KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee River showed out today. So did Tennessee’s own Dylan and Carter Nutt.
The brothers from Nashville once again made it quite clear that they’re a force on some of the most famous reservoirs in this region of the country. Carter and his tournament partner, Bryce Dimauro, fishing for the University of North Alabama (UNA), won the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Classic Exhibition presented by Bass Pro Shops on Watts Bar Reservoir with a five-bass limit for 15 pounds, 7 ounces.
Meanwhile, over on Fort Loudoun Reservoir, Dylan hauled in the heaviest limit thus far in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. In fact, his 26-pound, 11-ounce limit is the heaviest catch of any of the three Classics held on the Loudoun-Tellico system out of Knoxville, Tenn., and it vaulted Dylan into the lead going into Championship Sunday with a two-day total of 46 pounds even.
The 22-year-old struggled to put into words the emotions he feels now leading the biggest tournament in bass fishing.
“Man, I’m feeling … I don’t know. It’s been unreal,” he said.
Coming into the tournament, there were rumors that Dylan was on some giant fish. Word had been circulating that he’d caught a 25- or 26-pound limit in practice. His Day 1 weight of 19-5 was not indicative of the quality of bass he was around.
“The wind was blowing really, really hard yesterday, and I waited until the end of the day to go into the area I caught ’em at today and caught that big bag in practice,” he said. “I wasn’t able to work my bait right and couldn’t really stay on the fish. I went in there today and they wanted to bite.”
When he went into that area at around 11:30, Dylan already had a solid limit of about 22 pounds, which would’ve had him nearly even with second-place pro Drew Cook’s two-day weight. But then his entire tournament changed in the course of two key bites.
“I was fishing an area that I had caught some in practice, and I saw something on the graph that looked good, so I trolled over there and panned my LiveScope out there. I looked out there and there was a school of 6-pounders sitting there, and sure enough, first cast [I caught a] 6 3/4. Then I threw back in there and had some more giant ones follow it, and a cast after that I caught a 6 1/4. It looked like there were a bunch of giant ones there.”
The rest of the fish scattered, but the boost was enough to move him into the lead by nearly 4 pounds.
“It took it from great to excellent,” he said. “I can’t ask for anything much more.”
Dylan, who says he’s a “senior-ish” geography major at UNA, caught most of his fish on a Berkley prototype bait that he says fishing fans might get to see very soon.
As for tomorrow, don’t expect him to let his foot off the gas. Dylan says the area he’s fishing in Fort Loudoun fishes a lot like Pickwick Lake, where he’s had a ton of tournament success in the past. He’s comfortable there. It fits into his wheelhouse. And he’s around the caliber of fish to turn in another incredible day.
Should he win, he’d be the first angler since Bryan Kerchal (1994) to win a Classic for which he qualified via the B.A.S.S. Nation. He earned his spot in the Classic by finishing third in the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Upper Mississippi River presented by Lowrance.
Hoping to keep Dylan Nutt off the top of the podium is Cairo, Ga., pro Drew Cook, who weighed in a Day 2 limit of 22 pounds, 8 ounces for a two-day total of 42-1. At 31, Cook is one of the more veteran pros in the Top 10, and one of only two anglers over the age of 30 to make the Super Six. On a tournament day studded with giant bass, Cook weighed in the biggest of them all — a 7-pound, 5-ounce kicker that earned him the $1,000 Big Bass prize. That fish turned around a slow morning.
“I caught one nice one off my starting spot,” he said, “and then I kind of had to bob and weave and go fishing; go try some new stuff. Around lunchtime, I ran into a good little deal and caught, you know, a great big one, a 7-5, and then another 4-pounder and another 4-pounder.
“I had said this yesterday, I wish I’d leaned on them a little bit more [on Day 1], but we saved enough for tomorrow.”
Cook thinks the lack of wind was to blame for his tough start today. Changing areas steered him to the fish that turned things around and bumped him up from fourth place into second.
“I did not think it was a bass, to be perfectly honest with you,” he said about his 7-5 kicker, which he could see perched atop a stump on his sonar. “Then whenever it came up, I saw its mouth, and I thought, ‘Dang, that’s a 5-pounder.’ And then whenever I grabbed it on the side of the boat, I was like, Jesus, it’s a giant. And then it was a giant, especially for here. I mean it’s a big one anywhere, but it’s a giant here.”
