Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound: Day 4

1:43 p.m. — After a tough beginning to his season, Kyle Patrick seemed to land on a good luck charm of sorts. During pre-takeoff shenanigans on Day 1, Bassmaster emcee slapped Patrick not once but thrice — and the angler returned eight hours later with almost 22 1/2 pounds.

So, as anglers will do, Patrick latched onto the pre-tournament slap. Day 2's three-slap ceremony seemed to work decently well, with Patrick catching 16-11 to make the Top 10.

The Championship Sunday slap fest was pretty serious. The impact reverberated across the parking lot as anglers gathered for launch. Did it work?

Depends on your standard: Patrick is showing 16-5 on BassTRAKK with a tad more than an hour of fishing time left, and he's sitting in ninth.

12:51 p.m. — Stetson Blaylock has started fishing way up the Chowan River the last three days; however, today he started fishing midway of the river before heading farther up the river, Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito said. Blaylock is running and gunning, still looking for two more fish to fill the limit, Saito reported.

11:39 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito:

Jason Christie is out the Chowan River at 11:27 a.m. He's putting ice in the live well to make sure he is taking care of his big fish. He wants to be safe and easy going back to the Pasquotank, and will fish hard for bigger bites there.

"I may have a good bag, but I am not going to stop," Christie told Sansom. " I haven’t won this thing yet."

10:52 a.m. — Fisher Anaya just caught fish No. 5, which Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito estimating it at about 4 pounds.

"Now he is looking for two more 5-pounders," Saito said.

Anaya unofficially is in second on the strength of a 21 1/2-pound limit, according to BassTRAKK. And he has a 2-pounder and a 1-pounder he can cull — so he has a lot of room to grow.

10:27 a.m. — With just two Elite tournaments left, the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race is far from over. Trey McKinney heads to the next stop at Lake Champlain owning the lead in the points, but Drew Cook is 14 points back. Cook made Championship Sunday, but can only move up 1 point — if he were to win.

Scarier for McKinney is Cory Johnston, who is just 16 points back — and the Canadian angler is champing at the for the Northern Swing to begin.

“The next two (Elite events) we’re going to my neck of the woods, so they’re going to be in trouble,” Johnston said.

10:15 a.m. — Cody Huff spent the first few hours of the morning trying to get a limit in the back of a creek off the Roanoke River that he's been fishing all week, Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance said.

"He said this time yesterday he already had five fish," Durrance reported. "That strategy did not work for him on Day 4. Huff is now fishing targets and not areas. After changing his strategy, the very first spot produced his first fish of the day, which is over 5 pounds."

10:05 a.m. — Jason Christie boats No. 5 — and claims it’s still not enough, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom said.

“I need one more big one," Christie said. "I’m going to run everything I ran this morning one more time and start making the trip back early. I’d rather get back to weigh-in and weigh them in rather than get stuck out there in the middle. Besides there are some big ones to be caught beside the ramp.”

BassTRAKK has him at 23, but Sansom estimates he's "27 maybe even 28 at this moment."

Christie's plan to head back early, might be wise.

"The wind is definitely picked up in the Chowan, so I can’t imagine what that ride back to the Pasquotank across the Albemarle Sound is going to be like — but I would venture to say not good," Sansom said. "I think leaving early and giving himself plenty of time is a real veteran move on a day like today."

9:45 a.m. — Tyler Williams has been all over the Albemarle Sound this week. He fished both the Perquimans River and the North River.

"This morning he intended to make a long run, but changed his mind," Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker said. "The Sound wasn’t overly rough but it was choppy enough to where Williams didn’t want to break anything on the boat. Entering the day in 10th, he felt he didn’t really have a chance to win, so he turned around and headed back to the Pasquotank. He called it a business decision. He has four bass currently."

9:35 a.m. — Fisher Anaya just hooked up — but was not as excited as you'd think. That's because his bait flew off his hook as he flipped the keeper into the boat.

"My bait!" Anaya could be heard saying. "No, no, no, no!"

The young angler began trolling around looking frantically for the bait, but couldn't find it.

"That's the only color they'll bite, and that's the only one," Anaya said.

