Zack Birge Wins 2026 NPFL on Lake Harris Chain of Lakes!

Oklahoma pro stayed consistent all three days to claim his first NPFL victory at Stop One.

Birge continues hot streak with his first win on the NPFL at Stop One. 
(Photo: NPFL/ Tanner & Travis Lyons)

By Justin Brouillard, NPFL Press Release

It came down to the wire on the Harris Chain, where consistency proved to be the difference-maker. Changing weather, long runs to Lake Apopka, and a last-minute adjustment after losing access to his starting area all played a role — but in the end, Oklahoma angler Zack Birge made the right moves at the right time to earn his first NPFL victory.

Birge started strong on Day One, boating 22-6 to kick things off in third place. He moved into the lead on Day Two with 21-14 and was the only angler to eclipse 20 pounds on both of the first two days. On the final day, fending off a charging Todd Auten, Birge added 17-14 to secure the win, besting the veteran by a mere 5 ounces.

Making a charge on the final day, Todd Auten was not going down without a fight. His best bags of the week came on Day One and Showdown Saturday. He started the event in second place with 25-3, dropped slightly on Day Two with 12-3, and then surged with the biggest bag of the tournament on the final day — 24-7 — ultimately finishing in second place, just short of the NPFL victory in his first event.

In third place, Derek Lehtonen was perhaps the most consistent angler all week, but lacked a true giant bass across his three days. Still, his 51-0 total moved him up on the final day, earning a solid payday and valuable points toward the 2027 Work Sharp NPFL Championship.

While many predicted a double-digit bass in this event, it was a 9-0 kicker caught by Greg Vinson on Day One that earned Big Bass honors. A slower Day Three dropped him to 25th overall, but Vinson still walked away with a solid check for his efforts.

Birge Adjusts for the Win

Wrapping up his second tour-level victory of the season, Zack Birge is on a tear in 2026. Birge took the win at the MLF BPT event earlier this month and is now a first time NPFL Champion. Fishing both leagues the last couple of seasons has been tough, and missing practice and tournament days caused him to miss the 2026 Epic Baits Championship by just a few points. Now, he’s a lock for the 2027 Championship by way of his win, and he kicks off the NPFL season leading the Work Sharp Angler of the Year race.

“It sure feels great,” Birge said. “I’m sure tomorrow, making the drive home, it’ll set in more, but I’m tired. This was a long week, and today was super stressful. Right off this morning things got tough, having to change my day around, and I felt like I was stuck in Apopka for a little while.”

Luckily, Birge had a Plan B. When his flipping bite only produced one small keeper, it was time to make a big decision — abandon ship early and head back toward Harris, or figure something out in Apopka to get the day back on track and kill some time.

TOP 10 Below

Rebel Lures Ultra-Finesse Jigs Snack Packs

 Ultra-Finesse Jig Snack Packs, new from Rebel Lures, offer an ideal solution for fooling the finickiest of fish, with cast-and-catch convenience right out of the package.

 

Rebel Ultra-Finesse Jigs utilize Rebel’s KEG Jig Head design, which was introduced with LIVEflex soft plastic lures. The head shape rolls off rocks and other cover effectively but is also well suited for swimming presentations. A finesse-style skirt adds subtle motion, and a pre-rigged LIVEflex bait completes the natural appearance.

Great Lakes Finesse Solves Problems with Stay-Pinned Spybait

 Great Lakes Finesse doesn’t accept problems. GLF solves problems

The No. 1 problem with most spybaits is that fish (especially big, wildly jumping bass) too frequently free themselves during the fight. The Stay-Pinned Spybait uses a patent-pending top “breakaway hook,” in addition to two bottom-hanging trebles, so bass stay pinned, just as the name says.

 

The GLF Team refined the Stay-Pinned Spybait for more than three years, experimenting with body shaping, weighting, hook placement and every other aspect to create the perfect spybait – one that runs true at very slow speeds with a subtle shimmy and blades that turn freely. The bait sinks slowly with a shimmy and horizontal posture, when not being reeled, and tracks completely horizontal on the move.

 

The Stay-Pinned Spybait also features a Water-Through-Gill design that enhances the shimmy and adds resistance to maximize an angler’s ability to feel the bait.

 

The Stay-Pinned Spybait comes in 11 colors that range from Matte Black to ultra-subtle Pro Mist to fit every situation. It comes armed with BKK Super Slide hooks.

 

MSRP: 17.99

Nutt puts the Nation back on top, wins 56th Bassmaster Classic

Nutt puts the Nation back on top, wins 56th Bassmaster Classic

Nashville, Tenn., Nation angler Dylan Nutt has won the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — For the first time in 32 years and only the second time ever, a B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier wears the crown of the biggest title in bass fishing. Dylan Nutt, the 22-year-old phenom from Nashville, Tenn., won the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour in front of a giant home-state crowd at Food City Arena in Knoxville.

He follows in the footsteps of Bassmaster legend Bryan Kerchal, who won the 1994 Classic after qualifying through the Nation. Nutt earned his invite to this year’s Super Bowl of Bass Fishing by finishing third at the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at the Upper Mississippi River presented by Lowrance.

After the crowning moment, Nutt was still processing what it means to follow in Kerchal’s footsteps.

“I haven’t had the chance to think about it. I’ve got so many things in my head right now. I don’t know what I’m thinking,” he said.

“It [the Classic] has always been the pinnacle of bass fishing to us, and I mean, heck, the last Classic that I went to was the one here, back in 2023, and I never would’ve thought next time I went to a Classic I’d be in it and holding the trophy at the end of it.”

