Inhaltsverzeichnis für Classic Preview 2026 in Bassmaster

The Bass Fishing Hall of Fame (BFHOF) recently announced financial support to numerous conservation projects impacting grass-roots efforts across the sport of bass fishing, including a five-year commitment to support the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society Reservoir Committee Robert M. Jenkins Memorial Reservoir Research Scholarship endowment. Additional organizations receiving donations thanks to a BFHOF partnership with Costa Compete + Conserve include Friends of Reservoirs, the Wildlife Leadership Academy’s PA BASS summer field school, the Texas Bass Brigade, Mighty River Recovery in Florida and Heroes on the Water.…

  Keeping The Bassin’ Passion Alive Hi all, I wanted to share some photos to be featured in the magazine if possible. My son and daughter are extremely passionate about bass fishing. They appreciate the thrill of the catch and being out on the water. Very proud to show the next generation the love for bass fishing! Dan Morelli Tampa, Fla.  …

WHILE MOST KIDS dream about winning Game 7 of the World Series or scoring in overtime to win the Stanley Cup (a big one in Canada), my dream was always to win the Bassmaster Classic. As a kid, I had moments when I pretended to be Rick Clunn, Guido Hibdon or Denny Brauer, catching a big bass in the final minutes to win the tournament. Later, as I was making my way as a professional bass angler and eventually to the Bassmaster Elite Series, I never thought that I couldn’t win the Classic. It was just one of those things that you never think is going to happen to you. Then, three days of fishing changed my life in 2023, when I left Knoxville, Tenn., with the Ray Scott Bassmaster…

Water type: Southern reservoir Water temp: Mid-50s to low 60s Clarity: 1 to 2 feet Depth: 2 to 30 feet Structure: Rock, bridges Cover: Laydowns, docks, overhanging trees Forage: Shad, bluegill, crawfish Weather: Clear, sunny, high pressure Wind/current: Flat calm Experts: A trio of Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series pros explain how they make the most of a bluebird day 1 COVER WATER Drew Cook Cairo, Ga. First move: Expecting a prespawn interruption, Cook references a tried-and-true angling axiom: “There’s an old saying that when it gets tough, use treble hooks. That means I’m going to cover water and try to get bites.” He’s targeting the zone between where the fish were just before the front and where they came from earlier in the season. Baits/tackle to use: For open water,…

FRANK CAMPBELL DOESN’T trust me to help load his boat. The longtime Niagara River guide has good reason to be cautious. The last time I tried to help someone load a boat in the intense current of that river, their hull ended up with a scratch (it might have been a gouge, but I worry not about semantics). So I stood idly by on the edge of the Lewiston, N.Y., boat ramp while Frank secured his Lund to the trailer. That’s when I noticed a B.A.S.S. sticker on an old — but pristine — Triton. North Carolina plates. I was intrigued. “Beautiful boat,” I said. “And I love the sticker.” “Thanks,” the man said. “You wouldn’t believe the story of this boat if I told you.” I bit. And he…

Home to the World’s Biggest Fish Fry and the largest Eiffel Tower in the South, the west Tennessee city of Paris plays host to the 2026 Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kentucky Lake/ Lake Barkley presented by Battery Tender this May. Old-school bass anglers will know Paris well. This city situated near the shores of two notable reservoirs on the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers has been a hotbed of professional bass fishing since the sport’s early days. Stroll through mural-lined Back Alley Paris, visit Eiffel Tower Park or explore the Paris-Henry County Heritage Center after your day on the lake. 66-14 Weight in pounds of Yui Aoki’s winning total at the 2025 Bassmaster Open on Kentucky Lake 10-10 Weight in pounds of Tennessee state-record spotted gar boated on Lake Barkley by…

B.A.S.S. fans react to Easton Fothergill being awarded the 2025 BASSY for the Best Celebration of the Year by Rick Clunn. David Knollhoff He 100% deserves it. Great kid. Too bad the haters dragged him down after all he has been through. He’s a class act for sure, just like Rick. Michael Griffin Receiving any honor from Clunn is just that! John Norris Congrats Easton you earned it!!! Glad you hung out in Montevallo so I could share in your journey! Good Luck in your future! Tom Arrico Congratulations Easton Fothergill Winning the 2025 Bassy Award for Best Celebration Josh Unruh Only 48 more years, love it!…

