MLF anglers from around the world completed for glory on Pickwick!
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.
Top 10 and International Winners below
“Before this, the most I’d won was about $10,000, and that was right before I came here,” Morrison added. “I’ve won a little bit here and there, but you’re talking 20 times that. I’m gonna try to save it and invest it in something good, but I’ll probably put some cheese on my bologna sandwiches for sure.”
Single school powers Morrison
Most pros did their best work in their three hours of forward-facing sonar usage, and Morrison was no different. However, he put a big herring twist on the Tennessee River, catching most of his weight on a chartreuse Zoom Super Fluke, which helped him get the most out of some very pressured fish.
“I didn’t know it, because I’m not from here, but I had an idea it was a community hole,” Morrison said of his best spot. “I pulled up in practice and threw a topwater over there and caught a good smallmouth. It fired the school, and I was able to see the school – I really just stumbled on it. When I saw how shallow they were and how aggressive they were, I fired a Zoom Super Fluke, and my first cast was a 5-pound smallmouth.”
The school sat in a classic, current-oriented position, but it wasn’t something that would stick out on a map or on LiveScope.
“I knew that place could be special – I caught everything there on Day 1. Day 2 and Day 3, that whole little area produced what I had,” Morrison said. “What they’re sitting in is a depression – a little current eddy behind a high spot. They’re hard to see until you get your bait in there. Today, there weren’t many fish in there, and the ones in there were very, very educated. But thankfully there were enough swimming around to allow me to catch what I caught.”
Morrison managed the area and the competition perfectly – he backed off the fish on Day 2 and did his best to keep others somewhat at bay.
“On Day 1, I made a cast and caught my big one, and then I made two of the same cast and lost two fish and then made another cast and caught a good smallmouth,” he said. “After that, they started swimming around a bit. So, I would reposition and try from a different angle, and that worked once. Then I would mill around and stay close enough to keep everyone off, and after about 15 minutes, they would set back up.”
Fishing for bass in less than 10 feet of water, a Zoom Super Fluke in chartreuse pearl was the best bet for Morrison, and he also used the crazy chrome color. Additionally, a 6th Sense Magnum Catwalk and a 3/8-ounce Greenfish Tackle Bad Little Dude with a Zoom Creepy Crawler trailer added fish. He used Fish Xtreme Rods and Sunline across the board.
Morrison’s father, Hayes, was on hand for the win, and though the time and place probably weren’t what either imagined for his first win, it turned out he called it.
“He’s always pushed me,” Morrison said. “He told me, ‘Son, if you keep after it, one of these days, you’ll be on stage holding that trophy.’ And I’ll be dadgum if he wasn’t right.”
The 2026 Toyota Series Championship also awarded three qualifications for REDCREST 2027, set for April 16-18 at Logan Martin Lake in Birmingham, Alabama. Championship winner Tallis Morrison secured his spot in the prestigious event, while Yuma Ejiri of Tokyo, Japan, earned his invitation as the highest-finishing MLF International Division angler, along with a $10,000 bonus. Lander University’s Matthew Knopp of Mercer, Pennsylvania, claimed the final berth as the highest-finishing member of the College Fishing National Championship team.
The top-finishing pro from each Toyota Series division (not including the winner) earned a $10,000 bonus. Those anglers included:
Central: Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 2nd place, $10,000
Northern: Hayden O’Barr, Scottsboro, Ala., 2nd place, $10,000
Plains: Matteo Turano, Puryear, Tenn., 5th place, $10,000
Southern: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 6th place, $10,000
Southwestern: Chance Shelby, Denham Springs, La., 13th place, $10,000
Wild Card: Clayton Ellis, Saltillo, Miss., 3rd place, $10,000
International: Yuma Ejiri, Tokyo, Japan, 75th place, $10,000
Top 10 Pros
1. Tallis Morrison – 58 – 15 (15) – $201,000 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
2. Hayden O’Barr – 58 – 6 (15) – $60,000
3. Clayton Ellis – 57 – 2 (15) – $40,000
4. Logan Dyar – 55 – 6 (15) – $25,250
5. Matteo Turano – 54 – 11 (15) – $30,000
6. Banks Shaw – 54 – 6 (15) – $24,000
7. Broderick Luckey – 54 – 0 (15) – $13,000
8. Alec Morrison – 53 – 8 (15) – $12,000
9. Dylan Quilatan – 52 – 15 (15) – $11,000
10. Zeke Gossett – 50 – 8 (15) – $10,000
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