Georgia pro claims championship title with three-day total of 58 pounds, 15 ounces, Missouri’s Chris McClellan wins co-angler division

COUNCE, Tenn. (Nov. 7, 2026) – The final day of the Major League Fishing (MLF) 2026 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Pickwick Lake lived up to the highest expectations for drama. Three pros in the Top 25 caught more than 21 pounds, all surging into the Top 10 from down in the standings, and the battle at the top was as tight as can be. When MLFNOW! went off-air, Tallis Morrison of Canon, Georgia, and Hayden O’Barr of Scottsboro, Alabama, were locked in an unofficial tie, having entered the day only 5 ounces apart.

At the scale, MLF Weigh Master Chris Jones made it official: Morrison earned the win with 19 pounds, 10 ounces on the final day for a 58-15 total, good for $201,000 and his first MLF trophy as well as a berth in REDCREST 2027.
Finishing second with 58-6, O’Barr was close again. This time, he was richly rewarded, as he banked $40,000 and took home the Central Division and Northern Division bonus checks for another $20,000.

Link to Hi-Res Photo of Toyota Series Championship Winner Tallis Morrison
Link to HD Video of Highlights from Toyota Series Championship Day 3 on Pickwick Lake
Link to Photo Gallery of Toyota Series Championship Weigh-In

By any measure, the Top 25 was star studded, with the best young anglers in the game on display this week. Essentially every pro in the Top 10 has accomplished something big in the last year or so – some even in the last few weeks – and coming out on top was a huge achievement. Hayden Marbut, who finished the event in 17th place, won the championship in 2024 and said on stage this afternoon, “Winning this event changed my life a few years ago, and I’m excited to see someone’s life get changed today.”

When he won, Morrison looked like he’d taken those words to heart.

“I don’t even have the words to describe it – it’s a feeling I’ve never felt, for sure,” said the Georgia angler. “At weigh-in yesterday, it really didn’t set in, and it set in last night. I couldn’t sleep. I actually got up an hour and a half early this morning. I just had to sit up; I couldn’t close my eyes. I was just imagining, ‘If they’re there, and I could make it happen. I could change my life.’”

On the final day, after starting without forward-facing sonar on some other areas, Morrison headed to his best place and laid it all on the line.

“It started slow; I pulled up to my school and they didn’t bite,” he said. “I got a little worried, and then I caught a 3 1/4-pounder, and then I caught my big one. When I caught her, I knew I had a chance. I didn’t catch many fish, but they were all good ones it seemed like. I didn’t know if I had enough. O’Barr, he’s one hell of a fisherman. He’s really good, but he’s really good at getting second, so I hoped he would get second today. I was just praying that it would be enough, and it was.

“Before this, the most I’d won was about $10,000, and that was right before I came here,” Morrison added. “I’ve won a little bit here and there, but you’re talking 20 times that. I’m going to try to save it and invest it in something good, but I’ll probably start putting cheese on my bologna sandwiches for sure.”

Most pros did their best work in their three hours of forward-facing sonar usage, and Morrison was no different. However, he put a big herring twist on the Tennessee River, catching most of his weight on a chartreuse Zoom Super Fluke, which helped him get the most out of some very pressured fish.

“I didn’t know it, because I’m not from here, but I had an idea it was a community hole,” Morrison said of his best spot. “I pulled up in practice and threw a topwater over there and caught a good smallmouth. It fired the school, and I was able to see the school – I really just stumbled on it. When I saw how shallow they were and how aggressive they were, I fired a Zoom Super Fluke, and my first cast was a 5-pound smallmouth.”

The school sat in a classic, current-oriented position, but it wasn’t something that would stick out on a map or on LiveScope.

“I knew that place could be special – I caught everything there on Day 1. Day 2 and Day 3, that whole little area produced what I had,” said Morrison. “They’re sitting in a depression – a little current eddy behind a high spot. They’re hard to see until you get your bait in there. Today, there weren’t many fish in there, and the ones in there were very, very educated. But thankfully there were enough swimming around to allow me to catch what I caught.”

Morrison managed the area and the competition perfectly – he backed off the fish on Day 2 and did his best to keep others somewhat at bay.

