The Arkansas River poses a new and uniquely challenging playing field for the Bassmaster Elite Series field. This vast river stretches through both Oklahoma and Arkansas, giving the field of anglers potential lock both up and down from the Muskogee pool. Also, anglers will have the assistance of front-facing sonar to break down this venue.
Even though there will likely be some priority lock times provided for anglers in the morning and afternoons, somebody will almost certainly get caught by the lock monster in this event.
Anglers will have to balance day to day on when to lock and when to stay close and grind it out based on conditions, river traffic and boat draw. It is likely that most days more than half the field will lock down to the Kerr pool where it is predicted much of the action will go down.
We will also likely see bass in all three stages of spawn, bass in backwater and on main river stretches, so the river should fish pretty big, but power fishing should be a big deal, but anytime front-facing sonar is allowed, it will be a factor.
So what does that mean to you? Anglers on your team should be adept at shallow springtime largemouth amongst a variety of habitat options and comfortable with adapting to navigation challenges that shallow water and locks can offer, but anglers who are good with shallow scoping techniques could be dangerous this week, much like we saw Easton Fothergill and Kyle Welcher last year at the Pasquotank River. Local knowledge should play a big role in this event as well.
BUCKET A: GARRETT
John Garrett is off to another great start this season and has some unfinished business dating back to a 2020 Bassmaster Open on the Arkansas River and he proved he can river rat it up with the best of them recently on the Tombigbee.
Spawn Picks: With the warm weather trend, there is certainly going to be some bass spawning and whenever that happens, you should strongly consider both Drew Cook and Drew Benton, reports are there are pockets of clean water to be found in this system, I would bet both anglers get off to a strong Day 1 start on bedding bass they locate in practice.
BUCKET B: FEIDER
It is starting to feel like Seth Feider is starting to return to the form that won him an AOY just a few years ago and I feel like he can keep the momentum of the Tombigbee rolling into the Arkansas River. He may not even have to cut off the swim jig that carried him through the last event.
Youth Option: Part of me is thinking that this Arkansas River tournament could unfold similar to the Pasquotank even last year, and if that is the case, Easton Fothergill should be a strong pick.
BUCKET C: CHRISTIE
It has been quite some time since we have seen a back to back Bassmaster Elite Series winner, but Jason Christie has to be one of the odds-on favorites. On the flip side, we have seen locals and even Christie himself have tough events, just look back to Tenkiller last year.
Lesser Local Angle: I think I have labeled Luke Palmer as a poor man’s Jason Christie in prior years’ fantasy articles; he could be a great value pick in a springtime Oklahoma event. Palmer has proven to be accomplished with his sonar in shallow events and knows how to catch them without it as well.
BUCKET D: THOMPKINS
JT Thompkins is an angler who is known for putting in the work from a pre-practice perspective and that should serve him well in a venue like this. Add in his prowess with front-facing sonar and he should be a solid bet in Bucket D.
Tin Play: Caleb Sumrall underperformed fantasy expectations at the Tombigbee and he is coming into this event with something to prove. His Xpress Aluminum rig is well-suited to push the limits on this river.
BUCKET E: CAPPS
If there is one angler that is more of a local than Jason Christie, it is Blake Capps and if we are being honest, Capps needs a strong event after some tough events thus far in the first two seasons on the Elite Series. Look for the former BASS Nation champ to make his first Sunday appearance.
Also needs it: Another Okie that needs to start building some solid points is Austin Cranford. He is definitely not the most local Oklahoma angler in the field, but he is no stranger on this river, so if you want a lower percentage pick, look at Cranford.
Falcon Rods Drain the Lake Challenge
We are in stop five of season six of the Bassmaster Drain the Lake Challenge. This additional fantasy fishing game not only offers a fresh way to play the game, but a completely separate prize pool. Drain the Lake is an elimination/survivor style game where you can only use an angler once all season.
For 2026 we will have 10 events and 101 anglers. You will need to use up 80 of the 101 anglers. Who are you locking in for this river event?
Here is my Tombigbee Drain the Lake roster:
Blake Capps
Jason Christie
Austin Cranford
Bea Browning
John Garrett
Kenta Kimura
Tyler Rivet
Pake South