9:30 a.m. — Drew Cook now has five bass in the boat, Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reports.

"He’s having a slow morning so far, with no big bites yet," Tumblin said. "He’s covered a lot of water up here in the Northwest River, not spending too much time on any one stretch of bank. He’s currently all the way toward the back of the river, throwing a Coike at various structures along the bank, such as cypress trees and knees.

"Fish No. 5 came off of a small water treatment pump station retaining wall."

BassTRAKK has Cook sitting in third place with a Day 3 limit of 10 1/2 pounds. His unofficial 73 pounds, 4 ounces puts him just more than 13 pounds back of leader Jason Christie.

9:16 a.m. — Jason Christie is the first angler to hit the 20-pound mark — with just four bass, according to BassTRAKK. He's now widened the gap between him and second-place Fisher Anaya to 9-3, but this is a fishery on which that difference could be made up with one bite.

9:05 a.m. — Jason Christie pulled up to a dock on the Chowan River, and in about all of five minutes he boated three bass that go between 15 to 18 pounds, according to Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom.

"Pretty much on back to back to back casts," Sansom explained. "This particular dock is at the mouth of a creek where these fish are stacked up, I’m guessing, after they have done their spawning deeds."

A weighted urchin style bait has been the ticket, Sansom said.

"Something to note: Christie is one of the few guys I’ve seen this week running the urchin bait on a frog-style hook, but he’s weighting it with a dropshot sinker attached to a split ring," the photographer said. "It's an innovative way to keep the hooks up and the bait down."

8:45 a.m. — Fisher Anaya made a move to his primary spot — and it paid off, Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito reported.

"As I was tying this, he hooked up his first fish of the day — 8-pounder!" Saito wrote. "Few casts later, he caught one seems bigger than 5 pounds."

BassTRAKK shows the rookie's second bass as a 6 1/2-pounder, which unofficially gives him two fish for 14 1/2 pounds.

8:04 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reported that Jason Christie made it to his location on the Chowan not much farther behind Fisher Anaya and Hunter Shryock — but the angler Bassmaster emcee dubbed "The Most Feared Name in All of Bass Fishing" has planned things out to allow him to fish as late as possible.

"He went ahead and fueled up before he got here, so no need for a stop on the way back now," Sansom reported.

7:56 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito:

Fisher Anaya made it to his spot in the Chowan River by 7:36 a.m.  It must have been nice and calm in the (Albemarle) Sound.  He said he still sees a fish he saw yesterday.  Fisher started  scoping by 7:40.

7:39 a.m. — You like bands like Nirvana, Linkin Park and the Offspring? Well you’d love where Chris Zaldain is this morning. One of the residents next to the railroad bridge is jamming out this morning as the Elite Series pro dissects the bridge he’s done most of his damage on this tournament.

It is slick calm in this section of the Pasquotank. He’s caught one small keeper so far and had received several short strikes. He’s also mixed in an 8-inch top water walking bait and a spoon. “I’m going swinging” he remarked. There have been plenty of blowups on bait under the bridge, but so far they seem more interested in real baitfish than his lures.

7:12 a.m. — Note from Craig Lamb:

Spoiler alert. But maybe not. The urchin-style bait craze began at the second Elite event at Lake Martin and ever since, the hot bait has appeared in the Bass Pro Shops Top Lures galleries six times. Now make that seven consecutive tournaments.

Of the Top 10 anglers, six of them showed an urchin style bait when we took the photos prior to takeoff on Championship Sunday. That’s the most this season, not counting the anglers choosing not to display the hottest new lure in recent years. Initially it was only the Fullcast Coike but with the ICAST show coming up next month, everyone is coming out with their version. Will the urchin be the winning lure? The odds are likely that it could be, even with the baits in short supply.

6:48 a.m. — Note from Bassmaster writer/photographer Christopher Decker:

Interesting note from Fisher Anaya to kick off the blog. When we were talking at weigh-in yesterday, he said a lot of the bass he is catching in the Chowan River are likely spawning. In 80 degree water. In practice, he wasn’t sure what was happening. He would pitch to a stump and the bass would see his bait and then return to the stump.