“On Day 1, I made a cast and caught my big one, and then I made two of the same cast and lost two fish and then made another cast and caught a good smallmouth,” he said. “After that, they started swimming around a bit. So, I would reposition and try from a different angle, and that worked once. Then I would mill around and stay close enough to keep everyone off, and after about 15 minutes, they would set back up.”

Fishing for bass in less than 10 feet of water, a Zoom Super Fluke in chartreuse pearl was the best bet for Morrison, and he also used the crazy chrome color. Additionally, a 6^th Sense Magnum Catwalkand a 3/8-ounce Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Dude with a Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer added fish. He used Fish Xtreme Rods and Sunline across the board.

Morrison’s father, Hayes, was on hand for the win, and though the time and place probably weren’t what either imagined for his first win, it turned out he called it.

“He’s always pushed me,” said Morrison. “He told me, ‘Son, if you keep after it, one of these days, you’ll be on stage holding that trophy.’ And I’ll be dadgum if he wasn’t right.”

The top 25 pros at the 2026 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Pickwick Lake finished:

1st:         Tallis Morrison, Canon, Ga., 15 bass, 58-15, $201,000 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
2nd:        Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 15 bass, 58-6, $60,000
3rd:         Clayton Ellis, Saltillo, Miss., 15 bass, 57-2, $40,000
4th:         Logan Dyar, Cleveland, Ala., 15 bass, 55-6, $25,250
5th:         Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 15 bass, 54-11, $30,000
6th:         Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 54-6, $24,000
7th:         Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 54-0, $13,000
8th:         Alec Morrison, Peru, N.Y., 15 bass, 53-8, $12,000
9th:         Dylan Quilatan, Windermere, Fla., 15 bass, 52-15, $11,000
10th:       Zeke Gossett, Pell City, Ala., 15 bass, 50-8, $10,000
11th:       Matthew Knopp, Mercer, Pa., 15 bass, 50-1, $4,500
12th:       Landon Lawson, Jonesborough, Tenn., 14 bass, 49-15, $4,500
13th:       Chance Shelby, Denham Springs, La., 15 bass, 49-15, $14,500
14th:       Preston Kolisek, Loretto, Tenn., 15 bass, 49-3, $4,500
15th:       Brenner Lynn, San Diego, Calif., 15 bass, 49-0, $4,500
16th:       Drake Hemby, Brentwood, Tenn., 15 bass, 47-10, $3,500
17th:       Hayden Marbut, Grant, Ala., 15 bass, 46-4, $3,500
18th:       Walker Brown, Loretto, Tenn., 15 bass, 45-4, $3,500
19th:       Riley Harris, Orange, Texas, 11 bass, 43-6, $3,500
20th:       Daylon Milam, Newnan, Ga., 13 bass, 41-4, $3,500
21st:       Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., 12 bass, 41-2, $3,000
22nd:      Cal Lane, Grant, Ala., 12 bass, 40-10, $3,000
23rd:       Aaron Johnson, Shreveport, La., 13 bass, 40-2, $3,000
24th:       Blake Davenport, Jemison, Ala., 10 bass, 36-0, $3,000
25th:       Lee Black, Moulton, Ala., 10 bass, 34-3, $3,000

For a full list of results visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.

The 2026 Toyota Series Championship also awarded three qualifications for REDCREST 2027, set for April 16-18 at Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Alabama. Championship winner Tallis Morrison secured his spot in the prestigious event, while Yuma Ejiri of Tokyo, Japan, earned his invitation as the highest-finishing MLF International Division angler, along with a $10,000 bonus. Lander University’s Matthew Knopp of Mercer, Pennsylvania, claimed the final berth as the highest-finishing member of the College Fishing National Championship team.

The top-finishing pro from each Toyota Series division (not including the winner) earned a $10,000 bonus. Those anglers included:

Central: Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 2nd place, $10,000
Northern: Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 2nd place, $10,000
Plains: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 5th place, $10,000
Southern: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 6th place, $10,000
Southwestern:  Chance Shelby, Denham Springs, La., 13th place, $10,000
Wild Card:  Clayton Ellis, Saltillo, Miss., 3rd place, $10,000
International: Yuma Ejiri, Tokyo, Japan, 75th place, $10,000

Overall, there were 106 bass weighing 373 pounds, 7 ounces caught by 25 pros Saturday. The catch included 17 five-bass limits.

