beaty said.
Griffin Wilson and Aiden Alexander from the Denver Bassmasters finished third with 21-5 followed by Anderson Weaver and Lawton Cantrell from the Blue Ridge Tiger Fishing Team in fourth with 21-1 and Parker Smith and Cooper Anderson from the Scotts Hill High Junior Team in fifth with 20-12.
Camden Baker and Asher Hart from the Hartley’s Hawgs Piglets fishing team caught the Big Bass of the Tournament, a 6-9 largemouth they caught on Day 2.
The Henry County Tourism Authority hosted this event.
2026 Bassmaster Junior Series
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
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2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship 7/24-7/25
Kentucky Lake, Paris TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 2
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Adam Nieman - Charlie Mcmahon Front Range Bass Club Hs Distr 0
Day 1: 3 13-11 Day 2: 3 12-07 Total: 6 26-02
2. Brooks Beaty - Caleb Coburn Nwla Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 15-03 Day 2: 3 09-06 Total: 6 24-09
3. Griffin Wilson - Aiden Alexander Denver Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 09-02 Day 2: 3 12-03 Total: 5 21-05
4. Anderson Weaver - Lawton Cantrell Blue Ridge Tiger Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Day 2: 3 12-10 Total: 6 21-01
5. Parker Smith - Cooper Anderson Scotts Hill High School Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 12-01 Day 2: 3 08-11 Total: 6 20-12
6. Kase Cribbet - Easton Stahley Cincinnati Youth Bass Club Jr 0
Day 1: 3 11-09 Day 2: 3 08-15 Total: 6 20-08
7. Jacob Deane - Knox White Mt. Juliet Fishing - Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 08-12 Day 2: 3 11-08 Total: 6 20-04
8. Cannon Spilka - Lucas Vance Sumner County Junior Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 12-05 Day 2: 3 07-01 Total: 6 19-06
9. Lliam Crisman - Cole Puryear Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-04 Day 2: 3 09-05 Total: 6 18-09
10. Brycen Moriarty - Seminole Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Day 2: 3 08-08 Total: 6 18-05
11. Ty Cornell - Beckett Lady Longhorn Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 11-01 Day 2: 3 06-11 Total: 6 17-12
12. Isabella Sigmon - Jaxon Schmidt Southern Wv Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 08-08 Day 2: 3 08-14 Total: 6 17-06
13. Cullen Simon - Easton Stanley Little Cypress Mauriceville Jr 0
Day 1: 3 11-00 Day 2: 3 05-12 Total: 6 16-12
14. Camden Baker - Asher Hart Hartley's Hawgs Piglets 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 2 09-10 Total: 5 16-09
15. John David Harmon - William Harmon Notre Dame Junior Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-02 Day 2: 2 07-03 Total: 5 16-05
16. Coop Caldwell - Konnor Macoubrie Team Fishing 4 Life 0
Day 1: 3 07-09 Day 2: 3 08-11 Total: 6 16-04
17. Kase Nobile - Nathaniel Watts Jr. Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Day 2: 2 06-04 Total: 5 16-01
18. Owen Mcdaniel - Mitchell Mcdaniel South Beauregard Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-09 Day 2: 2 06-02 Total: 5 15-11
19. Robert Chase Taylor - Jonathan Luke Hall Baldwin County Hs Juniors Fishin 0
Day 1: 3 10-03 Day 2: 3 05-05 Total: 6 15-08
20. Gideon Fleisher - Dawson Sult Cincinnati Youth Bass Club Jr 0
Day 1: 2 05-05 Day 2: 3 10-03 Total: 5 15-08
21. Colin Nicholson - Jaxon Mcdaniels Mon Valley Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 09-10 Day 2: 2 05-11 Total: 5 15-05
22. Fisher Holloway - Ty Crosby Fort White Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Day 2: 2 05-15 Total: 5 15-05
23. Jordyn Kirwan - Ainsley Gustad Winner Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 07-03 Day 2: 3 08-01 Total: 5 15-04
24. Tucker Burr - Logan Herbst St. Francis Fighting Saints 0
Day 1: 2 05-14 Day 2: 3 09-01 Total: 5 14-15
25. Trace Carstens - Payton Lawrence Jefferson Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 07-01 Day 2: 3 07-09 Total: 6 14-10
26. Lawson Albright - William Gaines Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 11-03 Day 2: 2 03-06 Total: 5 14-09
27. Talin Hawkins - Carter Smith KAWARTHA BASS MASTERS 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 3 09-10 Total: 5 14-04
28. Tristin Liccardo - New Jersey BASS Nation Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 07-06 Total: 6 14-00
29. Maddox Shaffer - Myles Shaffer Junior Garrett Bass Slayers 0
Day 1: 2 04-05 Day 2: 3 09-09 Total: 5 13-14
30. Trey Herrman - Reid Currie Topeka Jr Hawgs 0
Day 1: 3 08-08 Day 2: 3 05-05 Total: 6 13-13
31. Piers Picou - Paxton Picou Central Catholic - LA 0
Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 3 07-04 Total: 6 13-12
32. Kinsley Montgomery - Liam Price Gaffney Jr High School Fishing T 0
Day 1: 3 06-07 Day 2: 3 07-03 Total: 6 13-10
33. Nicholas Crigger - Colin Crigger Hooked On Freedom 0
Day 1: 3 05-14 Day 2: 3 07-11 Total: 6 13-09
34. Kaleb Everhart - Jacob Murphy Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-07 Day 2: 2 03-12 Total: 5 13-03
35. Alden Breland - Darren Land Vancleave High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Day 2: 3 08-14 Total: 5 13-00
36. Parker Betts - Kamarion Tullis Galatia Jr Basscats 0
Day 1: 3 08-13 Day 2: 2 04-02 Total: 5 12-15
37. Cole Hutto - Jack Bolin Bandys Fishing Team Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 07-10 Day 2: 3 05-05 Total: 6 12-15
38. Jaxon Berry - Gunner Valdez Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Day 2: 2 03-07 Total: 5 12-13
39. Brooks Higginbotham - Rigg Mccrary Oxford Student Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 3 07-04 Total: 5 12-13
40. Hudson Williams - Spence Gilchrist Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 3 06-01 Total: 6 12-11
41. Kole Wingfield - Kline Wingfield Arkansas Youth Anglers Junior 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 3 10-13 Total: 4 12-08
42. Luke Mcandrew - Brody Witmer Sml Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 3 05-11 Total: 6 12-07
43. Kipton Vipperman - Trenton Miller Patrick County Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 08-04 Day 2: 2 04-00 Total: 5 12-04
44. Cade Fisher - Grady Dawson Strafford Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 3 06-04 Day 2: 2 05-14 Total: 5 12-02
45. John Brown - Blaine Summers Indiana Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 04-05 Day 2: 3 07-10 Total: 5 11-15
46. Easton Trotter - Cooper Thomas Rehobeth Jr High School Team 0
Day 1: 3 06-08 Day 2: 2 05-04 Total: 5 11-12
47. Bennett Bullard - Kei Blaylock Trader Bills 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Day 2: 3 05-09 Total: 6 11-12
48. JT Tumoszwicz - Trevor Schwier Highlands County Anglers Club 0
Day 1: 3 05-11 Day 2: 3 06-00 Total: 6 11-11
49. Henry Sullivan - Laken Pack Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-12 Day 2: 2 04-11 Total: 5 11-07
50. Deagan Gross - Colton Yockey Cassville 0
Day 1: 2 04-14 Day 2: 3 06-07 Total: 5 11-05
51. Jace Gilliam - Jett Gilliam Wayne Pioneers Junior Team 0
Day 1: 1 03-04 Day 2: 3 07-15 Total: 4 11-03
52. Jayden Savino - Kolbe Fletcher Tyrone Area Junior Bassers 0
Day 1: 3 09-01 Day 2: 1 02-01 Total: 4 11-02
53. Austin Bradley - Reeves Ballard Chapman Ms Bass Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-03 Day 2: 2 08-15 Total: 3 11-02
54. Hunter Harris - Hudson Harris Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-09 Day 2: 2 04-04 Total: 5 10-13
55. Carsen Feinberg - Grant Klein New Hampshire Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 04-09 Day 2: 3 05-14 Total: 5 10-07
56. Brantley Broussard - Cole Watkins Jr. Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 2 03-15 Day 2: 3 06-07 Total: 5 10-06
57. Bryson Dockery - Elijah Masssey Dawson Middle School 0
Day 1: 1 02-01 Day 2: 3 08-00 Total: 4 10-01
58. Gunner Robbins - Drew Smith Livingston Academy Junior Bassma 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 09-12 Total: 3 09-12
59. Tristan Shouse - Paxton Sparks Jessamine County Junior Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-04 Day 2: 3 07-07 Total: 4 09-11
60. Wyatt Roberts - Brooks Henderson Honey Creek Mafia Jr 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Day 2: 3 05-09 Total: 5 09-11
61. Kollin Brown - Cord Shook Haywood Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-00 Day 2: 2 03-09 Total: 5 09-09
62. Will Crisman - Reed Crisman Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 09-08 Total: 3 09-08
63. Bill Young - Kaleb Meyer Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Day 2: 2 05-15 Total: 3 09-06
64. Shawn Peer Jr. - Wally Peer Iv Bass Nation Juniors 0
Day 1: 2 04-08 Day 2: 2 04-13 Total: 4 09-05
65. Brody Bible - Sawyer Mynatt Karns Jr High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-12 Day 2: 1 04-09 Total: 3 09-05
66. Grayson Bentley - Jacob Genaro Jefferson High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Day 2: 1 02-05 Total: 4 09-04
67. Kai Tankersley - Gage Green GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL 0
Day 1: 1 02-14 Day 2: 3 06-06 Total: 4 09-04
68. Korben Burgess - Mack Josey Cleveland County Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-01 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 09-01
69. Conner Sowers - Ryan Mclaughlin Batesville Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 09-00
70. Isaac Wilson - Camden Crow Honey Creek Mafia Jr 0
Day 1: 2 04-12 Day 2: 1 04-02 Total: 3 08-14
71. Maddox Mustian - Lipan Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 08-10 Total: 3 08-10
72. Grayson Spagnuolo - Cashius Wyman Howell BASS Nation 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 1 01-14 Total: 4 08-08
73. Laith Lewis - Aybn Northern High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 3 08-06 Total: 3 08-06
74. Nolan Bittner - Owen Amiot St. Francis Fighting Saints 0
Day 1: 3 06-11 Day 2: 1 01-11 Total: 4 08-06
75. Colton Burgess - Logan Pitsios NH JUNIOR BASSMASTERS 0
Day 1: 2 03-05 Day 2: 3 05-00 Total: 5 08-05
76. Carson Terrell - Cameron Terrell Port City Junior Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 3 06-06 Day 2: 1 01-14 Total: 4 08-04
77. Jed Butler - Jameson Ray Woodford County Bass Jackets 0
Day 1: 2 06-07 Day 2: 1 01-12 Total: 3 08-03
78. Hunter Beach - Austin Jefferson Fighting Fishsticks Jr. Bass Clu 0
Day 1: 2 07-08 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 07-08
79. Clayton Jewart - Cody Moran Pa Bassin Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 05-14 Day 2: 1 01-10 Total: 4 07-08
80. Hunter Lawrence - Bam Kendrick Jefferson Youth Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 1 02-08 Day 2: 2 04-13 Total: 3 07-05
81. Tommy Richards - Syrus Jones Denver Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 05-09 Day 2: 1 01-10 Total: 3 07-03
82. Trig Mchone - Tripp Jackson Meigs Middle School Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 05-04 Total: 3 07-03
83. Liam Johnson - Drake Penrod Southern Illinois Future Jr Angl 0
Day 1: 2 07-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 2 07-00
84. Mason Showers - Brock Frye Junior Wildcats 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Day 2: 1 02-06 Total: 3 07-00
85. Ethan Rhinehart - Blane Davenport Byrnes Rebels Jr Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 03-09 Day 2: 1 03-03 Total: 2 06-12
86. Liam Monahan - Madyx Popel Off The Hook Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 06-10
86. Preston Phillips - Ben Langley Aybn Southern High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 06-10
88. Aiden Phillips - Weston Mullins Scotts Hill Student Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 2 04-09 Total: 3 06-08
89. John-Andrew Moss - Ethan Dover Pac Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 02-05 Day 2: 2 04-02 Total: 3 06-07
90. Brady Crigger - Jarek Connell Hooked On Freedom 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 3 05-15
91. Noah Shuman - Grayden Kobeska Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 2 04-04 Day 2: 1 01-07 Total: 3 05-11
92. Denton Dearman - West Harrison High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-07 Day 2: 2 04-01 Total: 3 05-08
93. Grant Martin - Houston Reichle Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Day 2: 1 01-15 Total: 2 05-06
94. Brayden Bontrager - Creek Bradtmiller Track And Channel Youth 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Day 2: 1 02-01 Total: 2 05-06
95. John Nathan Abbott - Hunter Gayheart Woodford County Bass Jackets 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Day 2: 1 02-08 Total: 2 04-06
96. Benjamin Gue - William Gue Mountaineer Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 1 04-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 04-00
97. Bowden White - Bryson Gunter Cannon County Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 2 03-13 Total: 2 03-13
98. Parker Werner - Ledger Coufal Salado Jr 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Day 2: 1 01-14 Total: 2 03-13
99. Andrew Young - Landon Wiberg Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 1 01-01 Total: 2 03-12
100. Colton Willging - Brody Heacock Dubuque Bass 0
Day 1: 1 03-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 03-11
101. Rodee Owen - Case Thorn Lone Star Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 02-14 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 02-14
102. Garrett Haynes - Logan Arnold Franklin County Jr Bass Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 02-11
103. Jackson Moss - Charlie Backaitis Hoover Youth Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-03 Total: 1 02-03
104. Carter Edwards - Jonas Doyle Brunswick Academy Junior Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 02-02 Total: 1 02-02
105. Conner Shaffer - William Sandel Severna Park Junior Division 0
Day 1: 1 02-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 02-00
106. Drake Letterman - Joshua Letterman Fordland Junior Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 1 01-14 Total: 1 01-14
107. Coleton Bradley - Kendal Ward Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 01-12
108. Hudson Shabro - Ethan Hillis Michigan A1 Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 1 01-11
109. Camden Bailey - Nathan Mcclintick New Hampshire Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Tristan Beckum - Colton Wilson Lee County Middle Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Mason Chamberland - Logan Ward REEDS BROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Liam Jeddry - Garret Bertuzzi Team Outcast Juniors 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Hudson Kirby - Mattex Horton Bhp Jr Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Xander Moore - Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
109. Sean Turkowski - Nash Utes Rogers High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Day 2: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 52 227 619-10
2 48 215 558-14
------------------------------
100 442 1178-08
Cal Lane Vaults into Lead at Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 on Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 25, 2026) – Through two days, the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER on Lake Champlain has been a delight. Though maybe not a calm as some anglers would like, the fishing has been good – really good – and the full scope of what’s possible over three days on Champlain has been on display.
Sitting in third after Day 1, pro Cal Lane rocketed to the lead with a mixed bag worth 23 pounds, 15 ounces for a 45-16 two-day total. It’s the third largest five-bass limit in the history of MLF and FLW events on Champlain, and his mixed satchel of largemouth and smallmouth have him in the hunt for a win yet again. This time, the odds look really good.
In second, Matt Becker caught an even 20 pounds, but fell from first with 42-4 over two days, and Brett Carnright sacked up 21-8 to move into third with 41-6. Ryan Lachniet and Clint Knight round out the 40-pound club, which extends down to fifth on the current leaderboard.
Huge day has Lane in the driver’s seat
Lane is on the cusp of Bass Pro Tour qualification, but his immediate problem is finishing off a win. The Alabama pro has had several opportunities this season, and each time, the final day didn’t go his way. This time, he’s in much better shape with the sort of lead that’s seemingly insurmountable on Champlain.
“It was unbelievable,” he said of his second day attacking Champlain. “I smashed 20 pounds of smallmouth in my three hours of ‘Scope. I knew going into tomorrow I’d have a shot to win. Then, I went to go check on some largemouth and they were there – big time. I didn’t lean on them; I made one zip through there, and then I found a new mat that seemed to be pretty decent.”
With a big bag of smallmouth already in the livewell, Lane considered not heading south to his largemouth, but he definitely doesn’t regret going in hindsight.
“If I’d have never gone down there, I’d never have found the new place,” he said. “I wouldn’t have been able to find them tomorrow. I wouldn’t have been fishing as relaxed.”
Exploration could turn out to be the key to the event for Lane – his best places are non-standard areas on Champlain, and he’s fishing without much competition around him.
“I came up here and pre-practiced and looked at a bunch of stuff in areas I fished in the past that are known to have fish,” he said. “I scanned a bunch, found trees and rock piles and all that, and I checked it all the first day of practice and had legitimately 10 pounds. I was so done with sucking here, so I went to an area I had never fished before and found them.”
Tomorrow, he’ll have his minnow rods and punch rods ready for what could be his first big win.
“I feel good – real good,” he said. “It seems like every time, I feel better about my chances going into the last day. Tomorrow is maybe the day.”
Becker burns it down on Day 2
Running 45 gallons of fuel through his Suzuki on Day 2, Becker did all he could to maintain his lead. Most days on Champlain, it would have been enough.
“To be honest, it was very similar to yesterday,” he said. “My ‘Scope period was a little different. I didn’t catch one for the first hour but, end result, I had just under 19 pounds. Then I transitioned to largemouth and caught just about as many as I did yesterday. Today they didn’t help much – only one 4-pounder I caught right at the end of the day.”
Skipping a 5-inch Yamamoto Senko, Becker pretty much fished everywhere he thought there could be a big green one.
“I burnt everything I had,” he said. I fished everywhere I thought I could catch one. There were two docks in particular and both of them had fish. I caught multiple fish off both of them, but no big ones.”
Tomorrow, if he’s going to chase down Lane, Becker will probably need to wrangle a few more big green ones.
Points races goes down to the wire
As was the case on Day 1, Banks Shaw is still looking good for 7 Brew Angler of the Year, despite slipping up a little. He has some wiggle room on Day 3, but, knowing Shaw, he’s not likely to give Lachniet enough breathing room to win AOY outright. That said, Lachniet should still be good for a Bass Pro Tour invite and Rookie of the Year.
Beyond that, things get really interesting when it comes down to the Bass Pro Tour invites, which go to the top five pros not already on the BPT. If the tournament were over now, the standings would be as follows.
Hypothetical standings
1. Banks Shaw – 8th in the tournament – 1136 points
2. Ryan Lachniet – 4th – 1127
3. Drew Gill – 30th – 1094
4. Connor Jacob – 13th – 1087
5. Carter Nutt – 49th – 1075
6. Brody Campbell – 23rd – 1068
7. Will Harkins – 22nd – 1062
8. Cal Lane – 1st – 1058
9. Dylan Nutt – 79th – 1049
10. Ethan Fields – 19th – 1046
In italics, Lachniet, Connor Jacob, Carter Nutt, Brody Campbell and Will Harkins are set to receive Bass Pro Tour invites, with Lane as the first man out. Dylan Nutt only weighing four bass on Day 2 is going to turn out to be extremely important for whoever gets the last BPT spot, and tomorrow, the big question is going to be how do Campbell and Harkins finish the event? If Lane wins, and one of the two drop just a handful of places in the standings, he could double-dip and make the BPT as well, but Campbell and Harkins have both proved to be very capable anglers. If they maintain or move up slightly, Lane will be locked out despite his best efforts.
Stay tuned. A lot will be on the table tomorrow.
The top 20 pros after Day 2 on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 10 bass, 45-6
2nd: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 10 bass, 42-4
3rd: Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., 10 bass, 41-6
4th: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., 10 bass, 40-8
5th: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., 10 bass, 40-2
6th: Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y, 10 bass, 39-15
7th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 10 bass, 39-15
8th: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 10 bass, 39-15
9th: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., 10 bass, 39-7
10th: Austin Pemberton, Tuscola, Texas, 10 bass, 39-6
11th: John Levesque, Nashua, N.H., 10 bass, 38-11
12th: Brandon Coulter, Knoxville, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-11
13th: Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., 10 bass, 38-11
14th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., 10 bass, 38-7
15th: Levi Kohl, Edinburg, Ill., 10 bass, 38-6
16th: Miles Burghoff, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 38-5
17th: Spike Stoker, Cisco, Texas, 10 bass, 38-3
18th: Mark Fisher, Wauconda, Ill., 10 bass, 38-2
19th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., 10 bass, 38-1
20th: Riley Nielsen, Murray, Utah, 10 bass, 37-5
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 526 bass weighing 1,738 pounds, 14 ounces caught by 107 pros Saturday. The catch included 100 five-bass limits.
