2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens at Lake Erie Presented by Battery Tender Day 2: Alex Korol Continues to Lead!

With a two-day total of 52 pounds, 2 ounces, New York's Alex Korol holds the lead at the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender.

By Pete Robbins, BASS Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Korol said that he “just wanted to see how he could compete against this caliber of fisherman,” but through two days of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender he’s left no doubt about his abilities on the eastern basin of this Great Lake. The 33-year-old from Fairport, N.Y., has totaled 52 pounds, 2 ounces of Lake Erie bronze and holds a lead of nearly 2 pounds over Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pro Aaron Jagdfeld in 2nd.

Dillon Falardeau is 3rd with 50-5, just an ounce behind Jagdfeld.

“I really didn’t know what I was on after practice,” Korol said. “But I think the area is so strong because the bass are staying with the bait and the bait is still there. It blows my mind. With the calm conditions there were tighter groups today.”

But that doesn’t mean that amassing 27-1 and 25-1 bags has been easy. He said that the bass are extremely wary, and once he catches one or two out of a group it pays to leave and find some unmolested fish. Furthermore, he’s been sick for over a week and couldn’t celebrate his Day 1 lead because he was at urgent care.

Korol says that he’s fishing a drop shot, a common offering this week, “but the way I’m working it is extremely unique. It makes it into more of a reaction bite.”

His plans for Championship Saturday?

2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens at Lake Erie Presented by Battery Tender Day 1: Alex Korol Takes Commanding Lead with 27lbs!

By Pete Robbins, BASS Press Release

BUFFALO, N.Y. —  With a limit of 27 pounds 1 ounce of Lake Erie smallmouth, Alex Korolof Fairport, N.Y., is one of three western New York anglers at the top of the leaderboard on Day 1 of the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Lake Erie presented by Battery Tender. But closing out the victory in his first Bassmaster Open is far from a done deal. 

A remarkable 114 anglers topped 20 pounds today, and they’re tightly-packed down the leaderboard.

Forty-five of them will get paid tomorrow, and right now the 45th place angler has 22-5. A pound more than that was good for 22nd place while a pound less is enough for 73rd place.

B.A.S.S. hasn’t visited this part of Lake Erie since a 2008 Elite Series tournament won by Kotaro Kiriyama. In that event, eight anglers had 20 pounds or more on Day 1, led by Matt Reed’s 23-3. As noted above, that amount would have barely been inside the money cut today.

“I feel like they’re bigger now,” said former Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series champion Mike McClelland, one of the handful of anglers who fished that 2008 tournament and who is also competing this week. “Maybe we just have the technology to catch them better now.”

Forward-facing sonar is allowed in this tournament, the last of the four Division 1 Opens. Korol said that the technology is part of his game plan, but the key is the presence of baitfish in his best area, a half-mile stretch of water where he spent the day.

“There’s not much there otherwise,” he said. “It’s the bait that’s keeping them there.”

While he doesn’t reside far away, Korol has fished far more on Lake Ontario than on this portion of Erie, and on the limited occasions that he has been here it’s generally been in other months.

Major League Fishing announces historic changes to Phoenix Bass Fishing League for 2027

New team/solo format, five All-American Championships and exclusive $120,000 Phoenix Ultimate Tournament Rigs headline major transformation

BENTON, Ky. – Major League Fishing announced today a historic series of changes to the 2027 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine, introducing a new team/solo format, five regional All-American Championships and significantly increased awards and advancement opportunities, including direct advancement to REDCREST for five anglers.

The changes represent the most substantial evolution of the BFL since the introduction of the boater/co-angler format in 2000.

Beginning in 2027, anglers may compete alone or with a teammate, allowing partners to share expenses and compete together throughout the season. The circuit will feature 20 divisions organized into five regions, with five one-day qualifying tournaments per division.

“This is one of the biggest changes in the history of the Bass Fishing League,” said Major League Fishing co-founder and CEO Boyd Duckett. “For more than 44 years, the BFLs have provided everyday anglers with the opportunity to compete close to home and work their way onto the sport’s biggest stages. The BFL format has, however, evolved over the years, from boat-on-boat draw, to boaters and co-angler and now team/solo. This latest evolution makes it easier to compete with a friend to share expenses, or fish solo to protect your hotspots, while offering more money, more championship opportunities and more reasons than ever to fish.”

