Alabama pro races to 19 bass for 64-2 to win Knockout Round and advance, final 10 now set for Championship Day shootout on Lake Brownwood for $125,000

EARLY, Texas (March 28, 2026) – Prior to the start of Suzuki Marine Stage 4 Presented by Plano , Lake O.H. Ivie had the reputation as a destination fishery thanks to its track record of producing giant bass. But neighboring Lake Brownwood showed that it shouldn’t be overlooked.

Saturday’s Knockout Round took the Bass Pro Tour field to Brownwood after O.H. Ivie hosted the two-day Qualifying Round. It didn’t take long for the fishery to start producing big bass – the very first fish to hit SCORETRACKER® was a 7-pound, 14-ounce lunker caught by Brent Ehrler. That was one of 11 bass over 6 pounds caught on the day, with the biggest being a 9-13 tank wrangled by Matt Becker. Becker’s fish not only won Berkley Big Bass honors for the day, it weighed more than anything caught on O.H. Ivie.

Meanwhile, Justin Lucas started stacking weight at a blistering rate and didn’t slow down until he decided to. Lucas rocketed to the lead with 30-2 on nine scorable bass in Period 1, then backed it up with another nine for 28-14 in the second frame before transitioning into scout mode for the rest of the day. His total of 64-2 on 19 scorable bass easily paced the field, 18-5 ahead of Drew Gill in second.

Lucas and the rest of the top nine finishers from the Knockout Round will join Qualifying Round winner Jacob Wheeler on Brownwood for Sunday’s Championship Round.

Lucas came into Saturday with high expectations for Brownwood – just not necessarily for himself. He didn’t spend any of the three-day official practice period prior to Stage 4 on the fishery, so he admitted he didn’t see his excellent day coming.

“I knew this was a really good lake, and I was expecting it to be pretty good,” he said. “I just didn’t expect it for myself.”

Lucas spent two days competing on Brownwood at the 2024 Patriot Cup, a Fishing Clash Team Series event in which he competed alongside Ehrler (who also made the Championship Round). He said that experience helped in the sense that he knew how the lake set up and where to find similar water once he established a bite. But he launched for the Knockout Round with no real plan in place. He thinks that worked to his advantage.

“It’s been several days now since we were able to be on Brownwood (during practice),” Lucas said. “I feel like a lot has changed, and it’s continuing to change. It just let me keep a real fresh mind about the lake instead of feeling like I need to go back to something that I already saw.”

Lucas’ results didn’t indicate his lack of a game plan. It took him about 20 minutes to post his first scorable bass to SCORETRACKER® – a 6-6. Over the next 40 or so minutes, he boated six more to bring his total to 22-12 and take a lead he would never relinquish. He kept up the pace throughout the second period before deciding to back off to conserve fish for the Championship Round. Not only did he catch the most scorable bass of anyone in the field with 19, but he also landed seven over 4 pounds.

Lucas did most of his damage in one area, but he was able to replicate his pattern in other spots, too, which has him optimistic for Sunday. And while he only added one scorable bass during the third period, he gleaned some insight that he thinks will help his quest for his second career Bass Pro Tour win.

“Definitely felt like it was a productive third period even though I only put one fish on SCORETRACKER®,” he said.

The big variable Lucas (and everyone else) will have to account for Sunday is a change in conditions. Whereas Saturday brought chilly weather and cloud cover, the temperature is supposed to climb about 30 degrees on Sunday, with the forecast calling for a high in the 80s, sunny skies and a south wind.

With little prior experience on Brownwood, Lucas isn’t sure how the conditions will impact the bass.

“It’s going to change,” he said. “I’m not sure how it’s going to change yet. But that’s what we’re going to have to figure out tomorrow.”

Having made 15 Top 10s since his lone BPT win, which came on Sturgeon Bay to close the 2020 season, Lucas feels overdue to hoist another trophy. He predicted it will take about 60 pounds to do so on Sunday. After he hit that mark in just two periods during the Knockout Round, he’s confident about his chances. But he’s also endured enough close calls to know that nothing is guaranteed.

“I really want (another win),” he said. “But I’ve done this long enough to know you can’t force it. So, as much as I want one. I don’t want to try and force a win, because that’s when I’ve had my worst tournaments and worst seasons. So, I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing, keep knocking on the door, and hopefully it will come eventually.”

Like Lucas, Gill didn’t spend any practice time on Brownwood. And since he didn’t compete in the 2024 Patriot Cup, he’d never seen the lake prior to Saturday.

Yet it didn’t take long for him to take a liking to the fishery. After two days of hunting for bass in the flooded forest that is O.H. Ivie, he said being able to identify a piece of cover that looked good and catch a bass off it was “refreshing.”

“I knew it was a good lake, but it honestly felt kind of easy,” Gill said. “Not saying that you could just catch one anywhere. But it felt straightforward. When you got a bite, you could repeat it. After Ivie, being able to intentionally go around and say, ‘That looks good, I should get a bite there’ was really refreshing.

“I caught two 7s, I caught a 5 1/2-pounder on a swim jig, I caught a couple 4s – today was just awesome.”

