The 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season is right around the corner, which means it’s time for a new season of Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, Falcon Rods Drain the Lake Challenge and T-H Marine Bassmaster Pick ‘Em Challenge You can head over to bassmasterfantasy.com and set your roster for the first Bassmaster Elite Series event at legendary Lake Guntersville to be held Feb. 5-8.
In case you missed it during the last few seasons, you can now sign up for text alerts to remind you about the deadline for each tournament. And, you can now see how your team is performing in real-time, during the tournament, on your Fantasy pages.
Fantasy Fishing participants will be playing for a stellar lineup of prizes once again in 2026. The Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing winner of each individual tournament will receive a prize package that is worth $4,000 or $4,500 depending whether or not the winner is a B.A.S.S. Member. In other words, it pays to be a B.A.S.S. Member!
The grand prize winner of Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing will take home a $15,000 Bass Pro Shops Gift Card, $5,000 cash, $1,000 from Rapala to attend the 2027 Bassmaster Classic and an additional $100 credit towards Rapala.com.
Playing Fantasy Fishing is a blast, and it’s also worth noting that it is FREE to play!
For more information about the prizes and rules for Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing, click here!
The Buckets
The 2026 Elite Series field consists of 101 anglers, including 11 new Elites. Below is how the Fantasy Fishing Buckets will lay out to start the 2025 season.
BUCKET A:
• Chris Johnston
• Trey McKinney
• Kyoya Fujita
• Jay Przekurat
• Will Davis Jr.
• Taku Ito
• Tyler Williams
• Patrick Walters
• Tucker Smith
• Cory Johnston
• John Cox
• Bill Lowen
• Jordan Lee
• Cooper Gallant
• JT Thompkins
• Seth Feider
• Bryant Smith
• Justin Atkins
• Logan Parks
• Fisher Anaya
• Russ Lane
BUCKET B:
• Shane LeHew
• Austin Felix
• Drew Cook
• Cody Meyer
• Caleb Kuphall
• Bryan Schmitt
• Emil Wagner
• Paul Marks
• Easton Fothergill
• Pat Schlapper
• Kyle Welcher
• Brock Mosley
• Bryan New
• Lee Livesay
• Bob Downey
• Brandon Lester
• Wes Logan
• Wesley Gore
• KJ Queen
• Pake South
• Tristan McCormick
BUCKET C:
• Alex Redwine
• Justin Hamner
• Andrew Loberg
• Brandon Palaniuk
• Dakota Ebare
• John Crews
• Kyle Norsetter
• Cole Sands
• Robert Gee
• Evan Kung
• Scott Canterbury
• John Garrett
• Hunter Shryock
• Brandon Cobb
• Tyler Rivet
• David Gaston
• Keith Combs
• Gregory DiPalma
• Luke Palmer
• Aaron Jagdfeld
• Matt Messer
BUCKET D:
• Brad Whatley
• Jason Christie
• David Mullins
• Stetson Blaylock
• Kyle Patrick
• Brandon Card
• Jake Whitaker
• Matt Arey
• Jacob Powroznik
• Greg Hackney
• Joey Cifuentes
• Carl Jocumsen
• Randy Howell
• Jacob Foutz
• Drew Benton
• Cody Huff
• Beau Browning
• Gerald Swindle
• Caleb Sumrall
• Austin Cranford
• Sam Hanggi
BUCKET E:
• Hank Cherry
• Cliff Pace
• Chris Zaldain
• Jeff Gustafson
• Clifford Pirch
• Buddy Gross
• Mark Menendez
• Matt Robertson
• Jamie Hartman
• Jason Williamson
• Kenta Kimura
• Mike Iaconelli
• Steve Kennedy
• Blake Capps
• Brock Reinkenmeyer
• Nick Trim
• Caleb Hudson
If you don’t already have a Fantasy Fishing account, head over to bassmasterfantasy.com to sign up today!
A year from now, we will all be able to look back and know who we should have picked for each event, but until then, good luck during the 2026 Bassmaster Elite Series season!
