Get your up-to-the-minute breaking news from our team of on-the-water photographers at the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
March 14: Day 2
10:50 a.m. — In case you missed it, check out the video of Dakota Ebare’s massive Day 2 morning bass. It’s all about the giggle.
10:46 a.m. — Check out Hall of Famer Craig Lamb’s fantastic aerial gallery from this morning.
10:42 a.m. — Andy Crawford reported that Dylan Nutt is not suffering from a shortage of fish. He made a short run and has been casting at numerous fish along the bank. He finally scored onf another small mouth that went almost 4 pounds and claimed it could’ve been an even better cull. “It took (the lure) out of a 5-pounder’s mouth,” he said.
He then hooked another smallmouth that hit the 4-pound mark.
That put him over 18 pounds and in the unofficial lead, according to BassTrakk.
10:37 a.m. — Mark Zona: “The most consistent thing in this event so far has been flurries.”
10:18 a.m. — Dylan Nutt has a limit, but hasn’t cracked 15 pounds yet. He told Andy Crawford that the flat conditions are hurting him – he’s seeing a lot of bass, but the lack of wind is making it harder to convince them to bite.
10:08 a.m. — Are the mudlines making a difference? Craig Lamb just sent us a drone shot of the area where Dylan Nutt did his damage earlier this morning -- on the dirty side of the divide.
“There were two of them fighting for it,“ he said.
He’s currently working riprap and a rocky bank, scoping fish and casting at them.
10:08 a.m. — Photographer Andy Crawford reports that Dylan Nutt just made a big upgrade when he swung a 3 1/2 pound smallmouth into the boat. He said it moved him up a pound and a quarter.
“There were two of them fighting for it,“ he said.
He’s currently working riprap and a rocky bank, scoping fish and casting at them.
9:45 a.m. — Easton Fothergill picked up where he left off – calling his shot on a 4-8 smallmouth.
9:45 a.m. — Photographer Solomon Glenn reports that while others are chasing roamers or covering water, Drew Cook has Power Poled down on a shallow point for the entire morning. He’s rotating through a wide variety of lures and continues to see fish, but is having trouble getting them to bite. The 4-pound smallmouth pictured above chomped a jerkbait.
9:32 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durance reports that Patrick Walters has caught about 10 fish this morning but the majority haven’t been the quality he needs. He said that he’s seeing bigger fish, but he’s hasn’t been able to get them to bite.
9:17 a.m. — Dakota Ebare just caught the smallmouth of a lifetime. He didn’t weigh it, but estimated it at over 7 pounds. The Live staff said maybe 7 ½. All he could do after putting it in the livewell was giggle and repeat the word “Dude.” Finally, he broke to explain himself as he re-rigged his cricket. “I knew it was a big one but I’m about to throw up," he said. “I didn’t know it was that big.”
9:10 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom reports that Easton Fothergill and Trey McKinney are fishing side by side this morning in Tellico and they’ve brought a large flotilla with them. He estimated nearly 20 boats are there. That’s big for this era, but not as big as we might’ve seen in the pre-Live era.
9:02 a.m. — Seigo Saito reports that it’s culling time for Yui Aoki.
9:02 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance just reported that Patrick Walters, who entered the day in 3rd place, boated his first keeper smallmouth. He caught it off riprap on a jerkbait. The exceptionally acrobatic fish never stopped jumping until it was subdued. Someone could win or lose the Classic on the basis of a exceptional fish landing – or a fish landing fail.
8:57 a.m. — Photographer Seigo Saito is following Yui Aoki, who started in the same area where he began yesterday, a big flat at midlake. He’s searching for fish with FFS and doesn’t cast until he finds one. In the last 15 minutes, he’s caught three – the last one was small, but the prior two were over 3 pounds. He seems to be in tune with the TVA system – he won on Kentucky Lake, came in 3rd at Wheeler, and has showed up strong this week.
