2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/ Albmarle Sound Day 2: Arkansas pro Stetson Blaylock has taken the lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 48th, Chris Johnston 57th, Gustafson 79th, Kung 83rd & Gallant 94th

Arkansas pro Stetson Blaylock has taken the lead on Day 2 of the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound with a two-day total of 42 pounds, 4 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

BASS Press Release

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Stetson Blaylock has never liked vast tidal fisheries like the Albemarle Sound. Success seems to find him anyway. 

The Arkansas pro leads the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound with a two-day total of 42 pounds, 4 ounces. Blaylock added 18-12 to his 23-8 Day 1 limit to take a 4-ounce advantage over Alabama’s Wesley Gore heading into Semifinal Saturday.

“Anytime you are in contention, it is a good thing. But you want to be in contention with bass you know are getting better, and I’m not sure if they are getting better. I have a lot of decisions to make before takeoff, but I’m in a good spot.” 

Fishing was noticeably better across the system on Friday. Multiple bags over 24 pounds hit the scales, including one limit over 26 and another over 27 pounds. 

Blaylock’s first Elite Series victory came at Winyah Bay in 2019, another coastal system along the Carolina coast. In that tournament, he was able to focus on one tactic most of the tournament. So far this week, the six-time Classic qualifier has been able to lock in on a pattern once again.

“I keep saying I don’t like these types of fisheries because there are so many things you can do,” Blaylock said. “There’s going to be someone tomorrow who scraps their plan, does something different and catches a big stringer. That is something I struggle with. At Winyah Bay, I was able to stay in one area all four days. That’s what has been best for me, not running around.”

One area far from takeoff in Elizabeth City has produced the bulk of Blaylock’s limit. With higher salinity across the system, Blaylock has tried to find the freshest water possible. Along with a good population of bass, there’s a plethora of baitfish in the area as well. 

“It is a well-kept area,” he explained. “The trick here right now is finding fresh water. I’m going way way back in this river, and I feel the further back you get, the better opportunity you have to catch a big fish.”

2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour Day 2: Dylan Nutt Smashes 26lb Limit to Take Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 18th, Cory Johnston 26th & Gallant 38th

Nashville, Tenn., angler Dylan Nutt Bassmaster Classic champion Easton Fothergill has taken the lead on Day 2 of the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour with a two-day total of 46 pounds .Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

Bassmaster Press Release

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee River showed out today. So did Tennessee’s own Dylan and Carter Nutt.

The brothers from Nashville once again made it quite clear that they’re a force on some of the most famous reservoirs in this region of the country. Carter and his tournament partner, Bryce Dimauro, fishing for the University of North Alabama (UNA), won the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Classic Exhibition presented by Bass Pro Shops on Watts Bar Reservoir with a five-bass limit for 15 pounds, 7 ounces.

Meanwhile, over on Fort Loudoun Reservoir, Dylan hauled in the heaviest limit thus far in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. In fact, his 26-pound, 11-ounce limit is the heaviest catch of any of the three Classics held on the Loudoun-Tellico system out of Knoxville, Tenn., and it vaulted Dylan into the lead going into Championship Sunday with a two-day total of 46 pounds even. 

The 22-year-old struggled to put into words the emotions he feels now leading the biggest tournament in bass fishing.

“Man, I’m feeling … I don’t know. It’s been unreal,” he said.

Coming into the tournament, there were rumors that Dylan was on some giant fish. Word had been circulating that he’d caught a 25- or 26-pound limit in practice. His Day 1 weight of 19-5 was not indicative of the quality of bass he was around.

“The wind was blowing really, really hard yesterday, and I waited until the end of the day to go into the area I caught ’em at today and caught that big bag in practice,” he said. “I wasn’t able to work my bait right and couldn’t really stay on the fish. I went in there today and they wanted to bite.”

When he went into that area at around 11:30, Dylan already had a solid limit of about 22 pounds, which would’ve had him nearly even with second-place pro Drew Cook’s two-day weight. But then his entire tournament changed in the course of two key bites.

Patrick Walters wins the 2024 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray with 93 pounds, 15 ounces.

 Walters wins in dominating fashion at Lake Murray

Wire to wire win for Walters who sacks massive 26lb limit on final day. 
(Photo: BASS/Andy Crawford)

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PROSPERITY, S.C. — Despite the gloomy weather, Monday brought bright prospects for Patrick Walters, who leveraged the opportunity to inflict a straight-up South Carolina smackdown en route to notching a wire-to-wire victory in the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray.

Following Thursday’s storms, which postponed the event’s scheduled start to Friday, a mostly cloudy Day 1 saw Walters catch 25 pounds, 8 ounces and establish a lead of 3-3. Adding a second-round limit of 19-13 kept Walters on top and expanded his margin to 4-15. With 21-14 on Day 3, Walters carried a margin of 8-4 into the final round.