Pro Lake Johnson of Trinity, Alabama, earned the Day 2 $500 Berkley Big Bass award Saturday with a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 120 pros competed in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Now only the top third of the field – 40 pros – based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The winner is determined by heaviest cumulative weight from all three days and they will be awarded the grand prize of up to $135,000. Forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is limited to only 3 hours of competition each day.
The final 40 pros will launch at 6:30 a.m. CT Sunday from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh, New York. Sunday’s Championship weigh-in will also be held at the Plattsburgh City Marina and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech features a field of up to 150 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship, set for Sept. 18-20 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 11 on Vice TV.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Matt Becker Takes Early Lead After Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 on Lake Champlain
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 24, 2026) – Day 1 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 Presented by VOSKER on Lake Champlain featured the best of what Lake Champlain has to offer. With a lot of anglers putting together mixed bags of both largemouth and smallmouth, 11 pros caught 20 pounds or better, and another nine managed 19 pounds or more. Leading the way, pro Matt Becker tallied 22 pounds, 4 ounces on Friday, and he’s followed closely by Clint Knight with 21-11 and Cal Lane with 21-7.
A time-honored path to success on Champlain is to whip up a good limit of smallmouth early and then spend the rest of the day hunting kicker largemouth. In recent years, with unfettered forward-facing sonar use allowed, that strategy has taken a bit of a backseat, but Becker was ready to go back to the basics.
“It was literally exactly how I dreamt it up when the schedule came out last year – to a T,” Becker said. “I started the morning with ‘Scope, I caught 19 pounds of smallmouth in the first three hours and then transitioned to largemouth. I caught plenty of largemouth, and two big ones, a 4½ and a 5-12, and that culled me up over 3 pounds and got me to my bag. That’s the perfect day on Champlain.”
Weighing three smallmouth and two largemouth, Becker ran history for his green fish, and it worked out.
“The largemouth stuff, I didn’t fish any in practice,” he said. “I just fished history and didn’t really get to practice. The smallmouth, honestly, I expected more numbers. Maybe not more weight, but more numbers – it was a little bit slower, so that has me a little concerned. But I’ve got a few other places I didn’t go, where I could maybe catch a few solid ones.”
At least on Day 1, Becker had quite a bit of room to work with on his largemouth places, and he didn’t have to burn too much of it.
“I really only ran probably 25% of my best dock stretches,” he said. “I probably fished five good stretches I was saving, and I caught fish on three of them, and then I didn’t need more. You never know if they’re going to be 3 ½ or 4 ½, so I didn’t want to mess with that after I caught the 5-12.”
If Becker can manufacture a few more big largemouth bites throughout the tournament, he might be sailing toward a win. His skillset and history on Champlain are perfect for an event with limited ‘Scope, and it showed in a big way on Day 1.
While Becker put together a complete day, Knight simply blitzed the smallmouth for three hours.
“It started off really good: first cast I caught a 4.5, second cast I caught a 4.3,” Knight said. “Then I had to run through them quite a bit to get what I got. I pretty much burnt it to the ground – here, you never know if you’re going to fish the next day, so I didn’t leave anything on the table.”
While the forecast looks good for the remainder of the event, Knight has personally experienced a lot of wind on Champlain in the past. In four trips here, he’s never fished a full tournament. As for Day 2, that’s a little up in the air, and he may need to rely on some largemouth.
“I really don’t know,” he said. “I could catch zero, or I could catch 20. If I can get them to bite, they’re pretty big, but historically, that area of the lake doesn’t last for three days. I caught some no-‘Scope, but they didn’t help, and, I had some largemouth stuff in practice that could be good, but I didn’t touch it today.”
The top 20 pros after Day 1 on Lake Champlain are:
1st: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 22-4
2nd: Clint Knight, Russellville, Ky., five bass, 21-11
3rd: Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., five bass, 21-7
4th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., five bass, 20-13
5th: John Levesque, Nashua, N.H., five bass, 20-9
6th: Tyler Campbell, Martin, Ga., five bass, 20-8
6th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., five bass, 20-8
8th: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., five bass, 20-6
9th: Mark Fisher, Wauconda, Ill., five bass, 20-3
10th: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., five bass, 20-1
11th: Ethan Fields, Breese, Ill., five bass, 20-0
12th: Brett Carnright, Plattsburgh, N.Y., five bass, 19-14
13th: Jimmy Reese, Paradise, Texas, five bass, 19-13
14th: Kennie Steverson, Umatilla, Fla., five bass, 19-11
15th: Miles Burghoff, Dayton, Tenn., five bass, 19-5
16th: Robby Lefere, Jackson, Mich., five bass, 19-4
17th: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, five bass, 19-3
18th: Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., five bass, 19-1
18th: Blake Smith, Lakeland, Fla., five bass, 19-1
20th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, five bass, 19-0
Complete results for the entire field can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 565 bass weighing 1,842 pounds, 12 ounces caught by 115 pros Friday. The catch included 109 five-bass limits.
Becker earned Friday’s Day 1 Berkley Big Bass award of $500, bringing a bass that weighed in at 5 pounds, 12 ounces to the scale.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of 120 pros compete in the two-day opening round on Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top third of the field – 40 pros in this event – based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The winner is determined by heaviest cumulative weight from all three days and they will be awarded the grand prize of up to $135,000. Forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is limited to only 3 hours of competition each day.
Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock Street in Plattsburgh, New York. Weigh-ins will also be held at Plattsburgh City Marina and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech features a field of up to 150 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country, for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship, set for Sept. 18-20 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Oct. 11 on Vice TV.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Beaty, Coburn fish current to perfection on Day 1 of Bassmaster Junior Championship
PARIS, Tenn. — Kentucky Lake is different from anything Brooks Beaty and Caleb Coburn have ever fished before, but the new scenery seems to fit their strengths so far.
The rising freshman from the Northwest Louisiana Bassmasters caught a three-bass limit weighing 15 pounds, 3 ounces to take the Day 1 lead at the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship. They hold a 1-8 advantage over Adam Nieman and Charlie McMahon from the Front Range Bass Club heading into the final day.
This is the duo’s first time competing in the Junior National Championship.
“This is awesome. I just hope we can catch some good ones tomorrow,” Beaty said.
Beaty and Coburn have been fishing together since the fifth grade and now attend Calvary Baptist Academy in Shreveport. Both consider Caddo Lake on the Texas/Louisiana border as their home fisheries; a lake that features thousands of shallow cypress trees and a much different landscape than western Kentucky and Tennessee.
Beaty and Coburn have adapted well to the offshore style of fishing that dominates the Tennessee River system. After a stormy start to the week across the eastern half of the country, Kentucky Lake is above full pool, and the dam has at least four generators running. That was key to finding an active bite during the practice period.
“With the current constantly pulling, I thought we could have a good day,” Coburn said. “We saw a bunch of fish and were able to get them to follow our baits. We thought conditions would be pretty similar (on Day 1) to what they were in practice.”
The duo opened the morning with company around their primary area, and after not getting bit right away, they decided to leave and come back later. When they did, Beaty said they filled out a good limit in less than 10 minutes.
“We caught three good ones really quick. We went back to another stretch and caught a 5-pounder. It happened pretty fast,” Beaty said. “We got to where we do have to make that long of a run.”
Another quick move produced a 5-pounder around 11 a.m., which allowed them to practice the rest of the day.
Most of their bass, all of which were largemouth, are located offshore in 6 to 10 feet of water. Beaty and Coburn used three different baits to land their limit.
“I think we can do it again tomorrow,” Coburn said. “We just have to stay in the same mindset and get three of those good ones.”
Nieman and McMahon from the Front Range Bass Club are second with 13-11 followed by Cannon Spilka and Lucas Vance from the Sumner County Junior Bass Team in third with 12-5. Parker Smith and Cooper Anderson from Scotts Hill High School Junior Club are fourth with 12-1 and Kase Cribbet and Easton Stahley from the Cincinnati Youth Bass Club are fifth with 11-9.
Griffin Wilson and Aiden Alexander from the Denver Junior Bassmasters caught the Big Bass of the Day, a 6-7 largemouth that anchored their 9-2 19th place bag.
Day 2 of the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship will begin at 6 a.m. CT at Paris Landing State Park. Weigh-in will begin at 2 p.m. CT. and can be streamed on Bassmaster.com.
The Henry County Tourism Authority is hosting this event.
2026 Bassmaster Junior Series
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
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Connect with #Bassmaster on Facebook, Instagram, Twitte
Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, [email protected]
2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship 7/24-7/25
Kentucky Lake, Paris TN.
(BOATER) Standings Day 1
Angler Club/School Pts
1. Brooks Beaty - Caleb Coburn Nwla Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 15-03 Total: 3 15-03
2. Adam Nieman - Charlie Mcmahon Front Range Bass Club Hs Distr 0
Day 1: 3 13-11 Total: 3 13-11
3. Cannon Spilka - Lucas Vance Sumner County Junior Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 12-05 Total: 3 12-05
4. Parker Smith - Cooper Anderson Scotts Hill High School Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 12-01 Total: 3 12-01
5. Kase Cribbet - Easton Stahley Cincinnati Youth Bass Club Jr 0
Day 1: 3 11-09 Total: 3 11-09
6. Lawson Albright - William Gaines Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 11-03 Total: 3 11-03
7. Ty Cornell - Beckett Lady Longhorn Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 11-01 Total: 3 11-01
8. Cullen Simon - Easton Stanley Little Cypress Mauriceville Jr 0
Day 1: 3 11-00 Total: 3 11-00
9. Robert Chase Taylor - Jonathan Luke Hall Baldwin County Hs Juniors Fishin 0
Day 1: 3 10-03 Total: 3 10-03
10. Brycen Moriarty - Seminole Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Total: 3 09-13
10. Kase Nobile - Nathaniel Watts Jr. Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 3 09-13 Total: 3 09-13
12. Colin Nicholson - Jaxon Mcdaniels Mon Valley Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 09-10 Total: 3 09-10
13. Owen Mcdaniel - Mitchell Mcdaniel South Beauregard Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-09 Total: 3 09-09
14. Kaleb Everhart - Jacob Murphy Roco Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-07 Total: 3 09-07
15. Fisher Holloway - Ty Crosby Fort White Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Total: 3 09-06
16. Jaxon Berry - Gunner Valdez Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 3 09-06 Total: 3 09-06
17. Lliam Crisman - Cole Puryear Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-04 Total: 3 09-04
18. John David Harmon - William Harmon Notre Dame Junior Bass Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-02 Total: 3 09-02
19. Griffin Wilson - Aiden Alexander Denver Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 09-02 Total: 2 09-02
20. Korben Burgess - Mack Josey Cleveland County Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 09-01 Total: 3 09-01
20. Jayden Savino - Kolbe Fletcher Tyrone Area Junior Bassers 0
Day 1: 3 09-01 Total: 3 09-01
22. Conner Sowers - Ryan Mclaughlin Batesville Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 3 09-00 Total: 3 09-00
23. Parker Betts - Kamarion Tullis Galatia Jr Basscats 0
Day 1: 3 08-13 Total: 3 08-13
24. Jacob Deane - Knox White Mt. Juliet Fishing - Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 08-12 Total: 3 08-12
25. Isabella Sigmon - Jaxon Schmidt Southern Wv Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 08-08 Total: 3 08-08
26. Trey Herrman - Reid Currie Topeka Jr Hawgs 0
Day 1: 3 08-08 Total: 3 08-08
27. Anderson Weaver - Lawton Cantrell Blue Ridge Tiger Fishing 0
Day 1: 3 08-07 Total: 3 08-07
28. Kipton Vipperman - Trenton Miller Patrick County Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 08-04 Total: 3 08-04
29. Cole Hutto - Jack Bolin Bandys Fishing Team Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 07-10 Total: 3 07-10
30. Coop Caldwell - Konnor Macoubrie Team Fishing 4 Life 0
Day 1: 3 07-09 Total: 3 07-09
31. Hunter Beach - Austin Jefferson Fighting Fishsticks Jr. Bass Clu 0
Day 1: 2 07-08 Total: 2 07-08
32. Jordyn Kirwan - Ainsley Gustad Winner Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 07-03 Total: 2 07-03
33. Trace Carstens - Payton Lawrence Jefferson Bass Club 0
Day 1: 3 07-01 Total: 3 07-01
34. Liam Johnson - Drake Penrod Southern Illinois Future Jr Angl 0
Day 1: 2 07-00 Total: 2 07-00
35. Camden Baker - Asher Hart Hartley's Hawgs Piglets 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Total: 3 06-15
35. Grayson Bentley - Jacob Genaro Jefferson High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-15 Total: 3 06-15
37. Henry Sullivan - Laken Pack Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-12 Total: 3 06-12
38. Luke Mcandrew - Brody Witmer Sml Junior Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-12 Total: 3 06-12
39. Nolan Bittner - Owen Amiot St. Francis Fighting Saints 0
Day 1: 3 06-11 Total: 3 06-11
40. Tristin Liccardo - New Jersey BASS Nation Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
40. Liam Monahan - Madyx Popel Off The Hook Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
40. Preston Phillips - Ben Langley Aybn Southern High School 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
40. Grayson Spagnuolo - Cashius Wyman Howell BASS Nation 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
40. Hudson Williams - Spence Gilchrist Riley's Catch 0
Day 1: 3 06-10 Total: 3 06-10
45. Hunter Harris - Hudson Harris Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 3 06-09 Total: 3 06-09
46. Piers Picou - Paxton Picou Central Catholic - LA 0
Day 1: 3 06-08 Total: 3 06-08
46. Easton Trotter - Cooper Thomas Rehobeth Jr High School Team 0
Day 1: 3 06-08 Total: 3 06-08
48. Kinsley Montgomery - Liam Price Gaffney Jr High School Fishing T 0
Day 1: 3 06-07 Total: 3 06-07
49. Jed Butler - Jameson Ray Woodford County Bass Jackets 0
Day 1: 2 06-07 Total: 2 06-07
50. Carson Terrell - Cameron Terrell Port City Junior Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 3 06-06 Total: 3 06-06
51. Cade Fisher - Grady Dawson Strafford Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 3 06-04 Total: 3 06-04
52. Bennett Bullard - Kei Blaylock Trader Bills 0
Day 1: 3 06-03 Total: 3 06-03
53. Kollin Brown - Cord Shook Haywood Anglers 0
Day 1: 3 06-00 Total: 3 06-00
54. Brady Crigger - Jarek Connell Hooked On Freedom 0
Day 1: 3 05-15 Total: 3 05-15
55. Nicholas Crigger - Colin Crigger Hooked On Freedom 0
Day 1: 3 05-14 Total: 3 05-14
55. Clayton Jewart - Cody Moran Pa Bassin Juniors 0
Day 1: 3 05-14 Total: 3 05-14
57. Tucker Burr - Logan Herbst St. Francis Fighting Saints 0
Day 1: 2 05-14 Total: 2 05-14
58. JT Tumoszwicz - Trevor Schwier Highlands County Anglers Club 0
Day 1: 3 05-11 Total: 3 05-11
59. Brooks Higginbotham - Rigg Mccrary Oxford Student Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 2 05-09 Total: 2 05-09
59. Tommy Richards - Syrus Jones Denver Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 05-09 Total: 2 05-09
61. Gideon Fleisher - Dawson Sult Cincinnati Youth Bass Club Jr 0
Day 1: 2 05-05 Total: 2 05-05
62. Deagan Gross - Colton Yockey Cassville 0
Day 1: 2 04-14 Total: 2 04-14
63. Brody Bible - Sawyer Mynatt Karns Jr High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-12 Total: 2 04-12
63. Isaac Wilson - Camden Crow Honey Creek Mafia Jr 0
Day 1: 2 04-12 Total: 2 04-12
65. Talin Hawkins - Carter Smith KAWARTHA BASS MASTERS 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Total: 2 04-10
65. Mason Showers - Brock Frye Junior Wildcats 0
Day 1: 2 04-10 Total: 2 04-10
67. Carsen Feinberg - Grant Klein New Hampshire Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 04-09 Total: 2 04-09
68. Shawn Peer Jr. - Wally Peer Iv Bass Nation Juniors 0
Day 1: 2 04-08 Total: 2 04-08
69. John Brown - Blaine Summers Indiana Junior Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 2 04-05 Total: 2 04-05
69. Maddox Shaffer - Myles Shaffer Junior Garrett Bass Slayers 0
Day 1: 2 04-05 Total: 2 04-05
71. Noah Shuman - Grayden Kobeska Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 2 04-04 Total: 2 04-04
72. Alden Breland - Darren Land Vancleave High School 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Total: 2 04-02
72. Wyatt Roberts - Brooks Henderson Honey Creek Mafia Jr 0
Day 1: 2 04-02 Total: 2 04-02
74. Benjamin Gue - William Gue Mountaineer Bass Masters 0
Day 1: 1 04-00 Total: 1 04-00
75. Brantley Broussard - Cole Watkins Jr. Southwest Bassmasters-Denham 0
Day 1: 2 03-15 Total: 2 03-15
76. Colton Willging - Brody Heacock Dubuque Bass 0
Day 1: 1 03-11 Total: 1 03-11
77. Ethan Rhinehart - Blane Davenport Byrnes Rebels Jr Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 03-09 Total: 1 03-09
78. Grant Martin - Houston Reichle Junior Keystone Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Total: 1 03-07
78. Bill Young - Kaleb Meyer Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 1 03-07 Total: 1 03-07
80. Colton Burgess - Logan Pitsios NH JUNIOR BASSMASTERS 0
Day 1: 2 03-05 Total: 2 03-05
81. Brayden Bontrager - Creek Bradtmiller Track And Channel Youth 0
Day 1: 1 03-05 Total: 1 03-05
82. Jace Gilliam - Jett Gilliam Wayne Pioneers Junior Team 0
Day 1: 1 03-04 Total: 1 03-04
83. Kai Tankersley - Gage Green GERMANTOWN HIGH SCHOOL 0
Day 1: 1 02-14 Total: 1 02-14
84. Rodee Owen - Case Thorn Lone Star Jr Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 1 02-14 Total: 1 02-14
85. Garrett Haynes - Logan Arnold Franklin County Jr Bass Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Total: 1 02-11
86. Andrew Young - Landon Wiberg Eau Galle Valley Youth Fishing J 0
Day 1: 1 02-11 Total: 1 02-11
87. Hunter Lawrence - Bam Kendrick Jefferson Youth Bass Fishing 0
Day 1: 1 02-08 Total: 1 02-08
88. John-Andrew Moss - Ethan Dover Pac Bass Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 02-05 Total: 1 02-05
89. Tristan Shouse - Paxton Sparks Jessamine County Junior Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-04 Total: 1 02-04
90. Austin Bradley - Reeves Ballard Chapman Ms Bass Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 02-03 Total: 1 02-03
91. Bryson Dockery - Elijah Masssey Dawson Middle School 0
Day 1: 1 02-01 Total: 1 02-01
92. Conner Shaffer - William Sandel Severna Park Junior Division 0
Day 1: 1 02-00 Total: 1 02-00
93. Trig Mchone - Tripp Jackson Meigs Middle School Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
93. Aiden Phillips - Weston Mullins Scotts Hill Student Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
93. Parker Werner - Ledger Coufal Salado Jr 0
Day 1: 1 01-15 Total: 1 01-15
96. John Nathan Abbott - Hunter Gayheart Woodford County Bass Jackets 0
Day 1: 1 01-14 Total: 1 01-14
97. Coleton Bradley - Kendal Ward Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 1 01-12 Total: 1 01-12
98. Hudson Shabro - Ethan Hillis Michigan A1 Anglers 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Total: 1 01-11
98. Kole Wingfield - Kline Wingfield Arkansas Youth Anglers Junior 0
Day 1: 1 01-11 Total: 1 01-11
100. Denton Dearman - West Harrison High School 0
Day 1: 1 01-07 Total: 1 01-07
101. Camden Bailey - Nathan Mcclintick New Hampshire Jr. Bassmasters 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Tristan Beckum - Colton Wilson Lee County Middle Fishing Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Mason Chamberland - Logan Ward REEDS BROOK MIDDLE SCHOOL 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Will Crisman - Reed Crisman Buggs Island Elite Anglers 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Carter Edwards - Jonas Doyle Brunswick Academy Junior Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Liam Jeddry - Garret Bertuzzi Team Outcast Juniors 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Hudson Kirby - Mattex Horton Bhp Jr Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Drake Letterman - Joshua Letterman Fordland Junior Club 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Laith Lewis - Aybn Northern High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Xander Moore - Nmbn Junior 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Jackson Moss - Charlie Backaitis Hoover Youth Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Maddox Mustian - Lipan Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Gunner Robbins - Drew Smith Livingston Academy Junior Bassma 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Sean Turkowski - Nash Utes Rogers High School 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
101. Bowden White - Bryson Gunter Cannon County Fishing Team 0
Day 1: 0 00-00 Total: 0 00-00
------------------------------
Totals
Day #Limits #Fish Weight
1 52 227 619-10
------------------------------
52 227 619-10
Champlain smallmouth likely to dominate at final Nation Regional
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Generating quality smallmouth bites will likely lead to success at the 2026 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation at Lake Champlain presented by Lowrance.
