bassmaster classic

Top lures of the Classic 2026

See the prespawn lure lineup used by the Top 25 anglers.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Chase Sansom
West Virginia
Photography by
Solomon Glenn
Minnesota
Photography by
Shane Durrance
Captions by
Craig Lamb
The 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour on the Tennessee River had two deserving winners. First, Tennessean Dylan Nutt, 22, won the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing as a bass club angler, and next the B.A.S.S. Nation took the win on bass fishing’s biggest stage after 32 years. Nutt joined 1994 Classic winner Bryan Kerchal as only the second amateur to win the sport’s most coveted title. 
Nutt presented his winning strategy like a seasoned veteran. “I focused on Fort Loudon because it fishes more like a river, with current positioning fish on key areas,” he said. “I’m very confident in my ability to catch them on rivers like this, and the way they set up was in my wheelhouse.” 
Nutt focused on prespawn staging areas where quality smallmouth and largemouth were moving in and out. The stats prove the point, with Nutt posting daily weights of 19 pounds, 5 ounces, 26-11 and 20-13 for a winning total of 66-13. 
Nutt fast-tracked his success by spending copious time on the water and coming up through the ranks of the B.A.S.S. high school, college and then Nation programs. He qualified for the Classic after finishing third at the 2026 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship presented by Lowrance. See all the top lures and get stocked up for springtime fishing. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Caleb Hudson (25th; 30-9)
Hudson’s primary bait was this Hideup Coike Fullcast. 
Dillon Falardeau (24th; 37-1)
Falardeau used a lipless crankbait and spinnerbait. 
That choice was a DStyle spinnerbait with double Colorado blades. 
Alternatively, he used this Copper Red Baits Snatchin’ Shad.
Andrew Loberg (23rd; 39-5)
Loberg used a jig, jerkbait and glidebait. 
A top choice was this 3/8-ounce Beast Coast Fishing Tungsten Lil’ Magnum Jig.
A Lucky Craft Slender Pointer 112MR Jerkbait produced reaction bites. 
Loberg also used this Sneaky Pete Steve Kennedy G-Rat. 
Brandon Palaniuk (22nd; 40-14) 
A jerkbait and jighead minnow produced best for Palaniuk. 
This Megabass Vision 110 + 2 produced reaction strikes. 
For livescoping he used this X Zone Lures Rally Shad on 1/4-ounce jighead. 
Patrick Walters (21st; 41-5)
Walters rotated through a casting jig, jerkbait and glidebait. 
This 3/8-ounce Pulse Fish HD All Purpose Jig with Zoom Big Salty Chunk was a top choice. 
This Megabass 110 jerkbait was another top producer. 
Another top choice was this Clutch Swimbait Co. Baby Boss. 
Noah Winslow (20th; 42-15)
Winslow rotated between a jighead minnow and football jig.
That choice was a 3/8-ounce Beast Coast Fishing Open Water Sniper Football Jig was another top choice. 
Another top lure was this Beast Coast Fishing Seduce FFS Minnow on 1/8-ounce jighead.
So was a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ.
Alex Redwine (19th 43-14)
Redwine rotated between a jerkbait and jig. 
This Strike King KVD 200 Series produced reaction strikes.
For heavy cover he used this 3/8-ounce Strike King Denny Brauer Baby Structure Jig with Strike King Rage Menace. 
Brock Mosley (18th; 44-3)
Mosley rotated between two shallow water favorites, those being a crankbait and bladed jig. 
For covering water, he chose this Bill Lewis ATV.
A 3/8-ounce Z-Man Tungsten ChatterBait EVO with Yamamoto Zako produced quality bites for slower presentations. 
He also used this battle-worm Bill Lewis Original Rat-L-Trap. 
Tripp Berlinsky (17th; 45-1)
Berlinksy used a jighead minnow and spoon. 
A CrushCity Freeloader on 1/8-ounce VMC jig head was a top choice. 
An 8-inch Nichols Flutter Spoon produced in deeper water. 
Tyler Williams (16th; 45-2)
Williams relied on his mainstay skirted jig and trailer. 
That proverbial choice was this 3/4-ounce Greenfish Tackle Little Rubber Jig with Yamamoto Flappin’ Hog. 
Jay Przekurat (15th; 45-5)
A Strike King KVD 300 Deep was the primary lure for Przekurat. 
Paul Marks (14th; 46-2)