In the days following, he noticed a little haziness on his FFS around the cover, a sure sign of bass fry. Once he learned that, he has marked stumps where he sees a bass that tournament day and then go catch it the next day. Essentially, he’s been practicing as he’s fishing. These bass in 5 to 7 feet of water.

6:30 a.m. — Championship Sunday of the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound is officially underway and what a difference a year makes at this body of water. Just a year ago, Kyle Welcher held 33 pound, 14 ounce lead over second place Brandon Lester and a 45 pound lead over Justin Hamner in 10th place.

This year, just 1 pound, 3 ounces separates Day 3 leader Jason Christie and Drew Cook who sits in second place.

"The problem is, even the guy in 10th place can win today if they go and catch 30 pounds," said Jason Christie this morning at takeoff. This is certainly true considering Tyler Williams (10th place) is just 11 pounds back heading into the final day. It's going to be a shootout!

Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound: Day 3

1:41 p.m. — This really remains anyone's game, looking at the current Top 10 on BassTRAKK. Stetson Blaylock remains in the lead with an unofficial total of 62 pounds — but there's less than 5 pounds separating him and Chris Zaldain in sixth. And even the 8-pound deficit separating first and 10th isn't an unsurmountable hurdle on a waterbody that has produced numbers of 8-pounders. A couple of big bites can move any angler way up the leaderboard.

11:45 a.m. — JT Thompkins just lost a 5pounder on one his best spots, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reported. "He said in this little creek we are in there was a school yesterday of 150 fish that have now vacated the area after the heavy rain and muddy water pushing in here."

11:09 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker said there are numbers of spectators on the Pasquotank today.

"This is the most spectator boats I’ve personally ever seen outside of aBassmaster Classic," Decker said. "There's three boats around McKinney, and there were at least 5 boat around the railroad bridge this morning."

11:00 a.m. — Stetson Blaylock ran back up to the Winton bridge, where he started yesterday and put fish No. 5 in the livewell, Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reported.

But he only made a cast or two before heading to the next spot.

“Now it’s time to go try and catch some more big ones," he told Tumblin.

10:48 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker said Trey McKinney is having another good day with about 19 pounds already in the livewell. He's currently throwing a 6th Sense Abstract.

"He said yesterday that the (Day 2) comeback was nice, but the idea of having to repeat was a stressful idea," Decker reported. "The good news for him is, the water has fallen since Day 1 and has continued to drop. An increasingly breezy north will help the cause, too.

"McKinney wants to be off the bank, and when the water rose on Day 1 he feels the bass he found in practice went into thicker shallow cover. Now that the water is down, the bass have pulled back out and he can target them a lot easier."

10:45 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance:

So I just learned something new from Sam Hanggi. He said he has a boat full of 3-pounders. He is throwing a sea urchin-style bait, but the majority of the fish are hitting it short and missing it. He is immediately following up with a jerk bait and he said he’s caught almost all of them with the jerk bait.

10:31 a.m. — Just got here to JT Thompkins in the next creek down from Hunter Shryock, and he wants the complete opposite conditions from what Hunter wanted, Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom said.

"Shryock wanted current in his creek because he felt like it helped trigger the fish to bite, but Thompkins said he wants no current and clear water," Sansom said.

Unfortunately with the rain last night, the creek Thompkins is fishing has a bit of current and the water is a bit more stained, Sansom said.

Almost would be the perfect scenario if Hunter and Thompkins swapped creeks, he noted.

9:46 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin:

Stetson Blaylock made a move to the shade on other side of the river for an instant payoff. Fish No. 2 is in the livewell — and it’s a 7-pounder, pushing him back to the top of the leaderboard on BassTRAKK.

“Only need five bites when they’re this big,” Blaylock said.

Blaylock has boat-flipped both of the 5-pound-plus bass he's caught today. And he said that's got everything to do with the lure he's using.

"He said he can’t scoop them because they spit that Coike out too easily — that they aren’t getting it in their mouth good enough," Tumblin reported. "He can’t risk them shaking around next to the boat, so he has to flip them as quick as he can."

9:16 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance:

Wesley Gore just looked back at me about 15 minutes ago and said, 'I told you it was going to be slow today. but when I get a bite, they’re big.' Five minutes later, after throwing a sea urchin-style bait, he set the hook on a 5- pounder.

