Texas pro advances directly to Championship Round with two-day total of 45 bass weighing 85-11, 2nd through 25th advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round

ROGERS, Ark. (May 1, 2026) – At the outset of Day 2 of competition on Beaver Lake, Marshall Hughes had no aspirations of winning the Qualifying Round and claiming the automatic trip to the Championship Round at Yuengling Light Lager Stage 5 Presented by YETI. Sitting in 17th place after Day 1, he was more worried about staying above the Lucas Oil Cut Line.

But it only took Hughes about 35 minutes to climb all the way to the top of SCORETRACKER®. The second-year Bass Pro Tour angler started Friday with a furious flurry that produced 31 pounds, 12 ounces on 17 scorable bass in the first 1 hour and 20 minutes. Hughes then survived a long lull to outduel Matt Becker for the Qualifying Round win.

Hughes’ up-and-down day embodied the first two days of action for the whole field in Beaver Lake’s return to the national scene. The top two anglers after Day 1, Jeff Sprague and Adrian Avena, both slipped down SCORETRACKER® Friday, while four anglers who started the day outside the Top 10 topped 40 pounds on Day 2. Ultimately, Hughes’ second-day weight of 53-10 on 28 scorable bass – the best day for any angler so far in the event – pushed his total to 85-11 and topped Becker by 2-6, cementing his first Top 10 on the Bass Pro Tour.

Hughes knew there would be bass around his starting spot; he just wasn’t sure they would be scorable. Targeting a morning shad spawn, he’d fished in the same area on Day 1 and said he had to catch about 10 bass to land one over the 1-8 minimum weight.

On Day 2, they showed up in both numbers and size. In fact, he said SCORETRACKER® didn’t do his opening hour justice.

“For the first hour, almost every single cast – I’m not even exaggerating – I caught a fish, whether it was scorable or not,” he said. “It was unreal.”

Hughes caught all those fish from the same cove on the upper end of the lake. He said the cove is “nothing special” other than the fact that it was brimming with spawning shad.

“It’s just a random shad spawn area,” he said. “It’s just a cove that’s full of shad and hard bottom. It’s really nothing special, to be honest.”

Then, as quickly as he’d been reeling them in, his bite vanished. Hughes went nearly 4 hours without catching another scorable bass. But when he started getting bit again, he once again did so in style.

After his shad spawn bite died, Hughes set off in search of new water. Trailing both Becker and Sprague for much of the second period, he still didn’t think he had a great chance at winning the Qualifying Round. But both experienced a similar midday slog, so when Hughes found a fresh school, he didn’t hold back. In fact, at one point, he caught an astounding four bass in two casts. That’s right – two casts with a bass on each treble hook of his crankbait.

While only one of the four was scorable (a 2-7), Hughes said that was a first for him. It kicked off a final period in which he weighed 13-8, which was just enough to edge out Becker.

“I’ve caught two at a time before, but not (on back-to-back casts) like that,” he said. “That was crazy.”

The fact that he found another spot to add to his rotation has Hughes optimistic for his first ever Championship Round. He’s confident those areas will reload by Sunday. His only concerns are whether enough of the bass are scorable and if a competitor puts more pressure on them during the Knockout Round.

“I’m excited,” he said. “I feel like the area where I’m catching them in the morning is full of fish. I don’t know if there will be a chance for me to potentially win, but I ought to catch a couple bass. And to be honest, I like the stuff that I found this afternoon, too. That stuff was really cool.”

As impressive as Hughes’ start was Friday, he didn’t account for the best period of the day. That honor went to Becker, who stacked up 20 scorable bass for 40-12 in Period 1 alone.

Becker, who has opted to use his period with forward-facing sonar at the outset of each of the first two days, felt like he had the potential for a better Period 1 than Thursday, when he had 22-15 with his full suite of electronics at his disposal. However, like Hughes, he wasn’t really thinking about winning the Qualifying Round until about an hour into the day, when he suddenly found himself near the top of the standings.

“The first two places that I went to, I knew there was a lot of fish,” Becker said. “Then, I got in a weird position where I was like, ‘Okay, it’s probably time to back off. Let me just look for some new stuff.’ Then I started running some new stuff, and I found a couple more places that were just like it, that had just as many. Caught a few, and then the next thing you know, I’m right there almost in the lead. So, I was like, ‘Well, maybe we should go for it.’ I went back to some good places and caught a few more and got a little lead there before the end of the period.”

Becker led Hughes by 6 pounds at the end of Period 1. After locking up his forward-facing transducers, he started Period 2 strong, quickly catching a 3-3 smallmouth to extend his lead.

Then, he went more than 3 hours without boating a scorable bass, and he only caught two more on the day.

