Welcome to the Live Blog for the 2026 FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville!
Your go-to page for up-to-the-minute information that is happening during the tournament, including reports from our on-the-water photographers, links to video highlights, photos from AmBASSadors, and much more!

Day 4: Lake Guntersville

2:45pm -- Hank Cherry may have sealed the deal with his latest catch. It doesn't hit the 5 pound mark, but he's got five straight up studs in the box.

2:40pm -- Twenty minutes left to fish, seven anglers over 80 pounds. Four bags over 20 pounds. One under 14 and another under 13, which means a big bite or two could change things up in a big way. Wes Logan still has a 2-4 and a 2-12 occupying valuable space in his livewell.

2:32pm -- Click here to view a photo gallery showing on-the-water action with Justin Atkins and Kyle Welcher.

2:14pm -- Matt Robertson is unofficially sitting in fourth place with just 45 minutes of fishing remaining in the first Elite Series event of 2026. Click here to see all the photos of the on-the-water action as captured by photographer Grant Moxley.

2:09pm -- Will Hank Cherry pull off his first Bassmaster Elite Series regular-season win on his birthday? There's less than an hour of fishing left before we find out. In the meantime, click here to check out all the on-the-water action as captured by Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance.

2:02pm -- It took a while, but Alabama pro Wes Logan finally filled out his limit. It vaulted him up past 80 pounds and he still has two sub-3-pounders left to cull. He's been strong in the late afternoons. It's a matter of whether he's waited too long to get things firing.

1:54pm -- Act now, supplies are limited! The store here at Goose Pond Colony has six packs of Chartreuse Pearl curly tail bass grubs and two packs of Chartreuse Pepper. They may be gone tomorrow if Hank Cherry wins (or even if he does not).

1:24pm -- Jodie Hartman isn't giving up: He just made a big jump to third on BASSTrakk on the strength of a 4-pound, 12-ounces. With 1 1/2 hours of fishing left, Hartman sits just 2-8 back of the unofficial lead — and he still has four fish in the 3-pound range, so a 5-pounder would go a long way.

1:05pm -- Stetson Blaylock has been trading blows with Hank Cherry all day, and Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance captured all the action. Click here to see the full photo gallery.

12:54pm -- The top ten still only features four anglers over 80 pounds, but three more are at 79-plus. Remember, those are guesstimated weights, some more accurate than others, and there are several hours left to fish. It shouldn't surprise anyone if all ten are over 80 by day's end. That's a resounding vote of confidence for a lake that we're seeing under the worst possible weather conditions. It's amazing how this place produces year after year, even when it shouldn't.

12:25pm -- While the unofficial leader Hank Cherry is wailing on fish, Dakota Ebare just finished out his limit with a 2 1/2-pounder. "I don't think they're biting yet," Ebare said on Live.

Ebare is unofficially in 10th place with a four-day total of 73-4, according to BASSTrakk.

12:10pm -- Tristan McCormick was at a competitive disadvantage for his inaugural Elite Series event, working through extreme pain in one of his hands.

“About three weeks ago I was duck hunting, and I smashed the top of my hand on compartment lid,” McCormick said. “It kinda swole up, but I didn’t think nothing of it.”

Fast forward to the first day of practice for the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville, and the injury began having an impact but McCormick initially thought it was because of the style of fishing required on this no-FFS event.

“It kinda hurting, but we’re real man fishing, ripping a trap,” McCormick said.

By the time practice was over, however, it was evident there was something really wrong.

“Day 1 of the tournament I could hardly pick up a rod,” McCormick said. “It took me to my knees a couple of times on Day 1. My hand was three times as big as the other hand.”

He was the first man out of the Day 3 cut, and by that time his wife was worried. "My wife is a nurse, and she said she was scared for me," McCormick said. "When she gets scared, I get scared."

A trip to the ER revealed he has a pinched nerve just behind his hand, along with severe tendonitis. He has a brace, and was is on a regimen of steroids and ibuprofen. "It's come down a little bit, but it still hurts bad," McCormick said.

12:05pm -- Jamie Hartman has filled his limit, but size is lacking. "He has moved from his primary area in search of bigger bites," Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn reported. "He is on a gradual dropping bank, still using a jerkbait and a minnow. He’s already had three bites, but only caught one that didn’t help. The fish are still swatting at the bait and not getting hooked. Even the last one he caught was barely hooked on the chin."

Hartman has his work cut out to take the lead, with BASSTrakk showing him in fourth with a 13-10 daily bag. The unofficial deficit Hartman must surpass is 6-12.

12:00pm -- Hank Cherry has unofficially culled up to the heaviest bag of the event, with a 5-5 caught minutes ago. BASSTrakk shows him with 26-6, taking over the unofficial lead from Stetson Blaylock. But on a lake pumping out big bass, the 1-pound, 6-ounce lead is far from a comfortable margin.

11:55am--Spoiler alert but not really. Craig Lamb is processing the Bass Pro Shops Top Lures gallery that'll get published on Monday. Five of the Top 10 anglers posed with variations of red pattern lures. Lipless and lipped cranks, skirts and trailers all tinged in red. Most notable was the absence of jig head minnows dictated by the no forward-facing sonar rule this week. Check out the gallery on the homepage tomorrow!

11:38am -- Just moments ago, Stetson Blaylock reclaimed the unofficial lead by landing a 3-14. That fish pushed his limit to 21-11 — but he's just 8 ounces ahead of Hank Cherry, who unofficially has the big bag of the day at 24-8.

11:15am -- Hank Cherry isn't let off the gas, adding a 5 1/2-pounder to his bag to push his unofficial weight to 24-8. Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance said his catches have come mainly on a 3-inch chartreuse grub. "He just boated one of his biggest fish of the day, and that puts him in first place at the moment (according to BASSTrakk)," Durrance said.

10:18am -- Justin Atkins is one of the few guys in the top 10 I’ve seen this week actually drifting up and down the grass flats looking for groups of fish, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reports. "Once he finds a wad of them, he anchors down and normally puts two or three in the boat quick," Sansom said.

11:15am -- John Garrett was chatting with Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford before going on Live, when the subject of Elite Series No. 2 came up. Click here to watch a vid in which Garrett explains how he's NOT ready for the next tournament.

10:47am -- Kyle Welcher has five fish, but he probably needs to cull them all to have a chance at another Elite win this week. Photogapher Chase Sansom reported that Welcher is mixing things up to try to make something happen, including a stretch on some riprap — no dice, and he headed back to the grass.