9:07 a.m. — The Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race continues to be very compelling. After a tough first day for both Cory Johnston and Trey McKinney, who have been trading the AOY lead all season, Cole Sands took over the lead after the first day of competition here at the Pasquotank River.

That changed again after the Day 2 weigh-in, with McKinney making a huge move in the leaderboard on the strength of his 21-pound, 5-ounce bag of fish. That allowed the young angler to retake the top spot in the AOY race — by just 3 points over Sands.

But don’t count out Cory Johnston, who made this week’s Day 3 cut and is just 11 points behind McKinney. A big sack of bass could rocket Johnston back to the top, as he has more room to gain points than McKinney.

Keep an eye on Drew Cook, as well, since he's sitting just 2 points behind Johnston.

8:58 a.m. — After a little bit slow start in the Chowan, Stetson Blaylock landed fish No. 1 — and it was a 5-4. Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin said he’s fishing the same area of the river and pattern as yesterday, still throwing the spike ball. He did make one adjustment, however.

"Today he started on the opposite side of the river and it seems to be paying off from the start," Tumblin reported

8:53 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom, who set up in the Chowan River this morning:

I made it to Hunter Shryock this morning. He's working Dillard’s Creek off the Chowan River. I can’t tell exactly what he is doing, but it appears he’s trying to catch some isolated fish in the creek with FFS. He will make multiple casts at a target, but we haven’t seen him hook up. But he is diligently working every fish he sees with an urchin-style bait

8:46 a.m. — Wesley Gore told Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance that, since there were only 50 boats today, he was going to run some different water and save his most productive spot till later in the morning. After two hours of running that idea, he came up with no keepers. However, Gore wanted to try something different from what has been working the last two days, so he picked up a buzzbait. Immediately he got two bites, but only one was a keeper.

He said the water has come down some and he thinks that is affecting his Fish.

8:36 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker:

Chris Zaldain is considering making a big run to the Roanoke River. That is, if he can get gas somewhere on the water. The bite has slowed tremendously on the railroad bridge that he started on in the Pasquotank River. Gerald Swindle started on the opposite side of the bridge, and he told Zaldain he had 25 pounds blow up on his Spook — but not one of those bass actually ate the lure. It’s a funky bite, but having four bass just two hours in is huge, if he does decide to make the long run west.

7:34 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker:

Chris Zaldain is off to a much better start here on Semifinal Saturday, landing four bass in the first 30 minutes of fishing. None have been big so far. Yesterday, Zaldain said a lack of current made his swimbait program much more difficult to execute. Well, this morning, there is a noticeable increase in water movement. Thunderstorms moved through the region last night, bringing some much needed rain with it.

It hasn’t picked up yet, but the wind is also supposed to blow from the north, which will move more water out of the Pasquotank. Zaldain’s biggest obstacle, it seems, is fishing pressure. Four boats started on the railroad bridge, including second-place Wesley Gore and a local angler had already been fishing for an hour before Zaldain arrived.

7:10 a.m. — Trey McKinney regained the lead yesterday in this year's competitive Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year race after upgrading significantly to 21-5 — but he said he didn't make any changes in his approach. "I did the same thing," the young angler said as he waited for Day 3 takeoff.

Asked how optimistic he was about repeating his Day 2 performance, McKinney demurred. "I don't know," he said. "The lower the water gets the better for me, but there's just a lot of pressure (on the fish). A lot of pressure.

"Every fish that gets caught is one less we can catch (today)."

6:35 a.m. — Semifinal Saturday of the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound is officially underway. After many big moves on Day 2, the expectation is that the leaderboard is going to continue to see big changes after competition today.

Here are some of the biggest movers from Day 2:

JT Thompkins: 24 pounds, 8 ounces (91st place to 24th place)

Fisher Anaya: 26 pounds, 9 ounces (68th place to 12th place)

Pat Schlapper: 23 pounds, 12 ounces (53rd place to 16th place)

Jordan Lee: 24 pounds, 10 ounces (78th place to 21st place)

Blake Capps: 21 pounds, 13 ounces (77th place to 34th place)

With only 10 days left in the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series season, every single point counts towards all the points races. Semifinal Saturday should be a fun one!