De Soto, Missouri’s Chris McClellan brought three bass to the scale weighing 5-12 to win the co-angler division of the 2026 Toyota Series Championship and earn a new Phoenix 518 pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard engine, worth $33,500. McClellan’s three-day total of 10 bass weighing 28-5 earned him the victory by a 9-ounce margin over second-place co-angler Jason Sandidge of Centerton, Arkansas, who weighed in eight bass weighing 24-12 over the three days of competition, good for the second-place prize of $12,500.

The top 25 co-anglers at the 2026 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Pickwick Lake finished:

1st:         Chris McClellan, De Soto, Mo., 10 bass, 25-5, $33,600
2nd:        Jason Sandidge, Centerton, Ark., eight bass, 24-12, $12,500
3rd:         Gerald Dam, Pine Plains, N.Y., seven bass, 20-3, $10,000
4th:         David Zapatero Mula, Las Rozas, Spain, seven bass, 19-14, $7,500
5th:         Carson Stone, Tuscola, Texas, six bass, 19-2, $5,000
6th:         Porter Laird, Blacksburg, Va., eight bass, 18-9, $4,000
7th:         Todd Mowery, Madison, Ala., six bass, 18-3, $3,500
8th:         Kade Wesner, Lancaster, Pa., seven bass, 18-0, $3,000
9th:         Giuseppe Teofilo, Richmond Hill, Ontario, five bass, 16-10, $2,500
10th:       Dustin Maxwell, Fairway, Kan., six bass, 16-8, $2,000
11th:       Enrico Zancanaro, Rovigo, Italy, six bass, 16-6, $1,500
12th:       Jeff Moss, Oronogo, Mo., six bass, 15-12, $1,800
13th:       Richard Williams, Sutherland, Va., five bass, 15-11, $1,500
14th:       Jakob LaBelle, Hinesburg, Vt., seven bass, 15-11, $1,500
15th:       Matt Krekovich, Granite City, Ill., four bass, 15-7, $1,500
16th:       Jordan Clayton, Archer City, Texas, six bass, 14-13, $1,000
17th:       Kenny Garand, Holiday, Fla., five bass, 14-7, $1,000
18th:       Randy Wiggins, Birmingham, Ala., five bass, 12-15, $1,000
19th:       John Morales, Plainfield, Ill., four bass, 12-12, $1,000
20th:       Ryan Yarian, Kissimmee, Fla., three bass, 11-13, $1,000
21st:       Ryan Hendricks, Bixby, Okla., four bass, 11-11, $900
22nd:      Chase Johnson, Quincy, Ill., four bass, 11-6, $900
23rd:       Colegan Stiner, Wellsboro, Pa., four bass, 10-6, $900
24th:       Blake DeFoor, Waldron, Ark., four bass, 10-6, $900
25th:       Kevin Carter, Spring, Texas, three bass, 10-5, $900

The 2026 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats on Pickwick Lake was hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake – Hardin County Tourism and Bill Dance Signature Lakes . The three-day, no-entry-fee championship featured nearly 400 pros and co-anglers from around the world, competing for a top cash award of up to $235,000, plus numerous contingency bonuses.

The 2026 Toyota Series Championship Presented by Phoenix Boats will air on VICE Sports Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET.
The full field of anglers competed on Days 1 and 2 of the event Thursday and Friday, with the top 25 pros and top 25 co-anglers based on cumulative weight from the first two days continuing to the third and final day on Saturday. The 2026 Toyota Series champions were determined by the heaviest three-day total weight.

The 2026 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consisted of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions.

The 2026 Toyota Series Championship field featured the top 25 pros, top 25 co-anglers and tournament winners from each of the five U.S. Toyota Series divisions; the top 25 pros and 25 co-anglers from the Wild Card division plus tournament winners; the highest finishing boater and co-angler from each Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Regional and the TBF at the All-American; the top three teams from the College Fishing National Championship; High School Fishing National Champions; TBF National Champions; and MLF International anglers from Canada, China, Eswatini, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Mozambique, Namibia, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

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 Nicotine Pouches, 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 Toyota Series 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, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV 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.