10:45am -- Is Wes Logan the one to watch today? He's 5 pounds out, one short of his limit, and we just watched his miss one and get visibly aggravated. But his bite has been coming mid-day or later, with an emphasis on the afternoon. It bears repeating that this tournament is wide open.

10:20am -- As we enter the middle part of the final competition day, we "only" have three anglers over 80 pounds. Is anyone out of it? Not really. Trey McKinney is 16 pounds out with three fish for a little under 9 pounds, but a 24-pound bag, which is what he had yesterday, would make him competitive. Not an easy lift, to be sure, but with most of the field under 20 pounds so far, we can still expect some shakeups.

10:06am -- Hank Cherry can't complain about how many fish are biting this morning. "He just told me that if he had to guess about how many fish he has caught this morning, the number is ballpark around 40 to 50," Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance reported.

Mixed in are some quality bass: BASSTrakk has him sitting in second (unofficially) with 22-2 for the day.

10:02am. -- "First time I think any of us have seen this all week: Wes Logan temporarily breaks out the punching rig to try out a grass mat along the bridge pillars," Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reported. "He punched it for about 10 minutes with no luck. He’s back to throwing the shallow crankbait along the pillars now."

9:59am -- It's been a slow start for Jamie Hartman, Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn reported. Hartman only has two small bas in the box as of now. "He’s had the bites for a limit, but they are short striking and not fully committing to the bait," Glenn said. "Unfortunately, several locals have decided to fish some of his areas and won’t even let him in. There is also a lot less bird activity in the area. Hopefully it will pick up as the day goes on."

9:51am -- Wes Logan has moved off the grass bar to fish bridge pillars with a red/orange shallow-diving crankbait, Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reported. "It paid off almost immediately when he got to this spot," Tumblin said. "He’s caught two fish off of the pillars, almost back to back. The latest one being this 3-11."

9:46am -- Click here to watch a video in which Hank Cherry explains why the no-scope rule for the first Elite Series event of the year allowed him to make a Top 10 finish.

9:40am -- Conditions have been brutal all week, with anglers having to bundle up all day. The worst, however, is when an angler hooks up and has to grab a fish in the frigid water, according to Wes Logan. "When you lip a fish it hurts," Logan said minutes before heading out for the final day of competition. "It's not bad in the moment, but after the adrenaline wears off it's like, 'That was a mistake.'"

9:35am -- Hank Cherry can't use FFS to see it, but the grass flat he's fishing is absolutely loaded with bait. That's what's keeping these fish here and why they're biting so well. Photographer Shane Durrance has FFS in his boat and sent us a shot of the graph to provide some context. Cherry is the first angler over 20 pounds today, but Stetson Blaylock isn't far behind.

9:25am -- Who could've foreseen a spinning tackle beatdown in a non-FFS tournament at Guntersville? Photographer Seigo Seito just reported that Stetson Blaylock took out spinning tackle for the first time and immediately caught three keepers in three casts, including a 6-pound kicker. Meanwhile, Hank Cherry added a 6-8 to his catch using his hand-poured chartreuse grub on 10-pound line. Could we see a 30-pound bag today? And what are the chances it'll come mostly on light line and the old eggbeater?

8:55am -- Photographer Solomon Glenn just sent us a picture of his boat driver's forward-facing sonar, showing the area Jamie Hartman is fishing. It's impossible to estimate how much more Hartman would've caught if he'd been allowed to use FFS, but suffice it is to say that the area is loaded with fish and not in danger of running out.

8:40am -- Wes Logan has (temporarily?) put down the bladed jig that has carried him to this point and picked up a lipless crankbait. He said he caught a big fish in practice on that same lure in practice. He's not one to panic, but it's hard to tell if he has a hunch or if he's just biding time until his afternoon bite kicks off.

8:40am -- Hank Cherry just got his birthday bass, a 5-pounder that completed his limit. He's focusing on birds to point out where the bait is located. It may be hard to believe, but if he wins today it'll be his first regular season Elite Series victory. Of course he has two Classic wins, and also won an All-Star week event in 2013 and an Open in 2012.

8:32am -- Photographer Chase Sansom provided an overhead shot of Kyle Welcher's starting spot each day: "It looks to be a pond in Seibold Creek. The boat on the top right is Kyle and I am below. It would appear to me a lot of the fish he’s catching are swimming from the bottom right which is about 200 yards from the main river into this little pond. It’s just a touch deeper in there and there’s tons of eel grass laying on the bottom. Ideal place for a lot of bass to wait and hangout before they pull up to spawn."

8:25am -- Stetson Blaylock's 4th fish is a solid 5-pounder. He's focused on the crankbait today instead of the swimbait and it seems to be paying off. BASSTrakk has him less than 2 pounds behind leader Matt Robertson.

8:19am -- Matt Robertson, bargain hunter. Normally he fishes the very affordable Ugly Stik rods. Indeed, the company that once featured Hulk Hogan and William "The Refrigerator" Perry in its ads wrapped his boat. But today he's mixing in a number of Shakespeare rods that he reports cost "$24 at Wal-Mart." Who says you need ultra high-tech gear to be competitive on the Elite Series?

8:15am -- Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that the morning fishing is slow as it has been the past couple of days for Wes Logan. "He told me at the ramp that it will more than likely be an afternoon bite again, the morning will just be grinding," Tumblin said. One thing to note is that the local boat traffic of yesterday has completely diminished today. Logan has his entire grass bar stretch completely to himself. Tumblin can only see one other boat. "He hasn’t said it, but I know Wes, and I know that puts him in a much better mind set."

8:00am -- Matt Robertson is officially On 'Em this morning with the first limit of the day, capped off by an estimated 3 1/2 pounder that he thought was much bigger. "Now all we need is a couple of sixes," he exclaimed. "They don't want none of this, son."

7:51am -- Shane Durrance reports that Stetson Blaylock switched to a crankbait and caught a 3 1/2 pounder on his first cast. He's using a yo-yo retrieve to trigger the bite. We've seen lots of jerkbait catches this morning, but the final gallery of top ten lures this week may give some hints about little variations that made a huge difference. Blaylock's big swimbait may not play today, or perhaps it will have windows for larger fish.

7:30am -- Photographer Shane Durrance reports that Stetson Blaylock started exactly where he did yesterday. Why wouldn't he? He went absolutely ballistic to start the day, racking up 19 pounds before some of the anglers had settled into their areas. He caught a bass on his first cast today, estimated at 2 1/2 pounds on BASSTrakk.