Tournament days are scheduled for July 31 through Aug. 2, with daily takeoffs scheduled for 6 a.m. ET at the Plattsburgh City Boat Launch. Anglers will return for weigh-in beginning at 2 p.m. This tournament marks the final chance for prospective anglers to qualify for the 2026 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance at Lake Hartwell scheduled for Nov. 18-21. The top 10% of boaters and co-anglers will punch their tickets at tournament’s end.
Once more known for its exceptional largemouth fishing, Lake Champlain has turned into smallmouth paradise in recent years. The population and size of smallmouth have increased, and the utilization of forward-facing sonar has unlocked the ability to target smallies chasing bait in open water.
Exhibit A was last year’s Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier presented by Bass Pro Shops in September, an event dominated by open-water smallmouth. While that event was during the late summer, a lot of the same areas and tactics will likely be seen in this event. Jighead minnows, small boot-tail swimbaits and drop shots are ideal baits for brown fish.
For more traditional smallmouth fishing, throwing jigs, Ned rigs and Carolina rigs around boulders, grass edges and rock ledges can be productive as well.
The last time a Nation event visited upstate New York, however, was in 2024 when Mark Burgess caught all largemouth to win with a three-day total weighing just over 62 pounds. That tournament was in a similar time frame as this event, but the water levels were several feet over full pool.
There is no doubt big largemouth still live in Champlain, but it has become much harder to win with all green fish in multi-day tournaments. Vegetation and docks provide the best largemouth habitat, with topwaters, jigs and ChatterBaits often being the most productive lures.
Discover Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast are hosting the tournament.
2026 B.A.S.S. Nation Series Title Sponsor: Mercury
2026 B.A.S.S. Nation Series Presenting Sponsor: Lowrance
2026 B.A.S.S. Nation Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2026 B.A.S.S. Nation Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mountain Dew, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 B.A.S.S. Nation Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Lew's, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, VMC, Yokohama
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
Multiple patterns in play at High School, Junior Championships
PARIS, Tenn. — Summer will be in full swing when teams arrive for the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster High School Championship and Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Championship at Kentucky/Barkley lakes, but the sweltering temperatures will make for an interesting tournament on the massive reservoirs.
“A little bit of everything is going to be going on,” Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro John Garrett said. “It is fishing pretty decent right now. There isn’t going to be one obvious pattern to catch sizable bass. A 3-pounder is going to be great, and anything over that is a big one.”
The week kicks off with the Junior Championship July 24-25 before the high schoolers take center stage July 30-Aug. 1. Both tournaments will launch from Paris Landing, with takeoffs scheduled for 6 a.m. CT and weigh-ins tapped for 2 p.m. Both events will be three-bass-limit tournaments.
Kentucky and Barkley lakes have a storied B.A.S.S. history, and while the fishery took a downturn in the late 2010s, the two fisheries have made an impressive comeback, and the quality of the bass has noticeably increased on Kentucky Lake in particular. During the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open presented by Battery Tender this May, Clint Knight won with a three-day total weighing 62-2, over a 20-pound average.
Kentucky Lake has also become a premier southern smallmouth fishery. While smallmouth have always swam in these waters, there wasn’t as much consistency as there is now. The greatest population of smallmouth live toward the dam, but they can be caught anywhere on the fishery.
This time of year, however, targeting specific species of bass becomes harder to do, but Garrett believes any section of Kentucky Lake could produce winning bass.
In the heyday, finding productive ledges would be the no-doubt recipe for winning this tournament. In early summer, that is still the case, but by late July and early August, Garrett says the number of schools dwindles and the ones that are left are in much deeper water.
“Normally we fish from 12 to 20 feet of water. In July, they like to be in 20 to 30 feet of water. They are harder to find because they like to sit on the edges of the breaks,” Garrett said. “The teams who find that will be well off.”
While several teams could get right by finding those schools, Garrett believes the best approach will be finding isolated pieces of cover where only one or two bass are living. Minnows, big worms and jigs are often the best baits to throw around these pieces of cover.
With this pattern, teams will need to treat Kentucky Lake like a blueback herring fishery.
“Targeting stumps, brushpiles, logs and a shellbar and picking off single fish is how I would approach this event if I was fishing it,” he said. “Bass will use a piece of cover and use it all year, and they do this offshore as well as shallow. The more of those places you can fish, the better.”
There will also be a population of bass that move back into the very back of the creeks to find cooler water. Flipping and pitching will be a primary technique in these backwater areas.
The Henry County Tourism Authority is hosting these events.
2026 Bassmaster Junior Series
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Title Sponsor: Strike King
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Lew's, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, VMC, Yokohama
2026 Bassmaster High School Series Youth Sponsors: Seaguar
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
Birge Leads NPFL on St. Lawrence
Oklahoma pro leads Day One of the MillerTech NPFL Stop Five on the St. Lawrence River
What turned out to be a tougher-than-expected opening day for much of the field, whether due to slower fishing or issues navigating the locks, played right into Zack Birge's game plan. The Oklahoma pro executed flawlessly, bringing 25 pounds, 5 ounces to the scales to take a 2-pound, 9-ounce lead over Virginia's Jacob Powroznik.
Powroznik sits in second with 22-12, while Mike Quinlin rounds out the top three with 21-8 and claimed Berkley Big Fish honors with a 6-pound smallmouth. Just one ounce behind, Work Sharp Angler of the Year leader KJ Queen and Derek Lehtonen are tied for fourth with matching limits of 21-7, setting up a tightly packed race heading into Day Two on the St. Lawrence River.
Birge Busts a Bag
After splitting practice on both sides of the Iroquois Dam, Zack Birge had a pretty good grasp on how to catch fish in either direction. Pending weather or any lock issues—which plagued much of the field—Birge was confident he could put together a solid limit.
After locking down and making what he estimated was "about an hour" round-trip run, Birge got into fish quickly, landing four quality smallmouth before 10 a.m. After working through a slow stretch, he eventually found another productive area and filled out his limit.
"I had those four fish and then it got tough," he said. "I went looking for similar stuff and finally found one. I actually had a 4-pound largemouth at one point, but culled it with a 5-pound smallmouth. That was it down there."
Working his way back toward the Iroquois Dam, Birge passed fellow angler Alex Davis, who flagged him down. After Birge pulled over roughly 200 yards downstream, Davis motored over to relay an important message about the lock.
"AD saved me today," Birge said. "He told me he heard there might be some issues, and I decided to head back. It was about 12:30, and I figured I'd lock through as soon as possible just to be safe. Alex came with me, and we both got through and made it back. From there, I was able to monkey around and catch another 18 pounds that didn't help."
On his primary area, Birge is doing most of his damage with one main bait. Closer to the ramp, he's catching fish on a few different presentations. Mixing shallow and deeper water, Birge plans to follow the same game plan on Day Two.
"I plan on doing the same thing tomorrow, but my expectations are a little lower," he said. "If I can catch two or three of those 4- or 5-pounders, I'll be good. I'm planning to run those two main stretches and then head back. I think I can catch some good ones along the way and have another good bag. I saved a lot of things for later this week."
Powroznik Relies on History
Like Birge, Virginia pro Jacob Powroznik spent practice on both sides of the lock to prepare for whatever Day One might bring. When competition began, however, he made the run to the stretch of the St. Lawrence River he has fished for years, and it paid off.
"Today I went, and I caught them all day long," he said. "I fished history and new spots, and I caught a lot of fish. Just doing what I do here, drifting and dragging. I fished a prototype Yamamoto bait, a Yamacraw."
Day One Leaderboard
Zack Birge 25-5
Jacob Powroznik 22-12
Mike Quinlin 21-8
Kristopher Queen 21-7
Derek Lehtonen 21-7
Nick Brown 21-5
Wesley Gore 21-5
Scott Hamrick 21-5
John Cox (FL) 21-5
Gary Adkins 21-0
James Niggemeyer 20-14
Scott Suggs 20-10
Jared Lintner 20-5
Hank Cherry 20-4
Shane Lineberger 20-3
Drew Cook 20-3
Corey Casey 20-2
Paul Browning 20-2
Wes Logan 20-1
Rick Clunn 19-13
Greg Vinson 19-11
Greg Hackney 19-10
Jordan Osborne 19-10
Scott Wiley 19-10
Jason Wilson 19-10
Cliff Crochet 19-5
Dylan Freeze 19-2
Andrew Upshaw 19-1
Gerald Swindle 19-1
Alex Davis 18-15
Josh Hooks 18-15
Todd Goade 18-14
James Watson 18-13
Hunter Baughman 18-13
Timothy Wilson 18-12
Kevin Rogers 18-7
Brad Whatley 18-6
Dustin Reneau 18-4
Garrett Smith 18-0
Joey Bloom 17-14
Jamie Pierce 17-13
Pete Ponds 17-11
Tim Frederick 17-10
Jon Canada 17-9
Barron Adams 17-8
Ron Johnson 17-5
JT Russell 17-4
Jason Meninger 17-3
Lavoyd Lemmond 17-3
Charlie Apperson 16-14
Joseph Lineberry 16-14
Chad Grigsby 16-14
Logan Latuso 16-12
Randall Tharp 16-12
Mitchell Webb 16-12
Buddy Gross 16-11
Darrel Robertson 16-9
Keith Bardolf 16-9
Troy Roder 16-6
Bill Lowen 16-5
Christopher Whisenant 16-3
Lendell Martin 16-2
Stacey James 16-2
Quentin Cappo 16-1
Russ Lane 16-1
David Williams 15-6
Matt Herren 15-4
Adam Savage 14-15
David Wootton 14-12
Josh Watkins 14-9
Sean Alvarez 14-4
Darrell Davis 13-15
Rickey Morris 13-13
Bob Behrle 13-4
Josh Butler 13-2
Matthew McBee 13-1
Brandon Cobb 12-15
Chad Marler 12-13
Patrick Walters 12-9
Fred Roumbanis 12-9
Bo Collins 12-3
Troy Broussard 12-1
Austin Garland 11-6
Dustin Williamson 11-3
Richard Cooper 10-11
Chip Harrington 10-9
J Todd Tucker 10-8
Andy Morgan 10-2
Gerald Spohrer 9-11
Luke Clausen 8-12
Brock Mosley 8-5
Johnnie Adams 8-3
Alton Wilhoit 7-9
Todd Auten 6-14
William Fletcher 6-13
Jason Reyes 4-2
John Cox (GA) 2-1
2026 B.A.S.S. Conservation Summit highlights collaboration, communication and aquatic plant management
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — More than 100 conservation leaders, fisheries biologists and agency administrators representing 34 states gathered March 14-15 in Knoxville, Tenn., for the 2026 B.A.S.S. Conservation Summit, held in conjunction with the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
Hosted biennially by B.A.S.S., the Summit brought together Conservation Directors from 30 B.A.S.S. Nation chapters and fisheries professionals to strengthen partnerships, exchange best practices and address issues critical to the future of bass fisheries and recreational fishing.
"This Summit provides a platform for sharing information and building relationships that benefit both our fisheries and the anglers who enjoy them," said Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. National Conservation Director.
Presentations focused on two key themes: improving conservation outreach through social media and addressing the challenges of aquatic plant management. Experts from state and federal agencies, industry and media shared strategies for using podcasts, digital platforms and influencer partnerships to communicate science-based conservation messages, engage anglers and encourage advocacy for fisheries resources.
A second series of presentations examined aquatic vegetation management, highlighting the balance between controlling invasive species and preserving valuable fish habitat. Speakers discussed management approaches, regulatory challenges and case studies from across the country, emphasizing the importance of collaboration among agencies, conservation groups and stakeholders.
B.A.S.S. CEO Chase Anderson reaffirmed the organization's commitment to conservation, calling the Summit "a testament to our dedication to ensuring the future of bass fishing for generations to come."
During the Summit Awards Banquet, sponsored by AFTCO, Georgia's Tony Beck and Florida's Jayson Hooven were recognized as 2026 B.A.S.S. Conservation Directors of the Year for their outstanding service and leadership.
A complete summary of the Summit can be found on Bassmaster.com/conservation-
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
Massena Readies to Host MLF Toyota Series Northern Division Tournament on St. Lawrence River
MASSENA, N.Y. (July 21, 2026) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Northern Division will continue the 2026 season with the second tournament of the year next week, July 30-Aug. 1, at the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York – the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at the St. Lawrence River.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, will feature a roster of the region’s best bass-fishing pros and co-anglers competing for a top prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.
This event will look a little bit different than many recent tournaments that have been held on the river. Tournament waters will be restricted to the section of the St. Lawrence between the Moses-Saunders Power Dam to the east and the Iroquois Dam to the west. That eliminates the long western runs toward Clayton, Cape Vincent and the mouth of the river that have produced many winning catches in recent years.
Instead, the field will compete across roughly 27 miles of river from Massena to Waddington, creating a tighter playing field and putting an increased premium on current-related areas, efficient rotations and maximizing every bite.
Even with anglers unable to travel west of the Iroquois Dam, a wide range of patterns should remain in play. The section of river between Waddington and Massena features strong current, abundant rock and plenty of quality smallmouth habitat. Anglers should be able to catch fish shallow around boulders and current seams, as well as deep with drop-shots, jigs and other bottom-oriented presentations.
Jesse Spellicy of Gouverneur, New York, recently finished third in a Phoenix Bass Fishing League event out of Massena that was also restricted to the area east of the Iroquois Dam. According to him, the condensed playing field should still produce a competitive event.
“It’s going to be equally crowded from end to end – I don’t think there’s one section of the river that sets up better,” Spellicy said. “It could be won anywhere in between. It’s not like Clayton or Cape – that whole 27 miles of river is the same quality of fish and receives the same fishing pressure throughout.
“Everything will be in play, shallow and deep. I’m not certain that somebody could win with largemouth, but it wouldn’t shock me if somebody could get in the top five on largemouth.”
The restricted boundaries could also influence the techniques anglers use. With fewer opportunities to make long runs in search of roaming fish, Spellicy expects traditional St. Lawrence River presentations to play a major role.
“You’re going to see more traditional baits – the tube, drop-shot and jig,” Spellicy said. “And a hair jig for sure up shallow. I don’t think you’re going to see as much of the minnow game play.
“A lot of what ‘Scope does on that end of the river is just confirm that fish are there. You can drift through an area and see fish chase your bait, so you know there are fish there,” Spellicy continued. “A lot of times, it keys you in that you’re going to get a bite, and then you’re teed up. It’s more important in practice than it is during the tournament – once you know they’re there, it doesn’t make them any easier or harder to catch. I don’t see someone making hay in three hours with their LiveScope on and then doing nothing the rest of the day.”
While the western end of the river and Lake Ontario generally offer greater top-end potential, anglers should still expect plenty of heavy smallmouth to cross the stage. The restricted playing field will likely make consistency especially important, as competitors repeatedly cycle through productive stretches of current and rock.
Spellicy believes an average of approximately 21½ pounds per day could be enough to win.
“I think 21½ a day is going to win this tournament – 64 or 65 pounds,” Spellicy went on to say.
Anglers will take off each day at 6 a.m. ET, launching from the Massena Intake Boat Launch, located at 1415 State Highway 131 in Massena. Weigh-ins will also take place at the boat launch, starting at 2 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, plus $5,000 cash.
The 2026 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 in their division’s Angler of the Year standings will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and qualification to REDCREST 2027. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2026 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 5-7 on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, and is hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake & Hardin County Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Toyota Series updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Pawnee’s Mull Notches Sixth BFL Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Rend Lake
Illinois’ Rogers Tops Co-Angler Division
WHITTINGTON, Ill. (July 20, 2026) – Boater Jeremy Mull of Pawnee, Illinois, caught a total of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 1 ounce, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Rend Lake . The tournament, hosted by Seasons Lodge at Rend Lake, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Illini Division. Mull earned $5,460, including a $2,500 Phoenix bonus, for his victory.
Mull entered the tournament fresh off a victory at the Lake Shelbyville BFL event on June 27.
“I drew out as the last boat and was worried about not being able to get on anything that I wanted to get on,” Mull said. “But I actually ended up starting right where I wanted to, and it started out good with a 5-pounder right off the get-go. Then my co-angler caught one almost 5 and then a 2-pounder.
“It got tough after that,” Mull went on to say. “We just picked one up here and one there. About every hour and a half, I’d get a bite. It was just a grinder. Keep your head down and cover water.”
Mull’s limit of five bass were the only keepers he managed to pull from the south end of Rend during the tournament. He fished shallow – 1½-feet to 4-feet of water – and caught his limit using a jig and a Hideup Coike Fullcast Creature Bait.
“I caught my fifth fish in the last hour and told my co-angler, ‘I don’t know if I’ve won it or not, but I feel a lot better now,’” Mull said.
Mull notched his sixth BFL win with this back-to-back victory.
“This is wild,” Mull said. “It’s like every decision I make, lately, and everything I do just keeps going right. I don’t even know how to explain it. I’m at a loss for words.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Jeremy Mull, Pawnee, Ill., five bass, 20-1, $5,460 (includes $2,500 Phoenix bonus)
2nd: Tim Davis, East Alton, Ill., five bass, 15-10, $1,500
3rd: Garrett McDowell, Windsor, Ill., five bass, 15-5, $870
4th: Colby Schrumpf, Highland, Ill., five bass, 14-7, $770
5th: Scott Neighbors, Makanda, Ill., five bass, 14-6, $550
6th: Greg Mullins, Mount Vernon, Ill., four bass, 12-7, $480
7th: William Walker, Zeigler, Ill., five bass, 11-13, $460
8th: Toby Corn, Paducah, Ky., four bass, 10-7, $440
9th: Jeremy Dhom, Teutopolis, Ill., four bass, 10-6, $420
10th: Jerry Walker, Zeigler, Ill., three bass, 10-2, $410
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jeremy Richardson of Benton, Illinois, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 3-ounce bass worth $200.
