2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/ Albmarle Sound Day 3: Christie Jumps into Lead!

Canadians: Cory Johnston 47th

Oklahoma pro Jason Christie has taken the lead on Day 3 of the Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 7 ounces. Photo by Seigo Saito/B.A.S.S.

BASS Press Release

ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. — Jason Christie can’t believe he is leading the 2026 Maxam Tire Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound. 

The nine-time B.A.S.S. champion entered this tournament just trying to get plenty of points to stay inside the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour cutline. Instead, Christie is out in front with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 7 ounces with the opportunity to claim his second blue trophy of the 2026 season.

“(I'm) Absolutely shocked. This tournament was all about getting points for the Classic,” the 2022 Classic champion said. “Missing it two years in a row, and the next one being at Hartwell, it wouldn’t be a cool Hartwell Classic if I wasn’t there.” 

Remarkably, he leads this tournament after falling one bass short of a limit on Day 2. After opening the tournament with 24-1, Christie only brought four bass weighing 15-8 to the scales Day 2. Then, the Oklahoma pro cracked 26-14 on Semifinal Saturday, the second biggest bag of the day. 

He anchored that limit with a 9-7 largemouth that took over Phoenix Boats Big Bass of the Tournament. 

2025 NPFL St. Lawrence River Day 2: Drew Cook Leads with 27-07lbs!

Cook Expands NPFL Lead at St. Lawrence River, Welcher Maintains Narrow AOY Lead.

NPFL Press Release

With launch in Massena, New York, the top anglers continue to make the long run toward Lake Ontario, battling big smallmouth cruising the shallow sand flats.

Leading the charge for two consecutive days, Georgia pro Drew Cook has extended his lead at Stop Five of the 2025 NPFL Season at the St. Lawrence River in Massena, New York to 3 pounds, 2 ounces.

South Carolina angler Patrick Walters, who started in second place, remains there with 22-8 on a tougher Day Two, keeping him in contention. Alabama pro Kyle Welcher stayed consistent with 24-3 on Day Two, maintaining third place and, more importantly, holding onto his lead in the Progressive Angler of the Year race. All three anglers are making significant runs and have relied on mild weather conditions to catch better-than-average-sized bass.

Robert Wroblewski led the big bass race on Day One with a 6-7 lunker, but Drew Cook took over the big bass honors with a 6-10 smallmouth today.

Cook Cruising in New York

With a two-day total of 52-10, Drew Cook is one day away from earning his first NPFL victory. He started on Day One with a solid 27-2 limit and followed it up on Day Two with 25-8, anchored by a 6-10 big bass. His consistent performance has him 3 pounds, 2 ounces ahead of second-place Patrick Walters.

Like the other top anglers, Cook is focusing his efforts around the mouth of Lake Ontario, and several spots further up the river, rotating through flats where smallmouth are both spawning and roaming. As the tournament goes on and anglers spread out, the pressure is making things tougher.

TOP 10 BELOW

2025 NPFL St. Lawrence River Day 1: Drew Cook Leads with 27-07lbs!

Drew Cook jumps out on top after day one on the St. Lawrence River.

Drew Cook makes long run to Lake Ontario (Photo: NPFL)

NPFL Press Release

Long runs and giant smallmouth – that’s the story of Day One and, frankly, the entire event. Launching in Massena, New York, about 95 miles from Lake Ontario, the early summer conditions are perfect for catching big bass. Drew Cook leads the pack with a 27-2 bag, anchored by a 6-pound smallmouth.

In second place by just 2 ounces, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters weighed in 27-0 and capitalized on a strong start this morning. Kyle Welcher sits in third place with 24-13, while Andrew Ready and Andrew Upshaw are tied for fourth with 24-8.

Robert Wroblewski leads big bass with a 6-7 lunker. Progressive AOY leader Kyle Welcher is in third place with 24-13 on Day One. Greg Hackney, who started the event in second place for AOY, is in 13th, keeping the top anglers tight in contention. Coming into the event, Cook was in 8th place and is now looking to climb the leaderboard with a strong performance this week.

Cook Crushes Day One

Fully committed to fishing “near the mouth” of Lake Ontario, Drew Cook decent run and bounced between several spots, catching better-than-average smallmouth at each. With no forward-facing sonar in the NPFL, he kept things simple—targeting hard structure and keeping a bait around fish.

