The 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, without question, has produced the biggest bass of any of the three previous tournaments on Fort Loudoun and Tellico.
Multiple bass over 6-pounds crossed the stage on Saturday’s second day, and in this tournament, they all mean so much more. Let’s take a journey with the anglers who caught the biggest bass and how it sets them up for success.
Nutt’s pair of 6’s
Nutt’s two bass might have been the smallest of the bass we’ll talk about in this piece, but they were arguably the most impactful. The Nashville, Tenn. native was already having a great day before that, landing 22 pounds before 1 p.m., but the day went from good to great when he landed them.
“I was fishing an area I caught some in practice and I saw something on the graph that looked good. I trolled over there, panned my Garmin LiveScope and there was a school of 6 pounders. Sure enough, the first cast I caught a 6 ¾-pounder. I threw back in there and had some more giants follow it. The next cast I caught a 6 ¼.”
That school of bass scattered after that, but Nutt estimated five or six largemouth that big or bigger were sitting on that spot, a sunken house foundation in 5 feet of water. The Berkley bait he used to catch those 6-pounders is under wraps for now, but his performance with it this week will be great advertising once it’s ready to be released.
“My day went from good to excellent. I can’t ask for much more,” Nutt said.
Cook’s 7-5 turns his day around
Unlike Nutt, Drew Cook did not have a stellar morning. He caught one bass before noon, but a key area change made all of the difference. Early in the afternoon, Cook came across a stump and, using his forward-facing sonar, saw a blob sitting on top of it.
He threw at it anyway, and thankfully for him, he did.
“I didn’t even think it was a bass,” Cook said. “When it came up, I was like dang that’s a 5-pounder. And then when I got it on the side of the boat, I was like, Jesus…
“It’s a big one anywhere, but it’s a giant here.”
That bass not only anchored Cook’s bag and claimed Mercury Big Bass of the Day honors, but it settled him down and gave him a clue on what to do next.
“At that point, I had three bass for 13 something,” he said. “I knew at that point I was going to make the cut. I just hunted and pecked around from there.”
Ebare catches unusual lunker
The highlight of Bassmaster LIVE’s morning session was Dakota Ebare landing a 7-2 meanmouth (smallmouth/spotted bass mix) that anchored his 20-10 limit. The Texan has been using his forward-facing sonar, but not to see individual bass, but to see the structure elements under the water.
So he didn’t see the lunker before it came up and ate his minnow. Ebare didn’t know how big it was until he grabbed it.
The area he caught the bass in was also what he felt was his third best area. When he arrived at his starting spot, he found another competitor already fishing there. His second spot also had a boat on it, so Ebare moved one more time.
“I think God was just pointing me in the right direction,” he said. “I ended up in the right place at the right time.
“I was giggling like a school girl,” Ebare continued. “It was an awesome experience. Catching her was phenomenal, and she is a valuable opportunity to win this tournament, but I know I am a long way from being done.”
While he finished the day with almost 21 pounds, Ebare felt he missed an opportunity to land an even bigger bag and be closer to the lead.
“If I’m being honest, I’m not satisfied with my overall weight,” he said. “I had a 7-pounder, and should have had some 4-pounders to go with it to have 23 pounds. I’m thankful for the day, but when you catch a bass like that, you want to catch as much as you want to go with it.”