Elmo Rogers of Albion, Illinois, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,630 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 3 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Elmo Rogers, Albion, Ill., three bass, 12-3, $1,630
2nd: Rowdy King, Shelbyville, Ill., three bass, 9-1, $750
3rd: Michael Harvel, Jonesboro, Ill., three bass, 8-7, $385
4th: Andy Hille, Effingham, Ill., three bass, 8-5, $310
5th: Thomas Heintz, Marion, Ill., three bass, 7-14, $275
6th: Nicholas Dewald, Florissant, Mo., two bass, 7-13, $240
7th: Addison Eggertsen, West Frankfort, Ill., three bass, 7-3, $230
8th: Logan Houba, Red Bud, Ill., three bass, 6-15, $215
8th: Brett Anderson, Woodlawn, Ill, three bass, 6-15, $215
10th: David Bunton, Iuka, Ill., two bass, 6-8, $205
Co-angler winner Rogers also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award, landing a 6-pound, 9-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, tournament winner Jeremy Mull of Pawnee, Illinois, now leads the 7 Brew Illini Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 984 points, while Gage Elder of Decatur, Illinois, leads the Illini Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 964 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lake in Calvert City, Kentucky. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Southside’s Wesson Goes Slow for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Neely Henry
Alabama’s Black Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division
GADSDEN, Ala. (July 20, 2026) – Boater David Wesson of Southside, Alabama, caught a three-bass limit weighing 12 pounds, 15 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on Neely Henry. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Bama Division. Wesson earned $4,000 for his victory.
“The areas that I fished were areas where I wasn’t going to get a ton of bites, and I knew that,” Wesson said. “I’m a local, and I knew a handful of areas where I felt like I could get that better-than-average-sized fish, but not a lot of bites.”
Wesson said he focused his efforts during the tournament on two places within five miles of the Coosa Landing takeoff site. In a conservation effort, the tournament limit for each angler was three bass, and Wesson said he thought it would take 14 pounds to win the event.
“I started the day in an area, and the name of the game was to slow down,” Wesson said. “When you thought you were going slow, go slower. I was dragging a plum- or black-colored Zoom Ol’ Monster around. I was fishing edges – edges of grasslines, or any type of edge that gave bigger fish somewhere to set up. And you had to make a perfect cast. I mean, come right down the side of it without getting into the grass or being too far from the grass.”
In addition to dragging a worm, Wesson said he used a Hideup Coike Fullcast Creature Bait during his forward-facing sonar period but caught only one fish during the three-hour period - a 5-11 kicker that boosted his confidence.
“I thought I’d have a pretty good shot at being in the Top 5,” Wesson said. “I’ve fished BFLs for the past six or seven years now, and every year I’ve fished Neely Henry. I’ve had a couple of top 10s and done really bad in some of the other ones. I hadn’t won a BFL on Neely Henry. It’s one of those things that has always kind of snakebit me. I’d be on something decent, but it never worked out for me.
“So, this feels good,” Wesson added. “I’ve been trying for seven years to get that jumping fish (trophy) here on Neely.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: David Wesson, Southside, Ala., three bass, 12-15, $4,000
2nd: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., three bass, 12-2, $2,800 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
3rd: John Kellett, Springville, Ala., three bass, 11-9, $1,000
4th: Eddie Walker, Pinson, Ala., three bass, 11-7, $800
5th: Keenan Hess, Montgomery, Ala., three bass, 11-0, $700
6th: Austin Shields, Lake View, Ala., three bass, 10-11, $600
7th: Owen Stamm, Morristown, Tenn., three bass, 10-7, $575
8th: Kris Colley, Ragland, Ala., three bass, 10-6, $550
9th: Jack White, Vance, Ala., three bass, 9-13, $525
10th: Lee Black, Moulton, Ala., three bass, 9-10, $500
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Jacob Walker of Springville, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 5-ounce bass worth $200.
Mark Black of Selma, Alabama, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,000 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Black, Selma, Ala., three bass, 8-12, $2,000
2nd: Rodney Graham, Childersburg, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $850
2nd: Johnny Clark, Northport, Ala., three bass, 8-1, $750
4th: Dennis Wynn, Jacksonville, Ala., three bass, 7-14, $400
5th: Phillip Easterling, Clanton, Ala., three bass, 7-10, $350
6th: Jonathan Majors, Chelsea, Ala., three bass, 7-7, $300
7th: Scott Noles, Woodland, Ala., three bass, 7-6, $290
8th: Michael Hester, Ohatchee, Ala., three bass, 7-1, $275
9th: Taylor Ellington, Opelika, Ala., three bass, 6-14, $260
10th: Matthew King, Huntsville, Ala., three bass, 6-12, $250
Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 15-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, James Willoughby of Gulfport, Mississippi, now leads the 7 Brew Bama Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 938 points, while Rodney Graham of Childersburg, Alabama, leads the Bama Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 962 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Watts Bar Lake in Spring City, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
North Carolina’s Baldwin Holds Off Field for Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at James River
Virginia’s Picucci Earns Win in Co-Angler Division
HENRICO, Va. (July 20, 2026) – Boater Chris Baldwin of Lexington, North Carolina, caught a total of five bass weighing 18 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the James River . The tournament, hosted by Richmond Region Tourism, was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Shenandoah Division. Baldwin earned $3,280 for his victory.
Baldwin said that after an unproductive practice he decided to fish a brand new area that he hadn’t tried during practice. The decision paid off for Baldwin, as three of his final weigh fish – including one that weighed 4 pounds and one that came close to 5 – came from that area.
“I fished some other areas and caught a 3-pounder up the river near Richmond earlier in the morning,” said Baldwin. “I had three good fish at 8 or 9 o’clock. I said, ‘Man, if I put two more 2-pounders with it, I’ll be in good shape.’
“I ended up putting two more 2-pounders with it, and then at the end of the day I caught a 5-pounder with 10 minutes to go,” Baldwin went on to say.
Baldwin said during practice he had success flipping and also caught fish on a bladed jig “when the tide got right.”
“We started out the tournament with a high tide, and it fell all day, instead of starting out low and getting higher,” Baldwin said. “I think that really helped the flipping bite. No (Garmin) LiveScope was involved, no Coikes, just old-school flipping a (Zoom) Brush Hog.”
Continuing his unconventional “old-school” methods of catching fish, Baldwin said late in the day he broke off a crankbait, then broke off a Brush Hog and grabbed the last rig he had on his deck – a spinning rod with a drop-shot rig. He cast it and caught the 5-pounder with tournament time running out.
“I thought I had a chance then,” Baldwin said. “My co-angler said, ‘Man, that’s a big one. You won this thing.’ I just told him I had a chance.
“This feels great,” Baldwin added. “It’s been 13 years since I’ve won one of these.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Chris Baldwin, Lexington, N.C., five bass, 18-3, $3,280
2nd: Brian Laclair, Denton, Md., five bass, 17-11, $1,420
3rd: Eric Picucci, Midlothian, Va., five bass, 17-4, $740
4th: Thomas Milton, Chester, Va., five bass, 17-1, $700
5th: Zachary Bodsford, North Chesterfield, Va., five bass, 15-0, $530
6th: Ron Rousseau, Raleigh, N.C., four bass, 14-0, $460
7th: Michael McCrickard, Smithfield, Va., five bass, 13-6, $450
8th: Rodney French, Virginia Beach, Va., five bass, 13-4, $630
9th: Frank Poirier, North Prince George, Va., five bass, 13-1, $410
10th: Louis Martinez, Warrenton, Va., five bass, 12-7, $400
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Rodney French of Virginia Beach, Virginia, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 6-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $200.
Zach Picucci of Powhatan, Virginia, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,540 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 9 pounds, 11 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Zach Picucci, Powhatan, Va., three bass, 9-11, $1,540
2nd: Larry Freeman Jr., La Crosse, Va., three bass, 8-11, $710
3rd: Frank Daniels, Dover, Del., three bass, 8-8, $370
4th: Chris Moore, Mechanicsville, Va., three bass, 7-12, $300
5th: Michael Garrett, Buena Vista, Va., three bass, 7-9, $265
6th: Dante Gray, Ruther Glen, Va., three bass, 7-7, $230
7th: Nathan Sullivan, Fredericksburg, Va., three bass, 7-5, $330
8th: Stephen Barr, Wilmington, N.C., three bass, 7-0, $215
9th: Shaquille Freeman, Farmville, Va., three bass, 6-14, $210
10th: Joshua Torres, Port Tobacco, Md., three bass, 6-13, $200
Co-angler winner Picucci also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Brian Laclair of Denton, Maryland, now leads the 7 Brew Shenandoah Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 977 points, while Michael Garrett of Buena Vista, Virginia, leads the Shenandoah Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 951 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Clarks Hill Lake in Appling, Georgia. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Rhino Claims Best of Show as ICAST 2026 Accelerates to Full Speed
Thursday brought a new champion to ICAST’s Best of Show awards while the show floor bustled with business deals and industry insights.
ICAST 2026 ramped up to full speed on Thursday inside of the Orange County Convention Center. The second full business day of ICAST was kickstarted by the first-ever Retailer Leadership Breakfast, featuring a panel of top-tier CEOs and an intimate gathering of tackle buyers sharing knowledge and feedback about the current state of sportfishing.
On the show floor, a riveting ICAST Live! session led by hall of fame angler Kevin VanDam signaled the start of a jam-packed business day where vampires, space aliens and tackle buyers mingled with manufacturers, media members and distributors on the sprawling ICAST show floor. Sprinkled throughout, brand new ICAST Best of Category Award trophies served as beacons that some manufactures had hit home runs with brand new products.
“ICAST is a special place to us” said Luke Jeskevic, events and conservation manager at Turtlebox. “Our first year, we were here in a 10x10 booth with the only five speakers we had in production on a metal rolling rack. Now, we are standing in a 30 by 30 booth as the audio sponsor of the show. We joke that this is kind of our Super Bowl.”
Jeskevic said Turtlebox has teamed up with neighboring brands like BUBBA, Yeti, Duck Camp and Mustang Survival to create a social hour block party at the end of each business day.
Elsewhere on the show floor Fabio Camocardi, owner of Amazon Spirit, and his team traveled from Sao Paolo to be at the epicenter of the sportfishing world this week to find new clients for his peacock bass fishing outfitter, Amazon Spirit.
“This is a show for traders, store owners and captains but it also shows us all of the new products and new technologies that we can use at our lodge in a very remote area. For us, ICAST is a win-win. We are meeting people not only from the United States, but also people from other countries all over the world. We just booked our booth again for next year.”
Rhino Wins Best of Show
A rod and reel claimed the title of ICAST Best of Show this year. The Rhino 30 6’6” 2pc Medium Spinning Combo is now ICAST royalty after coming out on top in head-to-head voting against more than 35 other Best of Category winners. Rhino is a resurrected legacy brand by Zebco that traces its roots to an ultra-durable line of rods and reels targeted to everyday anglers.
"Winning Best of Show is an incredible honor, and we’re grateful to everyone who believed in what we’re building with Rhino," said Chris Littau, Vice President of Zebco. "But this isn’t the finish line for us; it’s just the beginning! Zebco has been the first chapter in so many people’s fishing stories, and the Rhino relaunch is helping make sure that first experience is one that lasts. Our focus now is simple: keep building products that are tough enough to earn people’s trust and last as long as the memories we make fishing. We’re proud of this recognition, but we’re even more excited about where Rhino goes from here."
For the first time ever, the Overall Best of Show winner was announced at Party for a Purpose presented by Major League Fishing inside of a packed concourse at the Orange County Convention Center. There, a gathered crowd of hundreds mingled with conservation partners while presenting sponsor Major League Fishing also announced a landmark collaboration with Starlink.
Major League Fishing Deploys Starlink To Support Real-Time Data Transmission & 150+ Live Events
ORLANDO, Fla. (July 16, 2026) –Major League Fishing (MLF), the world's largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today a collaboration with Starlink that will establish Starlink’s fast, reliable internet as MLF’s primary connectivity solution across its national event schedule.
MLF produces thousands of hours of live event coverage from lakes, rivers and reservoirs across the United States and requires reliable broadband to deliver real-time scoring, live video and tournament coverage from some of the most remote venues in professional sports. As the internet provider of Major League Fishing, Starlink will deliver high-speed connectivity and strengthen MLF’s network that support more than 150 annual events that reach thousands of anglers and millions of fans annually through livestream, television, digital and social media platforms.
Unlike traditional stadium-based sports, MLF broadcasts are produced across vast bodies of water where communications infrastructure can vary dramatically from one venue to the next. Through the world’s most advanced satellite constellation, Starlink delivers reliable broadband connectivity nationwide, including to locations where high-speed internet has traditionally been unreliable or entirely unavailable.
As part of the collaboration, Starlink will be integrated throughout MLF's competition and broadcast ecosystem, supporting tournament operations, real-time data transmission, production workflows and live event coverage. The integration will extend across key MLF platforms and properties, including the MLFNOW! livestream, the SCORETRACKER® live leaderboard and the Starlink Team Series.
"Major League Fishing was built on innovation, and leveraging Starlink is another step forward in our commitment to pushing the sport ahead," said Boyd Duckett, Co-Founder, President and CEO of Major League Fishing. " We've spent years building one of the most technologically advanced fan experiences in professional fishing through live coverage, real-time scoring and innovative broadcast formats. Starlink allows us to strengthen the infrastructure behind those innovations while continuing to deliver the highest-quality experience possible for anglers and fans across the world."
“We’re proud to have Starlink transform the world of competitive angling by delivering reliable, high-speed connectivity to Major League Fishing. Whether its tournament anglers tracking real-time conditions, streaming live coverage to fans, or families staying connected while cheering from the shore and remote locations, Starlink enables a fully connected experience for sport fishing,” said Lauren Dreyer, Vice President of Starlink Business Operations at SpaceX.
MLF has earned a reputation as the sport’s leading innovator by challenging the traditional tournament format model through the SCORETRACKER® live leaderboard, live coverage and fan-focused broadcast formats. Starlink will help strengthen the technology behind that experience and create new opportunities for content, coverage and fan engagement across MLF’s nationwide schedule.
“The future of sports is increasingly shaped by technology, connectivity and real-time engagement," Duckett said. "We're proud to work with a company that shares our passion for innovation and sees the same opportunity we do to continue elevating the sport."
For more information about Starlink, visit Starlink.com or follow Starlink on X. For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing, its tournaments and sponsors, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com . For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
About Starlink
Starlink is the world’s most advanced satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit, delivering reliable broadband internet capable of supporting streaming, online gaming, video calls, and more. Starlink is engineered and operated by SpaceX. As the world’s leading provider of launch services, and the only provider with an orbital class reusable rocket – SpaceX has deep experience with both spacecraft and on-orbit operations. Learn more at www.starlink.com and follow @Starlink on X.
Lithium Battery Power Makes History with 96-pound, 10-ounce Win in ScoreTracker Live Debut at 12th-Annual ICAST Cup Presented by Major League Fishing
Winning team of Quilatan, Mitchell and Cobbs catch 18 bass, including three over 8 pounds, during historic four-hour competition to benefit Keep America Fishing
KISSIMMEE, Fla. (July 15, 2026) – Representing Lithium Battery Power, 18-year-old Toyota Series pro Dylan Quilatan, Don Mitchell and Diane Cobbs caught and weighed 18 bass totaling 96 pounds, 10 ounces, to win the 2026 ICAST Cup at Lake Toho Presented by Major League Fishing (MLF) on Tuesday.
Link to photo gallery: Stacking big weights on SCORETRACKER® LIVE at ICAST Cup
The four-hour bass-fishing tournament, hosted by Kissimmee Sports Commission, served as one of the kickoff events to ICAST 2026 and marked the official consumer debut of SCORETRACKER® LIVE. In its 12-year history, the charity tournament has raised more than $103,000 to benefit the recreational fishing industry’s angler advocacy program, Keep America Fishing™.
Tuesday’s field featured 36 boats, including anglers from the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit and Toyota Series, along with outdoor media members and representatives from prominent tackle brands and nonprofit organizations. This year’s tournament raised $7,200 for Keep America Fishing.
Lithium Battery Power’s performance was nothing short of dominant. The team finished more than 55 pounds ahead of runner-up Don Coffey Company after catching three bass over 8 pounds and three more that fell just shy of the 8-pound mark.
Quilatan located the winning area during a shortened practice session Monday. After initially searching for numbers of smaller bass to take advantage of the every-fish-counts format, he discovered one hard-bottom area not far from the tournament ramp that held both schools of 2-pound-class bass and significantly larger fish.
“There were schools of 2-pounders everywhere, and around each school there would be one giant roaming nearby,” Quilatan said. “You might only see one of those big ones every 20 or 30 minutes, but when we got an opportunity, they would bite. We caught three over 8 pounds and three more that were just under 8. It was an unbelievable morning.”
The area was no secret. Quilatan estimated that nearly 20 boats – including local anglers and ICAST Cup competitors – were fishing in the immediate vicinity. Rather than abandoning the crowded location, the Lithium Battery Power team methodically worked a concentrated 50-yard stretch.
“We just weaved in and out of the other boats and kept catching them,” Quilatan said. “We had to fish really slowly. It might have looked like we were moving around, but we were basically going in a circle in one little area and letting the fish come to us.”
Quilatan targeted the larger bass with a soon-to-be-released urchin-style bait, a 21mm Z-Man Sputnik in the Scuppernong color. Mitchell fished a Z-Man SMH Worm, while Cobbs used a ChatterBait. All three team members contributed fish throughout the morning.
“We were all catching them, and we had a blast,” Quilatan said. “One of us was always casting while the others were getting a fish into the boat, weighing it and uploading it. It was pretty much nonstop all morning.”
The ICAST Cup also provided competitors with their first opportunity to use SCORETRACKER® LIVE in consumer tournament competition. Available through the BUBBA® app and compatible with BUBBA® Smart Fish Scales, SCORETRACKER® LIVE gives tournament organizers, competitors and fans access to real-time scoring and live leaderboard updates using the same technology that has transformed competition on the MLF Bass Pro Tour.
The platform supports catch-weigh-release tournaments, traditional five-fish events, big-fish competitions and team tournaments. Competitors can see their position throughout the event, creating an additional strategic element that Quilatan believes played a role Tuesday.
“It was really fun knowing what everyone else had, and it definitely makes you fish differently,” Quilatan said. “As our score kept going up, it probably got into some people’s heads. They might have felt like they needed to hurry up and fish faster to catch us, but we did the opposite. We slowed down and let the fish come to us.”
SCORETRACKER® LIVE makes the same real-time scoring technology used by MLF Bass Pro Tour anglers available to tournament organizers, competitors and fans nationwide through the BUBBA® app. The platform was introduced at ICAST 2025 before undergoing extensive beta testing and real-world tournament use ahead of its official consumer launch, this week.
The top 10 teams finished the tournament in:
1st: Lithium Battery Power – Dylan Quilatan, Don Mitchell and Diane Cobbs, 18 bass, 96-10
2nd: Don Coffey Company – Aaron Yavorsky and Ray Ruiz, 10 bass, 41-8
3rd: Fitzgerald Fishing – Bobby Bakewell and Robert Bakewell, nine bass, 32-7
4th: CPF Lures – Erik Tilson, Mac Hoover and Craig Sutherland, 10 bass, 28-11
5th: Rather Outdoors – Shaw Grigsby, John Carmen and Cameron Bullock, 10 bass, 28-9
6th: Fitzgerald Fishing – Rich Howes and Matt McKenzie, nine bass, 27-11
7th: PDS Equipment – Christian Bellomo, Steve Weist and Trevor Bates, seven bass, 21-5
8th: KastKing – Gage Foster and Robert Holliday, six bass, 17-13
9th: Astro Lithium – Kevin Lucas, Oliver Pinnock and Ken Lucas, five bass, 17-10
10th: Bull Bay Tackle Co. – Nick Hawkins, Jake Stines and Justin Healy, six bass, 16-7
Complete results and photos from the tournament will be posted at ICASTCup.com.
Keep America Fishing™ is leading the fight to preserve our right to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways. As the voice of the American angler, Keep America Fishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish. For more information, please visit KeepAmericaFishing.org.
For more ICAST 2026 announcements, details and tournament information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For more information on SCORETRACKER® LIVE, visit ScoreTrackerLive.com.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Discovery+, Discovery GO, Animal Planet, Outdoor Channel, VICE, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and Game & Fish TV, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
2027 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela's Big Bass Tour Schedule Announced
- Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida: February 5–7
- Lake Conroe, Texas: February 26–28
- Clarks Hill Lake, Georgia: March 12–14
- Table Rock Lake, Missouri: March 19–21
- Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia: April 23–25
- Lake Murray, South Carolina: April 30 – May 2
- Lake Chickamauga, Tennessee: May 14–16
- Upper Mississippi River, Wisconsin (La Crosse): July 30 – August 1
- Douglas Lake, Tennessee: October 1–3
- Lake Guntersville, Alabama: October 8–10
- Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia (Fall): October 15–17
Registration for the 2027 Bass Pro Shops/Cabela's Big Bass Tour will open this December. Additional registration details, prize packages, and event information will be announced in the coming months.