“It took me a little while to get to my fish, but I stopped and hit a couple of places on the way,” he said. “I’m not doing anything special—just fishing typical smallmouth stuff and targeting areas where they’re setting up.”

He caught his leading limit in about three hours and feels confident heading into Day Two, with similar conditions in the forecast.

“The hardest part is getting there, getting back, and being efficient with my time,” he said. “Yesterday, the forecast showed clouds and rain, but now it looks like tomorrow might be similar to today—and I’m good with that.”

Walters Off to Strong Start

Making a strong start, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters kicked off his day in the river, quickly putting a couple of keepers in the well. Staying true to his style, he bounced between multiple spots around the river mouth, landing big smallmouth along the way.

TOP 10 BELOW

Scott Canterbury Wins 2025 NPFL Stop #3 on Douglas Lake

Story by Justin Brouillard 

With light wind and shifting water levels across Douglas Lake, anglers were once again forced to adjust on the final day of Stop #3 of the NPFL season. The offshore bite never really came back after Day One, and while shallow patterns remained the deal, water color and stability varied depending on where you were.

When the dust settled, Scott Canterbury, who shared the lead heading into Showdown Saturday, showed up when it counted. He started the morning fishing floating docks around a marina and connected with a 4-pound, 14-ounce kicker—his biggest of the week—then backed it up with another solid keeper to put him over 8 pounds right out of the gate. From there, he returned to his flooded bushes, where he’d caught fish all week, and made key culls to build his final-day bag of 19 pounds, the biggest of the event.

He kicked things off with 17 pounds, 6 ounces on Day One to take the lead, then added 14 pounds, 3 ounces on Day Two—his slowest day of the week. On Saturday, he slammed the door shut, weighing the tournament’s heaviest bag to earn his first NPFL win and take home the Douglas Lake NPFL Shield.

Kyle Welcher, the reigning Progressive AOY, came out swinging and put together a solid bag of 16 pounds, 10 ounces, finishing in second place with 48 pounds, 3 ounces for three days. Barron Adams finished in third place with 43 pounds, 2 ounces, adding his biggest limit of the event on the final day.

Canterbury Closes Strong

After holding a share of the lead through two days, tied with Kyle Welcher and Tim Cales, Canterbury knew the final day would come down to decision-making. As it turned out, a choice he made in practice—and another first thing Saturday morning—helped seal the deal.

Greg Hackney Wins 2025 NPFL on Lake Norman!

 

Hackney's last day heroics best KJ Queen by 10 ounces.
(Photo: by Tanner & Travis Lyons/ NPFL)

By Justin Brouillard, NPFL Press Release

After weigh-in on Day Two, Gonzales, Louisiana pro Greg Hackney predicted that the consistent weather would improve the bite across the board, and his forecast proved true. Catching his biggest bag of the week—17 pounds—on the final day, Hackney secured his first NPFL victory with a total weight of 47 pounds, 11 ounces.

Finishing in second, North Carolina angler KJ Queen began Day One with 15 pounds, 8 ounces, added 14 pounds on Day Two despite a big lost fish that hurt his chances at victory, and then delivered the second-largest bag of the event on Finale Friday with 17 pounds, 9 ounces. His total weight of 47 pounds, 1 ounce kept him just shy of Hackney’s lead.

Kyle Welcher overcame a slow Day One and came back strong with 19 pounds, 13 ounces on Day Two. However, a tougher Day Three weight of 12 pounds, 8 ounces, and a total weight of 45 pounds, 1 ounce, moved him to third. After his Bassmaster Elite win in North Carolina the week before, Welcher continues to build on his momentum.

Patrick Walters, who started and finished in fourth, earned 44 pounds, 13 ounces, securing another NPFL top-5 finish and a solid payday. Seth Ellis rounded out the top five with a total of 42 pounds, 14 ounces.

Kyle Welcher’s 5-pound, 10-ounce largemouth on Day Two was the big bass of the event.

Largemouth Seal The Deal

Leading after Day One with 16 pounds, 6 ounces, Greg Hackney struggled to find largemouth on Day Two, finishing with a limit of spotted bass weighing 14 pounds, 5 ounces. But the largemouth returned in full force on the final day, and Hackney found his rhythm when it mattered most.

