Fantasy Fishing: High expectations on Rocky Top

Written by

Kyle Jessie

Arkansas

It’s that time! Time for the biggest event in all of bass fishing – the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour! As I’m typing this, I can literally hear the Classic theme music in my head, and it literally gives me goosebumps.

Knoxville, Tenn. is such an amazing place to host the Classic for a wide variety of reasons, but the fishery is unique and seemingly hard to predict. Will it be smallmouth that prevail once again, or will the river largemouth program prevail?

Local Elite Series pro Robert Gee gave some great insights on the fishery and the different things that could go down in a recent article written by David A. Brown that gives us a great idea of what to expect. I trust Gee’s knowledge far more than I do my own, so I’d suggest giving that a read as well.

A couple of notable changes to the playing field – the length limit for smallmouth bass is now 15-inches compared to the 18-inch limit that was previously in place in past events. This should make it much easier to catch a limit of smallmouth. However, one of the wild cards that keeps getting thrown around is that the largemouth have absolutely gotten bigger. There’s been several reports from anglers boating largemouth near double digits during the pre-practice period.

Which pattern will be more consistent? Will it take a mixed bag to win?

These are the two main questions that I asked myself when I was making my picks for Rapala Bassmaster Fantasy Fishing and Falcon Rods Drain the Lake Challenge picks. Also, in full transparency, I have not had a great start to the year in Fantasy Fishing to this point and I was very torn about a lot picks.

Fingers crossed.

BUCKET A: FOTHERGILL

As always, Bucket A is absolutely loaded with great choices. So much so that guys like Justin Hamner and Lee Livesay are currently at under 2% player percentage which is insane. However, I’m going with Easton Fothergill. It’s no secret that Fothergill is an outstanding smallmouth angler that is one of the best there is with forward-facing sonar. If that’s the route he chooses, he’ll be just fine, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see him roll around a swimbait like he did at Lake Martin to catch big largemouth too. One thing I do know for sure is that he has put in his time on the Tennessee River in preparation for this event.

Solid secondary selection: I think Jay Przekurat is getting a bit overlooked in Bucket A. The Wisconsin pro catches them everywhere, but his track record in the Classic is very impressive. In three Classics, Przekurat has never finished lower than 13th. Additionally, he finished 7th in the 2023 Classic in Knoxville.

BUCKET B: SCHMITT

Bryan Schmitt came so close to running down Jeff Gustafson in 2023. As the story goes, Schmitt helped Bryan New on the final day by giving him some details as to how and where to catch them. New went on to catch the biggest bag of the day on the final day. Who’s to say that Schmitt would have even fished those areas, but it still looked like a tough break from an outside perspective. In addition to his excellent finish here in 2023, Schmitt is one of the absolute best river fishermen on earth and should have no problem breaking down the Tennessee River again.

Solid secondary selection: Brandon Lester has the highest player percentage of anyone in Bucket B, but it’s not hard to understand why. The Tennessee native is one of the best anglers on the planet when it comes to fishing the Tennessee River. In nine Classic appearances, Lester has four Top 10s, including a 7th place finish on the Tennessee River back in 2023.

BUCKET C: DOWNEY

Bucket B was a challenge. There are several anglers that excel on river fisheries, but I’m going with Bob Downey at a lower player percentage. Downey could easily decide to target largemouth up shallow or smallmouth out deep and I would be confident that he’s going to figure it out. In 2023, the Minnesota pro notched a solid 17th place finish on the Tennessee River.

Solid secondary selection: If you’re leaning towards a shallow water grinder, consider Wes Logan, Bill Lowen or Brock Mosley. Or, if you’re leaning towards a Tennessee River expert, consider Justin Atkins.

BUCKET D: ANAYA

I’m not picking against the crowd in Bucket D. Fisher Anaya currently sits at a 50.1% player percentage, but if feels like too big of a risk to pick against him. I think most everyone has come to the same conclusion that I have in that Anaya is going to be a star in this sport.

Solid secondary selection: At a significantly lower player percentage (1.5%), Wesley Gore is an intriguing pick in Bucket D. The Alabama pro is an excellent shallow water power fisherman but also excels with his electronics.

BUCKET E: TRIM

Nick Trim has certainly showed his prowess as a river fishing expert with two B.A.S.S. Nation wins on his home body of water, the Upper Mississippi River. Additionally, Trim kicked off his Elite Series career with a 12th place finish at Lake Guntersville.

Solid secondary selection: Laker Howell has been on fire with two wins in 2025. As a Guntersville local, Howell is no stranger to the Tennessee River.