For more information and tournament updates, visit BigBassTour.com.
Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Set for Regular-Season Finale at Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER
PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (July 13, 2026) – The sixth and final regular-season stop of the 2026 Major League Fishing (MLF) Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech season is set to take place July 24-26, in Plattsburgh, New York, with the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER.
The three-day Pro Circuit event, hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau, will feature a roster of up to 150 pro bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $135,000. Anglers will take to Lake Champlain to catch their five biggest bass each day, and the winner will be determined by the heaviest three-day cumulative total.
“We're proud to partner with Major League Fishing to showcase Lake Champlain and welcome anglers, families and fans to our region,” said Alyssa Senecal, Assistant Director of Tourism and Marketing for the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau. “Events like this highlight not only world-class fishing but also the outstanding communities and businesses that make this area such a special destination.”
Surrounded by the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains, Lake Champlain offers stellar fishing and great scenery, but in this event, that will not be the focus. As the last event of the season, the 7 Brew Angler of the Year title will be decided, five pros will qualify for the Bass Pro Tour, and the top 40 will lock in their spots in the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship. All those points considerations mean that every ounce counts, and there are not many lakes where those ounces matter more than Lake Champlain.
The last time MLF held a major event in Plattsburgh, when the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals visited Champlain in June 2024, pro Jacob Walker won by catching all smallmouth on a minnow, with most of the top-10 finishers also minnowing up smallmouth. Typically, June on Champlain would feature a big-time spawning smallmouth event, but that was not the case in 2024. Pros Kurt Mitchell and Hunter Eubanks also made the top 10 with shallow patterns targeting northern largemouth.
In July 2024, Kyle Cortiana won the Toyota Series event on Champlain with a 64-1 total, and he did it mostly fishing current at the Malletts Bay causeway. Heavy rains during practice dramatically affected the event, scattering some smallmouth in the Inland Sea and creating an incredible current bite. Notably, Mitchell again finished in the top 10 by targeting northern largemouth, this time joined by Bryan LaBelle and Tom Lavictoire Jr.
In 2025, the Toyota Series event on Champlain was held in June, and Tucker Smith won by targeting smallmouth with a minnow. By this point, the trend should be clear.
There are, however, some recent exceptions to the trend of minnow and smallmouth domination.
In August 2024, Ed Loughran won a Bassmaster Elite Series event on Lake Champlain – bucking the trend after a summer of minnow madness. Running south to target mid-lake largemouth, he fished shallow and edged ahead of the pack. Also, as a general rule of thumb, local events on Champlain have featured a lot of largemouth lately – maybe easier to do in one-day events, but also a sign of a burgeoning population.
This time around, the 2024 Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year on the Invitationals and a Champlain ace, Alec Morrison of Peru, New York, expects an excellent tournament.
“The No. 1 thing is going to be postspawn smallmouth,” Morrison said. “I’m sure a lot of them will be hanging around grass and mid-range, and primarily chasing bait by the end of July.”
In a tournament without restrictions on sonar use, a standard game plan on Champlain might be to spend the entire day targeting roaming smallmouth. But Morrison isn’t sure that is viable without forward-facing sonar.
“Three hours is a decent amount of time to get them to bite,” he said. “But, I really do feel like that is something you can’t really target without forward-facing. The ones on grass and rock, more midrange or shallower, those might be the ones to target during the off time.”
The other player is largemouth, and Morrison expects at least two pros to make the Top 10 from Ticonderoga, and perhaps others to do it with northern largemouth.
“I’m sure largemouth are going to play,” Morrison said. “A lot of it depends on our water levels. Generally, in low water years, the largemouth fishing is a little tougher. The more water, the better the largemouth fishing will be.”
Anglers will launch at 6:30 a.m. ET each day from the Plattsburgh City Marina, located at 5 Dock St. in Plattsburgh, New York. Weigh-ins will also be held at the Plattsburgh City Marina and will begin at 2:30 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and weigh-in events and also encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW!® live stream and coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2026 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech features a field of up to 150 professional anglers competing across six tournaments around the country for a total purse of $3.8 million and valuable 7 Brew Angler of the Year (AOY) points to qualify for the Pro Circuit Championship, set for Sept. 18-20 on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and a coveted spot on the MLF Bass Pro Tour – the sport’s premier circuit.
In Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit competition, the full field of pros competes in the two-day opening round Friday and Saturday in a five-fish, weigh-in format. Only the top 50 pros, based on their two-day cumulative weight, advance to the final round on Championship Sunday. The winner is determined by the heaviest cumulative weight from all three days and they will be awarded the grand prize of up to $135,000. Forward-facing and/or 360-degree sonar is limited to only 3 hours of competition each day.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and Rob Newell will break down the extended action live all three days of competition from 7 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 6 on Lake Champlain Presented by VOSKER will air as a two-hour episode, premiering at 9 a.m. ET, on Sunday, Oct. 11 on VICE TV.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
BUBBA®, MLF Officially Launch SCORETRACKER® LIVE for Consumers While BUBBA® Expands Its Connected Fishing Ecosystem at ICAST 2026
| (Columbia, MO & Benton, KY) July 13, 2026 – BUBBA®, recognized as the official scale used by Major League Fishing (MLF), and renowned for its innovative Smart Fish Scales and mobile fishing app, together with MLF, the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, today announced the official consumer launch of SCORETRACKER® LIVE, making the same real-time tournament scoring technology used by MLF Bass Pro Tour anglers available to tournament organizers, competitors, and fans everywhere through the BUBBA® app. Originally introduced at ICAST 2025, and vetted through extensive beta testing and real-world tournament use, SCORETRACKER® LIVE is now available to consumers nationwide through the BUBBA® app. |
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| Expanding the BUBBA® Ecosystem The official launch of SCORETRACKER® LIVE marks another step in BUBBA's expanding connected fishing ecosystem. At ICAST, BUBBA is introducing the new BUBBA Pro Series Smart Bump Board, which integrates with the BUBBA® app to capture and record fish length, giving length-based tournaments more options to score competitor catches. BUBBA® will also showcase the new BUBBA Tournament Weigh Station, providing tournament organizers with a durable, professional-grade weigh-in solution when paired with any BUBBA® smart scale. Together with the BUBBA® Smart Fish Scale, the BUBBA® app, and SCORETRACKER® LIVE, these innovations create an integrated ecosystem that brings together the entire tournament fishing experience — connecting organizers, competitors, and fans through every stage of competition, from registration and scoring to live leaderboard updates and spectator engagement. |
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| About BUBBA® A member of the American Outdoor Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ:AOUT) family, BUBBA® is a leading lifestyle brand specializing in high-quality fishing tools and accessories. With a commitment to innovation and excellence, BUBBA® delivers premium products designed to enhance the angling experience. From fillet knives to fishing scales, BUBBA's tools are trusted by professional anglers and fishing enthusiasts worldwide. For more information, visit www.BUBBA.com. About Major League Fishing |
Bokoshe’s Jones Holds On for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Arkansas River
Oklahoma’s Johnson Tops Co-Angler Division
SALLISAW, Okla. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Chris Jones of Bokoshe, Oklahoma, caught a total of five bass weighing 16 pounds, 11 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Arkansas River. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Okie Division. Jones earned $3,440 for his victory.
Jones, who calls the Arkansas River his home water, said plentiful rain had muddied up the water recently, but by tournament time the grasslines he was targeting were seeing clearer water.
“I pulled up Saturday morning and caught a bunch of 2- to 2½-pounders early, and I had 12½ pounds,” Jones said. “I left that area and went to another area about two miles away. I pulled up there and caught a 4-6. I kept culling up and later in the day – about 1 o’clock – I caught a 3.98 to give me 16-11.”
Jones said he threw a BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig as well as a BOOYAH Poppin Pad Crasher to provoke strikes.
“It was just a river fishing, grass fishing type of thing,” Jones said. “The main thing was is the areas I fished, I didn’t have any company. I didn’t think I had a chance at this at all until I caught that fish later. You always feel like you need one more fish. It’d been taking 18 to 20 pounds to win, lately.”
Jones’ 16-11 proved to be enough for the win, and he hoisted his sixth Major League Fishing trophy.
“You never know when your next win might be,” Jones said. “You don’t take them for granted.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Chris Jones, Bokoshe, Okla., five bass, 16-11, $3,440
2nd: Mike Hesson, Hackett, Ark., five bass, 16-2, $1,680
3rd: Blayke Haggard, Grove, Okla., five bass, 15-13, $1,100
4th: Kellen Davis, Stigler, Okla., five bass, 15-5, $680
5th: Sean McAllister, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 15-3, $600
6th: Ian Leybas, McAlester, Okla., five bass, 14-10, $870
7th: Joshua Teply, Harrah, Okla., five bass, 14-6, $500
8th: Chad Nolan, Muldrow, Okla., five bass, 14-5, $480
9th: Rodney Copeland, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 13-14, $460
10th: Brent Haggard, Sallisaw, Okla., five bass, 12-15, $430
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Ian Leybas of McAlester, Oklahoma, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, even bass worth $200.
Mark Johnson of Weleetka, Oklahoma, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,820 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 8 pounds, 10 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mark Johnson, Weleetka, Okla., three bass, 8-10, $1,820
2nd: Chris Watkins, Fort Smith, Ark., three bass, 8-2, $840
3rd: Danny Giacomo, McAlester, Okla., three bass, 7-13, $425
4th: Aaron Warren, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 7-12, $340
5th: Robert Jones, Broken Arrow, Okla., three bass, 7-10, $300
6th: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., three bass, 7-9, $360
7th: Thad Hewitt, Delaware, Okla., three bass, 7-0, $250
8th: Mark King, Gurdon, Okla., three bass, 6-5, $240
9th: Joe Tucker, Osceola, Mo., three bass, 6-0, $230
10th: George Baker, Owasso, Okla., three bass, 5-11, $215
Johnson also earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 3-pound, 11-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Joshua Teply of Harrah, Oklahoma now leads the 7 Brew Okie Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 934 points, while Thad Hewitt of Delaware, Oklahoma, leads the Okie Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 947 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 15-17 BFL Regional tournament on Kentucky-Barkley Lake in Calvert City, Kentucky. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Adrian’s Federer Notches First Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Detroit River
Ohio’s Mueller Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division
TRENTON, Mich. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Brayden Federer of Adrian, Michigan, caught five bass weighing 23 pounds, 9 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Detroit River . The tournament was the first of five events of the season for the BFL Michigan Division Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Co. Federer earned $3,080 for his victory.
“I ended up running up to St. Clair, and the morning was really slow,” Federer said. “I started my (Garmin) Livescope period at 7 and only had three fish two hours into the ’scope period. I only had one good one.
“The fish are really scattered right now and few and far between, but it seemed like in practice if you came across one, it was a good one,” Federer went on to say. “I just kept grinding and picking one off here and there. I had five minutes left to go in my ’scope period and had around 20¼ pounds with a 2-6 in my bag, and then I caught the 5-8 that won big bass.”
Federer said he caught 10 to 15 keepers during his Livescope period on a drop-shot rig tipped with a Strike King 3X ElazTech Z Too Soft Jerkbait in 17 to 18 feet of Canadian water.
“I didn’t know if I had enough weight to win, but I thought I had enough to be in the Top 3 or Top 5,” Federer said. “This feels amazing. It’s felt like this win has been a long time coming. I’ve had numerous third- and fifth-place finishes, and I’ve been wanting one of these trophies for a long time.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Brayden Federer, Adrian, Mich., five bass, 23-9, $3,080
2nd: Cody Kelley, Plainwell, Mich., five bass, 22-7, $1,420
3rd: Aaron Limber, Northwood, Ohio, five bass, 21-13, $740
4th: Jacob Jones, Milford, Ohio, five bass, 19-13, $600
5th: Tanner Hampton, Bourbon, Ind., five bass, 19-11, $530
6th: Chris Hellebuyck, White Lake, Mich., five bass, 19-10, $1,110 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
7th: Scott Dobson, Clarkston, Mich., five bass, 19-9, $450
8th: Wilson Burton, Findlay, Ohio, five bass, 19-2, $430
9th: Cullan Parker, Lorain, Ohio, five bass, 19-0, $405
9th: Mark Flick, Delton, Mich., five bass, 19-0, $405
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Tournament winner Federer also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 8-ounce bass worth $200.
Mike Mueller of Delaware, Ohio, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,490 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 14 pounds, 7 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Mike Mueller, Delaware, Ohio, three bass, 14-7, $1,490
2nd: Jared Delong, Lucasville, Ohio, three bass, 13-12, $710
3rd: Chase Kraynack, Essex, Ontario, three bass, 12-1, $385
3rd: Spencer Phelps, Bangor, Mich., three bass, 12-1, $385
5th: Klaus Kuester, Forest Park, Ill., three bass, 12-0, $241
5th: Bill Gordon, Heath, Ohio, three bass, 12-0, $241
5th: Michael McClellan, Marion, Ohio, three bass, 12-0, $241
8th: Marco Luna-Gen, Berkley, Mich., three bass, 11-14, $215
9th: Ryan Legg, Parma, Ohio, three bass, 11-13, $210
10th: Rosario Murello, Greenwood, Ind., three bass, 11-8, $200
Mike Mueller of Delaware, Ohio, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $100.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Mount Vernon’s Bishop Paces Field for Victory at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at Barren River
Kentucky’s Willoughby Earns Win in Co-Angler Division
SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Dustin Bishop of Mount Vernon, Kentucky, caught a total of five bass weighing 20 pounds, 3 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Barren River. The tournament was the fourth of five events of the season for the BFL Mountain Division. Bishop earned $2,790 for his victory.
“I practiced the day before the tournament and did a lot of graphing,” Bishop said. “I didn’t really make a lot of casts. I found nine schools of fish that I thought had potential, and three of them were a little sneakier than the others. I was looking for stuff that was by community holes on the main lake, but not necessarily in them. I was graphing off to the sides of them.”
Bishop’s search for fish off the beaten path turned out to be key, and he started the day in an area that held three schools of fish. He rotated through the schools and had 18 pounds in his first hour of fishing.
“I pulled up there and they were just chewing.” Bishop said. “I had given my co-angler, who ended up winning the co-angler division, a bait and he caught back-to-back 5-pounders. I looked at him and said, ‘I’m going to need that bait back.’”
Bishop’s bait arsenal included a big spoon, a big swimbait and a Strike King 10XD Elite Crankbait.
“They were really hugging the bottom,” Bishop said. “It was really hard to see them. I caught about 40 fish. We had fun. It was a blast. We beat them up pretty good.
“I actually thought I had lost it, because I dumped one that weighed about 4½ pounds at the boat,” Bishop went on to say. “But this feels amazing.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Dustin Bishop, Mount Vernon, Ky., five bass, 20-3, $2,790
2nd: John Rediess, Smiths Grove, Ky., five bass, 18-1, $1,015
2nd: Jerry Monroe, Athens, Tenn., five bass, 18-1, $1,015
4th: Brandon Young, Kingston, Tenn., five bass, 17-15, $570
5th: Derek Turner, Jacksboro, Tenn., five bass, 17-11, $510
6th: Rex Reagan, Livingston, Tenn., five bass, 17-3, $450
7th: Luke Lamb, Nicholasville, Ky., five bass, 16-14, $430
8th: Adam Sharp, Lebanon, Tenn., five bass, 16-7, $420
9th: Isaac Peavyhouse, Jamestown, Tenn., five bass, 16-4, $550
10th: Freddy Adkins, East Bernstadt, Ky., five bass, 14-12, $390
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Bishop also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 4-pound, 14-ounce bass worth $200.
James Willoughby of Hillsboro, Kentucky, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,295 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 12 pounds, 1 ounce.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: James Willoughby, Hillsboro, Ky., three bass, 12-1, $1,295
2nd: Barry King, Liberty, Ky., three bass, 11-15, $665
3rd: Kendall Parnell, Monticello, Ky., three bass, 11-14, $450
4th: Matthew Faulkner, Corbin, Ky., three bass, 9-11, $285
5th: Dustin Forrest, Knob Lick, Ky., three bass, 9-1, $255
6th: Brent Jones, Ashland, Ky., three bass, 8-12, $225
7th: Omar de Jesus, Goodlettsville., three bass, 8-10, $220
8th: Darren Kelly, Wartburg, Tenn., three bass, 8-6, $310
9th: Cody Chesnut, Trenton, Ohio, three bass, 7-13, $200
10th: Michael Anderson, Knoxville, Tenn., three bass, 7-12, $195
Kendall Parnell of Monticello, Kentucky, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 4-ounce bass worth $100.
After four events, Timothy Wacker of Clinton, Tennessee, now leads the 7 Brew Mountain Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 960 points, while Kendall Parnell of Monticello, Kentucky, leads the Mountain Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 982 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 22-24 BFL Regional tournament on Watts Bar Lake in Spring City, Tennessee. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Pennsylvania’s Heivly Edges Field for Win at Phoenix Bass Fishing League Event at St. Lawrence River Presented by Suzuki Marine
Plattsburgh’s Bell Earns Victory in Co-Angler Division
MASSENA, N.Y. (July 13, 2026) – Boater Andrew Heivly of Spring City, Pennsylvania, caught a total of five bass weighing 22 pounds, 5 ounces, to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the St. Lawrence River Presented by Suzuki Marine . The tournament, hosted by the Town of Massena, was the second of five events of the season for the BFL Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Co. Division. Heivly earned $3,250 for his victory.
“I headed to an area near Waddington and got to my first spot and had a couple of boats around me,” Heivly said. “I didn’t really see anything happening, so I quickly adjusted and went over to another area that I had found in practice.”
Heivly said he turned on his Garmin Livescope at 6:30 and fished shallow water, from 2 to 16 feet, near rock and weed lines with a jerkbait and Deps Sakamata Shad. Heivly filled his limit and added two key bass that upgraded his bag after the Livescope period.
“I was half a mile from weigh-in and was on the trolling motor when I came across this spot I just had to try,” Heivly said. “I had never fished it before, and I made one cast and caught my biggest fish – a 4-14 – that culled out a 3-pounder to seal the deal.
“Knowing the St. Lawrence River, generally you have to have 23 to 25 pounds to win,” Heivly went on to say. “I knew I would probably be in the top 5. I weighed in right away and had to sit there and wait for two hours to find out the result. But it turned out to be an awesome deal.”
The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:
1st: Andrew Heivly, Spring City, Penn., five bass, 22-5, $3,250
2nd: Dante Piraino, Baldwinsville, NY., five bass, 21-13, $1,590
3rd: Jesse Spellicy, Gouverneur, N.Y., five bass, 21-12, $1,310 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
4th: Clay Reece, Lexington, Ky., five bass, 21-8, $650
5th: Kevin Rose, Amston, Conn., five bass, 21-7, $580
6th: Kent Compo, Brasherfalls, N.Y., five bass, 20-9, $500
7th: Stephen Draghi, Sparrowbush, N.Y., five bass, 20-0, $480
8th: Matthew Kinney, Lisbon, N.Y., five bass, 19-12, $460
9th: Lane Olson, Forest Grove, Ore., five bass, 19-9, $440
10th: Brian Barde, Pittsfield, Mass., five bass, 19-8, $670
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Matt Russell of Elkton, Maryland, earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 5-pound, 7-ounce bass worth $200.
Michael Bell of Plattsburgh, New York, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $1,575 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 13 pounds, 12 ounces.