Click here to read Christopher Decker's story about the big moves after Day 2 of competition.

Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound: Day 2

2:30 p.m. — As mentioned plenty of times on Bass LIVE today, there were some major changes in the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings after Day 1 of competition. Cole Sands is holding steady on Day 2 with 16-12 which has him sitting in 10th place on BassTrakk. However, Trey McKinney is up to 19-8 which will certainly move him up the leaderboard and potentially back into the AOY lead depending on how things shake out when the bags hit the scale.

12:11 p.m. — Chris Zaldain has been working the bridges near the ramp, but he just said on Live that conditions are making it harder for him to succeed with his favored tactic.

"The current just stopped," Zaldain said. "What you have to have doing this swimbait thing is three things. "You have to have current. You have to have bait and you have to have shade.

"We lost our most important thing."

11:24 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Seigo Saito found Hunter Shryock way back in a creek, just as the angler put No. 5 in the livewell. "Since then I haven’t seen him setting a hook," Saito said. "He is still hunting for a nice fish No. 5 to cull."

11:17 a.m. — Staying hydrated and mentally strong will be incredibly important, as highs are supposed to reach the upper 90s.

That said, Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker reports that Brandon Lester is have an excellent morning. The Tennessee has, according to BassTRAKK, a limit weighing about 21 pounds.

"Right now, he's throwing an urchin-style bait," Decker said. "He threw a popping frog down a good looking stretch of bank, but only got one short bass to bite it."

11:08 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance:

"Justin Hamner just got extremely lucky. As soon as we started having the slightest movement with the tidal flow, he had a small school of 14 inchers start blowing up on bait on a point. He threw the sea urchin-style bait over the top of the school and caught two bass in just a few minutes."

10:56 a.m. — Stetson Blaylock makes his first cull of the day, Bassmaster photographer Dalton Tumblin reported.

"He’s still fishing the same pattern on the same are of the Chowan," Tumblin said. "He’s mostly throwing a Coike-style bait, but changing to a drop shot intermittently. He says the fish aren’t grabbing onto the bait as good today and being a little lethargic — so he’s having to use a drop shot some and has no choice but to boat flip them on the Coike because they are shaking the hook out too easily."

BassTRAKK shows Blaylock's limit at 15 1/2 pounds, enough to put him into the unofficial lead over Day 1 leader Chris Zaldain. But the margin is a razor think 13 ounces.

10:38 a.m. — The Progressive Angler of the Year saw a shake-up yesterday, with Cole Sands taking over the lead after Cory Johnston and Trey McKinney struggled. Going into Day 2, Sands has a 10-point lead over McKinney.

10:31 a.m. — Justin Hamner has had a very slow morning, catching his first bass at 10 a.m. "He’s fishing in the same area he did yesterday, but the bite has changed drastically," Bassmaster photographer Shane Durrance reports. "He is seeing fish, but they just aren’t biting.

"I asked him his thoughts on what was going on and he said the water is stagnant and not moving. So he’s waiting on the slightest title flow to begin."

10:06 a.m. — Justin Hamner made one of the longest runs in the field, and he just landed his first keeper of the day. He said earlier that the lack of tide was hurting him, but sounds like that situation is changing.

"Tide's been moving for maybe 30 seconds," Hamner said on Live.

10:00 a.m. — Jason Christie, who started Day 2 in second, just landed his first bass of the day throwing a Coike-style bait around cypress trees. He logged it into BassTRAKK as a 3 1/2-pounder, although Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom thought it was a pound heavier. BassTRAKK shows him in 15th.

"He lost what appeared to be a 3- to 4-pounder a bit ago," Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reported. "He’s working the lower part of the Chowan River towards Edenton around cypress trees with an urchin style bait.

"He told his camera guy, Jake Latendresse, 'I told myself when this Coike came around I wasn’t going to do it no matter what. Going to stick to my guns. Well, you can see how long that lasted.”