8:47 a.m. — Craig Lamb is flying a drone at Concord Park and reports that from 400 feet up distinct mudlines are visible. That will likely hurt some and help others. "By the time it stabilizes, it's going to be too late for some anglers," Mark Zona just said on Live.
8:39 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reports that Patrick Walters had a change of plans this morning. He’s starting on bridge pilings using a jerkbait trying to pick up a few keepers quickly. He said he wanted to get a few in the boat before he headed to his juice.
8:35 a.m. — Opens winner Yui Aoki entered the day in 8th place and is on the board with a smallmouth caught on a DStyle minnow. If he were to win, he’d be second Japanese angler to win. Hall of Famer Takahiro Omori was the first, in 2004 at Lake Wylie. He’d become the third international angler to win. The last was Canadian Jeff Gustafson, the last time we were here in Knoxville in 2023.
8:26 a.m. — JT Thompkins, who entered the day in 6th place, about 2 ½ pounds back, started off the day by jerkbaiting up a 3-14 smallmouth. It wasn’t a quick fight – at one point the fish had run under the boat and was jumping on the other side. He also reported that he had at least three bass of the same size or bigger fighting for the bait.
8:15 a.m. — One question that hangs over this event is whether any of the “shallow largemouth guys” (AKA, “traditional anglers”) will make a big leap today. On the whole the older guys, some of whom had great practices, struggled yesterday – but someone like Bill Lowen or John Cox or Bryan Schmitt could bust 25 if the changed conditions work to their advantage. Even if it happens, though, it could be too little too late.
8:06 a.m. — Fisher Anaya: “I know the fish to win are down there. I just need to make them bite.” He compared the fish to Champlain smallmouth more than those on any other venue on the Tennessee River.
8:05 a.m. — Mark Zona: “Talking to the leaders of this event, they thought that yesterday would be the slowest day of the event.”
7:32 a.m. — Will Davis Jr.: “I’ve never made Day 3 of a Classic and this is my fourth one. I really want to make Day 3.”
7:30 a.m. — Half an hour until go time and the word of the day is “warmer.” The goal is to get into the top 25 within a big bag’s range of winning. Not everyone who fishes will have shot, but you can’t win if you’re not fishing.
March 13: Day 1
4:27 p.m. — Time to weigh the first fish. Stand by for fireworks! Easton Fothergill, our presumed leader, is first up with 21-8.
2:31 p.m. — Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford followed Yui Aoki, currently is in fourth place on BASSTrakk, part of the day, and he said the young Opens angler seems to have been focusing on cleaner water in Loudon. The water in the backs of the creeks were muddier than that closer to the main Tennessee River channel. Aoki did fish some docks and underwater structure inside a creek — but just inside where the water started cleaning up a bit.
Interestingly, Crawford said he saw clean water flowing into the creeks on his way back to Knoxville. So could those dirty creeks clean up? Time will tell.
1:50 p.m. — Jay Przekurat has had a tough week, but photographer Solomon Glenn found him bouncing around among multiple offshore schools of bass completely focused on fishing. The young Wisconsin pro has built up a decent limit but needs to upgrade. He commenced that project with a solid smallmouth that set a largemouth free. Glenn noted that the wind is howling – which means anglers should be starting to think about getting back to weigh-in. Time on Day 1 is running out fast.
1:35 p.m. — So much for minnows, dice and urchins. Defending champ Easton Fothergill just went old school and put the big stick to work – he Carolina Rigged up a 4-7 smallmouth that keeps him in contention to repeat.
1:12 p.m. — JT Thompkins has the big fish of the day so far with a 5 pound 2 ounce largemouth. Big fish in 2019 was a two-way tie at 6-3. In 2023, Luke Palmer earned the award with a 5-13.
12:40 p.m. — With a good limit in the livewell, it’s almost time for Paul Marks to start making his way back to Knoxville. He’ll need gas first though. At one point this morning he was the furthest angler from takeoff, but with over 17 pounds in the livewell he has to mitigate any potential pitfalls. Photographer Chase Sansom reports that Marks has kept the shallow bite honest here and there but he’s committed to catching fish off the bank.