Marks rotated through flukes, crankbaits and Neko rigs. 
A Zoom Super Fluke on 4/0 Gamakatsu Superline Offset Round Bend Hook was a primary lure for Marks. 
A Zoom Winged Fluke on 1/16-ounce Horizon Head LG was another top choice. 
Marks covered water with this SPRO RkCrawler 55 crankbait. 
He also used a Neko-rigged Zoom Thick Trick on 2/0 Gamakatsu Bead Hook. 
Fisher Anaya (13th; 46-7) 
Anaya chose a favorite for his livescoping tactics. 
That was a CrushCity Freeloader 5.25 on 1/4-ounce jighead.
Chris Johnston (12th; 46-8) 
Johnston alternated between a jig and jighead minnow as primary baits. 
A top choice was this SPRO Engine LikeFive Strolling Minnow. 
He also used a 1/2-ounce SPRO CJ Flip Jig with Zoom Salty Chunk. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Kyle Welcher (11th; 46-10) 
A jighead minnow and jerkbait were top producers for Welcher. 
He chose this CrushCity Mooch Minnow on 3/16-ounce jighead. 
A Rapala Mavrik 110 jerkbait was another top producer.
Wesley Gore (10th; 48-11)
A spinnerbait, jig and jerkbait were top producers for Gore.
A 1/2-ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait with split tail grub produced in shallow water structure. 
A 1/2-ounce Nomad Design Prowler Heavy Flipping Jig with Zoom Z Hog produced in heavy cover. 
For covering water Gore used this Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait. 
Dakota Ebare (9th; 50-0) 
Ebare rotated through a jighead minnow, football jig and Carolina Rig. Ebare used his new 6-foot, 9-inch medium action Lew’s Dakota Ebare Signature Series Power Pinging Minnow Rod. 
A top producer was this 3/16-ounce jighead minnow. 
Another choice was this football jig with Strike King Rage Bug. 
He made the Carolina rig with this Strike King Rage Scounbug on 3/0 Owner Wide Gap Plus Hook with 5/8-ounce weight.
Jordan Lee (8th; 52-12)
Lee rotated between a crankbait and bladed jig. 
His top producer was this Berkley SquareBull 5.5.
Alternatively, he used this 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait with Berkley PowerBait Power Swimmer.
Drew Cook (7th; 54-4) 
A jerkbait, wacky rig and swim jig were baits of choice for Cook. 
Leading off the lure lineup was this SPRO McDart jerkbait.
Another top producer was this SPRO Wacky Snack Worm on No. 2 Gamakatsu G-Finesse Stinger Hook.
This 3/8-ounce swim jig with SPRO Surface Swimmer was another top choice. 
Justin Atkins (6th; 55-0)
A crankbait and jerkbait covered varying strike zones for Atkins. 
A Berkley Frittside was a top choice. 
So was this Berkley Stunna 112.
JT Thompkins (5th; 55-5)
Thompkins covered water for his livescoping tactics with a jerkbait and jig. 
This Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait was a top choice. 
So was this 1/4-ounce Outkast Tackle Radar Love Jig with Deps Sakamata Shad.
Easton Fothergill (4th; 56-2)
A Carolina rig and jighead minnow were top producers for Fothergill. 
He made the Carolina rig with this 7-inch Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait on 4/0 Ryugi The Standard EWG Offset Worm Hook with 3/4-ounce Ryugi Beets TG Weight.
For livescoping he used this 7-inch Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait on 3/16-ounce Keitech Rumblade Jig.
Yui Aoki (3rd; 57-3)
A creature bait and jighead minnow were top producers for Aoki. 
This 4-inch SPRO DStyle Geelacanth was a top choice. The new lure was introduced at the Classic Expo. 
So was this 4-inch SPRO DStyle Virola on 1.8-gram jighead.
Trey McKinney (2nd; 57-8) 
McKinney is collaborating with 6th Sense Fishing on an all-purpose jig that is nearing release. He posted daily limits of 16-10, 18-13 and 22-1 by targeting fish in groups and clusters on hard clay or sand breaks along current-swept main-lake banks. McKinney also used a 6th Sense Divine swimbait (not pictured). 
“It’s good for any water clarity and especially pressured fish,” McKinney said. “I’ve been tweaking it along the way, and it’s almost ready.”
Dylan Nutt (1st; 66-13)
Nutt used a variety of baits, including a soon-to-launch Lab Series line of soft baits from Berkley.  
The strike zone extended from 18 inches to 8 feet, where he targeted the prespawn staging areas.

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