Saving the best for last, he rocked Championship Monday with 26-12 — the Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag of the Tournament worth a $2,000 bonus — and tallied an incredible four-day total of 93-15. Besting Missouri pro Cody Huff by 12-11, Walters won his third blue trophy and the $102,000 top prize. He also has two career wins in the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by SEVIIN.

2024 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray Day 2: Patrick Walters Remains in the Lead!

Canadians Cory Johnston 11th, Chris Johnston 17th, Gustafson 41st & Gallant 55th. 

By David A. Brown

BASS Press Release

PROSPERITY, S.C. — Patrick Walters admitted he missed his goal by a few ounces, but you wouldn’t know it from the Day 2 standings.
After turning in an opening-round limit of 25 pounds, 8 ounces — the tournament’s heaviest bag — the pro from Eutawville, S.C., added 19-13. Tallying 45-5, Walters leads rookie J.T. Thompkins by 4-15, as the Top 50 anglers head into Semifinal Sunday of the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at Lake Murray. (severe weather postponed the event’s scheduled start by one day).

“I knew it was going to be a slower day,” Walters said of the day’s calm, sunny conditions, which contrasted Friday’s cloudy, windy makeup. “The goal was to just survive and get 20 pounds, but I was just a few ounces shy of that.
“The sunny skies don’t bother me, but it means the bite is probably going to end quicker. At 9:30, it shut off for me and I felt like it did for the whole lake.”
At the day’s beginning, Walters knew he was facing a do-or-die scenario. With no time to dally, he went to work on the blueback herring spawn.

John Garret Wins 2024 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes!

Elite rookie wins wire to wire!

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS Release

LEESBURG, Fla. — Sometimes, you close the door.

Other times, you slam it shut.

John Garrett did the latter and tallied a four-day total of 84 pounds, 5 ounces to claim his first Bassmaster win with a wire-to-wire victory at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes.

The rookie from Union City, Tenn., endured a final-round emotional roller coaster that started with unexpected bonuses, followed by a desert of disappointment. Thankfully, the ride ended with a fist-pumping, “Let’s go!” kinda moment that sent a blue trophy to Garrett’s mantle and a $103,000 top prize to his bank account.

“I used to watch the Bassmaster Elites on the weekends with my grandad (former St. Croix Bassmaster Opens co-angler Johnnie Garrett),” said a clearly emotional Garrett. “It was a hard choice whether to watch the Elite weigh-in or go fishing all weekend.

2024 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes Day 3: Garret Leads for 3rd Day in a Row!

Canadians Chris Johnston 24th, Gustafson 34th,  Cory Johnston 43rd & Gallant 83rd

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS Release

LEESBURG, Fla. — Things got a little hairy for John Garrett, but that transitional period helped the Tennessee pro amass a five-bass limit of 19 pounds, 3 ounces and extend his lead at the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes.

Heading into Championship Monday (the event’s scheduled start was delayed one day by Thursday’s severe weather) with a three-day total of 63-2, Garrett holds a margin of 6-9 over fellow rookie JT Thompkins of Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Facing the potential for a wire-to-wire Elite win, Garrett said: “I’m just going to try my best to sleep well tonight and fish calm tomorrow. Last night, I didn’t sleep very well and today, before I got my big bites, I started thinking, ‘Alright, something needs to happen.

“Tomorrow, I just really want to be calm, do my thing and fish hard. If it’s meant to happen, I’ll get those bites.”

Returning to Lake Carlton, where he has spent the majority of his time focusing on a 75-yard shellbar, Garrett followed his standing strategy of boxing an early limit and then hunting big bites.

The past two days, his window of opportunity has come later in the morning, but when the big fish he was watching on his forward-facing sonar refused to engage, Garrett made a game-changing adjustment.

2024 Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at Harris Chain of Lakes Day 2: Garret Remains in the Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 15th, Gustafson 23rd, Cory Johnston 39th & Gallant 83rd

By David A. Brown

BASS PRESS Release

More than 800 miles separate John Garrett’s home in Union City, Tenn., from Leesburg, Fla., but the Elite rookie said he feels like he’s fishing at home. Leveraging the confidence and comfort born of such familiarity, Garrett sacked a Day 2 limit of 19 pounds, 13 ounces to retain the lead in the Lowrance Bassmaster Elite at the Harris Chain of Lakes with a two-day total of 43-15.

“The good Lord has absolutely blessed me the past two days,” Garrett said. “I got some good bites and I really didn’t expect this whatsoever. I’m fishing the way that I grew up fishing and the way I love to fish.

“I hope I can get five, maybe 10 more of the right ones.”

Drawing on his lifetime of fishing Tennessee River shellbars, Garrett focused most of his effort on a 75-yard stretch of Harris Chain mussels in about 12 feet of water. On the same spot that yielded his first-round weight, postspawn bass were mixing with tilapia and running up and down the bar.

“Like yesterday, from 10 to 1 is the sweet time,” Garrett said. “Today, at 1 o’clock, the wind slicked off and I did not get another bite. Today, the fish were there better — I could see them on my Humminbird 360 — I just could not catch them.

“I’m just covering as much water as I can in that zone and making as many casts as I can.”