The top 10 co-anglers finished:
1st: Michael Bell, Plattsburgh, N.Y., three bass, 13-12, $1,575
2nd: Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Penn., three bass, 13-5, $895
3rd: Kenneth Ibberson, Blackwood, N.J., three bass, 13-4, $505
4th: Chris Hurley, Carlisle, Penn., three bass, 12-15, $375
5th: John Stoughtenger, Waterloo, N.Y., three bass, 11-13, $290
6th: John Pascavage, Hollidaysburg, Penn., three bass, 11-12, $245
6th: Stan Holland, Lorry, N.Y., three bass, 11-12, $230
8th: Jason Bell, Lisbon, N.Y., three bass, 11-9, $220
9th: Ken Pfeiffer, Manassas, Va., three bass, 11-4, $180
10th: Eric Reynolds, Bloomingburg, N.Y., three bass, 11-3, $180
10th: Jerry Hodge III, Elkton, Md., three bass, 11-3, $180
Kade Wesner of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 13-ounce bass worth $100.
After two events, Joseph Thompson of Lincoln University, Pennsylvania, now leads the Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Co. Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 473 points, while Chris Hurley of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, leads the Northeast Presented by 3rd Deck Brewing Company Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 488 points.
The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on the Potomac River in Marbury, Maryland. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.
The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2027 BFL All-American will take place June 5-7, at the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes in Kissimmee, Florida, and is hosted by Experience Kissimmee.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Teal talks ‘gravity baits’ and Vexus® buckles
Given the fact he makes a full-time living sourcing the latest and most innovative bass fishing lures from Japan to sell to American fishing tackle retailers, it’s fair to say the always-comical Aaron Teal from Minnesota is not afraid to try something new.
Sometimes, that includes taking the biggest fiberglass Vexus® bass boat made over flooded concrete dams to win tournaments.
Such was exactly the case recently when Teal navigated his Vexus® VXs21 from In-Tune Marine into water most of his competitors thought was impossible to reach. He then pitched a salt-dense soft plastic lure classified as a ‘gravity bait’ – specifically, an Okura Stick -- to win the prestigious Classic Bass Champions event on Big Stone Lake.
The victory paid $15,000, but he also collected a Vexus® REV Rewards™ tournament bonus, and a uniquely cool Vexus® belt buckle for his trophy case.
“The VXs21 is a big boat and often promoted as the ultimate bass boat for big water because of the cushy Air Wave® seats and hull design, but it’s also pretty awesome at getting into water most would judge too skinny for a fiberglass boat,” says the 32-year old host of the popular Teal’s Bass Galaxy pod cast.
A poster boy for what a “bass head” looks like, Teal began fishing tournaments at age 12 under the mentorship of guys in the Granite City Bassmasters, and has carved out a living around the sport as an adult through his work as a former sales leader at In-Tune Marine, his popular social media channels, tournament winnings, and his Tomorrow Tackle import lure business.
“My business is a lot like the Vexus way of doing business. I’m providing an innovative, custom built product to America’s independent tackle dealers. I just happen to be sourcing 3” soft plastics like the Okura Stick gravity bait instead of premium quality 21-foot fishing boats,” grins Teal.
To learn more about the tournament winning Vexus VXs21 or to sign up for REV Rewards, please visit VexusBoats.com and interested tackle retailers can connect with Teal directly at [email protected].
2026 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter returning to Port Aransas
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. announced today that the 2026 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter will return to Port Aransas, Texas, Nov. 6-8, bringing the nation's premier inshore anglers back to one of the country's most celebrated redfish fisheries.
Hosted by Port Aransas Fisherman's Wharf, the three-day championship will feature daily takeoffs at 6:45 a.m. CT and weigh-ins beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT. Teams qualifying for the championship, along with additional event details, will be announced at a later date.
The Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter has quickly become one of competitive fishing's premier saltwater events, bringing together elite redfish anglers and top Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series competitors to battle for one of the sport's most coveted titles. Previous championships have showcased the incredible fishery surrounding Port Aransas, where changing tides, expansive grass flats, shallow marshes and miles of productive shoreline reward anglers capable of adapting to ever-changing coastal conditions. The championship has previously visited Port Aransas in 2021, 2022 and 2025, producing memorable finishes and demonstrating why the Texas Gulf Coast remains one of the nation's top destinations for competitive redfishing.
"We're excited to bring the Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter back to Port Aransas," said Chris Bowes, B.A.S.S. Vice President of Tournaments. "Every time we've visited this incredible fishery, it has delivered exciting competition and showcased just how diverse and challenging redfish tournament fishing can be. We look forward to welcoming another outstanding field of anglers as they compete for one of the biggest titles in professional redfishing."
Located on Mustang Island along the Texas Gulf Coast, Port Aransas is surrounded by the productive waters of Aransas Bay, Corpus Christi Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The community has long been recognized as one of the state's premier fishing destinations, attracting anglers year-round in pursuit of redfish, speckled trout, flounder and numerous offshore species. In 2025, the Texas Legislature officially designated Port Aransas as the Fishing Capital of Texas, further recognizing its rich angling heritage and world-class fisheries.
"Port Aransas was designated as the Fishing Capital of Texas last year by the state of Texas. And, there's no doubt about it — we are one of the best fishing hot spots in the entire Gulf," said Brett Stawar, President and CEO of Port Aransas, The Island Life. "We are excited and honored to welcome back the best anglers in the country."
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the action throughout the weekend, beginning with daily launches from Port Aransas Fisherman's Wharf before welcoming competitors back each afternoon for the official weigh-ins. The event is expected to draw anglers and spectators from across the country while highlighting the exceptional fishery and hospitality that have made Port Aransas a favorite stop on the championship circuit.
Additional information regarding the 2026 Yamaha Bassmaster Redfish Cup Championship presented by Skeeter, including the qualified teams, tournament format and fan activities, will be announced in the coming months on Bassmaster.com.
This event will be hosted by Port Aransas Fisherman's Wharf.
2026 Redfish Cup Championship
2026 Redfish Cup Championship
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
MLF Announces 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Schedule
BENTON, Ky. (July 9, 2026) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech schedule, featuring six regular-season events and the no-entry-fee Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship.
The 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will showcase top professional anglers competing across six premier fisheries for the sport’s biggest payouts outside of the Bass Pro Tour, valuable points toward championship qualification, and opportunities to advance to REDCREST and the Bass Pro Tour. The season will culminate Sept. 10-12 at the Pro Circuit Championship on the James River in Richmond, Virginia.
“The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit is one of the most important platforms in professional bass fishing,” said Kevin Hunt, Senior Tournament Director for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit. “It gives established pros and rising stars the opportunity to compete on outstanding fisheries, build their careers and earn their way to the Bass Pro Tour. The 2027 schedule has a strong mix of proven tournament venues and fisheries that will challenge every part of an angler’s game.”
The regular season kicks off Feb. 18-20 at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, before traveling to Lake Chickamauga in Tennessee, Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas, Clarks Hill Lake in Georgia, the Arkansas River in Oklahoma and the St. Lawrence River in New York. The schedule features a cross-section of tournament-fishing staples, from offshore reservoirs and shallow-water river systems to one of the most revered smallmouth fisheries in North America.
The top pro in the season-long point standings will be crowned Fishing Clash Angler of the Year. The top five pros will earn invitations to compete on the 2028 Bass Pro Tour, and the top 40 pros will qualify for the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship on the James River.
Every day of competition will stream live on MLFNOW! at MajorLeagueFishing.com and through the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) and Rumble. All six regular-season events and the championship will also be televised nationally on VICE TV.
Invitations for the 2027 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit will be issued to qualifying anglers this fall.
2027 MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Schedule:
Feb. 18-20* Stop 1 at Lake Murray
Ramp/Marina: Dreher Island State Park
Hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism
March 5-7 Stop 2 at Chickamauga Lake
Ramp/Marina: Chester Frost Park
Hosted by The Sports & Event Corporation and Bill Dance Signature Lakes
April 8-10* Stop 3 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir
Ramp/Marina: Umphrey Family Pavilion
Hosted by the Jasper County Development District
May 7-9 Stop 4 at Clarks Hill Lake
Ramp/Marina: Wildwood Park
Hosted by Visit Columbia County Georgia
June 11-13 Stop 5 at Arkansas River
Ramp/Marina: Three Forks Harbor
Hosted by Visit Muskogee
July 23-25 Stop 6 at St. Lawrence River
Ramp/Marina: Massena Intake Boat Launch
Hosted by the Town of Massena
Sept. 10-12 Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship at the James River Richmond, Va.
Ramp/Marina: Osborne Landing
Hosted by Richmond Region Tourism
* denotes Thursday-Saturday event
Proud sponsors of the MLF Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, Bubba, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PiranhO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
For complete details and updated information visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow the MLF5 social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Synergy at the Source
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DAIWA and Ever Green deliver the ultimate JackHammer trailer stateside to maximize bladed jig performance |
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FOOTHILL RANCH, CA (July 8, 2026) – A premium bladed jig is only as lethal as the trailer behind it. Too often, basic soft plastics act like anchors, choking out high-frequency vibrations, muting the blade’s signature thump, and causing the entire rig to roll over and blow out at high speeds. You need a trailer engineered to harmonize with the lure, not fight it. Through its exclusive partnership with Ever Green International, DAIWA is officially bringing a masterfully tuned soft plastic methodology stateside in the form of the Bull Point Shad 4.5". Designed by elite angler Morizo Shimizu—the mastermind who knows the legendary JackHammer bladed jig better than anyone—this soft bait is built to unleash 120% of the jig's fish-catching power. |
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Inverted Triangle Architecture and Casting Dynamics Many soft plastic trailers feature a uniform round or flat shape that drags through the water and kills a bladed jig's hunt. Ever Green’s Bull Point Shad turns that design flaw on its head. Designed with a specialized inverted triangle body, it packs critical bulk and weight into the front section of the bait. During the cast, this front-loaded distribution acts like a concentrated capsule to drive the entire rig through heavy crosswinds for maximum distance. Upon splashdown, this architecture excels at skipping—letting anglers easily bounce the bait deep under overhanging cover and docks where standard, wider profiles bind up and stall. Weight Dynamics and Column Control The Bull Point Shad delivers critical systematic advantages by increasing mass without increasing structural drag. This intentional addition of weight immediately amplifies casting distance and lets anglers punch the entire rig through headwinds. Furthermore, the physical fullness and concentrated mass of the body provide crucial hydrodynamic lift. This specialized buoyancy profile allows the entire rig to ride higher in the water column during the retrieve, which yields flawless depth control to burn the bait over shallow grass, tick the tops of submerged wood, and keep the lure locked on track as if it were on rails. Harmonized Vibration and Tail Kinematics To amplify the lure’s presence without overpowering the crisp, high-frequency vibration of the stainless steel blade, the Bull Point Shad features a highly refined rear section. The body tapers down drastically into a series of three precision-engineered connecting slits. These slits regulate how water flows across the tail, ensuring a tight, delicate tracking action that supports the jig's natural tracking cadence rather than dampening it. Flanking the rear are unique, V-shaped flat fins that stabilize the bait's lateral movement. Whether crept along the bottom at a crawl or burned through the grass, this tail geometry maintains flawless tracking balance across all retrieve speeds to keep the bait running true. |
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Ribbed Body Mechanics and Skirt Separation The physical profile of the Bull Point Shad features intentionally deep ribbing along the main torso. This ribbed composition serves a mechanical purpose beyond creating a soft, realistic texture. The outer ribs physically block the rubber skirt of the JackHammer from collapsing tightly against the soft plastic during a high-speed retrieve. By pushing the skirt outward, the bait maintains a full, flared, and lifelike silhouette while generating micro-turbulence that fish can easily track in low-visibility environments. Seamless Integration and Hold Finesse and power fishing demand a trailer that stays buttoned down through hard skips, heavy cover, and violent strikes. The Bull Point Shad is molded from a high-durability soft plastic compound that aligns perfectly with the JackHammer's double-wire trailer keeper. It threads on straight and locks securely into place, eliminating the constant misalignment and tearing common with soft plastics under rough use. The Wrap “Generic trailers have a bad habit of killing the exact vibration and sound that make the JackHammer so lethal, but the Bull Point Shad is engineered to amplify it,” said DAIWA Field Marketing Manager, Chris Martin. “Shimizu Morizo spent years dialing in this design to ensure the tail action, ribbing, and weight distribution work in total lockstep with the jig. The result is a dedicated trailer that enhances casting distance, keeps the bait running clean through cover, and triggers reaction strikes where standard soft plastics fail.” |
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BERRY CHART |
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KO SMELT |
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MAGIC SHAD |
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GREEN PUMPKIN CANDY |
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GREEN PUMPKIN |
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SOLID BLACK |
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Bull Point Shad FEATURES:
SPECIFICATIONS:
MSRP $13.99 |
Bobby Lane, Flooded Bushes, and Toyota Bonus Bucks
Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
Few anglers departed northeast Oklahoma as fired up as Bobby Lane following Zenni Stage 6 on Grand Lake. While ideally Lane would have hauled home another trophy from the shores of Grand, the Florida native was tickled with his 5th place result which garnered a $4,000 dividend from Toyota Bonus Bucks.
“Big Fish” Bobby was the highest finishing angler towing his boat with a 2022 or newer Toyota tow vehicle, which earned Lane the extra pocket full of cash following Stage 6. Lane said he has relied on a Toyota Tundra to tow his boat around the country for the past 16-seasons as a full-time professional.
While the long-time Bonus Bucks participant was excited about his added reward, what had him most stoked was the way he caught his fish on Grand. Old-school flipping and pitching, mainly around Grand Lake’s renowned bushes and willow trees.
“I finally got a fish a tournament ‘in the bushes’,” Lane said excitedly. “You hear so much about the flooded bush bite on places like Grand, throughout the Ozarks, or some Tennessee River lakes like Pickwick or Kentucky Lakes; but we often miss that bite on the professional circuit. Mother Nature and our schedule finally aligned and, boy, I had such a good time. After practice and four days of competing, I never wanted to quit fishing.”
Coming from an angler in his 25th year as a full-time pro, that’s high praise. Lane believes Grand Lake is one of, if not the best, non-grass fishery in the country. When water levels stay near normal there isn’t much shallow cover for anglers to target in the summer months, but when the water rises all that changes.
Bass Pro Tour competitors were greeted to a Grand that was several feet above normal during Stage 6, which meant miles of shallow bushes, laydowns, and clumps of willow trees were flooded and provided perfect ambush points for fish. Many BPT pros capitalized on this bite, but none more so than Lane.
Bobby admitted he watched weather reports and water levels for weeks, hoping he’d get a chance to fish a high-water summertime event on Grand. Of course, Lane has flipped flooded bushes before, but he said it was always fun-fishing or during practice. Conditions never held to where a flooded, shallow flipping deal had been Lane’s primary pattern.
After accumulating over $3 million in career earnings, Bobby can finally say that changed in June of his 25th year on tour. Lane employed his system of a 7-foot 6-inch Heavy Fantasista Rod, 50-pound Spiderwire Durabraid line, ½-ounce sinker and a 4/0 Fusion Hook to land nearly every bass he put on the SCORETRACKER.
Throughout the week Lane dialed in on the pinch points where fresh fish would replenish, even with fluctuating water levels every day. He was keyed in to cover that had slightly deeper water around it versus more monotonous stretches of shoreline. Another key detail was his bait color, which B. Lane kept extremely simple.
“I went through every black and blue bait I owned,” Lane said with a smile. “A (Berkley) Pit Boss was my main deal, but I’m not exaggerating by the final day I was rigging any black and blue soft plastic I could find in my boat. I caught so many fish, and good
Lane’s finish added to his impressive track record on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, along with another check from the popular contingency program offered by Toyota.
Bonus Bucks is free to register for, and you don’t need to be a top pro like Bobby to benefit. There are over 620 bass and walleye tournaments open to anglers of all levels eligible for extra payouts through Toyota Bonus Bucks. For more information or to sign-up today, visit: https://www.toyotatrucksbonusbucks.com/ or send an email to [email protected].
MLF Fisheries Management Division Completes Habitat Restoration Project at Lake Eufaula
EUFAULA, Okla. (July 8, 2026) – The Major League Fishing (MLF) Fisheries Management Division (FMD) , in partnership with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) and Kubota Tractor Corporation, deployed a new, state-of-the-art Tournament Recovery Zone at Lake Eufaula late last month, enhancing fish care and long-term sustainability for Oklahoma’s largest reservoir.
Despite severe summer thunderstorms in the area, deployment crews anchored a network of MossBack Fish Habitat structures at the mouth of Eufaula Cove (N 35.28095, W 095.56854). This deployment marks the latest chapter in a successful, multiyear cooperative conservation campaign to enhance Lake Eufaula.
LINK TO PHOTO GALLERY FROM EVENT
The lake has historically battled severe water-level fluctuations and natural habitat degradation since its impoundment in 1964. To combat those challenges, the ODWC initiated a massive, multiyear habitat enhancement program supported by federal matching funds, the City of Eufaula and private conservation groups. The MLF FMD has remained a core partner throughout this timeline, previously organizing a 2024 habitat restoration project where MLF Bass Pro Tour anglers teamed with the Oologah-Talala High School Fishing Team to place dozens of MossBack structures across the cove.
The strategic placement of the Tournament Recovery Zone, installed on June 23, provides an immediate sanctuary for bass following post-tournament weigh-ins. By establishing complex vertical cover at the mouth of the cove, the project ensures that heavily pressured game fish can safely acclimate, reorient and recover from stress before dispersing back into the 105,500-acre main lake. Rather than relying on traditional cedar trees that degrade over time, the new Tournament Recovery Zone utilizes a system of advanced MossBack commercial products, including 40-inch Conservation Cubes, Reed Mats, John Godwin Crappie Tower Laydowns and Fry Fortresses. The diversity of the recovery zone provides valuable habitat complexity for various fish species.
The MossBack structures are designed to quickly grow the natural algae and tiny organisms that baitfish feed on, helping create a healthy food chain around the habitat. The V-shaped limb configurations also help keep lures, hooks and weights from getting hung up, so the area doesn’t turn into a mess of broken line and lost tackle.
The event was a true community effort, made possible through crucial equipment and personnel support provided by local dealer Stewart Martin Kubota. The company supplied an operator alongside a heavy-duty Kubota SVL75-3 Track Loader to efficiently transport, manipulate and load the structures onto deployment vessels.
The installation of the Tournament Recovery Zone further cements Lake Eufaula's status as a premier, sustainable destination for competitive bass fishing in the United States and will help enhance the resource for generations of anglers to come.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram, Rumble and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
From Saginaw Bay to Smith Mountain Lake: Why These Two Pros Trust Suzuki
Matt Becker’s fourth year running a Suzuki Marine Outboard lines up with his entire Bass Pro Tour career. He qualified in 2023 and won Bally Bet Angler of the Year in his rookie season on the strength of a win at Stage Seven on Saginaw Bay. Four years, four Suzukis, and a Bass Pro Tour résumé that already runs to 12 top 10s and better than $480,000 in earnings.
Ask him why and reliability tops the list, but he doesn’t dress it up. “Really, there’s not a reason not to run a Suzuki,” he said. “This thing is legit.” What he cares about is what happens at the dock every morning. “I know every time I turn that key, she’s going to fire up,” he said. “She’s going to get me back to weigh-in, back to the ramp, wherever you need to get. So reliability is number one most important thing for me out on tour.”
Nick Hatfield’s a year behind Becker on the Bass Pro Tour. He qualified in 2024 and broke through last year at Heavy Hitters on Smith Mountain Lake, running away with the win by more than 12 pounds for a $110,000 payday. “I’ve got to count on this thing to get me to the fish, to get me back,” he said. “I trust this thing more than anything on this whole entire rig and it’s bulletproof.”
The second reason gets less attention: fuel economy. “This thing is as fuel efficient as a motor as I’ve had,” Hatfield said. “I’ve ran other brands in the past and this thing does great on fuel.” Becker’s take is more blunt. “This thing practically makes gas,” he said. On tour, where the fuel tank is fixed and the water isn’t, that difference decides whether you get one more pass at a school before you have to run in. “Being able to get it just a little bit further some of those times, it’s super important and can play a really big role.”
Four years for Becker. A $110,000 payday for Hatfield. Neither one’s shopping around. Hear it for yourself!