As is often the case for the 23-year-old phenom, Gill did most of his damage during his lone period using forward-facing sonar. He opted to utilize the technology in Period 2 once he’d gotten a better feel for the fishery, and he totaled more than 30 pounds on seven scorable bass during that frame. That included a pair of 7-pounders – although he didn’t actually see the first one on his Garmin LiveScope screen until after it bit.

“The first 7 I caught, I just pitched my Neko at the bank, and I was literally just crawling down the bank,” Gill said. “Pitched it over there, and I was just shaking it, and my line went ‘bonk,’ and I look over on ‘Scope, and there’s a whale of one swimming off with it.”

It’s a bit surprising, then, to hear Gill say that he feels as confident as he ever has about his two periods without forward-facing sonar entering Championship Sunday, but he’s not sure he can replicate his success with the technology. He caught three scorable bass for 10 pounds without LiveScope in Period 1, and he’s optimistic he can bump that to 15 pounds tomorrow. Figuring, like Lucas, that it will take about 60 pounds to win, he knows he needs another 30-pound forward-facing sonar period, but he’s going to have to piece that together on the fly.

“I didn’t find any areas that I felt like I could settle into ‘Scope-wise,” he said. “So, I’m going to have to improvise in my ‘Scope period tomorrow a little bit. But I did find a couple more stretches for no-Scope that I can go through and catch a handful. My no-Scope deal, I feel about as good as I can feel about it.”

Then again, Gill knows Mother Nature could throw a wrench in his plans. He plans to enter the Championship Round with an open mind just like he did Saturday.

“I’ve never seen the lake under the conditions we had today, and I’ve never seen the lake under the conditions we’re going to have tomorrow,” he said. “I would presume that the morning bite that happened this morning, where it was a little bit easier to catch them, probably is not going to happen as strong tomorrow. But we’ll find out.”

The pros that now advance to Championship Sunday on Lake Brownwood are:

1st:          Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 19 bass, 64-2
2nd:        Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 12 bass, 45-13
3rd:         Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 14 bass, 37-0
4th:         Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 36-6
5th:         Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 33-15
6th:         Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn., 12 bass, 33-3
7th:         Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 11 bass, 31-12
8th:         Alton Jones Jr., Lorena, Texas, eight bass, 27-14
9th:         Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J., 10 bass, 26-12
*QR Winner: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn.

Eliminated from competition are:
11th:      Brent Chapman, Lenexa, Kan., eight bass, 26-7, $15,900
12th:      James Elam, Cleveland, Okla., nine bass, 23-12, $15,800
13th:      Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., eight bass, 23-5, $15,700
14th:      Takahiro Omori, Emory, Texas, eight bass, 22-11, $15,600
15th:      Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., eight bass, 21-10, $15,500
16th:      Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, five bass, 20-3, $15,400
17th:      Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, six bass, 19-12, $15,300
18th:      Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., five bass, 19-3, $15,200
19th:      David Dudley, Lynchburg, Va., seven bass, 17-13, $15,100
20th:      Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, five bass, 17-9, $15,000
21st:      Greg Vinson, Wetumpka, Ala., six bass, 17-7, $15,000
22nd:     Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., six bass, 16-10, $15,000
23rd:      Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., five bass, 16-0, $15,000
24th:      Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., three bass, 9-4, $15,000
25th:      Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., three bass, 8-4, $15,000

A complete list of results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Overall, there were 198 bass weighing 616 pounds, 11 ounces, caught by the 24 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Saturday.

Saturday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was earned by Matt Becker of Ten Mile, Tennessee, who caught a 9-pound, 13-ounce largemouth in the third period. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

Hosted by Visit Early, t he four-day tournament features 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.

The full field of anglers competed in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday on O.H. Ivie. After the two-day Qualifying Round was complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total – Jacob Wheeler – advanced directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers that finished 2nd through 25th competed in Saturday’s Knockout Round on Lake Brownwood. In the Knockout Round, weights were zeroed, and the remaining anglers competed to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the final-day Championship Round on Lake Brownwood, weights are again zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.

The final 10 anglers will arrive Sunday morning at 6:15 a.m. CT to the Brownwood Reservoir Public Boat Ramp, located at 621 Spillway Road in Brownwood, Texas. Anglers will return to Brownwood Reservoir Public Boat Ramp Sunday 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.

The MLFNOW!® broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on Championship Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW!®  will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com , the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.

On Sunday, March 29, from 3–6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to the Early Town Center, located at 109 Kelcy Way in Early, 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, enter hourly giveaways, browse MLF merchandise and the bargain bait bin, and cheer on their favorite anglers. Youth of all ages can take part in a fishing derby (gear and bait provided, weather permitting) and a casting contest. Live music with C.J. Briscoe and Caleb Wilbourn begins at 4 p.m., 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.

The Suzuki Marine Stage 4 at O.H. Ivie and Lake Brownwood Presented by Plano features 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.

Television coverage of the Suzuki Marine Stage 4 at O.H. Ivie and Lake Brownwood Presented by Plano will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Sept. 12, 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., Bass Force, 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 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.