7:25am -- The bites are starting to flow in and Trey McKinney, who has no place to go but up, caught the right type of fish to start his day. "I kind of boat flipped it so I wouldn't have to get in the water," he reported. McKinney is hte only member of last year's top ten in the AOY race who is fishing today. After consecutive runner-up finishes to start his career, a strong start will help his quest for the title.

7:12am -- Justin Atkins caught a short fish, then his first keeper of the day. Not a huge one, but a start, and more importantly his livewell lids opened properly and easily.

6:28am -- Justin Atkins just told Dave Mercer that he woke up to find the lids on his boat frozen shut again this morning. That means that it's colder than most of us expected this morning, below freezing of course, although it's estimated to get up near 60 degrees today. Atkins told Dave Mercer that he had the same thing happen here 10 years ago, and after leaving the finally-opened rear lid open he broke it off running down the lake. Live and learn.

5:55am -- How are we going to top an insane Day 3 at Guntersville? It's going to be tough, as evidenced by this gallery from the exceptional Bassmaster photography team.

5:51am -- This is Hank Cherry's first Elite Series regular season top ten since the St. Johns River in 2021, although he cracked the top 10 in two Classics since then, winning one of them. This is Jamie Hartman's first since Champlain in 2020. This is the first Elite top ten of Dakota Ebare's career.

5:47am -- Zero rookies, zero international anglers fishing today. That's a double strike of lightning that's become increasingly rare in recent years.

5:45am -- For most of the country this day is primarily Super Bowl Sunday, but for most of you reading this blog, this is first and foremost Championship Sunday, and like any great football game it's going to go down to the last minute. Anyone who qualified to compete today on Lake Guntersville has a chance to take home the trophy, or at least drag it 3 hours down the road to Lake Martin, where practice for the next Elite event starts tomorrow.

Day 3: Lake Guntersville

4:40am -- Illinois' Trey McKinney claimed his spot in the first Top 10 of the season yesterday with a monster sack of bass weighing in at 24-4. That's in keeping with the young angler's history in the Bassmaster Elite Series — but he came into Lake Guntersville with a question mark hanging over his head. Namely, could he truly compete without foward facing sonar?

"I think a lot of questions have been answered today," Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer said to McKinney on the stage.

And McKinney admitted he felt the pressure to perform in the first Elite Series event in which FFS was not allowed.

"I knew if I didn't catch them, they would say 'Ah, see,'" McKinney said with a laugh.

Day 3: Lake Guntersville

2:24pm -- Seven of the unofficial Top 10 have surpassed the 20-pound mark with the day quickly coming to a close, according to BASSTrakk. Dakota Ebare, currently in sixth, shows the heaviest bag with 23-13. Day 2 leader Kyle Welcher has logged the lightest sack of fish in the current Top 10, with 14-3.

1:57pm -- Cooper Gallant has suffered through a long dead period, landing a 1 1/2-pounder at 10:23 a.m. and his second fish (a 2-pounder) at 1:56 p.m. BASSTrakk has him unofficially sitting in 41st with a total of 42

1:31pm -- Jamie Hartman still holds the unofficial lead with BASSTrakk showing him with 66-11. Check out all the action from his day on the water in this dedicated photo gallery by Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn.

1:25pm -- Minutes ago, Wes Logan logged in a bass weighing 4-10 — culling him up to unofficially move into second, according to BASSTrakk. His total of 22-6 still leaves him just more than 3 pounds out of the unofficial lead.

1:22pm -- Rookie Nick Trim isn't wasting time making his mark in the Elite Series. The 2025 B.A.S.S. Nation champion has unofficially caught 15-4 today, with BASSTrakk showing him sitting in 11th place with time growing short for the third day of fishing. As things look now, Trim would go into the second Elite event of the year leading the Pro-Guide Batteries Elite Series Rookie of the Year race.

1:00pm -- The2020 Bassmaster Classic was at the dawn of the forward-facing sonar and just a few weeks later in the year than this event. Shaking a minnow wasn't really a thing — at least not among the majority of pros — but many of the lures used by the top ten were very similar to other techniques and baits we're seeing this week. Check out a gallery from that tournament.

12:55pm -- Trey McKinney just landed this 5-pounder that culled a 3 1/4-pounder, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reported. "Working this flat south of takeoff, he’s got over 22 pounds and trying to sneak in the top 10," Sansom said. "He started the day in 42nd, and is on a good pace to crack the top 10."

BASSTrakk shows him clinging to 10th place with 57-4 — 9-7 behind Jamie Hartman.

12:50pm -- Brandon Card just upgraded in Roseberry Creek. "He is on a big flat throwing the vibrating jig about 2 to 4 feet deep," Bassmaster photographer Grant Moxley reported.

12:20pm -- Matt Robertson was pumped yesterday when he weighed in because it was clear he was moving on to Day 3 because it marked a first in his Bassmaster Elite Series career. "I've never made a cut in the first tournament (of a season), and we just made it," Roberston told Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer.

And he could be logging another first: BASSTrakk shows the Kentucky Elite angler firmly in the Top 10 with 59-3.

12:27pm -- Jamie Hartman's 2019 win at Guntersville was a few months later in the year than this one. Check out the winning lures gallery from that event. Click here. Hint: He's not using any of the same tools this time around.

12:20pm -- When Jamie Hartman won at Guntersville in 2019, he averaged just a hair under 20 pounds a day. Per BASSTrakk, he's averaging over 22 a day here through three days this week. Nevertheless, he doesn't know that he's in the lead. Even if he did, he shouldn't feel safe. No one has busted a 25 pound bag yet. It could or perhaps should happen before we've over. That means it's still wide open. You can't count out anyone who gets through to Sunday.

12:16am -- Wes Logan made a lure color change and it paid off, Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reported. "Fish No. 5 is finally in the boat, and it was over 4 pounds," Tumblin said. "This should seal his spot to fish tomorrow. Emotions were high when he landed the fish, and you could tell he felt a huge relief."

12:15am -- Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn photographed Jamie Hartman catch this 5-10 and another 4 pounder, two fish that put him in the unofficial lead. "He’s moving on again, like he’s done the previous days, to not burn any more fish," Glenn reported. "He had had an incredible morning, and is looking to do it one more time on Championship Sunday."

11:21am--Photog Chase Sansom: "First guy I've seen all week using a round bill crankbait." He's with Justin Atkins near the takeoff site and the tactic is increasing numbers caught. Chase noted overall that anglers are beginning to mix up their variations of lipped baits.