9:47 a.m. — JT Thompkins started Day 2 sitting in 91st place, after weighing in just 5 pounds, 1 ounce yesterday. Something has changed: He has surged to 11th place on the strength of a five-fish limit estimated at 23 1/2 pounds, according to BassTRAKK.

The young angler is the first of the day to top the 20-pound mark.

9:37 a.m. — Day 1 leader Chris Zaldain filled his limit at his starting spot close to the ramp, according to Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker. "There's no one else here except a kayaker and a fan," Decker said. "He said lack of current is why it’s been a slower morning than yesterday."

That put him back in the lead, according to BassTRAKK. Unofficially, his five-fish limit weighs 12 pounds.

9:13 a.m. — The long-run Chowan River crowd is finally getting settled in. Bassmaster's Craig Lamb reported that most are fishing main river points.

9:09 a.m. — Anglers making the long run to the Chowan River are finally starting their fishing day. Hunter Shryock is near the mouth of the Chowan, in the far back of a creek, reported Bassmaster's Craig Lamb. Meanwhile the rest of the pack entered the creek around 8:30.

Most of the others kept running toward the Hwy. 13 bridge and beyond, Lamb said.

9:03 a.m — It’s been a challenging morning for Day 1 leader Chris Zaldain so far, according to Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker. You could tell bass and gar were feeding. In fact, several big bass blew up on bait next to the pilings. But he couldn’t get anything to bite his lures, although he received a couple short strikes.

BassTRAKK shows Zaldain in third with two fish for 4 pounds, 5 ounces.

He is making his way back to his starting spot now, Decker reported

8:44 a.m. — Nick Trim didn't walk across the stage yesterday after running more than 70 miles because he didn't land a single bass. "I only got two bites all day," he told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford before launching his boat this morning. "And I got the second bite 10 minutes before I had to leave."

Trim said the problem wasn't lack of bass, however. "I saw some (big ones) on my scope following my bait, but they'd just swim away."

Was he planning to make that long run again today? Yep. "It's the only place I know that I can catch five that might get me back in the cut," he said.

7:48 a.m. — From Bassmaster writer/photographer Christopher Decker:

Chris Zaldain was boat 96 this morning, but the Day 1 leader already had two bass in the boat. The bridge he started on this morning, which was surrounded by fellow competitors yesterday morning, was all Zaldain’s when he arrived. After catching those two bass, he moved up river to a more crowded bridge. Brandon Lester, Gerald Swindle and Lee Livesay are all here fishing what appears to be a shad spawn. Lester caught a quality largemouth not too long after Zaldain arrived. Swimbaits, topwaters and urchins are top choices so far.

7:34 a.m. — One of the biggest storylines from this tournament is anglers making long runs. With seemingly endless fishable water, the Elites have plenty of choices and tough decisions to make. On Day 1, plenty of anglers decided to stay in the Pasquotank River and maximize fishing time. While that worked for several anglers including Day 1 leader Chris Zaldain, making a long run paid off for other anglers like Jason Christie who found himself in second place at the conclusion of weigh-in on Day 1.

“It doesn’t matter how rough it is, it is not going to keep me from going," said Christie. “I knew I needed to make the run, no matter what. I’d rather fish three hours where I’m going than eight hours (in the Pasquotank).”

Those are scary words for the rest of the field from the "Most Feared Name in Professional Bass Fishing". Click here to read more about Jason Christie's Day 1 performance.

7:06 a.m. — Day 1 leader Chris Zaldain is off to a quick start with two keepers in the boat that go for 4-5 within the first 30 minutes of competition. Click here to follow along with Zaldain all day long!

6:30 a.m. — Day 2 of the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound is officially underway! The sights from takeoff didn't disappoint this morning. The takeoff gallery that will be published shortly from Andy Crawford should be a great one.

Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound: Day 1

2:10 p.m. — Anglers in the farthest reaches of the of the Albemarle basin have to start thinking about heading back, as winds are blowing 11 to 12 mph out the southwest. That sets up following seas as the anglers in areas like the Roanoke, Chowan and Perquimans rivers. That could really make it a slog heading back to Elizabeth City.