12:29 p.m. — Photographer Andy Crawford reported that Yui Aoki has made quite a number of moves, seeing fish everywhere he’s stopped. The problem has been getting those fish to bite. He finally struck gold with a cull fish. It looked to be about 3 pounds - but in any case it was enough to replace his smallest bass.
12:27 p.m. — Easton Fothergill just caught an estimated 3-13 that pushed the defending champion up into the top ten, less than 4 pounds out of the lead. Meanwhile the other two past champions in the field – Jordan Lee and Justin Hamner – just have one fish apiece.
12:06 p.m. — Solomon Glenn reports that first-time Classic qualifier Caleb Hudson has a solid limit of smallmouth for just over 14 pounds. He’s fishing around docks with a minnow and a spikey ball. It’s not fast and furious, but he’s managing to slowly cull up. He’s seeing more fish than he can catch. They’re evasive and a little skittish.
12:03 p.m. — Photographer Solomon Glenn reports that defending champ Easton Fothergill, currently south of 10 pounds, is still running around trying to get on some better quality fish. He’s running a lot of points with a selection of jig head minnows, catching one here and there, but hasn’t figured it out yet. You can’t win it on the first day of a Classic, but without a few culls he may have a big hill to climb on Day 2 and perhaps Day 3.
11:57 a.m. — Alex Redwine has multiple things going on today. What do they have in common? None of his fish seem to be on Ozempic. Early this morning we saw him catch a near 4-pound largemouth to start the day, and he just culled with a thick smallmouth.
11:44 a.m. — Photographer Andy Crawford is watching Yui Aoki work his lures painfully slowly. “When he sees a fish he makes his cast and pretty much dead sticks the bait,” Crawford said. “He moves it extremely slowly before rolling back in for another cast.”
11:42 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reports that Will Davis, who had 10 pounds early, is having trouble filling out a limit. He’s alternating between two baits, moving quickly, but the few bites he can eke out don’t meet the minimum length.
11:36 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom reported that Paul Marks just boated a 3-pound smallmouth that just culled the last 2-pound largemouth he had in the boat. He’s on the search for those bigger brown fish working the sides of the main river in Tellico. He's the first angler to cross the 17-pound mark.
11:10 a.m. — Photographer Andy Crawford found Japanese pro Yui Aoki scoping the main river. He’s got his eyes glued to the screen and not making a cast until he sees a fish. Unlike some others who are trying to cover a lot of water, Aoki is moving at a glacial pace, easing forward and casting only when he sees a living target.
11:00 a.m. — The early numbers seem to indicate that conditions (and perhaps the fishery itself) are much better than they were in past Knoxville Classics. On Day 1 of the 2019 event, there were four bags of 15 pounds or more. In 2023, there were three of them. Today we already have five estimated bags of 15-plus – although we haven’t hit the 17-pound mark yet. Plenty of time left to fish.
10:44 a.m. — Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that Trey McKinney’s morning has progressed steadily by staying locked onto a large area, some sort of underwater point or ledge. The third year Elite is roaming back and forth, targeting the resident fish with his FFS and a minnow style bait. His bite isn’t quite what it was earlier this morning, but this large area is still producing him fish at a steady pace. Tumblin asserted that he believes Trey’s nerves seem to be a little higher usual, “but that’s to be expected at the Classic.”
10:33 a.m. — Photographer Solomon Glenn reported that collegiate qualifier Tripp Berlinsky is running and gunning points and pocket mouths. He has gotten up to an estimated 14 pounds by firing up the schools with a deep plug and then picking off fish with his jig head minnow. He’s having fun and still has a lot of room to grow and noted that the purple mustache is definitely giving him extra power.