10:57am -- Jamie Hartman still hasn't passed 20 pounds, but with an estimated 5 pound 10 ounce bass, he's claimed the lead away from Stetson Blaylock ... at least for the time being. Randy Howell just said on Live that the area Hartman is fishing doesn't produce the most bites, but nevertheless has the highest population of big fish, 6- to 9-pounders. Hartman shows no signs of laying off, even though he's pretty sure he's moved on to Championship Sunday.

10:44am -- While Stetson Blaylock jumped out to the lead this morning, he's still only one of two anglers to have amassed a 20+ pound bag, per BASSTrakk. Plenty of 15 and 16 pound estimated catches, which provides room for growth. That means we can expect some games of leapfrog to occur within the top ten before check-in, as the afternoon heats up. Randy Howell just said told Dave Mercer and Kyle Jessie that "The wind's blowing right to get that jerkbait bite going." The whole food chain should continue to stir.

10:40am -- Shane Durrance got a great gallery of Stetson Blaylock's magic morning. Click here.

10:30am. -- Bassmaster photographer Grant Moxley caught up with Bob Downey, and found him fishing closer to the bank than the rest of the field in that area. "He’s fishing closer to the bank facing the wind. Most of the guys around us have been in the middle near the bigger grass patches. Looks like he’s focusing on the first flat in about 6 feet,"

Moxley said Downey has been rotating through a red lipless crankbait and red vibrating jig.

10:08am -- Jamie Hartman is catching bass in flurries, Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn reports. "He’s staying with the same pattern with a minnow and a jerkbait," Glenn said. "He filled his limit with mostly 2-pounders, and while the birds were also feeding he culled up to 16 1/2 pounds. He’s got one 4-pounder now and is looking for more big bites."

10:05am -- Click here to watch a video of Justin Hamner explaining what he did wrong during the first two days of competition.

9:45am. -- Gerald Swindle said on BASS Live that one of the effective means of pulling bass out of the grass in these cold-water conditions is what has been dubbed the "Swindle Shuffle." The technique involves jigging a lipless crankbait over eel grass beds — but not in the same way as when water temps are a little higher.

"Picture yourself landing a plane," Swindle said. "You keep your rod high, and you want to let the bait fall, but not on a slack line. That keeps the front of the bait up, and the back end just settles down and then you pull it up."

He said a slack-line approach would result in the lure getting hung up in the grass, and the water is just too cold to trigger fish by ripping out of the grass. Instead, the goal is a slow fall and rise cadence right above the eel grass.

9:37am. -- During yesterday's weigh-in, Jason Christie said he had a plan for Day 3. "If I make (the cut), I'm putting on 1 bait and going some place I've never been," he told Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer. "A big spinnerbait: It's getting that time of year."

The Bassmaster photographers on the water have yet to run across him, so it's yet to be revealed if he followed up with that promise.

9:28am -- In case you missed it, click here to see the video of the giant that started current leader Stetson Blaylock's day.

9:24am -- As the day warms up, the bite is doing the same. First Hunter Shryock got emotional as he struggled to land a big fish in the pad fields. He's credited his red (not orange) Berkley trailer for making a difference on his bladed jig. Then Jamie Hartman, still wielding a spinning rod, landed what he called a "pork chop." It's remarkably balmy today compared to the first two days, and if the textbook is right things should continue to get better.

9:10am -- Third-year Bassmaster Elite Series pro Trey McKinney is making some big moves on BASSTrakk. He started Day 3 in 42nd place, but has been clawing up the unofficial leaderboard all morning. His latest catch — a 2-pound, 4-ounce bass — now has him sitting in 12th place. And with only 12-4 in his livewell, he has a lot of room to cull up.

9:07am -- Elite veteran Greg Hackney told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford this morning that he was surprised he slipped into the Top 50. "I didn't think I would make it," Hackney said. "Think about that: I caught 35 pounds — 18 the first day and 17 pounds yesterday — and I'm in 47th place. That's how good these guys are." Click here to watch a video of Hackney discussing how the competition level of the Bassmaster Elites has grown exponentially over his storied career.

8:59am -- Elite veteran Greg Hackney told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford this morning that he was surprised he slipped into the Top 50. "I didn't think I would make it," Hackney said. "Think about that: I caught 35 pounds — 18 the first day and 17 pounds yesterday — and I'm in 47th place. That's how good these guys are." Click here to watch a video of Hackney discussing how the competition level of the Bassmaster Elites has grown exponentially

8:52am -- Day 2 leader Kyle Welcher just made a significant bait change, Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance reported. "He has broken out the worm," Durrance said. "First time all week I’ve seen something different other than a trap, jerkbait or a vibrating jig."

“I haven’t thrown it all week so I figured I’d give it a shot,” Welcher told him.

8:35am -- Wes Logan's morning may not be fast and furious, but he's on the right fish. His first of the day was a 6-pounder. "We may not catch many, but they're going to be good ones," he said.

8:15am -- Hunter Shryock may have gotten off to a slow start, but at least he's not numb. He made a 20-25 minute run through cold, windy Lake Guntersville, but both he and cameraman Jake Latendresse were warmed from behind by the heated seats on Shyrock's Ikon boat. Veterans know that little differences matter during weather extremes.

7:53am -- The rich get richer. Stetson Blaylock, already lapping the field with his Yum Money Minnow, culled with a 4 pounder. He was so shocked that he had to weigh the fish multiple times. Photographer Shane Durrance said he's never seen Blaylock so animated. The veteran pro has every reason in the world to be excited.

7:44am -- Stetson Blaylock's hot day continues. He's got a limit estimated at 18-19 pounds in less than an hour. Meanwhile, Brandon Lester is the only other angler reporting more than two fish. There's plenty of time for others to catch up, but this dream start should at least get him through to Sunday. It also gives him lots of time to upgrade.

7:27am -- Stetson Blaylock didn't suffer the same early heartbreak as Justin Atkins. He carefully fought a 7-plus-pounder to the boat and this one did not get off. Photographer Shane Durrance reports that he's throwing a large soft swimbait in the back of a pocket where bass are feeding on dying shad. It's a Yum Money Minnow.

7:08am -- Justin Atkins hooked the fish he needed on his first cast — an estimated 6-pounder — only to see it come unbuttoned. It's often considered bad luck to catch a fish on your first cast, but he probably would have been willing to risk it.

