The 2026 Bassmaster Classic (March 13–15) in Knoxville, Tennessee, concluded with a historic victory for 22-year-old, Dylan Nutt, who became just the second B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier in history to win the “Super Bowl of Bass Fishing.” The last time was Bryan Kerchal, who won the illustrious bass tourney in 1994. The Nashville native said the the Tennessee River (Fort Loudoun and Tellico reservoirs), felt like home and his performance proved it. He dominated the field with a three-day total of 66 pounds, 13 ounces, securing a massive $300,000 grand prize.
Of course, Nutt’s performance, which relied heavily on forward-facing sonar, was met with some criticism from the anti-FFS crowd (shocker), but the kid is insanely talented, no two ways about it. Do you know how hard it is to win the Classic? Forward facing sonar or not? I have Humminbird’s Mega Live 2 on my boat and I’ll tell you what, there is QUITE the learning curve… you don’t just hop in the boat and start catching fish. Haters gonna hate.
Nutt’s secret weapon was an unreleased soft plastic bait from the Berkley Lab Series, a minnow profile designed to be fished on a jig head. More details on that coming soon, but in the mean time, let’s check out the baits that the Top 10 anglers were using to cash a check at the Bassmaster Classic.
Wesley Gore (10th; 48-11)
War Eagle Spinnerbait
Gore utilized a three-pronged approach featuring a spinnerbait and a jig for shallow cover, and jerkbait for deeper fish. A 1/2-ounce War Eagle Spinnerbait with split tail grub worked well in shallow water, while the 1/2-ounce Nomad Design Prowler Heavy Flipping Jig with Zoom Z Hog excelled in heavy cover.
Shop the War Eagle Spinnerbait at Tackle Warehouse – $8.99
Dakota Ebare (9th; 50-0)
Strike King Rage Scounbug (Carolina Rig)
Ebare paired up a jighead minnow with a duo of dragging baits… a football jig and a Carolina Rig. He used a Strike King Rage Bug on the jig and a Strike King Rage Scounbug on the C-rig.
Shop the Strike King Rage Scounbug at Tackle Warehouse – $6.99 – $7.99
Jordan Lee (8th; 52-12)
Berkley SquareBull Crankbait
Lee caught most of his fish on a Berkley SquareBull 5.5, but also found success with the 3/8-ounce Z-Man ChatterBait paired with a Berkley PowerBait Power Swimmer.
Shop the Berkley SquareBull at Tackle Warehouse – $10.99
Drew Cook (7th; 54-4)
SPRO Wacky Snack Worm
Cook also mixed it up with a combo of jerkbait, wacky rig, and swim jig. The SPRO McDart jerkbait, the SPRO Wacky Snack Worm, and the 3/8-ounce SPRO swim jig with a SPRO Surface Swimmer earned him a Top 10 finish.
Justin Atkins (6th; 55-0)
Berkley Frittside Crankbait
Atkins utilized the 1,2 punch of a crankbait for shallow water and like many others, a jerkbait for deeper schooling fish. A Berkley Frittside and the Berkley Stunna 112 were his go-to lures.
Shop the Berkley Frittside at Tackle Warehouse – $12.99
JT Thompkins (5th; 55-5)
Radar Love Jig Head
Thompkins mostly stuck to scoping, using a jerkbait and a minnow on a ball head jig. The Megabass Vision 110 jerkbait and an Outkast Tackle Radar Love jig head (one of my personal favorites) with Deps Sakamata Shad were his winning techniques.
Shop the Radar Love Jig Head at Tackle Warehouse – $7.99
Easton Fothergill (4th; 56-2)
Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait
The Carolina rig is making a comeback as Easton Fothergill also relied on a C-rig to put bass in the boat. He used a 7-inch Strike King 3X Z-Too Soft Jerkbait for that presentation, and then he also used and the same jerkbait on a jig head for his FFS presentation. Two techniques, same exact bait.
Shop the Strike King 3x Z-Too at Tackle Warehouse – $4.69 – $7.99
Yui Aoki (3rd; 57-3)
DStyle Geelacanth
Aoki’s top producers were a creature bait and jighead minnow, from DStyle, a JDM brand founded by Three-time Japanese Angler of the Year and former Elite Series angler, Daisuke Aoki (no relation). He used the new 4-inch DStyle Geelacanth and the 4-inch DStyle Virola on a jighead.
Trey McKinney (2nd; 57-8)
6th Sense Divine Swimbait
McKinney is working on a new jig with 6th Sense that should be out this year. He also used a 6th Sense Divine swimbait.
Shop the 6th Sense Divine Swimbait at Tackle Warehouse – $4.99 – $5.99
Dylan Nutt (1st; 66-13)
Nutt made history (and cashed a big ol’ check) with an unreleased minnow-style bait from the Berkley Lab Series.
Stay tuned…
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