2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Guntersville presented by Bass Pro Shops Day 2: Dillon Falardeau Scores Lead!

By Chris Decker, BASS Press Release

GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — The only thing Dillon Falardeau had on his mind this week at the 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Guntersville presented by Bass Pro Shops was winning.

With two days complete, the Rhode Island native has put himself in position to do just that, catching a two-day total weighing 41 pounds, 7 ounces to take the Day 2 lead at the legendary reservoir. 

The Chickamauga Lake guide caught 20-1 on Day 1 to start the tournament in fifth before landing 21-5 on Thursday to jump into the top spot. He will carry a 2-2 advantage over second-place Day 1 leader Dylan Fogarty into the final day. 

If he were to pull this out, it would be the second-straight year Falardeau would qualify for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.

“I came in here with the goal of making the Classic, and so far, it is paying off,” Falardeau said. “I’m surprised I’m leading it. There are so many big bass and it’s crazy to think I’m leading it with the anglers that are fishing this.”

He spends most of his time on Chickamauga, but several times a year Falardeau will drive down to Guntersville to fun fish. Many of the concepts that work on Chickamauga apply to Guntersville. 

“The grass and main river bars are all the same. It is all about playing the current,” Falardeau said. 

To achieve his win or go-home approach, Falardeau knew he had to go big. Several different oversized baits have worked during the week, but during his two tournament days, a big topwater bait has generated most of his quality bites. 

His best area is a 2-mile stretch of main river bar filled with patches of hydrilla, milfoil and eelgrass in 7 to 8 feet of water. 

“It is patchy,” Falardeau. “When the sun gets up, it just warms up the baitfish and gets the fish active.”

Remembrance Day: Lest We Forget

 

To all the brave men and women of past and present who keep us Canadian.

Tallis Morrison Wins 2026 MLF Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake, Alabama

MLF anglers from around the world completed for glory on Pickwick!

Jody White, Toyota Series

COUNCE, Tenn. – The final day of the Toyota Series Championship on Pickwick Lake lived up to the highest expectations for drama. Three pros in the Top 25 caught more than 21 pounds, all surging into the Top 10 from down in the standings, and the battle at the top was as tight as can be. When MLFNOW! went off-air, Tallis Morrison and Hayden O’Barr were locked in an unofficial tie, having entered the day only 5 ounces apart.

At the scale, Chris Jones made it official: Morrison earned the win with 19 pounds, 10 ounces on the final day for a 58-15 total, good for $201,000 and his first MLF trophy as well as a berth in REDCREST 2027.

Finishing second with 58-6, O’Barr was close again. This time, he was richly rewarded, as he banked $40,000 and took home the Central Division and Northern Division bonus checks for another $20,000.

An emotional finish  

By any measure, the Top 25 was star studded, with the best young anglers in the game on display this week. Essentially every pro in the Top 10 has accomplished something big in the last year or so (or even the last few weeks), and coming out on top was a huge achievement. Hayden Marbut won in 2024 and said on stage, “It changed my life, and I’m excited to see someone’s life get changed today.”

 When he won, Morrison looked like he’d taken those words to heart.

“I don’t even have the words to describe it – it’s a feeling I’ve never felt, for sure,” said the Georgia angler. “At weigh-in yesterday, it really didn’t set in, and it set in last night. I couldn’t sleep. I actually got up an hour and a half early this morning. I just had to sit up; I couldn’t close my eyes. I was just imagining, ‘If they’re there, and I could make it happen. I could change my life.’”

On the final day, after starting without forward-facing sonar on some other areas, Morrison headed to his best place and laid it all on the line.

“It started slow; I pulled up to my school and they didn’t bite,” he said. “I got a little worried, and then I caught a 3 1/4-pounder, and then I caught my big one. When I caught her, I knew I had a chance. I didn’t catch many fish, but they were all good ones it seemed like. I didn’t know if I had enough. O’Barr, he’s one hell of a fisherman. He’s really good, but he’s really good at getting second, so I hoped he would get second today. I was just praying that it would be enough, and it was.

Stars Beat Stripes at the Inaugural WEB Championship Tournament on Old Hickory Lake

 

The Stripes, the top 25 anglers from the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series beat the top 25 from Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour for head-to-head competition.

More on this event

on

Matt Roberston Wins World Bass Enterprises The Champions 2026 on Old Hickory Lake!

Congratulations to Matt Robertson on winning the WEB Champions Tournament on Old Hickory Lake in dominant fashion. His approach was fishing the tailwater below the dam for smallmouth. Current changes, an 18-inch minimum for smallmouth and Championship Saturday's zeroing of weights didn't damper Matt's ability to shine. He produced 20-02lbs on Saturday to win the riches payout in professional fishing ever. 

Pake South, claimed second and Wesley Strader third. For more tournament information link over here. 