Tournament winners and the Top 30 teams in each division will advance to one of five no-entry-fee All-American Championships that push life-changing rewards closer to home than ever before. Each winning team will receive an All-American limited-edition Phoenix powered by a 250-horsepower outboard valued at $120,000. The top-of-the-line 21-foot boats will feature custom All-American branding and will be built specifically for the five championship-winning teams as the ultimate fishing machine.

2026 Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year Standing!

 

Who's going to win it?

Bryan Schmitt Wins the 2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 2nd & Cory Johnston 7th,

Maryland pro Bryan Schmitt has won the 2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a four-day total of 81 pounds, 7 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — He called it love at first sight and that instant attraction, deepened by its subsequent bond-building, delivered Bryan Schmitt’s third blue trophy with his four-day winning total of 81 pounds, 7 ounces in the SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain.

The seasoned pro from Deale, Md., first fished this picturesque natural lake straddling the border of New York and Vermont about a decade ago and immediately felt the connection.

“I got blessed the first time I went here and luckily caught some big fish and that just made me fall in love with it,” Schmitt said. “I stumbled into two special spots and I learned right away what to look for, the combination. The success happened quick and it made me fall in love.”

Schmitt’s Champlain love affair delivered a solid week that started with a Day 1 limit of 19-11 that landed him in 10th place. Schmitt added 19-7 in the second round and slipped to 13th, but he recovered with a Semifinal Saturday bag of 23-8 that pushed him up to second.

Championship Sunday saw Schmitt close the deal with a final limit of 18-13. Edging Chris Johnston by a pound, Schmitt collected the $100,000 top prize.

“I’m speechless right now,” Schmitt said after taking the top spot. “I’ve got nothing but respect for everybody in this Top 10.”

2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain Day 3: Chris Johnston Secures Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 4th,Gustafson 30th & Cooper Gallant 33rd.

Canadian pro Chris Johnston has taken the lead on Day 3 of the 2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a three-day total of 62 pounds, 13 ounces. (Photo: Seigo Saito/BASS)

BASS Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — He was dealing with a cold front, but Chris Johnston had the hot hand. That productivity gave the accomplished pro from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada the Day 3 lead in the SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain.

Keeping himself in the conversation from the start, Johnston placed eighth on Day 1 with 19 pounds, 14 ounces and rose to third a day later on the strength of his 21-7 limit. Adding a Semifinal Saturday bag that weighed 21-8, Johnston tallied a three-day total of 62-13.

Heading into Championship Sunday, Johnston leads Bryan Schmitt by 3 ounces.

Despite turning in his best bag of the week, Johnston said the weather system moving through the area interrupted the game plan he’d been following.

“The wind is what really hurt me and maybe the cold,” Johnston said. “A lot of my smallmouth have been coming shallow. I’ve been trying to get a couple kicker largemouth, but I’ve been filling my limit with 3 1/2- to 4-pound smallmouth.

“I’ve been sight-fishing those big smallmouth. The only way I can catch those big ones, for the most part, is to visually see them. Today, I got lucky and got one to eat by just blind fishing, but if it slicks off and gets sunny, that’s my best chance to catch those big ones.”

Many of Champlain’s bigger smallmouth roam deep open water, but it’s nearly impossible to consistently target those fish without forward facing sonar. Shortly after B.A.S.S. announced the 2026 schedule, a coin flip selection identified five events that would allow forward facing sonar and four that would not. The Champlain event does not allow this live sonar technology.

After two mostly calm days offered favorable sight-fishing conditions, Johnston was able to cover broad areas of grass and rock, pick out his targets and then make precise casts with a finesse bait.

“If it’s ripply, I can’t see the smallmouth,” Johnston said. “I have to cover a mile to maybe see three or four fish (in calm conditions). There are not many, but there are some decent ones, if I can find them.”

2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain Day 2: Carl Jocumsen Continues to Lead!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 3rd, Cory Johnston 4th, Gustafson 24th, Cooper Gallant 48th & Evan King 67th! 

Australian pro Carl Jocumsen maintains the lead on Day 2 of the 2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain with a two-day total of 43 pounds, 1 ounce. (Photo: Seigo Saito/ BASS)

BASS Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — Better-than-expected weather conditions allowed Carl Jocumsen to pad his lead and test a theory that’ll no-doubt benefit his effort to win his second blue trophy in the SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain.