AFTCO Partners with B.A.S.S. Nation on Seven Conservation Grants in 2026
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — AFTCO continues its strong conservation heritage by providing $25,000 in annual conservations grants to B.A.S.S. Nation Clubs in 2026. This year’s $25,000 contribution is divided among seven B.A.S.S. Nation groups to support local conservation projects in their respective areas. With this year’s grants, AFTCO’s total contributions to this program have surpassed $202,000, since its inception in 2018.
The seven grant recipients selected for 2026 are:
- Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation for upgrades to a multi-purpose barge that will serve as a tournament live release boat and as a habitat installation barge used on projects statewide.
- Kansas B.A.S.S. Nation for habitat improvement on Lake Perry that will include introductions of native aquatic vegetation and artificial structures.
- Illinois B.A.S.S. Nation for habitat improvements on Wolf Lake, a popular water for youth fishing clinics as well as a destination for high school bass tournaments.
- Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation for the purchase of a PiranhO2 oxygen concentrator to upgrade their tournament fish care system.
- Lake Oconee Bassmaster for the purchase and installation of Mossback Fish Habitat structures to enhance angler catch in Lake Oconee.
- New Mexico B.A.S.S. Nation for the purchase of Largemouth Bass fingerlings to bolster fish stockings done by the New Mexico Game & Fish Department.
- Florida B.A.S.S. Nation for support of the non-profit organization, Mighty River Recovery, that is working to improve water quality, restore native vegetation, and bring back the fishery on the fabled St. John’s River.
All projects are locally coordinated by B.A.S.S Nation state chapters and clubs, government fishery agencies, local businesses and volunteers — including youth organizations — who contribute labor for the projects.
“We are impressed by the projects that this year’s grant recipients have taken on to improve fishing in their respective states. The projects are focused on habitat improvements and fish care which have been two important parts of our conservation efforts in freshwater. We are proud and excited to support these great projects in 2026,” said Casey Shedd, AFTCO president.
“Nine years and counting that AFTCO has supported the great conservation work that our B.A.S.S. Nation chapters and clubs are doing. The Shedd family and AFTCO’s commitment to supporting these grass-roots projects is a testament to their belief in giving back to the resource that our sport is so dependent on, and those of us at B.A.S.S. sincerely appreciate the continued support,” said Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director.
About AFTCO
Family owned and operated, the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) represents unparalleled quality, performance, and reliability when it counts most. Worn across the globe, AFTCO's fishing clothing and fishing rain gear is designed to handle the harshest elements. Whether you are a tournament bass angler looking to stay dry in a late fall downpour or an offshore weekend warrior seeking protection from the sun's harmful UV rays, AFTCO keeps you fishing comfortably.
AFTCO reflects a legacy of firsts. From former company Chairman Milt Shedd's pioneering conservation achievements, to the invention of the roller guide and the introduction of the world's first pair of true fishing shorts, AFTCO provides conservation leadership and innovative products proven to deliver performance on the water. Our passion for the outdoors goes beyond our product offering because of an unwavering commitment to help protect our fishing resources and angler rights. Through our 10% Pledge to Protect and Conserve, your purchase of any AFTCO product directly supports conservation initiatives.
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
MLF Unveils 2027 Bass Pro Tour Schedule
BENTON, Ky. (July 7, 2026) – Major League Fishing (MLF), the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, announced today the 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule, featuring seven regular-season events, Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027 and the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event.
The 2027 season will feature 50 of the top anglers in professional bass fishing competing for the sport’s biggest payouts, Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors and qualification into REDCREST 2028, MLF’s most prestigious championship event.
The 2027 Bass Pro Tour season will open Jan. 14-17 at the St. Johns River in Palatka, Florida, before traveling to fisheries across Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, New York and North Carolina. The schedule includes a mix of legendary tournament destinations, dynamic river systems, proven big-bass fisheries and a dual-lake event in the Shreveport-Bossier region featuring Caddo Lake and Cross Lake.
“The 2027 Bass Pro Tour schedule is exactly what this league is built for – great fisheries, passionate host communities and the best anglers in the world competing in a format that showcases every decision they make on the water,” said Daniel Fennel, MLF Senior Director of Tournament Operations for the Bass Pro Tour. “From historic venues like the St. Johns River, Toledo Bend and Lake Champlain to exciting stops like the Pasquotank River and our dual-lake event in Louisiana, this schedule will give our anglers a tremendous test and give fans a season full of storylines to follow, from start to finish.”
A major highlight of the 2027 season will be Bass Pro Shops REDCREST 2027, the Bass Pro Tour championship, set for April 16-18 on Logan Martin Lake near Birmingham, Alabama. The championship event will feature top pro anglers from MLF competing for the REDCREST title and a $300,000 top prize.
The 2027 season will also include the fan-favorite all-star event Kubota Heavy Hitters, May 22-27, on Kentucky and Barkley lakes in Calvert City, Kentucky. The tournament will showcase the Tour’s top big-fish performers and award multiple Big Bass Awards for the heaviest bass caught during competition.
Each regular-season Bass Pro Tour event will feature the full field of anglers competing in the Qualifying Round on Days 1 and 2, followed by the Knockout Round on Day 3 and the Championship Round on Day 4. MLF’s signature catch-weigh-release format delivers real-time scoring via the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard and live coverage for fans throughout each day of competition.
Every minute of Bass Pro Tour competition will be streamed live on MLFNOW! through the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV), Rumble and MajorLeagueFishing.com, giving fans unprecedented access to the strategies, adjustments and on-the-water drama that define the Bass Pro Tour.
With a stacked schedule, championship stakes and a field of the most accomplished anglers in professional fishing, the 2027 Bass Pro Tour season is poised to deliver another year of dramatic finishes and unforgettable big-bass action.
2027 MLF Bass Pro Tour Schedule:
Jan. 14-17 Stage 1 at St. Johns River Palatka, Fla.
Ramp/Marina: Palatka City Dock & Boat Ramp
Hosted by the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce
Feb. 25-28 Stage 2 at Caddo Lake (Days 1-2) & Cross Lake (Days 3-4) Shreveport-Bossier City, La.
Ramp/Marina: Earl G. Williamson Park (Caddo Lake) and the American Legion Landing (Cross Lake)
Hosted by the Shreveport-Bossier Sports Commission
March 11-14 Stage 3 at Norris Lake
Ramp/Marina: Lonas Young Memorial Park
Hosted by the Campbell County Chamber of Commerce & Tourism and Bill Dance Signature Lakes
April 1-4 Stage 4 at Toledo Bend Reservoir Hemphill, Texas
Ramp/Marina: Sabinetown Recreation Area
Hosted by Visit Sabine County and the Sabine River Authority of Texas
April 16-18 REDCREST 2027 at Logan Martin Lake Birmingham, Ala.
Ramp/Marina: Lincoln’s Landing
Hosted by the Greater Birmingham Convention & Visitors Bureau
April 29-May 2 Stage 5 at Lake Champlain Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Ramp/Marina: Plattsburgh City Marina
Hosted by the City of Plattsburgh and the Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau
May 22-27 MLF Heavy Hitters at Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Calvert City, Ky.
Ramp/Marina: Kentucky Dam Marina
Hosted by the Kentucky-Barkley Lakes Partnership
June 24-27 Stage 6 at Pickwick Lake Counce, Tenn.
Ramp/Marina: Pickwick Landing State Park
Hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake-Hardin County Tourism and Bill Dance Signature Lakes
Aug. 5-8 Stage 7 at Pasquotank River Elizabeth City, N.C.
Ramp/Marina: Waterfront Park
Hosted by Visit Elizabeth City
Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Force, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, OFF! Deep Woods, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota, Yuengling and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the 2027 Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
Lew’s® Introduces HyperMag Shallow Spool 300 Spinning Reel Uncompromising Performance
- 7.0:1 high-speed gear ratio for quick retrieves and immediate slack line pickup
- Shallow spool design to reduce line waste and eliminate the need for backing with braided line
- Magnesium frame and side plate for lightweight strength, rigidity and lasting gear alignment
- C40 Carbon Skeletal Rotor for reduced weight, added strength and improved balance
- AccuGear™ precision-machined aluminum drive gear for smooth retrieval and extended gear life
- EvenLay™ slow oscillation system to reduce line twist and maximize casting distance
- ClutchGuard™ protection system to help prevent water intrusion into the clutch mechanism
- Hybrid carbon drag system for strong, smooth drag performance
- Premium 11-bearing system for reliable, fluid operation
- Aluminum braid-ready spool that allows braid to be tied directly to the spool
- One-piece bail wire for smoother casting and reduced line tangles
- Zero Reverse® one-way clutch bearing for instant hook-setting power without backplay
AREY’S TOUGHEST TOURNAMENT YET: FAITH, FAMILY AND THE FIGHT AHEAD
Courtesy of Dynamic Sponsorships
Professional bass fishing teaches hard lessons every single day. The weather changes, fish disappear and equipment fails. You can make every right decision and still watch a tournament totally unravel before your eyes. Over time, the sport teaches its competitors something that extends well beyond bass fishing: control what you can control, adapt to what you can't and keep moving forward.
For Team Toyota pro Matt Arey, those lessons have taken on a far deeper meaning.
After recently stepping away from the Bassmaster Elite Series following a cancer diagnosis, Arey finds himself navigating a challenge no angler ever expects. Instead of studying offshore structure or preparing for the next Elite event, his days are filled with chemotherapy treatments, doctor appointments and recovery. Yet throughout the ordeal, his outlook has remained remarkably steady. It has been a reflection of the faith, resilience and gratitude that have defined his career long before this diagnosis.
"I've been feeling pretty well, honestly," Arey said. "I finished my second round of chemo a couple weeks ago and thankfully it hasn't made me feel too sick or nauseous so far. I feel very blessed for that. That's why I always tell people that I'm doing better than I deserve."
That perspective hasn't wavered, even during the uncertainty that accompanies cancer treatment.
"My IDH and liver enzymes were really high after my first treatment but five days later, they were back in the normal range," Arey explained. "The doctor was super pleased with that."
Small victories suddenly carry enormous weight. Every encouraging blood test, every positive report from the doctor and every day that feels relatively normal becomes another reason for hope. For someone whose professional life has revolved around competing against the best anglers in the world, Arey has embraced a completely different scoreboard.
PREPARED FOR ADVERSITY
Professional bass fishing isn't just about catching fish. It's about handling disappointment. One lost fish can cost six figures. The best anglers survive because they've learned how to compartmentalize setbacks and remain mentally composed. Arey believes those same lessons have become invaluable throughout his cancer journey.
"I was prepared for this mentally because of tournament bass fishing," he said. "When things don't go your way, you absolutely cannot get spun out. Cancer does not discriminate and neither does wildlife. I went to the doctor 3 or 4 months before my diagnosis for a totally routine checkup. I had perfect numbers on everything. Full blood panel. Look how fast things changed."
It's a sobering reminder that life can change in an instant. No matter how healthy someone feels or how good their last doctor's visit looked, circumstances can shift without warning. That's one of the primary reasons Arey has become so vocal about encouraging others to stay proactive with their health.
"I want to use whatever platform I have to help people and change a few lives," he said. "I pray for that daily. If something doesn't feel right, go to the doctor. Period."
It's simple advice but advice born from firsthand experience.
FAITH PROVIDES THE FOUNDATION
Anyone who has followed Arey's career knows his faith has never been something reserved for Sunday mornings. It's something woven into every aspect of his life. Now, it has become the anchor that keeps him grounded.
"I make it a point every single day to say the Serenity Prayer with my wife."
Those few words carry tremendous significance. Rather than focusing on circumstances outside of his control, Arey continues placing his attention on what he can influence such as his attitude, his gratitude and his trust in God's plan. Even one conversation with his physician helped shape that mindset moving forward.
"When I got diagnosed, my doctor told me, 'You're standing next to a roaring river right now. I'm going to throw you into it. In 6 or 8 months, you're going to resurface and wonder what the heck just happened. But you'll feel like a new man.'"
For Arey, that analogy perfectly captures the season he's currently living through. The current is strong and the path isn't easy. There is, however, confidence that calmer water waits downstream.
FAMILY HAS BECOME THE GREATEST BLESSING
If there's one thing Arey talks about more than fishing, it's his family. His wife Emily and their two daughters have become his greatest source of strength throughout every doctor's visit and every treatment.
"My wife has not missed a single treatment or doctor's appointment," Arey said. "She is also keeping everything going for our two girls and you wouldn't believe how big of a rock she is for me right now. Besides my steadfast faith, I need that woman more than she could ever know. She has just been fantastic, as always."
While Arey has maintained an incredibly positive outlook, he admits the diagnosis initially weighed heavily on Emily.
"My wife has had a lot harder time with this than I have, to be honest. She's a lot better now that we have some sort of a treatment plan."
Having a plan matters and the unknown often creates the greatest fear. Once treatment began and the family understood the road ahead, they were able to focus less on uncertainty and more on moving forward together. Their daughters have also shown remarkable maturity.
"My two daughters have been great throughout this," Arey said. "They're very accepting and understanding. They get what's going on. They know my focus is to ensure their lives don't change. They understand that Daddy's life will change for a while but we're going to beat this, and everything will get back to normal."
That commitment to protecting normalcy extends even to family traditions.
"I can't be around a lot of people right now due to my immune system, but I insisted that my wife and girls take their annual July 4th beach trip without me," Arey said. "I didn’t want to be a burden on that trip with some of my restrictions and I'm glad they went and had fun, so I didn’t hold them back."
It's a selfless decision that perfectly reflects Arey's character. Even while facing the toughest challenge of his life, he's putting his family's happiness ahead of his own.
A RENEWED APPRECIATION
Although tournament competition has been placed on hold, fishing itself remains a vital part of Arey's life. In many ways, he says, it has become even more meaningful.
"On the bright side, I'm thoroughly enjoying the time with my family," he said. "It has also ignited a passion for just fun-fishing. I'm going once a week still, when my numbers are good. I will never stop fishing."
There's something therapeutic about time on the water. For professional anglers, it's easy for fishing to become work. Practice schedules, travel logistics, sponsorship responsibilities and tournament pressure can overshadow the simple joy that first drew them to the sport. Now, Arey is reconnecting with that original passion.
THE COMMUNITY BEHIND HIM
One of the unique qualities of professional bass fishing is the genuine camaraderie shared among competitors. While anglers battle fiercely during tournaments, they also rally around one another during life's most difficult moments. Since announcing his diagnosis, Arey has received an overwhelming amount of encouragement from fellow competitors, sponsors and fishing fans across the country. It's another reminder that bass fishing is far more than a competition. It’s a family.
For Team Toyota, Arey has long represented everything the brand values: humility, perseverance, integrity and an unwavering commitment to doing things the right way. Those same qualities are now carrying him through a challenge far bigger than any tournament.
Cancer may have interrupted his Elite Series schedule, but it hasn’t changed who Matt Arey is. If anything, it has simply revealed even more clearly the character that's always existed beneath the jersey. If there's one thing decades of tournament fishing have taught Matt Arey, it's that no matter how rough the conditions become, you never stop making the next cast.
Gill’s Updated Infinity 2.0 Hoody and Long Sleeve Are Ready for Summer Adventures
Gill has updated its popular Infinity 2.0 Hoodie and Infinity 2.0 Long Sleeve with fresh new colors and updated branding, delivering the same trusted performance anglers and outdoor enthusiasts rely on for long days in the sun.
Available in new seasonal colors with updated branding, both styles are constructed from advanced recycled polyester fabric that is ultra-lightweight, quick-drying, and moisture-wicking to help keep you cool and comfortable throughout the day. Built-in UPF 50+ protection shields against harmful UV rays, making them essential layers for long hours on the water, at the beach, or exploring the outdoors.
The updated design features raglan sleeves for unrestricted movement and flatlock seams for all-day comfort, reducing irritation during active pursuits. The Infinity 2.0 Hoodie also includes a large-volume hood for added protection from the sun and the elements, while the Infinity 2.0 Long Sleeve is essential for warm-weather comfort.
Whether you're fishing, boating, paddling, or enjoying any outdoor adventure, the Infinity 2.0 collection delivers the breathable performance, protection, and comfort needed to stay focused from sunrise to sunset.
Now available on gillmarine.com or at your local retailer.
About Gill:
Founded in 1975, Gill is a global leader in technical marine apparel engineered for life on the water. Established by lifelong sailor Nick Gill, the brand was built on a no-compromise approach—premium fabrics, purpose-driven features, and uncompromising quality. Today, Gill is trusted by anglers, sailors, and adventurers worldwide, with every product designed, engineered, and tested beyond standards in the Gill Lab and on the water.
More than a clothing company, Gill is an engineering company, creating wearable technology that delivers maximum protection from the elements. For over 50 years, the focus has remained the same: Engineered for the Elements—providing anglers with performance-driven gear that works when conditions turn and it matters most.
Contact:
Michele Eichstead, Marketing Manager
[email protected]
Bassmaster unveils 2026 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings, celebrating America’s greatest fisheries during America250
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — As the United States celebrates its 250th birthday, Bassmaster Magazine is honoring one of America’s greatest public treasures, its world-class bass fisheries.
Today, the publication releases its annual 100 Best Bass Lakes rankings, showcasing the nation’s premier destinations for largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass fishing from coast to coast. This year’s rankings embrace the spirit of America250, highlighting the incredible diversity of public waters that belong to every American and reminding anglers that some of the country’s greatest adventures begin at a local boat ramp.
"From sea to shining sea, America is blessed with an incredible variety of bass fisheries," said James Hall, Editor-in-Chief of Bassmaster Magazine. "Whether it’s the tidal rivers of the East Coast, legendary Southern reservoirs, crystal-clear Northern lakes or trophy fisheries in the West, these waters are part of our nation’s outdoor heritage. As we celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, there’s no better time to hitch up the boat and experience the very best bass fishing our country has to offer."
Compiled by the editorial staff of Bassmaster Magazine, the rankings are based on tournament results, state fisheries data, input from fisheries biologists, B.A.S.S. Nation leaders and local experts, as well as feedback from anglers across the country.
Full rankings can be found in the July/August issue of Bassmaster Magazine and on Bassmaster.com.
Bassmaster Magazine's Top 10 Best Bass Lakes of 2026
- Clear Lake, California — The nation’s premier trophy largemouth destination.
- Lake J.B. Thomas, Texas — The hottest emerging big-bass fishery in America.
- St. Lawrence River (Thousand Islands), New York — World-renowned for giant smallmouth bass.
- Santee Cooper Lakes, South Carolina — A legendary trophy largemouth factory.
- Lake St. Clair, Michigan — One of the world’s finest smallmouth fisheries.
- Lake Fork, Texas — A perennial producer of double-digit largemouth.
- Lake Tohopekaliga/Kissimmee Chain, Florida — Florida’s premier destination for giant bass.
- O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas — Continues its remarkable run of trophy bass production.
- Withlacoochee River/Lake Rousseau, Florida — Consistent producer of heavyweight largemouth.
- Caney Creek Reservoir, Louisiana — A small lake with outsized trophy potential.