 

World Bass Enterprises The Champions 2026 on Old Hickory Lake Day 1: Matt Roberston Scores 20lbs!

BASS Elite Angler Matt Robertson only one to secure 20lb limit!

Luigi De Rose, IBASSIN.com

Nashville, Tenn. USA, 

World Bass Enterprises spent the last year creating the most lucrative payout in professional bass fishing of all time. This event will help answers the question most bass fans wonder, “Which tour has the best anglers: Bassmaster Elites or MLF Bass Pro?

This tournament marks the first time since 2016 that top finishers from the AOY standings of the two leading trails are facing off in a unification style event. An added feature is that two “average Joe” anglers have been invited through a lottery to fish against their heroes.

Four days at Old Hickory Lake with $3.25 million on the line, won't come easy. Late autumn has the fishing challenging. Another limitation is the 18 inch minimum length for smallmouth adding another level of difficulty to the event as Old Hickory does have a decent population of smallmouth but most are smaller than the legal length. 

The 62-man field will be reduced to 15 after Friday and the weights will be zeroed for the final round on Saturday when the remaining anglers will fish for the richest purse in the history of the sport.

LEADERBOARD BELOW

The Champions five-day world championship starts October 28th!

 

Nashville is set to host one of the richest events in professional bass fishing this fall. The Champions, a five-day world championship, will take place October 28 through November 1, 2026, on Old Hickory Lake at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville. Organizers have put up $3.25 million in total prize money, with the winner expected to take home roughly $1.25 million — billed as the largest single payout in the sport's history. The event pairs three days of elite competition with a multi-day fan festival, live music, and a large-scale expo.

The field will be loaded. The Champions brings together the top 25 anglers from the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series and the top 25 from Major League Fishing's Bass Pro Tour for head-to-head competition, with media day and expo activities planned at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. The format centers on three competition days at Sanders Ferry Park, wrapped in family programming and live entertainment tied to the daily weigh-ins.

Ethan Fields Wins 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend presented by Bass Pro Shops

With a three-day total of 73 pounds, 3 ounces, Ethan Fields wins the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend presented by Bass Pro Shops! 

(Photo: BASS)

David A Brown, BASS Press Release

MANY, La. — Ethan Fields came to the dock convinced he had blown it. An hour later, he was holding the first-place trophy at the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops. 

Following two consistent days with limits of 28 pounds, 2 ounces and 27-4, which put him in fourth place, then first, the pro from Carlyle, Ill., entered Championship Friday with a 3-6 lead. 

After two days of showing off its impressive quality and quantity, Day 3 saw Toledo Bend feeling the full effects of a lake turnover that started with a pre-event cold front. With the fish clearly having a bad hair day, Fields managed only 17-13, but that was enough to tally a winning total of 73-3, that edged Buddy Benson of Dahlonega, Ga., by 2-7.

For his efforts, Fields won the $71,317 top prize. He also received an invitation to fish the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 19-21 at Lake Hartwell.

“I was confident that I didn’t have it; 17 pounds on this lake — there’s no way,” Fields said of his unexpected win. “My family left at 4 in the morning and drove down. This is so special. I can’t believe it.

“With these guys in the Top 10, I thought there was no way I could keep up with them. I don’t know what to say, this is so incredible.”

2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend presented by Bass Pro Shops Day 2: Ethan Fields Takes Lead!

With a two-day total of 55 pounds, 6 ounces, Ethan Fields moves into the Day 2 lead at the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend presented by Bass Pro Shops! 

David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

MANY, La. — On a day that seemed to defy consistency, Ethan Fields stayed on pace and moved atop the Day 2 leaderboard in the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Toledo Bend Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops.

While many of the first day’s top performers struggled to reconnect with their first-round quality, the pro from Carlyle, Ill., backed up his opening limit of 28 pounds, 2 ounces with a Day 2 sack that went 27-4. With a two-day total of 55-6, Fields rose from fourth place to the top spot.

“I felt so calm today, which is kinda weird, because I was thinking about how I needed to back up yesterday,” Fields said. “This morning, I felt a little jittery but once I got to my area, I was calm and steady.”

Heading into Championship Friday with a lead of 3-6 over Riley Harris, Fields said his second day actually delivered a steadier flow than his first.

“Yesterday, it was a really slow morning and the afternoon was when it really turned on,” Fields said. “Today, I’d say it was a bite every hour, so I kinda pieced it together one by one. I never had any big flurries.”

Fields has done all of his work in a creek at the lake’s lower end. Clearly, his area fits the criteria for big bass making their fall transition and chasing bait schools.

“The first day of practice, I had 25 pounds in that creek; I didn’t go there the second day, but I went back to check it the last day of practice and had 32,” Fields said. “I had 28 yesterday and 27 today, so it’s a good spot.