“It’s pretty difficult when you’re not working your bait just right,” Becker said. “So, when you can’t see them and know what you’re doing with your bait, it has really made it tricky. The only time I can really catch them is when they come up schooling and kind of get angry, and that didn’t happen a whole lot for me today. I’m kind of stumped on the non-‘Scope bite.”

Through two days, 32 of Becker’s 41 scorable bass have come during his forward-facing sonar periods. Sticking in the clear waters of the lower lake, he attributed that to the bluebird weather conditions.

“I think it’s just the clean water,” he said. “If we had optimal conditions, I think they would bite a little better non-‘Scope, but today was mostly sunny and slick. It’s really not ideal conditions to be fishing without ‘Scope.”

Becker is hopeful he can get off to another strong start in the Knockout Round, although he’s concerned about how long the schools he’s been leaning on can continue to produce. After he turns off his forward-facing sonar, he plans to “just keep trying new things and see if we can figure something out.”

“They’re definitely getting smart,” he said. “So, that worries me. That’s kind of why I was trying to lay off and not fish a few places today and try to save some stuff, but once I got so close, I had to go for it. The fish are there, for sure, but they’re definitely getting more pressured and trickier to catch. So, I don’t know if a period like that is possible again, but the fish are there to do it. It’s just a matter of if they’ll bite for us or not.”

Wesley Strader, who entered this event having fished more MLF tournaments on Beaver Lake than anyone else in the field, put his knowledge on the fishery to use with a furious finish to Day 2. After spending much of the day hovering around the cut line, Strader caught five scorable bass for 14-6 in the final 20 minutes to jump all the way to eighth place.

The top 25 pros after Day 2 on Beaver Lake are:

1st:        Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 45 bass, 85-11
2nd:       Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 41 bass, 83-5
3rd:        Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, 39 bass, 74-10
4th:        Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 36 bass, 73-3
5th:        Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 32 bass, 72-14
6th:        Mitchell Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 35 bass, 69-4
7th:        Colby Miller, Elmer. La., 31 bass, 67-1
8th:        Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 27 bass, 65-5
9th:        Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 32 bass, 64-10
10th:      Dustin Connell, Deatsville, Ala., 34 bass, 63-15
11th:      Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 30 bass, 62-4
12th:      Nick LeBrun, Benton, La., 31 bass, 61-10
13th:      Jesse Wiggins, Logan, Ala., 32 bass, 61-0
14th:      Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio, 28 bass, 60-7
15th:      Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 27 bass, 58-15
16th:      Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 27 bass, 58-7
17th:      Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J., 28 bass, 58-0
18th:      Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 29 bass, 56-11
19th:      Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., 28 bass, 56-9
20th:      Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 27 bass, 55-0
21st:      Mark Daniels Jr., Shorter, Ala., 26 bass, 53-7
22nd:     Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 28 bass, 53-4
23rd:      Anthony Gagliardi, Prosperity, S.C., 23 bass, 52-11
24th:      Jacob Wall, New Hope, Ala., 24 bass, 51-7
25th:      Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 25 bass, 51-7

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

Overall, there were 596 bass caught weighing 1,218 pounds, 12 ounces, caught by the 51 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Friday.

Friday’s $1,000 Berkley Big Bass Award was earned by Wesley Strader of Spring City, Tennessee, who caught a 5-pound, 4-ounce largemouth in the third period throwing a bladed swim jig. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.

Hosted by Destination Rogers, 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. With the two-day Qualifying Round now complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total – Marshall Hughes – will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finished 2nd through 25th now 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 final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.

Anglers will arrive each morning at 6:15 a.m. CT to Prairie Creek Recreation Area, located at 9314 N. Park Road in Rogers, Arkansas. Anglers will return to Prairie Creek Recreation Area 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.

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

On Saturday and Sunday, May 2-3, from 3–6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to Bass Pro Shops located at 2300 S. Promenade Boulevard in Rogers, 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 casting contest and cheer on their favorite anglers. Live music 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 each day.

Student anglers from 6th grade through college are invited to join MLF pros at the free Columbia PFG Student Angler Clinic on Saturday, May 2 from 2–6 p.m. The clinic will also be held at Bass Pro Shops, located at 2300 S. Promenade Boulevard in Rogers, and offers a unique opportunity for students to learn from Bass Pro Tour pros, gain hands-on fishing instruction and compete in the national MLF Casting Competition. For more information or to register to the Columbia PFG Student Angler Clinic, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The Yuengling Light Lager Stage 5 at Beaver Lake Presented by YETI will feature anglers competing with a 1-pound, 8-ounce 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 Yuengling Light Lager Stage 5 at Beaver Lake Presented by YETI will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Sept. 19 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, 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.