7:05am -- While the field has been cut to 50, it's the weekend and that means the Alabama locals are off work and on the water. Accordingly, there could be even more pressure to day in key areas. Photographer Shane Durrance reported that as of blast-off time, there were already three boats in the cove where Stetson Blaylock has been doing much of his damage. Of course it's their right to be there but it doesn't make things any easier.

6:33am -- During his Angler of the Year season of 2023, Kyle Welcher never missed a check, but he never won a blue trophy, either. He had two top tens that year: 7th at the Sabine River and 5th at the St. Lawrence. He "finally" earned his first Elite win last year at the Pasquotank, with a record-setting 45-pound margin of victory. Unlike that week, in order to win this event he'll have to keep his foot on the gas from start to finish.

6:28am -- If you missed yesterday's action, it's not too late to catch up on the highlights. Check out this video of some of the top anglers recounting what went right.

5:42am -- Is 30 the new 20? After two years of youthful uprisings, Cooper Gallant is the only angler currently in the top 10 not in his thirties yet. He's 28. Six of the top 10 are between 31 and 39, including leader Kyle Welcher, who will turn 33 next week. Their average age is just under 38.

5:35am -- Of course, the goal is to survive and advance. Get to Sunday and anything's possible. There's a three-way tie for 10th with 40 pounds 10 ounces. Sixteen anglers are within 3 pounds of that mark.

5:30am -- As we enter Saturday's competition, it's amazing to see how close the weights are after two days of fishing: Just over a point separates 20th from 30th. A pound and a half separates 30th from 40th. A pound and an ounce separates 40th from 50th. Put it together and the difference between 20th and 50th is 3-12. That's a single fish, like the 8-pounder Cooper Gallant weighed yesterday. There doesn't seem to be a way to target those giants as much as just being in the right place at the right time winding the right bait, and that's both frustrating and energizing.

Day 2: Lake Guntersville

4:16pm -- Boom-Shaka-laka! Have a look at Cooper Gallant's last-minute 8 pound, 4 ounce kicker anchored his 23-10 bag.

2:54pm -- It's been quite a while since Jamie Hartman made an Elite Series top 10. That may be about to change. Check out the damage he did by clicking here, all courtesy of Solomon Glenn's camera.

2:52pm -- Photographer Grant Moxley had an action-packed day on the water today. Click here to see his gallery from Guntersville.

2:46pm -- After a tough day yesterday, John Garrett may have pushed himself into the cut with a late-afternoon Guntersville special. We should see a few more catches that alter the scoreboard before it's all done. Add in the BASSTrakk "adjustments" and it ain't over until it's over.

1:44pm -- Bryan Schmitt effectively has a section of river to himself, but that hasn't made the fishing easy. He continues to adjust presentations to figure out how to make the most of that rare Elite Series occurrence Click here to see how he's doing it.

1:36 -- We currently have three past Guntersville winners in the top five: Jamie Hartman, Caleb Kuphall and Hank Cherry. Perhaps notably, none of them live in Alabama. Cherry, a North Carolina resident, lives the closest. Yesterday there were four international anglers, including three Canadians, in the top ten. Today, Jeff Gustafson is the only one still there, at least according to BASSTrakk.

1:32pm -- With time growing short on Day 3, the 2026 rookie field is evenly split in respect to making the Top  50 cut. Five rookies — Nick Trim, Matt Messer, Fisher Anaya, Caleb Hudson and Tristan McCormick — are on track to make the third day. Four rookies — Pake South, Aaron Jagdfeld, Austin Cranford and Sam Hanggi — have to make big moves before they head to weigh-in if they want to log their first Top  50.

1:15pm -- With approximately 2 hours left to fish, an apparently tough day provides huge opportunities for movement. The weather difference compared to yesterday is substantial. It's sunny, relatively windless and warm outside, requiring only a light jacket. Yesterday, by contrast, spectators were looking for any extra piece of clothing they could get. The bites have come sporadically today, with occasional flurries. The right late day flurry could make someone a hero.

12:15p.m -- After a couple hours worth of a lull period for Wes Logan, fishing finally picked back up for him within the last 20 minutes, according to Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin. "He’s caught three non-keepers, and then just now managed to bring in this upgrade. It helped him by around 2 pounds.

"He’s still fishing the same stretch of grass with what looks like a red-colored bladed jig."

12:10pm -- Don't forget you can watch straight livestream of four anglers today: Logan Parks, Kyle Patrick, Chris Zaldain and Wesley Gore. Watch a rolling livestream by clicking here.

11:49am -- Jamie Hartman is putting on a clinic, and is around a feeding frenzy, according to Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn. "Dead shad are floating up because of the cold conditions, and the wind is pushing them perfectly to Hartman," Glenn said. "Both bass and birds are gorging themselves, and Hartman is capitalizing. He’s still throwing a small 1/8-ounce jighead minnow over shallow water to claim the unofficial lead."

BASSTrakk shows Hartman at 22-2 for the day, with a two-day total of 42-14.

11:45am -- Matt Messer is back out on the flat in front of South Sauty Creek where a big wad of anglers was yesterday morning, although he hasn't caught anything while Bassmaster photographer Chase Samson has been covering him.

“Thank goodness I’m not counting on this flat," Messer told Sansom. "I hit a little flurry earlier on another hole and caught 16 (pounds) pretty quick.”

11:42am -- Wes Logan is fishing the same stretch of grass where he finished 4th in a 2020 Elite. He said it's his favorite area on the lake. He has over 18 pounds in the boat today but could use a few solid culls in the remaining hours.

11:37am -- Boat traffic is one thing, but plane traffic is quite another. Wes Logan, fighting for his next career win, had a seaplane land and then take off directly across from where he's fishing. Matt Messer suffered something similar in practice: "Dadgum plane 'bout hit me the other day," the rookie said.

11:31am -- Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn sent in this video of a common scenario on inland lakes, where seabirds are attracted to dying baitfish as wintertime forage. The feeding frenzy attracts the bass and Jamie Hartman hooks up. Click

11:22am -- Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin just reported that Wes Logan is fishing the exact same stretch of grass he fished back in 2020 when he finished fourth in that Guntersville Elite tournament. "He said it’s his favorite stretch on the lake," Tumblin said. He’s currently throwing a bladed jig on this grass bar stretch. Logan currently is third on BassTrakk.

11:06am -- Hank Cherry and Jamie Hartman, two past Guntersville winners, are the first over 20 pounds, and both blew past that mark. They're estimated at 22-2 and 21-8, respectively, today. It's particularly meaningful for Cherry, who was in 64th after Thursday, but both are coming off subpar 2025 seasons and need to start strong.