Regional Top 25
Best Bass Lakes - Northeastern Division
- St. Lawrence River, New York
- Lake St. Clair, Michigan
- Lake Erie, New York
- Lake Erie, Ohio/Michigan
- Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont
- Burt/Mullett lakes, Michigan
- Grand Traverse Bay, Michigan
- Cayuga Lake, New York
- Lake Charlevoix, Michigan
- Bays de Noc, Michigan
- Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
- Cobbosseecontee Lake, Maine
- China Lake, Maine
- Candlewood Lake, Connecticut
- Presque Isle Bay/Lake Erie Central Basin, Pennsylvania
- Great Pond, Maine
- Oneida Lake, New York
- Upper Chesapeake Bay, Maryland
- Saginaw Bay, Michigan
- Potomac River, Maryland/West Virginia/Virginia
- Chautauqua Lake, New York
- Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
- Lake Cumberland, Kentucky
- Pymatuning Reservoir, Ohio/Pennsylvania
- Shenango River Lake, Pennsylvania
Best Bass Lakes - Southeastern Division
- Santee Cooper Lakes, South Carolina
- Lake Tohopekaliga/Kissimmee Chain, Florida
- Withlacoochee River/Lake Rousseau, Florida
- Lake Guntersville, Alabama
- Lake Murray, South Carolina
- Albemarle Sound/Pasquotank River/Roanoke River/Chowan River/North River/Alligator River, North Carolina
- Falls Lake, North Carolina
- Orange Lake, Florida
- Jordan Lake, North Carolina
- Fellsmere Reservoir/Headwaters/Lake Egan, Florida
- Lake Lanier, Georgia
- Pickwick Lake, Alabama/Tennessee/Mississippi
- Lake Eufaula, Alabama/Georgia
- Clarks Hill Reservoir, Georgia/South Carolina
- Lake Talquin, Florida
- Kentucky Lake, Tennessee/Kentucky
- Lake Seminole, Georgia/Florida
- Cooper River, South Carolina
- High Rock Lake, North Carolina
- Dale Hollow Reservoir, Tennessee/Kentucky
- Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida
- Ross Barnett Reservoir, Mississippi
- South Holston Reservoir, Tennessee/Virginia
- Nickajack Lake, Tennessee
- Lake Chatuge, North Carolina/Georgia
Best Bass Lakes - Central Division
- Lake J.B. Thomas, Texas
- Lake Fork, Texas
- O.H. Ivie Lake, Texas
- Caney Creek Reservoir, Louisiana
- Bussey Brake Reservoir, Louisiana
- Toledo Bend, Louisiana/Texas
- Mille Lacs, Minnesota
- Upper Mississippi River, Wisconsin/Minnesota
- Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Texas
- Black Bayou Lake, Louisiana
- Bois d’Arc Lake, Texas
- Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees, Oklahoma
- West Okoboji Lake, Iowa
- Lake Texoma, Oklahoma/Texas
- Millwood Lake, Arkansas
- Lake Ray Roberts, Texas
- La Cygne Lake, Kansas
- Lake D’Arbonne, Louisiana
- Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
- Lake Eufaula, Oklahoma
- Lake Claiborne, Louisiana
- Table Rock Lake, Missouri
- Bull Shoals Lake, Arkansas
- Belton Lake, Texas
- Lake Conroe, Texas
Best Bass Lakes - Western Division
- Clear Lake, California
- Diamond Valley Lake, California
- Lake Isabella, California
- Lake Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Lake Spokane/Long Lake, Washington
- Lake Perris, California
- Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California
- Moses Lake, Washington
- Sprague Lake, Washington
- Lower Otay Reservoir, California
- Lake Casitas, California
- Apache Lake, Arizona
- Lake Washington, Washington
- Roosevelt Lake, Arizona
- Noxon Rapids Reservoir, Montana
- Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho
- Siltcoos Lake, Oregon
- Potholes Reservoir, Washington
- Lower Colorado River, Arizona/California
- Lake Mead, Nevada/Arizona
- Eastman Lake, California
- Sand Hollow Reservoir, Utah
- Navajo Lake, New Mexico/Colorado
- Tenmile Lakes, Oregon
- Pelican Lake, Utah
States with the Most Lakes in the Rankings
- Texas: 10
- California: 9
- Florida: 7
- Michigan: 7
- Louisiana: 6
- New York: 6
- North Carolina: 5
- Georgia: 5
- Tennessee: 5
- Washington: 5
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 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens Series presented by Battery Tender, Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers Series presented by Bass Pro Shops, 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, Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series, TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship, Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft, Bassmaster College Kayak Series, 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.
Rich Craft Wins BAM Super 60 Brownlee
HUNTINGTON, Ore. – After zeroing out the weights for Championship Sunday, Rich Craft of Puyallup, Wash. sealed the victory with a five-fish limit of 18.26 at the second stop of the 2026 BAM Super 60 Pro Tour on Brownlee Reservoir.
Craft led the top-10 field into Championship Sunday after qualifying with a two-day total of 34.97 and 25 keepers. His win earned the $50,000 top prize at the televised bass battle presented by the City of Huntington, Oregon, Bass Boat Technologies,
Tackle Warehouse and conservation sponsor Fisherman’s Warehouse.
“It’s surreal – it’s crazy,” he said. “It still hasn’t sunk in. It’s crazy to have three days come together like they did with zero practice.”
Rather than force a rigid plan, Craft allowed the fish to dictate his decisions throughout the tournament. That flexibility ultimately produced the winning weight.
Roboworm Straight Tail Worm
"I had a gut feeling today and switched to a Roboworm,” he said. “I caught a fish that gave me a one-pound upgrade, and I won by just a pound."
Craft's early event centered around bluff walls before conditions forced a transition.
BAM 2026 S60 BROWNLEE Champion - Rich Craft
"For that topwater bite, you got to find the steepest bluff walls," he said. "You've got to throw it like an inch from the bluff. Let it sit there and give it a couple of twitches and if they don't blow up on it, reel it in and do it again. They hit within the first two-feet."
Teckel USA Kicknocker Walking Bait
His topwater presentation featured a Teckel Kicknocker thrown on a Dobyns Champion Extreme 703.
As the conditions changed, his winning pattern evolved.
"Once the wind started, my topwater bite died," he said. "I went to the dropshot. I was flippin' a bait ball with the dropshot. It was on a bank in 30-feet of water."
Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm
Craft's dropshot setup was tied to seven-pound Sunline and thrown on a Dobyns XTASY 752. He relied on a Yamamoto Shad Shape Worm in Natural Shad before making the tournament-winning shift.
"I switched up today to a six-inch Roboworm with a straight tail in Texas Tilapia,” he said.
Craft offered simple advice for anglers approaching unfamiliar water as he did.
"Keep an open mind, especially these without practice," he said. "If you come in with game plan, especially when it doesn't work out. You have to be flexible, keep moving and stick to your confidence baits."
Hickey's Reset Takes Runner-Up
Disappointed by 14.87, Jason Hickey of Weiser, Idaho rebounded from his opening day. He added 16.16 on Day Two to qualify for Championship Sunday with a total weight of 32.03. His final day of competition earned the second place position with 17.33 pounds for a $8,467.00 payday.
"The only thing that didn't go right was the first day," he said. "I put in a bunch of time in the river. I was gonna run up the river, but the bottom fell out – like the craziest, lowest I've ever seen that river, and I couldn't get up there."
Instead of forcing the original plan, Hickey abandoned it and restarted from scratch.
"I went out and fished old school stuff that I've fished all my life," he said.
Electronics became an important tool, but not for the reason many might expect.
"I've got two LVS34 Live transducers on the back end of my boat, one on either of the jackplate, so I can do LiveScope scanning while I am idling," he explained.
Rather than searching for bass, Hickey focused on finding forage.
"Once I realized that these specific groups of crappie – the way the set up – if I could find those, I didn't need to see bass,” he revealed. “I just needed to see the bait. Brownlee bass, they eat crappie. That's their primary forage."
Fishing bait-rich areas in 25- to 40-feet of water, Hickey relied on a Carolina-rig with four- to six-inch creature baits in any variation of Green Pumpkin.
"I was throwing a heavy action rod with 20-pound fluorocarbon, a 1-oz lead sinker, and 20-inch leader,” he said. “Usually with simple stuff like a lizard or Super Spook.”
Mariani Adjusts to Finish Third
California pro Joe Mariani of Winters reached Championship Sunday after qualifying with 82 scorable bass, before sacking up 16.18 for a final-day performance to finish third and earn $6,831.
His strategy centered around Google Earth research and quantity over quality.
"Farther down the lake, it looked more like a lake than a river and I would prefer to fish a lake than a river and so I kind of just took the boat that way in the morning and found cleaner water,” he said. “Cleaner water smallmouth are easier to catch and that proved to be true."
Mariani targeted deeper smallmouth in the 25- to 40-foot range.
"I was drosphotting a little Berkley Flat Worm, which is a classic staple smallmouth bait,” he said. “Right off the bat, they were biting it, so I just stuck with it."
His dropshot consisted of a Goby-colored Flat Worm with a 1/4-ounce weight on a 7’2” spinning rod. The plastic was tied to 15-pound braid connected to a 10-pound leader.
Shifting from keeper count to heaviest five, Championship Sunday required Mariani to come with a completely different approach.
"The first two days, I was not around the fish to win,” he said. “I decided to go shallow in the trees and bushes around the cuts."
The adjustment paid immediate dividends.
"I used the urchin bait and landed 60 fish,” he added.
Hideup Kyu Coike Mariani threw the 13 mm Hideup Coike in a dark brown color with a nail weight and single hook. "It has a slow sink, just twitch a couple times and they come and get it,” he said. Three days of competition ultimately showcased the versatility of Brownlee Reservoir. BAM’s next Super 60 Pro Tour stop will be at the Columbia River on July 31 – August 2. It is the final regular season event of the year.
“The BAM Super 60 was a tremendous event and a pleasure to be part of. It was great working with the BAM staff and such a great group of anglers. The Brownlee Super 60 was a huge success, and everyone in Huntington really enjoyed having the event here. From everything I heard, the anglers had an outstanding experience as well. I’ll do everything I can to help bring BAM back to Huntington. Thank you very much for putting on such a great event!” — Travis Young
Note: BAM Pro Tour anglers are ranked in Pro Tour events by both the heaviest five fish limit (Weight) and numbers of scorable bass caught (Keepers).
First place is held by the angler with the five heaviest bass, and second place is the highest keeper count. The standings then continue to alternate by weight/keepers.
Anglers ranked by weight on the leaderboard are denoted with an asterisk.
Anglers add to both of their Day One rankings on Day Two as an accumulated two-day total. Once both days are tallied, the field is cut to the top-10, all results are zero-ed out and the final 10 anglers fish for the five heaviest bass on Day Three to determine the champion.
Best of the Rest
Event Overview
The West’s top professional bass anglers will converge on Brownlee Reservoir for the second stop of the BAM Trail Super 60 Pro Tour. Presented by the City of Huntington, Oregon, Bass Boat Technologies, and Tackle Warehouse, this premier televised bass fishing event promises three days of intense competition as anglers battle for championship honors, big bass awards, and a share of one of the richest payouts in Western bass fishing.
Launching from Farewell Bend State Park, the three-day event will showcase the best anglers in the West while delivering extensive media exposure through the BAM Trail television series, live tournament broadcasts, social media, podcasts, websites, and Bass Angler Magazine’s print and digital platforms.
Hosted in partnership with the City of Huntington, OR the event is expected to bring anglers and their families from across the Western United States to the Huntington area, generating tourism and economic impact for local businesses.”
Media representatives are welcome to attend to report, film, interview anglers, or cover the event.
For media requests contact: Mark Lassagne 925-787-3474 [email protected]
Tournament Schedule:
The lake has been off-limits and no Information and to all contestants since May 26th There are no Official Practice days
Daily weigh-ins will take place at Stevenson Memorial Lion’s Park and are open to the public.
Friday afternoon June 26: Live weigh in starting at 3:00 pm
Saturday afternoon June 27: Live weigh-in starting at 3:00 pm
Top Ten Pro’s and Co’s are announced.
Award the Tackle Warehouse and Black Bear Diner contingency winners
Payouts from 11th place through the final paid position.
Sunday afternoon June 28: Live weigh-in starting 3:00 pm
Top Ten Pro’s compete for the championship
Awards will include a $50,000 check, the Bass Boat Technologies $500 contingency, and payouts to the Top 10.
Complete Rules and Event Information is Available at www.bamtrail.com
THE FIELD IS SET — 2027 ALABAMA BASS TRAIL 100!
DECATUR, Ala. The Alabama Bass Trail has officially set the field for the 2027 Alabama Bass Trail 100, bringing together 100 teams and 200 anglers for one of the most anticipated tournament fields in the sport.
This year's roster brings anglers from across the country, with teams representing Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Florida, Texas, Virginia, North Carolina, New York, Arkansas, Kansas, and Illinois, proof that the ABT 100 has become a can't-miss event for tournament anglers everywhere.
From seasoned veterans to father-son and family duos, friends fishing as partners, and a few wildcard pairings still locking in their final spot, this field is stacked with talent and ready to compete for the title.
100 boats. 200 anglers. One championship field. Get ready, 2027 is coming.
The field also arrives alongside the largest payouts in ABT 100 history. The 2027 season purse tops $750,000 in total cash and prizes, up from over $300,000 in 2026, with each event now guaranteeing a $50,000 first-place prize, double last year's $25,000 payout.
About the Alabama Bass Trail
The Alabama Bass Trail (ABT) is a premier competitive bass fishing tournament series showcasing Alabama's world-class fisheries. The Alabama Bass Trail 100 is ABT's flagship 100-team tournament, drawing competitors from across the country to compete for the title.
The Alabama Bass Trail is made possible through the support of its sponsors: Phoenix Boats, AMFirst, Larry Puckett Chevrolet, 13 Fishing, Rapala, VMC, CRUSHCITY, Buffalo Rock, Academy Sports and Outdoors, Jack's, Garmin, Thompson Tractor Company, PiranhO2, Alabama State Parks, Halo Fishing, Snag Proof, NetBait, Bait Fuel, Alfa Insurance – Thomas ALFA MAN Shelton, TH Marine Supplies, Power Pole, Pro Guide Batteries, Yamaha, SCUM FROG, E3 Sports Apparel, FishAlabama.org, Sweet Home Alabama and Alabama Mountain Lakes.
Download and listen to the ABT Podcast for tournament recaps, angler interviews and inside coverage from across the Alabama Bass Trail.
Ultimate Angler's Collegiate Contingent
Toledo Bend wasn't supposed to be about Daylon Milam, Trace Antunes, and Peyton Sorrow.
The headline belonged to Andrew Rickman, who hauled in 95 pounds, 15 ounces over three days at the B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier there — a number that didn't just beat the previous Nation record, it buried it. The old mark, 77-6, had stood since Dylan Nutt set it at Pickwick in 2025. Rickman beat it by more than 23 pounds and still had 13 pounds, 8 ounces to spare over second place.
Second place was Milam. Third was Antunes. Sixth was Sorrow.
Turns out the headline belonged to the contingent after all. Rickman fished collegiately himself, at Dallas Baptist, and a tournament that produced six total finishes heavier than the old Nation record came down, top to bottom, to a field stacked with college anglers.
All three are headed to Lake Guntersville this fall for the Ultimate Angler Championship. So is Rickman — that win punched his own UAC ticket — and so is Nutt, the man whose record he broke and the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion, along with his twin brother and fellow qualifier, Carter Nutt. None of the six got there the easy way, and the collegiate ranks are about to show up in force.
The $500 Mistake, and the One That Almost Got Away
Sorrow's path to Guntersville started with him forgetting he was even in it.
He'd signed up, paid his Unified Pros dues, and moved on with a busy spring — guiding clients on Lake Hartwell back home in South Carolina, finishing up at Montevallo, lining up a transfer to West Alabama for grad school. The UAC verification email landed and caught him off guard. He hadn't forgotten the tournament. He'd forgotten he'd entered it.
His fishing partner wasn't so lucky. Sorrow fished Lake Seminole this year with a co-angler named Brady McCormick, who kept meaning to get his own Unified Pros membership squared away and kept putting it off. McCormick never signed up. A $500 mistake locked him out of a half-million-dollar tournament, and Sorrow is headed to Guntersville without him.
Guntersville itself is the thing that has Sorrow's attention now, and not in a comfortable way. He grew up fishing highland reservoirs, the kind of water where you can look around and get a read on where the fish ought to be. Guntersville doesn't work that way.
“The only thing I don't like about the place is how you look around, and it looks like a fish could live in every inch of it,” Sorrow said. “I'm used to these highland reservoirs where you can just about tell where they're gonna be at. You look at a 30-acre mat, and you have no idea where to even start.”
He's planning to get up there and pre-fish before the off-limits window closes, and he's doing it without the tool that's carried him through most of his college career. LiveScope has been close to mandatory on the college trail — Sorrow puts the number at roughly 75 percent of the time, with the Arkansas River as the exception that proved the rule, four inches of visibility forcing him and a partner to swim a jig blind through grass all day. Guntersville won't allow electronics for UAC. Sorrow's banking on a week of pre-fishing to make up the difference.
Joining the Club the Hard Way
Milam's road to Guntersville ran through a tournament he didn't get credit for.
In January, he and roommate Trace Antunes won the Alabama Bass Trail 100 opener at Smith Lake — 15.98 pounds through fog, cold water, and a three-hour takeoff delay, good for $25,000 plus an $8,000 Phoenix bonus. Antunes was a Unified Pros member. The win punched his ticket to Guntersville on the spot.
Milam wasn't a member. Same boat, same fish, same trophy — no invite.
He joined Unified Pros not long after, and the timing mattered more than he could have known. Later on the collegiate trail, fishing the MLF College Fishing National Championship on Lake Murray alongside James Dubose, Milam helped put up 69 pounds, 7 ounces over three days — good for second, just over a pound behind champions Matthew Knopp and Logan Russell of Lander University. Montevallo put three different duos in the top five that week. This time, when the result counted, Milam had his membership in order.
Of his college teammates alone, he counts four or five who've already qualified for Ultimate Angler. He won't be surprised if that number hits seven or eight by season's end.
“I can think of 4 or 5 college teammates that have qualified for Ultimate Angler, and I wouldn't be surprised to see that number at 7 or 8 by the end of the season,” Milam said. “Yeah, we'll work together as much as the rules allow. It won't be specifics, but we can certainly break down a lake as a group.”
It's how this group has operated since Montevallo. Milam, Antunes, and Sorrow travel and fish together, room together, and make a habit of visiting each other's home water to learn it before they need to. Milam spent time in Texas with Antunes ahead of the Toledo Bend qualifier. The arrangement paid off for both of them.
“College fishing has been an amazing experience,” Milam said. “Getting to travel to different lakes for competition has made a huge difference. We even go to one another's home lakes to learn.”
Guntersville isn't entirely unfamiliar ground for Milam — he's fished it four times as a college angler, and he and Antunes fished an Ikon Tailgate Tour event there together, a result good enough to qualify them for the Ikon Championship even without a win. But comfort is a different question.
“I'm really not a TVA kind of angler,” he said. “I'm more comfortable on deep, clear reservoirs, but I plan to spend a week up at Guntersville prior to the cutoff to get more familiar.”
That week will have to fit into a fall that's already full. Between now and the end of the season, Milam is also fishing the Ikon Tailgate Tour Championship and the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship at Lake Hartwell — fitting, given that's the lake Sorrow calls home.
Two Jobs, One Summer
None of this happens without money, and none of these three are pretending otherwise.
Milam spent his summer working two jobs to keep the fishing season funded — warehouse shifts at Stateline Waterworks during the week, landscaping work on the side. Sorrow guides on Hartwell. Both are transferring to West Alabama for their senior year this fall, part of a wave of Montevallo anglers making the same move, chasing eligibility and a program that'll let them keep fishing at this level.
Sorrow is doing the math on what a UAC win would actually mean. He's already said he's holding off on Opens, Invitationals, and the Pro Circuit until grad school is finished — he doesn't want his attention split while he's trying to do both well. A half-million-dollar payday would change that math fast, and he knows it.
Milam and Sorrow won't be fishing this one in a small crowd. Brody Robison, who lined up alongside Sorrow for that fifth-place finish at the National Championship on Lake Murray, qualified on his own merits as well. So did Gerald Scott Brumbaugh Jr., Michael Markham, Logan Fisher, Scooter Ligon, and Jackson Thomas — different schools, different qualifying paths, same fall plans. Ridge Faircloth and Max Hondorp punched their ticket as a team. By the time the field sets up on Guntersville, the college trail won't be a subplot. It'll be most of the story.
What ties this group together is bigger than one tournament or one school. It's a wave of college anglers who fish each other's water before they ever fish for money, and who'll spend this fall on the same leaderboards as multiple Classic champions, and a roster of qualifiers that keeps getting longer the closer Guntersville gets.
Guntersville will sort out who's actually ready for it. The collegiate ranks are about to find out together.
To learn more about the Ultimate Angler Championship, visit theultimateangler.org.