After taking the Day 1 lead with 23 pounds, 2 ounces, the pro from Toowoomba, Australia added a second-round limit that weighed 19-15. With a two-day total of 43-1, Jocumsen heads into Semifinal Saturday with a 1 1/4-pound lead over Seth Feider.

“Today almost went to exact plan,” Jocumsen said. “I feel like potentially, there’s more fish (in my main area) than I thought there was, which is a good thing.”

Jocumsen, who became the first Australian to win a Bassmaster Elite tournament by topping the 2019 Lake Tenkiller event, followed his Day 1 game plan and returned to the Ticonderoga area. Colloquially called “Ti,” this area named for the historic fort on Champlain’s west side, holds abundant shallow grass that’s known for good numbers of big largemouth.

With Ti sitting approximately 70 miles south of Plattsburgh, Jocumsen committed 90 minutes of running time both ways. His results justified the time gamble, as he caught all of his Day 1 weight and four of his Day 2 fish in Ti’s fertile waters.

“It was the same drill; the fish were all in the same areas where I left them yesterday,” Jocumsen said. “There’s just something about these certain sections that have some fish.

2026 SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain Day 1: Carl Jocumsen Scores Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 6th, Chris Johnston 8th, Cooper Gallant 13th,  Jeff Gustafson 21st & Evan King 87th! 

David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. — The question was asked repeatedly and Carl Jocumsen answered conclusively. Will largemouth bass play a significant role in the SPRO Bassmaster Elite at Lake Champlain?

That would be a “yes,” perhaps followed by the traditional “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi, oi, oi!”

Sacking up a limit of big Champlain green ones that weighed 23 pounds, 2 ounces, the pro from Toowoomba, Australia leads Day 1 by a margin of 1-6 over Drew Cook.

“That was pretty fun, but it didn’t come easy” Jocumsen said. “I didn’t make some good decisions at the start; I ran all over the place trying to get a big bite and ended up making a big long run (to the south end).

“They don’t start biting until later in the morning anyway and I was boat 97, so I had a long day. It all lined up for me to test my stuff here and then go. I left the upper end at 9:30, got down there and started getting bites right away.”

This picturesque natural lake straddling the New York/Vermont border has long enjoyed a reputation for diversity, with lots of big largemouth and a much larger population of big smallmouth (the brown ones). Over the past decade or so, the latter have dominated most Champlain tournaments.

Smallmouth like to roam and chase baitfish schools, often over deep water, so the lake offers much more area for these fish to do what they do. Largemouth, on the other hand, tend to be homebodies that rarely move far from whatever grassbed, rock point, laydown or dock they favor.

Zark Birge is the 2026 Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash Angler of the Year!

A fourth-place finish in the Knockout Round sealed the deal on Birge claiming his first Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title. Photo by Phoenix Moore. 

Mitchell Forde, Bass Pro Tour Press Release

SANDUSKY, Ohio — Zack Birge will be the first to admit that everything has seemed to break his way in 2026.

“Every turn I made, it seemed like I ended up in a good place,” the Oklahoma pro said.

But when he faced the opportunity to cap his dream season by clinching the Bass Pro Tour Fishing Clash Angler of the Year title during Saturday’s Knockout Round at Suzuki Marine Stage 7 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches, it sure didn’t come easy.

The wind whipped up big waves on Lake Erie, and Birge spent all day bobbing up and down on the deck of his Bass Cat. His closest pursuer in the points race, Jacob Wheeler, rocketed out of the starting blocks with 57 pounds in the opening period, virtually assuring himself a spot in Sunday’s Championship Round. Thus, Birge knew he had to finish 11th or better Saturday to avoid giving Wheeler – the AOY winner four of the past five years – an opening.

Around the midpoint of Period 3, Birge slipped as far back as ninth. Between the relentless waves and the pressure to clinch his first AOY crown, Birge threatened multiple times Saturday afternoon to throw up on MLFNOW!. But, as he’s done each day on Erie and just about every day all year, he came through in the clutch. He boated five scorable bass for 13-9 in the last 80 minutes to climb to fourth place and seal the Angler of the Year victory, which will earn him $100,000.