10:43am -- Sophomore pro Evan Kung just culled and is moving up. Check out the video of his limit fish here.

10:17am -- Photographer Chase Sansom reports that Taku Ito is sharing a backwater area with Jacob Powroznik and Blake Capps. He's outfishing them an estimated three-to-one but it's not helping all that much. Without a 4-pounder in his bag, Taku has 14-15 in the livewell. Capps has 7 ounces less on fewer fish, but is an estimated 2 ounces ahead overall.

10:07am -- As Dave Mercer just reported, three past Guntersville winners -- Jamie Hartman, Caleb Kuphall and Hank Cherry -- are in the top four. The only "interloper" is Alabamian Wes Logan, who has an enviable track record here but no B.A.S.S. Guntersville win — yet.

10:00am -- Per BASSTrakk, no angler has yet corralled a 20 pound limit. Hank Cherry has an estimated 19-10 and Andrew Loberg has 19-15. Both of them were below 50th place yesterday and should make the cut to Saturday even if they don't upgrade — but to make the Top 10, or possibly win, it's going to take daily sacks over 20. Then again, a 30 rack will make up for prior missteps and struggles. Jamie Hartman, who was high on the leaderboard yesterday, has 19-14, which puts him in the lead — for now.

9:53am -- FFS may be prohibited this week, but 360 is not, and Matt Robertson is relying on it to target the creek channel with a shad-colored jerkbait and a brown vibrating jig. After being in the top ten yesterday, he's struggling today.

9:52am -- AmBASSador Neil Paul Reports in on rookie Fisher Anaya:

Anaya has completed his limit of five bass in the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville with plenty of room to grow. 

The Rapala/Crush City Pro has relied heavily  on a new bait from the great folks at Rapala called the Snare. It’s a lipless crankbait presentation that Anaya has used this week navigating the waters of his home pond. 

The Snare comes equipped with VMC hooks which makes it a weapon right out of the box. Anaya is using the Crystal Craw this morning and throwing it on a 13 Fishing Meta Series rod. 

When I asked him about sharing this bait, he responded, “Please! It’s a great bait and it fishes right out of the package. The VMC Hooks are tournament ready hooks. I fish it just like it comes in the box.”

Anaya knows he’s going to have to upgrade his bag to stick around for Saturday, but for now, he’s on a game-plan and he’s looking to “Snare” an upgrade. 

9:42am -- Photographer Solomon Glenn reports that Bryant Smith is covering grass points and flats around islands on the lower end of the lake, switching between chrome and red lipless crankbaits to adjust to the changing depths -- typically 4 to 8 feet. He's living and dying with this area because he doesn't have much else in his back pocket.

9:33am -- It's still early, but the Top 10 has changed completely. There's not a single angler who started the day in that group who resides there now. Click here to keep up with BASSTrakk.

9:30am -- When the bite is on fire, and anglers are dialed into the bite, we tend to see lures get swallowed deeply. Pliers become an angler's best friend. But we've seen lots of fish barely hooked, with a single hook point from a rear treble skin hooking their mouth. That's what just happened to Bryant Smith. He landed a small keeper but the bait was exposed the entire time. Did he have the wrong color? Size? Retrieve? Or are the fish in his area hesitant to bite. That one made it into the boat, but the next one might come off, or miss the lure altogether.

9:19am -- Easton Fothergill on the science of red. Click

9:21am -- Matt Messer speaks out about the split scoping season. Click

9:10am -- Wesley Gore, who caught an 8 pound 1 ounce Guntersville giant yesterday to close out Day 1, has been catching 40 or so keepers every day in practice, but things have slowed today. But today it took him multiple hours to catch his first keeper, a mere 2-pounder, after three stops and a lot of casts. As Cory Johnston showed, however, a quick flurry is all it takes to get healthy.

9:00am -- Our on-the-water team reports that there's a lot more boat movement among the competitors today. It may be just that it's not quite as cold, but more likely that they're trying to make something happen — perhaps trying to force something to happen. Dalton Tumblin says that a boat goes by Cory Johnston every 5-10 minutes. Johnston "gives 'em the stare down to see who it is" and then gets back to fishing.

8:41am -- Just as soon as we blogged that Cory Johnston was struggling and stuck on zero, he landed back-to-back keepers, both solid but not exceptional. He'd stumbled onto a place yesterday afternoon that he felt merited being his first stop today. That didn't work out, but stop No. 2 seems to be firing. It's easy to go from zero to hero in the blink of an eye. He's wearing thick gloves to fish, but had to remove them to lip the first of the two.

8:05am -- Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that yesterday's leader Cory Johnston started in his original spot from yesterday, but has yet to put a fish in the boat. He missed one, but that's been it. He's fishing along a grass bar along the main channel with two different colors of lipless crankbaits and a bladed jig. He's focused, not talking.

8:01am -- Greg Hackney sizes up the current level of competition on the Elite Series. Click

8:09am -- Hunter Shryock on making adjustments for no-forward facing sonar. Click

8:11am -- Patrick Walters: no forward-facing sonar = more casting outfits. Click

8:13am -- Greg Hackney on cold weather challenges with fishing tackle. Click

7:56am -- Tackle manufacturers and retailers rejoice. Patrick Walters says that the no-FFS tournaments require more rods on the deck and more lure options on offer. Check out this video to see what he plans to throw today.

7:25am -- After struggling with his lids for what must've seemed like an eternity, Tucker Smith and his team of helpers finally got them unstuck and he's off. After a less-than-auspicious start yesterday to his sophomore season, this certainly wasn't what he wanted.

7:20am -- We've focused a lot on the color of the anglers' lures this week — often some form of red — but Brock Mosley just made a point that we haven't covered enough. "Don't get too fast," he said. "You've got to go slow, you've got to be patient." Indeed, cadence and retrieve speed might be more important than the particular lure or the particular color. Why do a group of anglers fishing the same grassy area have wildly different weights? It's often because one has dialed in the proper retrieve. There's another aspect of slowing down that matters on a lake like Guntersville that promises a big bass around every corner. It's critical not to start thinking about the next spot before you've thoroughly fished your current spot. Big bites may come to those who wait.

