2026 Bassmaster Classic Release: G. Loomis Expands and Revamps IMX-PRO BASS Bottom Contact Rod Lineup

Technique-specific performance built for tournament-level precision

G. Loomis announces the expanded and redesigned IMX-PRO BASS Bottom Contact lineup, engineered for anglers who demand unwavering performance and precisely tuned tools for bottom-oriented techniques. 

Now expanded to 25 technique-focused models, including the nine additions, the IMX-PRO BASS lineup now delivers a complete set of Bottom Contact options built for experienced anglers and tournament competitors who rely on dialed-in equipment to execute winning patterns. 

 

“We expanded the IMX-PRO BASS lineup to give anglers more of the exact tools they’ve been asking for,” said Kade Gewanter, Freshwater Marketing Manager for Shimano North America Fishing. “Bottom contact techniques are all about feel and control, so we refined the tapers and actions to make each model more dialed in and technique-specific than ever.” 

Driven by G. Loomis’ proprietary TaperTec® rod-building philosophy, the revamped IMX-PRO BASS lineup utilizes a new high-modulus graphite construction to optimize strength and weight without unnecessary material. Designed and rolled entirely at the G. Loomis facility in Woodland, Washington, the result is a lighter, more responsive rod that delivers heightened sensitivity and consistent performance across techniques. 

2026 Bassmaster Classic Release: Garmin's new Spy pole and GT360UHD

 

Mount your transducers to Spy pole, the revolutionary motorized sonar control, to precisely and wirelessly maneuver LiveScope^™ and GT360UHD transducers.

Zack Birge Wins 2026 Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Presented by MillerTech on Lake Waco!

Birge Score 30-Pound Victory of Evers!

By Mitchell Forde 

Bass Pro Tour Press Release

WACO, Texas — When he launched his boat onto Lake Waco for Saturday’s Knockout Round at Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Presented by MillerTech, Zack Birge knew next to nothing about the fishery. He’d never competed there before, and he spent all three days of official practice prior to the event on Lake Whitney, which hosted the two-day Qualifying Round.

All Birge knew was that he’d spotted a juicy-looking backwater pond on the north end of the lake on Google Earth. His game plan in a nutshell: head there and hope for the best.

“I didn’t even come over here in practice; I just looked at Google Earth and thought this looked good,” Birge said following Sunday’s Championship Round. “I literally told my official yesterday, I showed it to him on Google Earth, and I said, ‘Man, this pond back here looks good.’

“Little did I know. I know now, though.” 

Birge used the area not only to qualify for the Championship Round but to win it in dominant fashion. He spent all day Sunday in the spot known to locals as the “Atkinson Hole” and totaled 75 pounds, 1 ounce on 27 scorable bass. That topped runner-up Edwin Evers by more than 30 pounds and represented the biggest single-day total of the event by more than 20.

Birge’s second career Bass Pro Tour victory earned him $125,000. He also took over the lead in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year standings. Four points behind him, four-time AOY winner Jacob Wheeler and Spencer Shuffield are tied for second.

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:

1. Zack Birge – 75-1 (27)

2. Edwin Evers – 44-12 (15)

3. Dustin Connell – 43-10 (10)

4. Spencer Shuffield – 31-3 (11)

5. Drew Gill – 27-13 (14)

6. Chris Lane – 23-12 (9)

7. Nick LeBrun – 22-4 (7)

8. Mark Davis – 20-13 (8)

9. Jesse Wiggins – 17-3 (6)

10. Justin Lucas – 12-3 (6)

Full results

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Aaron Yavorsky Wins the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 2 Presented by Star brite at Santee Cooper

 Back to Back 30-Pound Limits Secures Victory for Yavorsky 

Arron Yavorsky put on a clinic in a heavyweight showdown at Santee. Photo by Rob Matsuura. 

By Jody White 

Tackle Warehouse Press Release

CLARENDON COUNTY, S.C. — The final day of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech finally started on time and went a lot better for most of the field. Stop 2 Presented by Star brite at Santee Cooper was pegged as one to watch, and today showed why, as 13 pros caught more than 25 pounds.

