The nation’s best grassroots anglers from 48 state federations vied for the national champion titles on Lake Pickwick at the 2026 TBF National Championship. In typical “tournament fashion” it was anything BUT a normal event!
First off, the championship week practice days in Florence, Alabama started with record cold, snow, and near zero wind chills. Yes, SNOW in ALABAMA and by the final competition day on Friday, it was 80 degrees sunny and clam! The TBF Federation National Champions has always been a test of the best, this year’s event proved it.
Competition Day 1, Saw a cool blustery day, fast current and high-water flowage and great bags of fish to be caught near the lock and dams at either end of Pickwick. All 7 TBF division leaders on day 1 boater side had solid 5 fish limits and 6 out of 7 bags exceeded 20 pounds. Michael Murphy from South Carolina and the TBF Southern Division lead the pack with a whopping 5 fish bag at 29-07. While the boaters had a 5 fish limit each day, the Non-boaters had a 3 fish limit. The leading non-boater day 1 was Grant McCracken from Vermont and the TBF Eastern Division with three fish that weighed 17-10 out of the back of the boat.
Day 2 dawned to find warmed temps, a lot less current in the river and the water level down by more than a 12-18 inches. Fishy catches dropped off for most the field and the leaderboards changed……..drastically in some cases. On day 2 the overall and southern division leader Michael Murphy only had 1 fish for 3.08, other division leaders fell out of their leads as well. As is the case in nearly ALL tournaments consistency pays. Giovanni Martino led his Mid-Atlantic division from New Jersey on day 1 with 23-14 and improved on that day 2 with 5 more that weigh in at 25-01. Martino was the only day 1 division leader that weighed in more on day 2. A similar fate awaited the Non boaters. Day 1 leader McCraken only had 1 fish and dropped down the leaderboard while Nolan Clark representing North Carolina and the southern division jumped to the top of that leaderboard on day 2 based on his d1 bag of 13-09 and d2 10-00 giving him 23-09 total.
At this point the 7 division champion Boaters and Non-boaters were set to fish the final day based on final day 2 standings of their divisions. Through the TBF’s “Partners in Fishing” at MLF, 7 boaters and 7 Non boaters will advance from this event to the 2026 BFL All-American! The tournament director Robert Cartlidge had a meeting with the final 7 boats after Thursdays day 2 weigh in to cover final day logistics, all that was at stake here and told them based on his more than 40 years of experience in the competitive fishing industry the anglers that would win this event would be the ones who fished together in the boat and helped each other and who was most consistent by adapting to these waters each day as conditions changed. Those words would ring true for the anglers on day 3.
Day 3 Boaters Division Champions: (Back row)
Giovanni Martino, East Hanover, NJ and representing the MidAtlantic Division
Taylor Umland, Carlock, IL /Northern Division
Bradley Sullivan, Shawnee, OK /Central Division
Lucas Murphy, West Columbia, SC /Southern Division
Garrett Seppala, New Ipswich, NH /Eastern Division
Chris Lambert, Olympia, WA /Northwest Division
Brain Hickey, Pueblo, Colorado /Southwest Division
Day 3 Non-Boaters Division Champions:
Nolan Clark, Apex, NC /Southern Division
Tim Chase, Madera, CA /Southwest Division
Jason Kushlan, Parkston,SD /Northern Division
Mike Casanova, Frisco, TX, /Central Division
Grant McCracken, Waterbury, VT/Eastern Division
Mark Elliot, Yorktown, VA /Mid-Atlantic Division
Bryce Quinnell, Kalispell, MT /Northwest Division
On Friday (Day 3 Final Day) The river had dropped another 12 inches overnight and the weather was sunny calm with a forecast for over 80 degrees. As each of the 7 non-boaters weighed in first it as apparent fishing was tougher. Four of the seven weighed in their smallest catch of the week. None of the Non-boaters weighed in their biggest bag of the week with one exception and that exception won it all. Weighing in 3 fish each day starting with 13-09, day1 followed by 10-00 on day 2 and the final day 14-13 for a 3-day total of 38-06. When the scales locked in for the win the crowd went completely crazy for a 16-year old angler from Apex, NC named Nolan Clark.
Nolan Clark not only locked in a win as the 2026 Co-angler National Champion and his $35, 000 prize package. He also won his districts TBF National Semi final (adult program event) last fall to earn his slot in this National Championship AND in doing so became the youngest angler in the federations 58 year history to win a national champion title of any kind! Clark mentioned on stage how thankful he was for his daily boaters and how well they worked together each day for him to have a shot at winning. You should watch for this young man’s name in the headlines in the future, we will see him on the winner podium again. For his win, Nolan received $20,000 in cash, advancement to the BFL All -American, advancement to the Toyota series Championship, paid entry fee stipends to fish whatever he wishes to fish for a year, $250 gift card from discount tackle.com, a Minn Kota trolling motor, Humminbird electronics and a Power pole to help him make the jump to the boater side and MORE!
Then the weigh in moved on to the Boaters side and the $125, 000 prize package up for grabs there. One after another all 7 division champion boaters weighed their fish, but it was consistency that held the top 2 spots. between Giovanna Martino and Lucas Murphy, the only two anglers who had a 20 plus pound bag every single day of the event. When the final fish was weighed it was a Day 1, 23-14 weight, Day 2, 25-01 and Day 3, 23-07 weight, all 5 fish bags, all belonged Giovannia Martino from New Jersey that secured the 2026 TBF National Champions title and the 125,000 TBF Living the Dream prize package.
Martino created among other things his ability draw on past experience trout fishing in streams and rivers and using that experience to help him adapt each day to changing water levels and flowing river conditions or lack thereof and identify “seams in the water flow” to find and catch fish. For his win Giovanni received a 2026 Nitro Z20XL fully rigged and water ready, upgraded electronics, power poles, and more, plus $20,000 in cash, Plus BLF All-American and Toyota series advancement spots form our partners in Fishing at MLF, $5,000 in paid entry fee stipends into whatever he wants to fish this year, a $250 gift card from DiscountTackle.com and more!
Congratulations to both our National Champions, they certainly earned it!
About TBF
The Bass Federation Inc. is the oldest and largest, organized grassroots angling organization in America and a member of the freshwater fishing hall of fame. Anchored by the leadership of the state federations, TBF is 100 percent owned by those it serves and is dedicated to the sport of fishing. TBF affiliated state federations and their member clubs conduct more than 20,000 fishing, youth and conservation events at the local level each year and have provided the foundation for the entire bass fishing industry for 50 years. The Bass Federation is proud “Partners in Fishing” with industry-leading companies including Nitro Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Lew’s, Strike King, T-H Marine, Rapala, Sufix, VMC, Rapala Crush City baits, MLF, and Power Pole. For more information about The Bass Federation, visit bassfederation.com, or call 580-765-9031. Look for TBF on facebook at Facebook.com/thebassfederation and on twitter at Twitter.com/bassfederation.