7:10am -- Evan Kung speculated this morning that the Canadian crew is excelling this week not necessarily because they're used to the cold, but rather because of the nature of Guntersville: "Canadians like grass lakes and this is a grass lake," he said. Indeed, those of us south of the international border, and in particular south of the Mason-Dixon Line, assume they're all a bunch of light-line smallmouth fiends — and they can certainly do that — but they've shown over time their versatility. Chris Johnston's back-to-back AOYs prove that for him. You simply can't win that award if you're not exceptionaleverywhere.

6:45am -- It's going to be warmer today, but that doesn't mean the cold weather gremlins have disappeared. Photographer Shane Durrance reported that Tucker Smith "couldn't turn on his power because everything was frozen. He also could not open his livewells this morning." Several anglers reported yesterday that they lost fish because iced-up guides cut their line at an inopportune time. With the weights packed so tightly, a simple weather-related snafu can end up costing an angler a spot inside the cut or thousands of dollars.

6:16am -- Cory Johnston made it look easy yesterday but he had to cover a lot of ground to catch his tournament-leading bag. He plans to do the same today. Click here to hear how he did it.

6:02am -- One to watch today: Tucker Smith. The reigning Rookie of the Year and Alabama native caught a subpar 14-8 yesterday, which has him in 76th place. If he doesn't do well today, naysayers might assert it's because he can't use his forward-facing sonar, but that's a red herring. Smith won $500,000 in a no-FFS tournament on Guntersville last fall. You can't reasonably doubt his skill set, but after a first year that was magical, a stumble at home to start year two could be a major test of the young man's mettle.

5:45am -- Today is moving day at Lake Guntersville. With a Day 1 50th place weight of 17-4, the estimated cut weight to Saturday is somewhere between 34 1/2 and 35 1/2 pounds. But this is Guntersville and someone from the back of the pack could easily bust a big bag and make a leap. You have to go all the way down to 72nd place to find a weight below 15 pounds, and as Paul Mueller showed us at the 2014 Classic, a 30 pound limit is not just theoretically possible, it can happen at any time. Forty percent of the field is between 15 and 19 pounds. Those are the anglers who will likely play a game of musical chairs.

Day 1: Lake Guntersville

2:30pm -- With the weights packed so tightly, particularly in the middle, this last half hour of the day could prove to be critical. The sun is beating down, warming the waters, and it's actually tolerable to be outside at long last. Certain areas have been pounded, but Guntersville is a big lake and there are big fish top to bottom. One key move and one perfect cast could mean a difference of 20 or 30 places.

1:58pm -- Photographer Solomon Glenn reports that despite only catching five bass over three days of practice, rookie Caleb Hudson has landed 10 today. His approximately 16 pounds isn't being helped by a bunch of 2 1/2 pound cookie cutters. He just caught four in a quick flurry, but only one helped the cause.

1:30pm -- As the competition day nears its conclusion, the 50th place weight is far lower that most of us expected. Granted, some anglers don't have marshals and other anglers sandbag or underestimate, but BassTrakk has 50th place under 13 pounds. That'll shift over the next two hours and as fish hits the scale, but the relatively few 20 pound bags means that it's still anyone's ballgame. Big shifts can happen in a hurry.

12:56pm -- Rookie Fisher Anaya just said on BASS Live that he had an “OK” limit but was hoping to catch a big one that would really help out — and things were starting to look more positive for him. “I’ve caught more fish in the last hour than I have all day,” Anaya said just before missing a fish. “They’re starting to bite. I like it!"

12:48pm -- Nick Trim is making a strong rookie debut on day 1. "As of 12:30 p.m., he’s the only rookie currently in the top 10 according to BassTrakk,” Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin noted. "He’s fishing a main-river grass bar using a red-colored bladed jig. He told me that his practice went surprisingly well, and that the bite today has been slower than what he expected.

"He’s only caught 5 fish total throughout the day. His main goal right now is to find a giant to cull out the 2-5 in his livewell."

12:40pm -- Just after we wrote that Evan Kung had no reason to lay off his fish, he reached the opposite conclusion. "I don't want to keep sticking these 3-plus pounders when I might need them tomorrow," he told photographer Chase Sansom. "I'm going looking for a big one."

12:35pm -- Jamie Hartman, another angler who has crossed the 20 pound mark, is currently “head hunting,” according to Bassmaster photographer Solomon Glenn. "He’s looking for one big bite to boost up his bag,” Glenn said. "He has left his primary area so as not to burn too many 3 1/2- to 3 3/4-pounders, which he was catching quite a few earlier."

Glenn said Hartman is probing a gradual drop with a jerkbait and a jig head minnow. "He also mentions that you don’t need scope to catch them on a minnow,” the photographer said.

12:30pm -- Trey McKinney is sharing a shallow flat in a popular area with Sam Hanggi and Emil Wagner. BassTrakk has him at 17-12, probably not what he wanted or expected, but there's still plenty of time to cull — and it's a slap in the face to anyone who thinks he can't catch bass without his forward-facing sonar.

12:28pm -- On a day when many anglers are struggling just to eke out bites, Evan Kung is having no trouble getting fish to commit — although he reports "lots of little fish today mixed in with a few good ones." He's throwing a lipless crankbait like most other competitors, but not in the standard Guntersville Red. At just under 21 pounds, he has no reason to lay off these fish. In fact, he probably needs to cull a few times to get some breathing room.

12:18pm -- We expected there to be some local advantage, but at least through mid-day it's not showing up. You have to go down to 9th place before you find an angler from a traditional southeastern local -- Paul Marks of Georgia. Above him are two Canadians, an Australian, an angler from New York, one from Idaho and pros from Illinois and Maryland. Hunter Shryock lives in Tennessee now but spent his formative years in Ohio. Justin Atkins in 16th is the top Alabama resident.

11:35am -- Steve Kennedy and Tyler Rivet each entered back-to-back fish catches into BASSTrakk. Rivet caught two quickly, with one being a 3-pounder that pushed his total to just over 13 pounds. Kennedy’s two catches came nine minutes later, with one adding to his 11 1/2-pound limit. 

11:31am -- Photographer Chase Sansom reports that Brandon Palaniuk's starting area seems to have gone dead. BP picked up the trolling motor to move, but couldn't commit, reporting that his "second best spot" is 20 miles away.

11:12am -- After an uncharacteristically tough 2025 season, Jeff Gustafson is fishing like the Gussy of old on the first day of the 2026 Elite Series campaign. He's been at or near the top of the leaderboard all day, and currently sits just behind Hunter Shryock on BassTrakk. Photographer Solomon Glenn captured a great gallery of the Canadian Snow Leopard's morning. Click here to check it out.