After catching 19-5 on Day 1 and a tournament-best 26-11 on Day 2, Nutt led the Top 25 anglers out onto the Tennessee River from Volunteer Landing this morning firmly ahead of second-place pro Drew Cook by nearly 4 pounds. The University of North Alabama (UNA) senior wasted little time extending his margin. Fishing in Fort Loudoun Reservoir, he caught a keeper on his second cast, boxed up a limit by about 9 a.m. and had culled to roughly 19 pounds by a few minutes after 10.

YUM Introduces Sniper Shad

Marrying the head shape, intricate details and softness of a YUM Scottsboro Swimbait with the subtle movement and sleek profile of a pintail minnow bait, the YUM Sniper Shad offers major bass appeal for a variety of important applications.

 

The slight roll and slender profile of the Sniper Shad, which comes in three sizes, makes it ideal for various jig/minnow presentations, with or without forward facing sonar, to coax strikes from pressured bass. The same sleekness and tight tail action make the Sniper Shad an excellent bladed jig trailer and well suited for fishing on an underspin or specialized swimming head.

 

Molded details that bring realism to the Sniper Shad include eyes, fins, gills and a natural scale pattern. Subtle and precise widening of the belly creates the perfect roll to prompt strikes.

 

The Sniper Shad is available in 3-, 4- and 5-inch sizes and in 12 colors, which include classics like Green Pumpkin and Black/Blue and realistic, multi-tone baitfish imitating colors.

 

MSRP: 3.99

Dylan Nutt dominates to claim 2026 Bassmaster Classic title

B.A.S.S. Nation angler Dylan Nutt wins the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces! Nutt becomes the second B.A.S.S. Nation angler to ever win the Classic. More to come!

2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 2: Dylan Nutt Smashes 26lb Limit to Take Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 18th, Cory Johnston 26th & Gallant 38th

Nashville, Tenn., angler Dylan Nutt Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill has taken the lead on Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a two-day total of 46 pounds .Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Bassmaster Press Release

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee River showed out today. So did Tennessee’s own Dylan and Carter Nutt.

The brothers from Nashville once again made it quite clear that they’re a force on some of the most famous reservoirs in this region of the country. Carter and his tournament partner, Bryce Dimauro, fishing for the University of North Alabama (UNA), won the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Classic Exhibition presented by Bass Pro Shops on Watts Bar Reservoir with a five-bass limit for 15 pounds, 7 ounces.

Meanwhile, over on Fort Loudoun Reservoir, Dylan hauled in the heaviest limit thus far in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. In fact, his 26-pound, 11-ounce limit is the heaviest catch of any of the three Classics held on the Loudoun-Tellico system out of Knoxville, Tenn., and it vaulted Dylan into the lead going into Championship Sunday with a two-day total of 46 pounds even. 

The 22-year-old struggled to put into words the emotions he feels now leading the biggest tournament in bass fishing.

“Man, I’m feeling … I don’t know. It’s been unreal,” he said.

Coming into the tournament, there were rumors that Dylan was on some giant fish. Word had been circulating that he’d caught a 25- or 26-pound limit in practice. His Day 1 weight of 19-5 was not indicative of the quality of bass he was around.

“The wind was blowing really, really hard yesterday, and I waited until the end of the day to go into the area I caught ’em at today and caught that big bag in practice,” he said. “I wasn’t able to work my bait right and couldn’t really stay on the fish. I went in there today and they wanted to bite.”

When he went into that area at around 11:30, Dylan already had a solid limit of about 22 pounds, which would’ve had him nearly even with second-place pro Drew Cook’s two-day weight. But then his entire tournament changed in the course of two key bites.

2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 1: Easton Fothergill Leads with 21-8lbs!

Canadians Chris Johnston 12th, Cory Johnston 33rd & Gallant 42th

Reigning Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill has taken the lead on Day 1 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a total of 21 pounds, 8 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Bassmaster Press Release

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — With one day in the books at the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, the storyline for much of the field is change. Anglers enjoyed warm flip-flop weather during pre-tournament practice days in Knoxville, Tenn. Since then, the weather and water conditions have done the flip-flopping, bringing frost at takeoff, wind and muddy water to the Tennessee River.

The one thing that hasn’t changed is the name atop the Classic standings. Easton Fothergill, the reigning Classic champ from Grand Rapids, Minn., best navigated the shifting conditions to jump into the Day 1 lead with a limit of five smallmouth bass weighing 21 pounds, 8 ounces.

Like the weather recently, Fothergill’s day was up and down. He had to adjust, and he had to cover water. In fact, he ran 124 miles throughout Friday’s first day of competition.

Fothergill started the day running far into Tellico Reservoir, which connects to the Tennessee River’s Fort Loudoun Reservoir via a canal near both lakes’ lower ends.

“It’s just where I personally found the most consistent bigger fish,” he said. “I did have some fish in Loudoun, but by the time I made the right adjustment I didn’t have time to check those fish.”

Fans watching Bassmaster LIVE saw Fothergill make that adjustment in real time. He opened the morning by breaking off a good fish and only had about 9 pounds at noon. Then he made a shift to a different type of structure, landed on a good spot and caught a pair of 4-pounders.

“That’s when the lightbulb went off,” Fothergill said. “Then I duplicated it on another spot and filled my limit with the rest of the big ones.”

Those big ones were a trio of 4-pound-class fish that he landed in a rapid nine-minute flurry that started at about 1:30 p.m. Prior to his “lightbulb moment,” Fothergill was running spots he’d found in practice, but he had to abandon those areas because changes in current and water clarity caused his fish to reposition. He actually ran all new water to catch the five fish he brought to weigh-in at the Food City Center on the University of Tennessee campus.

2026 Bassmaster Classic Starts Now!

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