What are the top three maintenance mistakes that bass boat owners make that can cost them performance over time? Carrie Ann, Facebook That’s a very good question, says Robert Riden, a Tracker Marine POWER PROS service technician. “The short answer is not checking,” he says. “I have a long list of things you should check, but I will limit it to the top three.” First, regardless of whether you’re running a 4- or 2-stroke outboard, Riden says to always check the oil level. Low 4-stroke oil can cause problems and create premature engine wear or engine failure. If oil isn’t maintained on a 2-stroke engine, it can cause engine failure. Second, maintaining the gear lube level in the lower unit is crucial to longevity. Running low can lead to overheating…

WHEN THE 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour kicks off on the Tennessee River in Knoxville on March 13, the biggest question on everyone’s mind will be: Who’s going to win? That’s the big one, but it’s not the only uncertainty. Mark Zona, who loves the Knoxville location as much as anyone, says that compared to Tennessee River reservoirs farther downstream, this year’s Classic waters, which stretch into Fort Loudoun Reservoir and the connected Tellico Reservoir, can be a head-scratcher. “Knoxville is a great venue to have the Classic. It’s over-the-top fan-friendly, but I have found that commentating tournaments on the Fort Loudoun-Tellico fishery is as big of a challenge as it is fishing that body of water,” Zona says. “I say that because it’s so…

You shocked the world by winning the 2025 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour at age 22. How do you feel about going into this year’s Classic as the defending champion? The Classic is an event that’s unlike any other. It’s one where the more experience you have under your belt, the better off you are, because there’s so much going on in front of you. My first Classic was in 2024, and I got to see everything firsthand. I saw how many cameras are in your face and how many moving parts there are to the production. That was mind-blowing to me. Last year, I came into it with calmer nerves, and I expect this year to be similar. There may be some extra hype because…

In October, Wisconsin angler Nick Trim claimed a wire-to-wire victory in the 2025 Mercury B.A.S.S. Nation Championship at Upper Mississippi River presented by Lowrance. Fishing about 20 miles from his Galesville, Wis., home, Trim totaled a four-day weight of 77 pounds in a field of nearly 500 boater and nonboater competitors from 48 states and seven foreign countries. The win earned Trim a $50,000 check, paid entry to the 2026 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series and the legendary Bryan Kerchal Memorial Trophy. As one of the top three B.A.S.S. Nation anglers, Trim also qualified for the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.…

IN MARCH, THE Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour returns to the Tennessee River out of Knoxville for the third time. As with previous championships on this diverse fishery, the anglers will have multiple options. It could go down like in 2019, when Ott DeFoe won the Classic here fishing for shallow largemouth, or we might see another deep smallmouth event, like when Jeff Gustafson won in 2023. Some of that depends on weather. A warm spring may bring heavier limits of green bass to the scales, but brown bass could prevail regardless of the conditions. And then there’s the burning question: Will pros who excel with forward-facing sonar dominate, or can old-school, skinny-water power fishing prevail? However it goes down, the day-to-day drama is sure to…

IF YOU’VE BEEN putting it off, thinking about it or daydreaming of finally going to the Bassmaster Classic, there’s only one question to ask yourself: What are you waiting for? This year’s Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour is set for March 13-15 in Knoxville, Tenn. More than a fishing tournament, the Bassmaster Classic is the season kickoff, a place where anyone who’s anyone in the bass fishing universe shows up. For many, it’s a tradition. “The only negative about the Classic,” says Bassmaster emcee Dave Mercer, “is when you go to one — and I honestly believe this because it happened to me as a fan — you don’t want to miss another. You just feel like you have to be there. It’s a pilgrimage of…

IT WAS A gray, rainy fall day when I got the call from an unknown Illinois number. I’d been cooped up for hours, so I answered, figuring whoever was on the other end of the line was probably at least as interesting as the fact-checking I’d been doing. And I was right. It was Doug Schermer, the longtime Bassmaster Magazine illustrator, calling me up for a get-to-know-ya chat. We did get to know each other, and among the things I learned on that call is that Doug is also among the afflicted. He is, simply put, a chronic bass-head. We have that in common. As we chatted about fishing and work, Doug updated me on some illustrations he was doing for a couple of issues of the magazine, including the…