As Nathan Reynolds gazed out at Lake Guntersville after landing 19 pounds, 6 ounces on Day 1 of the 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Guntersville presented by Bass Pro Shops, the magnitude of the moment seemed to wash over him.
The waters of this Tennessee River reservoir have blessed Reynolds with some of his favorite memories. Fishing trips spent with University of North Alabama teammates Banks Shaw, Dylan Nutt and Carter Nutt are among the fondest, but the Nashville native has spent valuable family time on Guntersville as well.
Yet this week, Reynolds is on the verge of accomplishing his most important personal achievement, and the venue couldn’t be more perfect.
“If I were to make the (Elite Series) here, I would feel the love,” Reynolds said. “I have so many friends on the lake. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve driven up and down this river. I’ve spent time with my best friends fishing right out here as well as my mom and dad. It would mean the world.”
His impressive eighth-place Day 1 performance lifted him into second place in the Elite Qualifier points, inside the cut to receive an invite to the 2027 Elite Series along with nine of his fellow competitors.
Entering the final event of the season, Reynolds was in 14th place in the points, nine points outside the cut. The weeks leading up have been a wave of emotions, all of which have perfectly fit the moment he finds himself in.
“This week has been really nerve-wracking, because all of us work so hard and put everything we have into it,” Reynolds said. “To be close is unbelievable. I don’t really know what to think. I’m fired up, nervous, scared, excited. All of it.
“I wish I could bottle it up. I really do.”
One more good day, and Reynolds will be the latest in a line of young anglers who have made their way through the B.A.S.S. pipeline. The now 22-year-old began his career fishing the Bassmaster High School Series as well as the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation Youth Series, earning Bassmaster High School All-American honors in 2022 before joining the esteemed University of North Alabama fishing team.
In his four years of college, he qualified for the National Championship three times, adding a Nation Championship appearance to his resume in 2025 as well. During college, he became great friends with the Nutt brothers and Shaw, all of whom have had ridiculous 2026 seasons in their own right.
“I’ve watched my best friends… Dylan won the Classic, Carter made the Bass Pro Tour, Bank Shaw is a millionaire… and maybe it’s my time (too). I hope it is,” Reynolds said.
This season was his first as an Opens pro, and despite ups (33rd and Kentucky Lake) and downs (103 at the Upper Mississippi River), qualified for the EQ’s where he has fished well overall. Reynolds finished fifth at Norfork Lake and 51st at Toledo Bend, putting him in contention this week at Guntersville.
“Ever since Norfork, it feels like I’m not even driving (the boat),” Reynolds said. “I’ll sit down, start the motor without knowing where I’m going and then the idea will come in my head.”
Part of the success he has enjoyed this week was crafted with his UNA teammates on Pickwick Lake and other sections of the Tennessee River. During the fall, they would spend hoursbreaking down what the bass did in vegetation. Pickwick may not have the same grass coverage, but Guntersville sure does, and those lessons are coming in handy right now.
“We would go after class every day and fish,” he said. “I take a lot of that here.”
With one more day of guaranteed competition left in the season, Reynolds will be striving for another limit in the high teens. If he can do that, then the Elite Series is right around the corner.
“I told myself the more I caught today was less I had to catch tomorrow,” Reynolds said. “If I get into the high teens, you’ll be able to hear me yell from anywhere on the lake.”
Points race fallout
In a three-tournament series, the potential for shake ups are certainly possible. The first day of the Guntersville EQ created plenty of waves that will make the second day of this tournament intriguing.
Anglers like Brennan Flick, Bailey Gay, Noah Winslow and Peyton Harris entered this event in the Top 10 and moved into three of the top four spots in points, solidifying their spots inside the Elite Series cutline.
Perhaps the day’s biggest winners were Florida native Tripp Berlinsky and Georgia’s Cody Stahl, both of whom were in the 20s in the standings before Guntersville and are now sixth and seventh respectively. Stahl in particular has had an outstanding season, winning the Division I points and notching a second at Norfork to open the EQ round. A 69th at Toledo Bend doesn’t sound terrible, but it was enough to send Stahl tumbling down the standings. He sits in 23rd after one day at Guntersville with room to grow but can’t afford to slip.
Berlinsky, the 2025 College Classic Bracket champion, had an uneven rookie season as an Opens pro, finishing 74th in Division I points. The UNA (yes, another former UNA student-angler) has seemingly embraced the challenge of fall fishing once again and sits seventh entering Day 2 at G-ville.
Amid a remarkable 2026, Brody Robison suffered his worst day of the year and fell from second in the EQ points all the way to 15th after landing in 102nd on Day 1. Kaden Buchmann also dropped from first to 10th after a 90th place showing. Trey Schroeder fell from seventh to 20th.
The points are volatile, but it will come to a head during the Day 2 weigh-in.
A tame Guntersville
By the standards set over the last couple of years, Guntersville did not show out in the way many anticipated before this event. Only five anglers landed over 20 pounds. Cold fronts have the bass on the move. Many of them are feeding on shad in open water and are hard to catch without forward-facing sonar.
In the late winter Elite Series event, anglers found ways to overcome the lack of live sonar and still catch the bass hovering around bait. So far, EQ anglers who have found success have discovered nuances around vegetation.
Still, over 16 pounds has an angler in check range or just below it.
A weather change is coming. Winds are expected to pick up and temperatures are forecasted to drop on Day 2. Will that improve or hurt the bite? Time will tell.