10:17 a.m. — Brandon Lester, who finished 6th in both of the past Knoxville Classics, is banking on largemouths in chocolatey water, as seen in a drone shot. There’s been lots of talk about the importance of water clarity. It differs between the two lakes and changed in some areas due to Wednesday night’s rain. It may change again in certain areas before this event is over.
10:07 a.m. — The Live staff just discussed and debated what a Hideup Coike is meant to represent. The lure might’ve been laughed at a year ago, but it’s no joking matter today. They go for big bucks on the gray market and anglers – including many in this field – gladly pay those prices.
10:02 a.m. — One of the strategic conundrums for anglers making long runs this week will be whether they need to refuel – and, if so, at what point in the day. Photographer Shane Durrance found Will Davis Jr. refueling early, with 10 pounds in the livewell. He’s catching fish on a blade bait, but says that each spot is good for only one fish. After the first one bites, he can’t get another one to commit. That means lots of running and gunning and lots of gas burned.
9:47 a.m. — Fisher Anaya’s first four fish may not have been the quality he needs to become the youngest Classic winner in history, but he just added a 4-pounder that filled out a limit. This Classic is already shaping up to be much more prolific than the 2019 or 2023 versions.
9:26 a.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom followed Easton Fothergill 47 minutes to his first spot in Tellico. “I’ve got 2 small keepers this morning, but I broke a fish off right off the rip this morning that I think was a 4 pounder,” Fothergill reported. He is sticking shallow and plans to get a good bag put together before he pulls back offshore to go smallmouth hunting.
9:32 a.m. — It’s hard to remember a Classic where so many pundits and fans were so invested in a first-time Classic qualifier, but no one is going to be surprised if Fisher Anaya wins. In fact, a lot of people will say they predicted it, and can bring the receipts. He said that he’s around 20- to 25-pound bags. So far he has four smallish fish he’ll have to cull to get there.
9:26 a.m. — Seth Feider is running and gunning on Loudoun and just put his first keeper in the boat. Not surprisingly, it was a shallow largemouth.
9:08 a.m. — Per Bass Trakk, father-to-be Dakota Ebare is the first contender to a limit with an estimated 10-10. Trey McKinney, fishing nearby – who wanted the spot that Ebare claimed – has more weight with four fish. This Classic is getting off to a strong start, especially when you consider the long runs that many contenders made. Things should only get better as the air and water temperatures heat up.
8:55 a.m. — Trey McKinney claims he passed most of the field on his way down to Tellico, but didn’t have time to pass Dakota Ebare, who started where McKinney had planned to begin this tournament – so he slid over to a “second choice” area and within 10 casts had a 4-pounder and a 3-pounder.
8:31 a.m. — Alex Redwine did not excel in his first Classic last year, but he started off this one with a bang, an estimated 4-pound largemouth. That’s the type of fish that’s historically been gold on this portion of the Tennessee River. Judging from dock talk, they may be more common this time around, but a few of those and a couple of plain keepers could have any angler in contention today.
8:25 a.m. — Bold predictions about Classic winners from our TV crew: Davy Hite chooses Elite rookie Davy Hite; Mark Zona wants Nation qualifier Dylan Nutt; Sooch looks for Trey McKinney to win. “We have an average age of about 16 going now in all of our picks.” Tommy Sanders raised that age, albeit slightly, by choosing Easton Fothergill to go back to back. They turned to Ronnie Moore from a remote location and he pulled the veteran card: Lee Livesay, who has finished in the top 15 in all five Classics he’s fished.
8:15 a.m. — Mark Zona just repeated a recurring theme: “There are a group of young anglers in this tournament who are absolute assassins.” Yesterday Bill Lowen said he wouldn’t be surprised if the average age continues to trend downward. “You’re going to see it get even younger,” he said. “I can see parents having to drive their kids to the Elites.” He didn’t drop any hints that he was joking, but wasn’t conceding this tournament or his space on the tour. Lowen has narrowed it down to four or five rods – nothing surprising – and is ultra-confident.
