Elite

Top lures at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway 2026

See the old school lineup of dependable baits used at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.

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Photography by
Andy Crawford
Photography by
Dalton Tumblin
Photography by
Shane Durrance
Photography by
Chase Sansom
West Virginia
Photography by
Solomon Glenn
Minnesota
Captions by
Craig Lamb
Lock through or stay nearby. Photo: Craig Lamb
Those were the options in play at the 2026 Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite at Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. Locking through to less pressured pools to the north and south of the Columbus Lake tournament headquarters were the choices. Photo: Craig Lamb
Jason Christie stayed close and it paid off with a ninth B.A.S.S. title. The Oklahoman put on a master class in what he does best.
Christie used old school baits and tactics without forward-facing sonar as required by the rules for this split Elite season of electronics use. A spinnerbait, jig and Texas rig did the work where the largemouth were holding inside the gnarly confines of heavy cover consisting of wood and shallow vegetation. 
Christie posted daily limits of 12 pounds, 5 ounces, 16-10, 16-10 and 12-9 for a final winning weight of 58-2. Christie wasn’t alone in his no-frills lure choices. Check out the old school lineup of lures used by the top contenders and stock up for spring. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Mark Menendez (10th; 42-4)
Menendez favored a topwater and flipping setups for his strike zone in his 297th B.A.S.S. event. 
For topwater action he used this Strike King KVD Splash. 
For flipping and pitching he chose this Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Game Hawg, on 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook, with 3/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Bullet Weight. 
Alternatively, he used this Strike King Rage Space Monkey on 5/0 Gamakatsu G-Power Heavy Cover Worm Flip and Punch Hook, with 1/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Bullet Weight. 
Cole Sands (9th; 46-2)
Sands rotated through a finesse worm, buzzbait, swim jig and drop shot. 
He made it with a 6-inch FishCo FC Finesse Worm on 1/0 Owner Cover Shot Hook with 1/8-ounce weight. 
This 1/8-ounce Diamond Baits Buzzbait with Fish Co. OG Swimmer produced reaction strikes. 
For a slower presentation he chose this 3/8-ounce Diamond Baits Cutter Swim Jig with craw-style trailer. 
Michael Iaconelli (8th; 49-11)
Iaconelli used a swim jig, frog, and bladed jig during the shad spawn on Days 1 and 2. To complete the tournament he switched to a flipping rig. 
For the shad spawn he used a 5/16-ounce Missile Baits Ike’s Mini Swim Jig, with Berkley PowerBait Shape 108. 
For shad spawning near matted vegetation, he used this Molix Pop Frog. 
While covering water and between targets, he used a bladed jig wth Berkley PowerBait PowerStinger. 
His money bait was this Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Creature Hawg, on 3/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook with 5/8-ounce weight. 
Tucker Smith (7th; 50-2)
Smith’s primary lure was a homemade flipping jig made by his uncle. 
That bait was this 3/8-ounce Robbey Jig with Yamamoto Yama Craw. 
Jordan Lee (6th; 52-1)
Lee focused on heavy cover with swim jigs, bladed jigs and creature rig setups. 
Leading off the lineup was this 1/4-ounce Berkley Swim Jig with Berkley PowerBait Shape 108. 
Also to cover water, Lee used this 3/8-ounce white/chartreuse Z-Man ChatterBait with 3.5-inch Berkley PowerBait Crash Craw. Alternatively, Lee used the same setup in black for varying water clarity conditions.
For flipping and pitching, he used this 3.5-inch Berkley PowerBait Crash Craw on 3/0 Berkley Fusion19 Heavy Cover Hook, with 3/8-ounce weight. 
Click here to buy these lures at Bass Pro Shops.
Wesley Gore (5th; 52-3)
Gore rotated through swim jigs and Texas-rigged soft plastics. 
A primary lure was this green pumpkin 3/8-ounce Nomad Design Tackle Badlands Swim Jig with chartreuse Zoom Z Craw.
Gore also used the same jig setup with a Z Craw in Pearl. 
For heavier cover, he used an 8-inch Zoom Magnum Lizard on 5/0 Gamakatsu Superline EWG Hook with 1/8-ounce tungsten weight. 
Seth Feider (4th; 54-11)
Feider alternated between a swim jig and spinnerbait. 
That choice was this 3/8-ounce Bassman Spinnerbait. 
Feider also used this 3/8-ounce Black Sheep Custom Tackle Swim Jig with Z-Man prototype trailer (not pictured). 
John Garrett (3rd; 54-15)
Garrett rigged up swim jigs and creature baits to cover his strike zones. Garrett combined use of the lures in a classic junk fishing campaign. 
Primary lures included this 3/8-ounce black/blue Strike King Tour Grade Swim Jig. 
For varying water conditions, he used the same bait in white. 
Garrett also used a Strike King Rage Bug on 4/0 Owner 4x Jungle Flippin’ Hook with 5/16-ounce tungsten weight. 
Dakota Ebare (2nd; 55-13)
Ebare used a creature bait, spinnerbait and squarebill crankbait. 
That choice was this Strike King KVD Squarebill 1.5 crankbait. 
For heavy cover he used this Strike King Rage Bug on 4/0 Owner 4x Jungle Flippin’ Hook, with 3/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten Bullet Weight. 
For covering water Ebare used this 1/2-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Spinnerbait. 
Jason Christie (1st; 58-2)
Christie put together an arsenal of heavy cover lures to cover varying water conditions and cover. Those choices were ideal for rotating through largemouth positioned around shallow grass and wood cover. 
For covering water and between flipping cover he used a 1/2-ounce BOOYAH Single Colorado Blade Spinnerbait, featuring the new Christie-designed YUM Spinnerbait Trailer. 
Alternatively, he used this 1/2-ounce BOOYAH Mobster Swim Jig with 3.25-inch YUM Craw Chunk. 
Christie also paired this YUM Wooly Bug with 4/0 Eagle Claw Trokar TK 130 Flippin’ Hook and 3/8-ounce tungsten weight.   

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