1:54 p.m. — AOY implications: With the competition day winding down, we took a look at what BASSTrakk can tell us about possible Angler of the Year changes. Unofficially, it looks like the AOY leaders Cory Johnston and Trey McKinney are not having great days — but Johnston appears to be having the biggest stumble. He's currently sitting in 57th with four fish for 7 pounds, 11 ounces, while McKinney is unofficially in 27th place with five fish for 12 pounds.

The day started with Johnston leading by just 20 points, so if current BASSTrakk totals hold for the rest of the day McKinney would retake the lead.

There's still some fishing — and anglers are known to sandbag — so there's still unknowns that will be sorted out at weigh-in. But what we do know is the AOY race remains very compelling.

1:40 p.m. — Before competition started, anglers talked about how crowded it would be in the Pasquotank River , but it looks like many in the field decided to take the beating in the big water and fish other rivers all over the Albemarle basin — with some even skipping across the Currituck Sound for waters far to the north.

Fishing time is growing short for those anglers in the farthest reaches, however, since some of those runs top 1 1/2 hours.

1:19 p.m. — As predicted by Davy Hite early on this morning, there have been some major shifts on BassTrakk this afternoon. With many anglers opting to make long runs, fishing time for a lot of anglers didn't begin until 8:30 a.m. or later. Now, the real test will be making it back to weigh-in.

10:19 a.m. — A fun day of practice has turned into a frustrating Day 1 for Trey McKinney, Bassmaster photographer Chris Decker reports.

"He currently has two bass in the box that only weigh about 3 pound," Decker said. "He said the numbers of quality bass in practice were ridiculous, but the numbers has dwindled for some reason."

McKinney is trying to shake off a rough Santee Cooper event that left him sitting in second in the AOY standings. He can’t afford another bad tournament if he wants to hoist the end of year trophy.

The only good news, as previously noted, is that the young angler has a full day to put his bait in front of bass as opposed to cutting his fishing time by making a long run.

10:15 a.m. — From Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom:

"Rebound and No. 5 for Lee Livesay here at the bridge! He’s putting the big glide to work, getting more bites than anyone else working around here around him."

10:10 a.m. — There's been a lot of talk that past few years about the youth of the newest class of Elite anglers, and that made us curious about the overall impact on the Progressive Angler of the Year race. Namely, how has the average age of the Top 10 AOY anglers been affected?

Way back in 2010, the average age of the AOY Top 10 was 37.3 years old. The age dropped in 2015, 2020, 2022 and 2023 a tad — but it remained in the 30s.

It dropped below 30 years old to 28.8 years for the first time in 2024, ticking up a tad to 29.7 years old in 2025.

Going into today, with three non-forward facing sonar events in the books, the 2026 Top 10 anglers average 31.7 years old. So there's definitely something to the argument that FFS is allowing younger anglers to compete at a higher level — but there's still only one angler older than 40 in the race.

9:45 a.m. — Two of the rookies planned to make the long run to the Chowan River — way up the river. There's big bass near the ramp, but Fisher Anaya and Pake South expected it to be packed with anglers. So they said they were "sending it."

The run to the Highway 17 bridge across the Chowan is at least 1 1/2 hours, but the two young anglers said they weren't stopping there. "We're going 30 minutes farther than that," Fisher said.

And if they can get there and back, the payoff could be huge.

"I’ve got one log that’s got 20 fish on it," South said. "If I can get 5 to bite off that log, I might have 25 (pounds).”

9:40 a.m. — Trey McKinney, who went into today in second place in the Progressive Angler of the Year race, told Bassmaster photographer Andy Crawford that he staying close to the ramp.

"I’m just so over those long runs," the young phenom said. "You have to get there without tearing all your stuff up, and then you have to get back. Everything has to go right."

But that's not to say he's just fishing for points this week.

"If I get five bites, they’re going to be good ones," McKinney said. "And I have eight hours to fish."

9:28 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom just sent in these terrific photos of a devastating loss for Lee Livesay. The Texas pro is currently sitting inside the Top 10 on BassTrakk with only 4 keepers, so this fish would have went to the bottom line. This keeper would have likely pushed Livesay into 2nd unofficially.

9:09 a.m. — Randy Howell went ahead and one-upped himself by boating another big one early on Day 1- this one went into BassTrakk at 5-10 which is now the unofficial Phoenix Boats Big Bass.