“I went to my spotted bass holes this morning to try and get a solid start, and the largemouth showed up again,” Hackney said. “I looked in the same area yesterday, which was a great day for sight fishing, and only saw one fish. Today was slow and steady—one good one here, one good one there—and I never got shaken up.”

2023 Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River Day1: Bryant Smith Smashes Smallmouth Tournament Record!

Canadians: Chris Johnston 2nd, Gallant 3rd, Cory Johnston 51st  & Gustafson 55th  

Bryant Smith set a new B.A.S.S. record when he put five smallmouth bass on the scale that weighed 29 pounds, 5 ounces (Photo: BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

CLAYTON, N.Y. —Elite Series rookie Bryant Smith set a new B.A.S.S. record when he put five smallmouth bass on the scale that weighed 29 pounds, 5 ounces, Thursday. That broke a 25-year-old record set by Chuck Economou of 29-1 at Pickwick Lake in 1988.

And here’s the thing, Smith said he caught and released a heavier best five, unofficially, in practice on Wednesday.

“On my scale, it was almost 32 pounds,” Smith said. “That scared the crap out of me because usually when I have a day like that, I get so locked in that I struggle the next day or in the tournament. I don’t like having a good practice.”

Smith’s record-setting smallmouth limit was the headliner on the first day of the Minn Kota Bassmaster Elite at the St. Lawrence River. But there were plenty of other accolades on a day when Lake Ontario’s rough water made fishing conditions less than ideal.

Chris Johnston weighed-in what is now the fourth-biggest smallmouth bag in Elite Series history with 28-3. His brother Cory’s 28-8 last year is the only other heavier one, after Smith’s and Economou’s.

If this was just the opening fireworks show, it could really get spectacular if lesser winds make more of Lake Ontario accessible the next three days. While this year’s Day 1 when 48 anglers weighed limits of 20 pounds or better, didn’t match last year’s Day 1 total of 61, it created some high anticipation for the next three days when the 2023 Elite Series season comes to an end.

2023 AFTCO Bassmater Elite at Lake St. Clair Day 1: LeHew Scores Lead with 24-03lbs!

Canadians Gallant 4th, Gustafson 48th, Chris Johnston 58th & Cory Johnston 68th

LeHew leads on fantastic day where 33 limits were caught over 
20lbs. (Photo: Crawford/BASS)

By Christopher Decker 

BASS Press Release

By making a slight depth adjustment midway through the day, Shane LeHew continued his impressive track record in smallmouth events with 24 pounds, 3 ounces that gave him the lead at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Lake St. Clair.

Breathing down LeHew’s neck is Oklahoma’s Jason Christie, who caught 23-14 on Day 1 and has two past victories on St. Clair.

On a day when 33 anglers caught at least 20 pounds and every angler in the field secured a limit, LeHew said he felt fortunate to find the bass he did.

“You have to point your LiveScope at a 4 1/2-pounder and catch him,” the Catawba, N.C., native said. “I was just the most fortunate one on the lake today.”

Jason Christie Wins 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic Presented by Huk Day!

Canadian Chris Johnston 5th!

Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., has won the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk with a three-day total of 54 pounds. 

(Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

GREENVILLE, S.C. — For years, Jason Christie has had to live with the crushing weight of leading pro fishing’s biggest event twice on the final day, only to fall short.

 

But no more.

 

The 48-year-old pro from Park Hill, Okla., led once again going into Championship Sunday and this time sealed the deal in dramatic fashion with a final-day limit of 17 pounds, 9 ounces that made him the champion of the 52nd Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk at Lake Hartwell. His three-day total of 54-0 was only 5 ounces better than that of second-place finisher Kyle Welcher, who shared the lead with Christie going into the final day.

 

The event drew a Classic-record 154,932 fans.

 

“Honestly, when I was sitting at the door waiting to come in and weigh my fish, I thought I had given it away again,” said Christie, who pushed his career earnings with B.A.S.S. to $1,668,011 with the $300,000 victory. “Stetson Blaylock had just weighed in a big bag, and Kyle Welcher used to be a professional poker player, so I knew he had more than what he was saying.

 

“I knew it was gonna be close. I honestly thought there could be a tie, and that was scary for me because I didn’t have any fish left.”

 

Christie certainly found plenty of fish throughout the week as he alternated between deep- and shallow-water patterns that were about as different as two techniques can be.

