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.
