Colby Dark is a dark horse to make the Elites.
Although a long shot, the 20-year-old from West Monroe, La., has a chance to finish among the Top 10 who advance from the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops.
“Well, I hope to win. I want to make the Elites. That’s the goal,” Dark said. “It’s exciting, but I got to really get them good here. It’s going to be tough, but if it’s meant to happen, it’ll happen.”
After two EQs, Dark stands 22nd in the standings with 130 points, making him among the deepest in points with a mathematical chance. The estimated total to get in the Top 10 is 223.5 points. Dark could reach that with the winner’s 95 points, but the problem is he needs to pass 12 others.
“Wonder if a top three would do it,” he said before recalculating. “I need to win.”
A victory would give Dark 225 points and a berth in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic, another goal. Either way, the incoming Elites for 2026 will be sorted out this week in the EQ at Lake Okeechobee, Thursday through Saturday.
Dark, who cut his teeth on Louisiana fisheries like Caney and Toledo Bend, had never set foot on the 730-square-mile Florida fishery until Sunday. He went in with blinkers, not researching so as not to be saddled by preconceived notions.
“I quit doing that a year ago,” he said. “I thought it was hurting me, so I just show up, look at the lake map when I get on the lake and go looking.”
Sort of a lone wolf, Dark is staying with a sponsor this week and won’t interact with other competitors.
“I’m very social and talk to a whole lot of people,” Dark said. “I’ve got 4,000 contacts in my phone, but whenever I’m fishing these tournaments I don’t really talk to people because I don’t want them to say anything that gets in my head.”
Dark puts his hopes in figuring things out himself. It didn’t look so good after his first day on Okeechobee.
“I took my LiveScope screen off the boat yesterday and went primitive fishing in the grass all day, stuck to it and got four bites,” he said. “So I decided to put it back on there and go use it.”
His second day was more fruitful, but he wouldn’t divulge details other than he totaled more than 20 pounds and he hopes they stay put. His third and final practice day was spent looking for plans B and C, including areas that will hold up to the weather change.
A cold front dropped temperatures into the upper 40s. Florida bass are known for cold-snap lockjaw, adding another dynamic to the tournament. Practice might not be as telling as it warms back up for competition days, with lows in the 50s and highs approaching 80 each day.
The anglers have Wednesday off, giving the field more time to agonize and finalize plans.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do yet,” Dark said. “I do feel like it’s going to take about 18 pounds a day to make the Top 10 and 24 a day to win.
“We’re going to see what I can do. If I could choose how many pounds I want on Thursday, I would want about 29 pounds.”
A big bag at Lake Wheeler gave Dark life after a disappointing finish in the first EQ on Lake Champlain.
“I had equipment failure at Champlain that cost me,” he said. “I had a board go out on my trolling motor at like 10 o’clock on Day 2.”
Dark fell from 39th to finish 65th, the difference of which would have him sitting in the Top 10 in points. That is the lowest finish of anyone who still has a chance. Dark made up ground at Wheeler, where he stood 33rd after the first day then busted into the Top 10.
“I was blessed to have what I had Day 2. It was a grind. I threw eight casts all day. I scoped all day and caught six bass,” said Dark, who weighed 22 pounds en route to a fourth-place finish. “At Wheeler, I had that big comeback. I just got to do good here. I need to do really good here.”
If he does, Dark will certainly gain some fans. He likes throwing a Black Sheep Custom Tackle mop-style jig “as big as your hand.” While proficient with his Garmin, it’s not how he prefers to fish.
“If I’m just scoping, I’m not going to throw to a fish under 5 pounds,” he said. “If that’s what it takes, that’s what I’m gonna do. I don’t have any problem doing it. It’s not fun though, just trolling, looking at that screen all day is not fun. I hate it.
“I like it whenever I’m actually catching, not just looking for them and then throwing eight casts in eight hours.”
Yet it might be what it takes for the dark horse to win.
Bassmaster LIVE will provide coverage all three days from Okeechobee. Days 1 and 2 will air on Bassmaster.com and Roku from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. ET before Bassmaster.com carries the afternoon coverage from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both morning and afternoon sessions of Championship Saturday will be on both Bassmaster.com and Roku.