8:00 a.m. — Our field has blasted off from one of the most iconic and theater-like launch sites in Classic history. Fans are gathered in tiers and there’s a buzz in the air. Even Classic veterans like Lee Livesay can’t keep from getting amped up by that energy. Check out the photo Chase Sansom got of the Texas pro catching air.
6:43 a.m. — After a stretched-out practice, now’s the time for more waiting for our 58 Bassmaster Classic contenders. They’ll continue working on tackle at the dock and then some of them will have long rides to their first stop – that’s when it becomes a mental game of chess, particularly because since they were last on the water on Wednesday we’ve had a major front go through. It stormed that evening and the temps dropped nearly 40 degrees. It’s warming up again, but not as quickly as some would like. Will their fish still be there when they arrive at stop number one? If so, will they be willing to bite?
March 11: Official Practice
7:45 a.m. — As the pack of boats sped downstream toward Loudon, at least one of them kept going. Kyle Welcher headed toward Tellico, explaining why in this quote from photographer Andy Crawford. “Tellico was packed during practice, and he thinks most of the field will be down there.” That said, Welcher laughed and said he may not fish the tournament where he started practice.
8 a.m. — In the boat with Easton Fothergill is photographer Chase Sansom, who reported the defending Classic champ is marking waypoints for navigation purposes, not necessarily for pinpointing fishing spots. “Every minute is going to be crucial this week as a lot of guys will make extremely far runs from takeoff,” he said to Chase, who added he’d be willing to bet half if not more of the field has already passed through the Tellico canal.
8:30 a.m. — Kyle Jesse is riding along with Brandon Lester, a pre-tournament favorite for his Tennessee roots. Lester had already made numerous tops that he didn’t have time to fish during the three days of unofficial practice. The hope is that he will find a specific area that he can hunker down in. the 10-time Classic qualifier has found water temperatures ranging from 56 to 65 degrees. “The backs of windblown creeks have the warmest water,” Lester said.
8:45 a.m. — Chase Sansom has the benefit of not being in the boat with Fothergill to get direct conversations from the defending Classic champ, who plans to check established high target areas for presence of fish (instead of having moved elsewhere). By afternoon, he will be eyeballing his graphs looking for new schools of fish.
9 a.m. — Bryant Smith is in an area where he is seeing a ton of fish, and he just told Dalton Tumblin they’re big ones. “It’s a little cove off to the side of the main channel. Problem is he can’t seem to keep them biting,” Dalton reported. “They constantly follow my swimbait and jerkbait to the boat but just won’t commit to it” Smith said. Dalton added that Smith is loving what he’s seeing on his forward-facing sonar, just trying to figure out what will get them fired up.
9:25 a.m. — Report from Chase Sansom from inside the boat of Fothergill, noting for now the defending champ is staying true to his early game plan of keeping it shallow. “I’ve been checking a few of these docks here and there just to see if any fish are up there cruising around them,” Fothergill said. “I haven’t seen any on bed this week but the ‘bass rut’ is almost on so I’m keeping it honest.”
9:30 a.m. — Andy Crawford reported in with this news. “The docks back in the creeks in Loudon are by large high and dry. The lake is at its winter pool, and my boater says it’s as low as he seen it. So, unless they find some deeper docks on the main lake, it’s unlikely that they’ll play in this tournament.”
9:45 a.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance got inside the boat of Nick Trim to grab this pic of his screen. “Trim has found some giant smallmouth” Shane said. “The only problem is they are just chasing his bait and refusing to commit. He said they are all over four pounds. He is trying to decide whether to come back to this spot or not during the tournament.”
9:45 a.m. — Photographer Solomon Glenn checked in with this report for JT Thompkins. “He is running around hitting clay points with nearby pea gravel and chunk rock, targeting mostly smallmouth,” Solomon said. “He’s found several good schools and caught a five-pounder, using a coverage bait.”
