Nick LeBrun Wins the 2026 The Ultimate Angler World Championship on Lake Guntersville!

Frog bite key to Nick LeBrun win!

The entire LeBrun clan celebrating one of the largest payouts in fishing history.
(Photo: The Ultimate Angler World Championship facebook page)

By Luigi De Rose, IBASSIN.com

Scottsboro, Alabama: The bass fishing world has a new millionaire, well half-millionaire! Nick LeBrun became $500 000 richer after winning the The Ultimate Angler World Championship on Lake Guntersville, Alabama this past weekend.

This Bossier City, Louisiana, angler made a last day charge like no other. As the rains fell on Sunday, Nick hunted the thick grass mats that choke Lake Guntersville with his Frog Factory Ribbit Top Toad Frog and smashed a 5-bass limit to the tune of 28-pounds. LeBrun three day total for 15 bass 69-02lbs was enough to leapfrog Day 2 leader Bryan Schmitt who sacked 67-08lbs. The remaining Top Five anglers were Buddy Benson 64-08lbs, Ron Nelson 62-12lbs and Canadian angler, Cory Johnston with 62-04lbs in 5th. 

The Ultimate Angler World Championship event pitted anglers from national bass fishing circuits and top-tier state anglers. Anglers were forbidden to use forward facing sonar or 360 Image technology and only given 2 days of official practice. 

The field of anglers experienced late summer fishing at Guntersville despite the event being held in early October. With the south remaining gripped in summer heat, the anglers found the majority of the bass in the grass. Thick weed beds had the anglers casting over it with topwaters, punching through it or patrolling the lanes that intersect these enormous grassbeds with vibrating jigs.

Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender unveils 2027 schedule

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — B.A.S.S. officials have announced the 2027 Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender schedule, featuring eight tournaments across two divisions and a diverse lineup of fisheries stretching from Florida to Michigan.

The Bassmaster Opens have long served as a proving ground for aspiring professional anglers, providing competitors a pathway toward the highest levels of tournament bass fishing. The 2027 schedule will test anglers across a variety of fisheries, from Southern reservoirs and grass-filled lakes to Northern smallmouth waters. The Opens will once again provide competitors a route toward the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops and ultimately the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.

Division 1 Schedule

• Jan. 28-30 — Harris Chain of Lakes (Leesburg, Fla.)
• April 1-3 — Lake Guntersville (Scottsboro, Ala.) *
• May 26-28 — Douglas Lake (Dandridge, Tenn.)
• Aug. 26-28 — Oneida Lake (Syracuse, N.Y.) *

Division 2 Schedule

• Jan. 14-16 — Sam Rayburn Reservoir (Brookeland, Texas)
• Feb. 25-27 — Lay Lake (Columbiana, Ala.) *
• April 29-May 1 — Table Rock Lake (Branson, Mo.)
• June 23-25 — St. Marys River (Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.) *

*Forward-facing live sonar will be permitted at these events.