Leading after the first day, Aaron Yavorsky kept right on chugging, adding an even 32 pounds to his 35-4 to total up 67-4 and earn the win in style. Finishing second, Matteo Turano backed up his first day with 28-10 to also cross the 60-pound barrier with 60-3, and Cal Lane tallied up 59-7 on nine bass to finish third.

For the win, the 19-year-old Yavorsky takes home $100,000 and a REDCREST qualification. He also moves into the lead for 7Brew Angler of the Year – narrowly ahead of Brody Campbell. Pro Circuit action resumes in late March on the Tennessee River for Stop 3 Presented by Suzuki Marine on Wheeler Lake.

Yavorsky puts on a prespawn clinic

In terms of two-day cumulative weights on the Pro Circuit, Yavorsky’s winning total is actually the fifth-highest all-time. And the young pro has now qualified for both the Bassmaster Classic and REDCREST before his 20th birthday.

Those accomplishments aside, he fished very well this week, but he didn’t do anything crazy to win – a minnow on offshore targets is a pretty solid game plan in the prespawn.

“I did some research; I heard Marion is a little sketchy to run, so I went to Moultrie,” he said. “I fished the wind-protected side the first day and fished some grass, didn’t do good, and then found some brush and stumps that had fish. I caught a 6-pounder on my first one, and that was interesting. Day 2 was slick calm, and I got to ride around the whole lake – there really wasn’t much stuff, but I found a couple places that had some giants. I didn’t really know the potential, but I would throw and see a bunch of big ones chasing my bait.”

Throwing a 7-inch 6th Sense Shindo Shad on a 4.4-gram head with an 8-pound leader and a 7-foot Fitzgerald Fishing spinning rod was the ticket for Yavorsky. With it, he attacked brush and stumps in and on the edges of ditches in 15 to 20 feet.

“Day 1, I pulled up to one pile and they were just stacked – I caught 35 [pounds] in like 30 minutes,” he said. “In practice, that same pile, I threw my bait over it and like 30 big ones came out. I tried catching them, and they wouldn’t eat – I think it was a timing thing.”

TOP 10 BELOW

Patrick Walters Wins 2026 Epic Baits NPFL Championship on Smith Lake!

South Carolina pro seals the deal on Showdown Saturday at Smith Lake, capturing the Championship trophy and $100,000 payday.

Hunting for dirty water, Walters' big Day 2 ensures championship win!
Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons

By Justin Brouillard 

National Professional Fishing League Press Release

It took the event’s biggest bag by far on Day Two to reset his tournament after sitting in 29th place following Day One, but South Carolina pro Patrick Walters was able to right the ship and claim the NPFL Triple Crown. Walters is now the first angler in NPFL history to possess a Regular Season shield, an NPFL AOY shield, and now an NPFL Championship shield after winning the 2026 Epic Baits NPFL Championship on Smith Lake.

His three-day total of 44-11 was enough to secure a two-pound margin over Alabama pro Kyle Welcher. Walters admittedly slipped on Day One, bringing just 9-11 to the scales and leaving himself frustrated. But with rain overnight and fresh water flowing into Smith Lake on Day Two, Walters capitalized on newly formed mudlines with a crankbait and a jig, putting an astonishing 22-9 in the boat and launching his comeback.

When the dust settled on Showdown Saturday, things were closer than expected as Walters worked to protect his lead. His 12-7 on the final day was enough to earn the NPFL shield and the $100,000 Championship prize.

Welcher, no stranger to NPFL success, previously earned the 2024 NPFL AOY title and finished second in the 2025 season, just one point behind Walters. His 42-11 total secured the runner-up spot.

Florida’s John Cox rallied over the final two days to finish third with 40-8. Todd Auten moved into fourth with 40-3, while North Carolina pro Hank Cherry rounded out the top five with 40-2.

JT Russell’s Day One 5-5 kicker earned him Big Bass honors for the event.