The flurry not only helped Cook settle down, but it keyed him in on what he should be doing tomorrow. He was confident after weigh-in but understandably guarded about what he’d figured out.
If it holds up and he can catch another mid-20s limit tomorrow, Cook is in position to make a run at Dylan Nutt’s lead.
Day 1 leader Easton Fothergill had a slower day today. He weighed in 18 pounds, 14 ounces for a two-day total of 40-6. The defending Classic champ will head out in third place on Championship Sunday.
“It was just slow and steady all day long,” Fothergill said. “I ended up with a couple small ones that really tanked my bag. I broke off a nice one, and I kind of needed one more of the mid-4-pound class or bigger to really put me where I need to be.”
Fothergill ran a similar pattern as he did on Day 1, far from takeoff on the opposite end of Tellico. He’s hoping a change in conditions tomorrow will provide the spark he needs to get them to bite.
“I did find one new area that I didn’t get to fish much because I found it so late,” Fothergill added. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow [and the] changing conditions once again. It looks like some cloud cover and some wind, so I’m super excited to get back out there.
“I have a couple giant schools … I’m definitely looking forward to getting a lot of bites again tomorrow.”
As for his drop from first to third in the standings, Fothergill isn’t letting it bother him. He knows exactly what’s needed to make history once again.
“I know last year when I was in the lead going into the last day, I had a lot of pressure on myself, so I’d much rather be the hunter than the hunted. So I’m kind of excited to be in this position, to kind of fish free tomorrow, and looking forward to seeing what we can do.”
JT Thompkins, of Myrtle Beach, S.C., weighed in 19-2 for a two-day total of 38-1, good for fourth place. In fifth is Justin Atkins, of Florence, Ala., who weighed in 22-10 for a two-day total of 38-0.
The Top 25 anglers will fish on Sunday’s final day of competition. Among the field will be anglers representing all Classic-qualification routes, including the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series, Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender, Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Series presented by Lowrance, Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops and the reigning Bassmaster Classic champion. Tomorrow, they’ll settle the true world championship of bass fishing on what is sure to be a memorable final day.
The Day 3 melin Bassmaster Classic Takeoff is scheduled for 7:45 a.m. ET from Volunteer Landing in downtown Knoxville. The Bassmaster Classic Weigh-in driven by Yokohama begins at 4:15 p.m. at Food City Center on the University of Tennessee campus.
You can watch all the final-day action during Bassmaster LIVE from 8 to 11 a.m. on Bassmaster.com and the Bassmaster FAST channel, available on Roku and Plex. Catch full coverage of the final day and weigh-in live on FOX from 2:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Fans are also invited to attend the Progressive Bassmaster Classic Tailgate presented by Maxam Tire from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. outside the Knoxville Convention Center. The Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo presented by TNT Fireworks will be in the convention center and the adjacent World’s Fair Exhibition Hall from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. All Classic events are free to the public.
Visit Knoxville Sports Commission is hosting the event.
2026 Bassmaster Classic Title Sponsor: Bass Pro Shops
2026 Bassmaster Classic Presenting Sponsor: Under Armour
2026 Bassmaster Classic Platinum Sponsor: Toyota, Progressive
2026 Bassmaster Classic Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mountain Dew, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 Bassmaster Classic Outdoors Expo Presenting Sponsor: TNT Fireworks
2026 Bassmaster Classic Local Partner: TNT Fireworks, Calhoun’s, TN Tourism, TVA, Whataburger
2026 Bassmaster Classic Youth Forum Sponsor: U.S. Army
2026 Bassmaster Classic Takeoff Sponsor: Melin
2026 Bassmaster Classic Weigh-In Sponsor: Yokohama
2026 Bassmaster Classic Kickoff Party Title Sponsor: Daiwa
2026 Bassmaster Classic Kickoff Party Presenting Sponsor: TNT Fireworks
2026 Bassmaster Classic Tailgate Title Sponsor: Progressive
2026 Bassmaster Classic Tailgate Presenting Sponsor: Maxam Tire
2026 Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am Title Sponsor: Progressive
2026 Bassmaster Classic Celebrity Pro-Am Presenting Sponsor: Yokohama Tire
2026 Bassmaster Classic Fishing Pond Sponsor: Zebco
2026 Bassmaster Classic Host: Visit Knoxville Sports Commission