9:02 a.m. — Current Pro Guide Batteries Rookie of the Year leader Caleb Hudson isn’t catch a lot of fish, but he currently has a limit and is sitting inside the Top 10 on BassTrakk with 10-3. The Georgia pro is targeting isolated cover with his forward-facing sonar using the hottest bait in bass fishing - the Urchin.

8:48 a.m. —From Bassmaster Photographer Chase Sansom:

It seems like the bridges or vertical cover in the Pasquotank is the hot commodity. Working with Hank Cherry who has 3 keepers, one good one and two small ones. There has been a good handful of anglers who have been rotating in and out of this bridge. Right now Brandon Lester & Lee Livesay are near by working it as well.

8:34 a.m. — Randy Howell only has one keeper in the boat early on Day 1, but it's the right kind. The former resident of North Carolina is the unofficial leader for Phoenix Boats Big Bass on BassTrakk with this 5-8.

8:20 a.m. — "The more water you can save in this tournament the better," said Kyle Patrick when giving his morning update on Bassmaster Live.

Patrick told us that his original plan on Day 1 was to run to the Perquimans River and spend his Day there. However, at takeoff Chris Zaldain gave him one of his Daingerous Swimbaits and told him to stop at the bridge before making any kind of run. This has paid off big time for the New York native has he already has a limit for 13-8, tying Zaldain at the top of BassTrakk.

Click here to watch Kyle Patrick's big one from this morning.

7:48 a.m. — From Bassmaster Photographer/Writer Christopher Decker:

Chris Zaldain has lit up BassTrakk this morning, landing a little over 13 pounds in an hours time. He’s been throwing a large swimbait around the 158 causeway, throwing it around every corner and piling. 

He certainly hasn’t been alone. Lee Livesay, Kyoya Fujita and Jason Williamson have all spent time around the bridge while Clifford Pirch landed a quality keeper on a set of laydowns and cypress trees 100 yards from the bridge. 

Life for anglers who wanted to make the run to the Chowan and Roanoke is already difficult. Russ Lane idled through the bridge not long ago. Livesay told Zaldain that Russ had attempted the run and turned around. You get the sense Zaldain isn’t thrilled about not making the run either, but as he said, “it’s better than getting your brains beat in.”

7:23 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom estimates that 25-35 boats have opted to stay in the Pasquotank River based on what he saw when shooting the Runnin' and Gunnin' photo gallery that will be posted shortly. The run to the Chowan takes at least an hour and a half to get to the bridge, so we should have a better idea of how many anglers have made the run soon.

7:23 a.m. — Chris Zaldain is the first angler to fill his limit. The Texan has 13-8 in the boat early on Day 1.

6:50 a.m. — One thing to keep an eye on early this morning is the anglers that are already reporting catches on BassTrakk. These are obviously the anglers that are opting to stay in the Pasquotank River and maximize their time and avoid the long runs. Within 20 minutes of takeoff, there's already seven anglers reporting catches. Chris Zaldain and Kyoya Fujita already have a 4-8 in boat.

6:30 a.m. — Day 1 is officially underway!

6:28 a.m. — Bassmaster photographer Chase Sansom reports that 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic Champion Easton Fothergill believes that if anglers are able to get to the Chowan River and back on Day 1, we are all in for a treat at weigh-in later this afternoon.

"“I think I could’ve caught 32 to 34 pounds, I had a nine pounder, a six and bunch of other big ones I caught and I shook off quite a few other big ones. It was pretty ignorant how good it is," said Fothergill. "The issue is going to be getting there. If you go and ride 4 to 5 foot waves the whole time you might have an hour to fish, but I’m thinking if I just got two bites in there it might be better than spending a whole day in the Pasquotank."

6:20 a.m. — Day 1 of the 2026 Maxam Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound is just moments away from getting started and the storylines of this event seem to be endless. With so much fishable water in play, the anglers are faced with many decisions. Many reports from practice suggest that the biggest bites have been coming from the Chowan River, but with high winds predicted on Day 1, there's plenty of risk involved in making that run. Do you stay close and maximize fishing time, or do you take the risk and run?