Walters Trusts His Gut

On a week where things changed by the hour, the real winning moments for Patrick Walters came during the tough stretches. Coming in, he knew conditions would not be the same as they were in practice, but he constantly fished through the lulls and kept himself around the right areas to catch fish that were willing to bite.

TOP 10 BELOW

Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit 2026 Stop 2 at Santee Cooper Day 1 canceled.

 

Due to a wind advisory and forecasted sustained winds in excess of 20 miles per hour, Day 1 of Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 2 at Santee Cooper has been canceled. The tournament will commence on Friday as a two-day event with the full field fishing both days. Tune in for full MLFNOW! livestream coverage Friday and Saturday starting at 6:30 a.m. ET.

New Z-Man Fuzzy Baits: Fuzzy TRD, Fuzzy NuggetZ & Fuzzy BugZ

 Watch Bassmaster Elite series pro anglers, Seth Feider, Jeff (Gussy) Gustafson, and Beau Browning break down the new Fuzzy series of baits from Z-Man Fishing Products. The new Z-Man Fuzzy Baits are built to tap into a bass's primal instinct. From newly hatched fry to full-grown bass, every fish remembers feeding on micro-organisms, tiny bugs, and invertebrates. This three-profile series offers endless presentations and rigging opportunities.

The lineup includes: Fuzzy TRD – the classic TRD profile with added premium silicone strands, subtle natural action, and limitless rigging options. Fuzzy NuggetZ – a 12-sided dice style profile with premium silicone strands on every side that shines on a Drop Shot or Neko rig. Fuzzy BugZ – a stubby, bug-shaped bait that perfectly imitates bottom-dwelling forage such as crayfish or various insects.

Takahiro Omori Wins 2026 Bass Pro Tour's O'Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance on Lake Hartwell!

Takahiro Omori scored his first Bass Pro Tour win and was the only angler to never use his forward-facing sonar throughout all of Stage 2. Photo by Phoenix Moore.

By Mitchell Forde

BASS PRO TOUR

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — Prior to the Bass Pro Tour’s first ever visit to Lake Hartwell, the prevailing expectation was that finesse techniques and spotted bass would rule O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance. A few anglers have managed to contend in past tournaments on the famed fishery by catching shallow largemouth, but given the Bass Pro Tour’s every-fish-counts scoring, the February timing of this event and the fact that the water is about 7 feet low, no one would have predicted that bladed jigs, dirty water and largemouth would dominate.

That included Takahiro Omori.

The angler best known for exclaiming “I knew it!” after he caught the winning fish at the 2004 Bassmaster Classic admitted that he didn’t anticipate being able to contend on Hartwell while sticking in his power fishing wheelhouse – much less earning his long-awaited first Bass Pro Tour win. 

“To be honest, I had no motivation to come here,” the Tokyo, Japan, native said. “I thought I was coming here to get beat by the spots.”

But Omori never wavered from his game plan. The veteran pro spent the entire event in the Tugaloo River, using his smooth casting skills to pick apart whatever shallow cover he could find in the backs of creeks. He never even bothered to turn on forward-facing sonar.

The result was a near wire-to-wire win. After he finished Day 1 in second place, Omori topped the Qualifying Round, earning an automatic trip to Sunday’s Championship Round. There, he overcame a slow start to stack up 36 pounds, 6 ounces on 12 scorable bass. With post-frontal, windy conditions making the bite tough on everyone, that was enough to edge Jacob Walker by 2-10. His first tour-level victory since 2018 and the ninth of Omori’s decorated career earned him $125,000.

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:

1. Takahiro Omori – 36-6 (12)

2. Jacob Walker – 33-12 (12)

3. Matt Becker – 29-4 (11)

4. Banks Shaw – 27-9 (10)

5. Jacob Wall – 23-15 (9)

6. Spencer Shuffield – 22-6 (9)

7. Jesse Wiggins – 19-6 (5)

8. Jacob Wheeler – 14-14 (6)

9. Ott DeFoe – 14-7 (6)

10. Justin Cooper – 13-12 (5)