10:30 a.m. — On the main Tennessee River channel Andy Crawford found Alex Redwine targeting near-shore structure. He told Andy the Day 1 plan is to begin in Loudon but not for long. “I’m looking for a spot where I can catch one or two, and then I’ll head to Tellico unless I stop and it blows up.”
10:30 a.m. — Kyle Jessie is riding along with Tennessean Brandon Lester and filed this report. Conditions are always critical in spring tournaments. Whoever can adapt with the changes is typically who will reign victorious on the final day. And changing conditions is what the Classic field will be up against come Friday. While the area has had an abundance of warm weather over the last couple of weeks, a cold front is scheduled to push through Thursday night which could have temperatures at takeoff on Friday in the 30s. Totally different than what the anglers have had through practice.
More telling intel from Kyle about his ride with Brandon Lester. Luckily, Lester believes that the steady warm weather that we’ve had should help stabilize the bite. “They might not bite great on the first morning, but it’s been warm for long enough that it shouldn’t affect it too bad,” Lester said. “Really it’s going to be one cold night and morning and then it should get warm again.”
10:50 a.m. — Bob Downey has been found by Andy Crawford. Downey said an area that produced for him at the 2023 Classic shows promise yet again. “It’s just hard to get them to bite,” Downey said. “People can fish from the banks, and are throwing live bait, so it makes it hard to get them to bite (artificial lures).
11:20 a.m. — Surprise, surprise. Andy Crawford has discovered Bill Lowen … in shallow water. The master of shallow was in the back of a creek lined with deeper docks - and, predictably, he was flipping them. He said he’s had a decent day, “but the last few days have been good.” His plan for competition is to stay close to Knoxville. “Unless things go bad,” he said with a laugh.
11:20 a.m. — A report from Solomon Glenn with Wes Logan. The Alabama pro is running around and experimenting with new tactics. Specifically, areas with chunk rock and wood on main river channel banks. Logan says he’s just trying a bunch of different things to make sure he doesn’t miss anything. The effort has produced promising results, with the tactic to visually observed potential areas and check them out.
12:00 p.m. — Photographer Shane Durrance reports that collegiate angler Tripp Berlinsky is catching quite a few today. Berlinsky told him he feels that he could have 20 pounds on Day one if the changing weather doesn’t mess up his bite. He’s switching between two lures to trigger bites and his forward-facing sonar is key. He is seeing almost every fish he catches on the screen first.
12:05 p.m. — Jordan Lee is focusing on clay points and pocket mouths off the main channel on Loudoun. He’s caught a few small ones on a jerkbait but overall Lee says it’s been tough on him all week. He’s keeping on the move and covering a bunch of water.
12:10 p.m. — Photographer Dalton Tumblin reports that KJ Queen is keeping it shallow. He wasn’t particularly confident in the particular area he’s fishing, but he did report that he has the makings of a pattern with several key elements coming together.
12:55 p.m. — This morning Pat Schlapper said that today would be critical for him. Unlike some of his colleagues, he had a tough three day practice and needs to make something happen in order to be competitive. He’s using forward-facing sonar, but photographer Solomon Glenn reports that Schlapper is further back in pockets than most of the others – targeting cover with various lures. The Wisconsin pro said he’s fishing new water, still in search mode and trying to find a main area. He’s weeding through a bunch of non-keepers but did manage one quality smallmouth.
2:25 p.m. — Photographer Chase Sansom is seeing something today (and expects more of it) that we didn’t see much of here in 2023 -- guys at the pump. The run to Tellico isn’t short and will require most of them to sacrifice at least 10 minutes to refuel. With the cost of gas, that’s not a small deal, but it’s the time that really matters. Choosing when to stop – on the way, on the way back, midday – is a critical point of strategy.
2:25 p.m. — After an entire day spent offshore, defending champ Easton Fothergill has decided to get back on the bank and search around new places up shallow. He is running all new shallow pockets off the main river in search of a few docks that might have a sizeable largemouth or two in residence – or freshly moved up. This could pay off if he has some extra time on the run back in and needs to hunt a kicker.