11:10:am -- Despite the frigid temps, no competitor is laying off the throttle today, Day 1 of the 2026 Elite Series schedule. Check out this Runnin' and Gunnin' gallery from Grant Moxley of all of the horsepower getting flexed.

11:05am -- Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin watched Hunter Shryock catching what ended up being a non-keeper. "He’s the first angler I’ve seen today throwing a shad colored jerkbait over top of grass. He’s fishing by the observations he’s made, being that he’s found several shad spit up in the livewell (pictured above). He told me his main goal right now is simply to find a giant or two."

10:40am -- It’s early in the day, but two rookies are making the most of their first Bassmaster Elite Series event. Tristan McCormick and Caleb Hudson are sitting in ninth and 10th, respectively. Tied for 10th is Russ Lane, another angler who qualified through the 2025 Opens EQs. Lane is not considered a rookie because he is a returning Bassmaster Elite angler, with over a million dollars of BASS winnings in his bank account.

10:36am -- From AmBASSador Neil Paul: The folks at Bassmaster and the anglers have well documented this week the frigid temperatures of North Alabama with practice pictures and videos of ice covered pockets and bass boats idling along breaking up sheets of ice like something out of an Alaskan television series. 

Something I haven’t witnessed personally since the 2015 Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell has been freezing line and ice-filled guides. 

The front deck of the Jacob Powroznik Falcon is littered with ice pellets that have fallen from his guides and used rods are on the front deck collecting ice as well. 

Listening to Powroznik and Greg Hackney trade cold practice stories this morning prior to takeoff, I chimed in and reminded them of that frigid morning in Anderson (the 2015 Bassmaster Classic) when we launched the coldest Classic in history at 9 degrees.

“It’s colder here than it was there,” Hackney chimed in. “There’s more ice here than we had in that Classic.” Reluctantly, I sat back and listened to more stories about ice and water temps. 

“Ah, I don’t pay attention to water temps anymore,” Powroznik said. Hackney laughed and said, “Well, try skipping a buzz bait across the ice in the backs of some of these creeks and get back to me.” 

10:28am -- Bryan New went all-in on red. Lots of lipless variations — size, the size and numbers of rattles, along with varying colors -— may make a big difference.

10:07am -- The sun has popped out and it's noticeably warmer outside than it was outside just an hour or two ago....as long as you're out of the stiff wind. Behind the Elite Series stage the fish holding tanks still have a layer of skim ice on them.

9:45am -- After a strong start to the day, rookie Fisher Anaya went through a lull of several hours before adding his third keeper to the box. He's only 19, and yet somehow we all have incredibly high expectations for him, especially here on Guntersville, so close to his Eva, Alabama home. Lots of time left to fish, but he'll need to add two good ones — and probably cull a few — to be competitive on this frigid day.

10:30am -- BassTrakk has Brandon Palaniuk in second place currently, with 17 pounds 8 ounces. He's in the same general area with Greg Hackney and hoping to start strong this year. Last season he won the second event, on Florida's Lake Okeechobee, and eventually slid into the 2026 Classic as the result of some double qualifiers. This year he'd certainly like to avoid that late-year drama. Perhaps a third AOY award?

9:09am -- At takeoff this morning the pros seemed to pull out every trick in the book to stay warm because 27 degrees in Alabama somehow seems colder than 27 degrees in New York. Nevertheless, Tyler Williams of Maine is running around the lake hat-free. Coming off a top ten finish in the AOY race a strong start at Guntersville would show that he's not "just a scoper."

Who says that you have to have forward-facing sonar for a jighead minnow to play? Amidst a field of heavy string slingers, Jeff Gustafson estimates he has a 19 pound limit — with a spinning rod. He is both casting and vertically dropping on fish he sees on his 2D sonar and 360.

8:30am -- Fisher Anaya's hot start has slowed to a morning crawl. He's pulled the plug on his starting spot and is running 20 minutes south to another grassy area.

8:19am -- Lots of red lipless crankbaits, flat sides, squarebills and vibrating jigs on the anglers' decks this morning. Craig Lamb asked Greg Hackney to explain the significance of RED: Is it science or just psychology -- CLICK HERE.

7:56am -- Photographer Chase Sansom said that most of the river section is a "ghost town," but gradually came to a wad of 20 or so boats at the mouth of one major creek. Clearly, there are no secrets on Guntersville, and these guys are the best in the world, but as the tournament develops we'll have to see if this tournament is won out of a community hole or if someone can find something a bit off the wall that they'll have to themselves.

7:46am -- Per BassTrakk, sophomore pro Paul Marks is the first angler to a limit, with five bass totaling 11 pounds, 12 ounces. It has to give him some comfort to have a full livewell, but at the same time he'll likely have to cull every one of those five Guntersville bass to be competitive. The largest of them is estimated at 3 pounds, and from what I heard at yesterday's registration meeting and at the docks this morning, 15 pounds a day might not make the cut.

7:22am -- By the time most fans tuned into live coverage this morning, 19 year-old Fisher Anaya had already caught his first Elite Series bass on camera. We'll never get a pic of KVD's first Bassmaster catch, or Mike Iaconelli's, or perhaps even Trey McKinney's, but if Anaya goes on to a Hall of Fame career — still a big "if," of course — his could be the first that BASS documents from start to finish. Just as notably, three of the first four catches we've tracked were on the ends of the lines of Guntersville locals or transplants: Anaya, Andrew Loberg and Tucker Smith.

6:50am -- After an offseason away from competition, it's easy to forget the most basic aspects of tournament fishing — like keeping track of check-in times. That's especially true for rookies. Tristan McCormick got a quick sharpie assist this morning to ensure that he won't be late on Day One of his Elite Series career. It might seem minor, but those are the sorts of potential mistakes that can doom a cut, a Bassmaster Classic qualification, a Rookie of the Year award or other markers of success.

6:18am -- Welcome to the official start of the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season. We're on an iconic venue — Alabama's Lake Guntersville — and most of the players are the same, but we're already starting to see some differences compared to 2025. Walking the docks this morning I saw nary a spinning rod. Lots of red lures, a fair number of big glide baits and swimbaits, but not a single minnow to ping. Maybe I missed a few, but the dynamic has clearly changed. With no forward-facing sonar allowed this week, it's almost certain to be a return to old school power fishing.

Official Practice

Day 3 Easton Fothergill Practice Gallery - Click Here.

Day 2 John Cox Practice Gallery - Click Here.

Day 1 Practice Story - Click Here.