 

He caught half of his weight targeting bass on Garmin LiveScope in a 15- to 30-foot drain that he said held “hundreds of fish” the first two days. He used a spinning rod with a 3/16-ounce jighead and a prototype lure from Yum that only this week earned an official name, the FF Sonar Minnow, which stands for “Forward Facing Sonar Minnow.”

 

“It’s a bait that I can cast to the fish and work the rod and keep it on him; the bait does not move forward,” Christie said. “It’s a technique that I’ve been working on for about five years now.

 

“A lot of times you throw a swimbait over the top of them and they’ll just trail it. But you can drop this bait right to the fish and keep it on top of him.”

 

The drain was good to Christie the first two days. But when he arrived there early on Sunday, he found what he described as a “ghost town.” A spot that had produced half of his weigh-in fish during the week produced only one on the final day — and even though it was his biggest bass of the day, a 4-11 largemouth, he admittedly started thinking, “Here we go again.”

2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic Presented by Huk Day 2: Jason Christie and Kyle Welcher Tie for Lead!

Canadians Chris Johnston 14th, Cory Johnston 27th & Gustafson 41th

Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., and Kyle Welcher of Opelika, Ala., are tied with 36 pounds, 7 ounces after Day 2 of the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk. 
(Photo: BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

GREENVILLE, S.C. — With one day remaining, the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk could not be much tighter, especially at the top of the standings.

 

Veteran Oklahoma pro Jason Christie and third-year Alabama pro Kyle Welcher moved into a tie for the lead during Saturday’s second round on Lake Hartwell, and only 7 pounds separate first place and 25th place as the anglers prepare for Championship Sunday.

 

Christie pushed his total to 36-7 by adding 19-6 on Saturday to the 17-1 he caught Friday. Welcher reached the mark by adding 17-10 to his Day 1 catch of 18-13.

 

After leading two previous Classics on the final day — only to fall just short of a victory — Christie joked that he was almost happy not having the lead to himself.

 

“That’s the best you can have if you feel like leading is bad luck,” he said, laughing. “All week, I’ve just felt like it’s my time. If it’s not, I don’t know when it is. I’m getting older and the fish are getting harder and these young guys are getting better.

 

“So, if this is not my time, I don’t know if it ever will be.”

 

The fishing, Christie said, was not as good as his 19-plus bag suggested. While he said he believes he’s on the right fish to win, the bites came few and far between.

 

“Right now, you feel like you could go out and get two bites more or two bites less and change your whole day,” he said. “Today, for me, if it had been two bites less, I would have weighed in somewhere between 13 or 14 pounds instead of 19.”

 

Utilizing Garmin LiveScope for offshore fishing, coupled with his vast knowledge of shallow-water tactics, Christie used two unnamed lures to catch bass from depths ranging from 6 inches to 30 feet. Unlike many of the anglers fishing this week’s event, he said he hasn’t been able to dial in a pattern around the lake’s massive number of boat docks.

Paul Mueller Wins 2020 BASS Elite St. Johns River!

Final day 6 pounder seals deal
By David A. Brown
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Final day adjustments after key area fizzle proved correct.
This is Mueller's second Elite win.
(Photo: BASS)

Paul Mueller’s crucial decision delivered a key fish on Championship Monday that propelled the Connecticut angler to a three-day total of 47 pounds, 6 ounces and what he described as a most unlikely victory at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at Florida’s St. Johns River.

After grinding most of the day in Trout Creek, about 25 miles downriver from Palatka, Mueller called an audible and relocated to nearby 6-Mile Creek where he had found a key stretch of pads with 25 feet of water.  

Punching this thick vegetation with a craw bait rigged on a 4/0 Strike King Hack Attack hook with a 1-ounce weight yielded a 6-11 bass — the day’s largest — that dramatically changed his outcome. 

“That was the horse that brought me here, no doubt about it,” said Mueller, who earned $101,000 for his second career Elite Series victory. “A big bite is the best thing you can have on the final day. I knew I was leading, but I got off to such a bad start, throughout the entire day, I didn’t think I had enough.

“All day long, I never felt like I had a shot. It wasn’t easy today, but when it’s God’s will, everything works out.”

Mueller kept himself in contention throughout the event by remaining consistent. He placed second on Day 1 with 20-8 and took over the lead a day later by adding 16-2.

During Monday’s final round, Mueller fell short of a limit by one fish, but four bass that weighed 10-12 were enough to deliver the win by a 3-2 margin.