I guess it’s time for a little recap of the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season’s first quarter. It’s been a little bit of an up and down year overall. I think it’s been positive, but obviously, I would like to do better in every tournament.
The upside is I’m sitting in 21st place in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points, so while I’ve had a few bumps, I think I’m in a good position going forward. It’s just time to refocus and get rolling again.
This first quarter of 2026, other than the Lake Guntersville tournament, has been mixed or me. Thus far, I’ve had some missed opportunities because I’ve lost key fish in each of the tournaments except for Guntersville. I’m trying to work my way through all of that stuff without it becoming something I’m focusing on and overanalyzing
Lake Guntersville has always been really good to me, and I always look forward to tournaments there. I think I’ve fished three Elite Series tournaments there in my career so far, and I’ve finished in the top five in all of them — including this year.
The next event was at Lake Martin in Alabama, and I had some opportunities to have a better tournament than I did. It just didn’t go the way I wanted. I lost a couple of key fish there, and I’m not 100% sure if it was just boat positioning, equipment mismanagement or something else. I lost a couple of key fish, and that cost me some valuable spots in the standings.
I ran into that same type of thing at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. I’d get these strikes where they would eat it on the edges of the grass, swim right into it and come off. I lost a couple of key fish that way.
I’ve looked at it, and I’ve tried to figure out exactly what happened. At the same time, I can spend too much time doing that and not focusing on what the fish are doing. If I get too much in my head, I may put myself into a rough stretch. I just need to focus on doing what I do and that’s just reading the fish and reacting to the bites.
It’s a fine line when you’re analyzing things like lost fish because you have to look at the whole situation. I do want to make sure I’ve done everything I can do preparation wise.
The Arkansas River event was tough, but I stayed focused and had a consistent weight each day. I finished 31st and cashed a check, so that’s really good.
There are some events coming up that I have been looking forward to that seem to fit into the way I fish. It’s going to take one more good tournament and steadiness after that, and I’ll be right back in the Bassmaster Classic.
That’s the goal to start every year, and while I want to improve, I have to look at where I’m at and say that it’s been a pretty good start to the season.
