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!

The championship week practice days in Florence, Ala., 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 calm.  The TBF Federation National Champions have 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 led 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 on 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 warm temps, a lot less current in the river, and the water level down by more than 12-18 inches.  Fish catches dropped off for most of 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 weighed 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 day one bag of 13-09 and day two 10-00, giving him 23-09 total.

At this point, the 7 division champions, 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 and calm with a forecast for over 80 degrees.  As each of the 7 non-boaters weighed in first, it was 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 on day 1, 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 district’s 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 federation’s 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’s 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, a $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 to Giovanna Martino from New Jersey, who secured the 2026 TBF National Champions title and the 125,000 TBF Living the Dream prize package.

Martino created, among other things, his ability to 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 from 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.

 FOR RELEASE – Ponca City, OK. (November 10, 2025) – The Bass Federation (TBF) announced today that the nation’s top grassroots anglers will get their chance to “Live Their Dream” at the 2026 TBF Federation National Championship to be held on Pickwick Lake, Florence, Alabama, March 18-20, 2026.

“This will be a brand-new venue for the Federation National Championship.” Stated Robert Cartlidge, TBF Federation National President. “We have held many large events in Florence, Alabama in the past and the anglers and families loved it there. But this is our first time for the Federation National Championship springtime event. It should be peak fishing for the best grassroots anglers from across North America.”

TBF anglers competing in the no-entry-fee event will also enjoy stellar payouts where the prize purse will be increased this year by nearly $40,000 and push the totals in cash and prizes to roughly $400,000 due to the growth and success of the Federation’s close-to-home, low-cost TBF National Semi-Finals and state champions program that qualified all the anglers to get here.  The framework is designed to make it easier for TBF anglers to fish premier events by minimizing travel time and expenses.

One hundred and eighty-two of the very best grassroots Anglers in North America have qualified (91 as boaters and 91 as non-boaters) to compete in the 2026 National Championship. The full field will compete the first two days of the event, and only the 7 Division Champion boaters and 7 Division Champion co-anglers will compete on the third and final day for the Living Your Dream Prize packages and the National Champion boater and co-angler titles.  In addition to the cash prizes, all 14 finalists can earn a Living YOUR Dream prize package of various sizes, and can advance to the 2026 BFL All-American if they are qualified.

The National champions and overall winners will leave with the coveted TBF National Champion Boater and National Champion Co-angler Titles and a Living Your Dream (LYD) package. The boater National Champion’s LYD package is valued in excess of a whopping $125,000 in cash and prizes, including a brand-new Nitro Z20 XL, rigged out and all their own to KEEP!  PLUS, a $20,000 CASH prize, paid entry fee stipend into whatever they want to fish, and much more!

The Federation strongly believes in the value of co-anglers, so the 2026 National Champion Co-Angler LYD package will be worth over $30,000 as well!

All activities will take place at McFarland Park and are free and open to the public each day, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, March 18, 19, 20, 2026. You can follow all the action with daily live weigh-ins beginning at 2:30 pm each day and a live leaderboard on www.Bassfederation.com

Coverage of the TBF National Championship will be broadcast in high definition in the Federation Angler TV block on the Pursuit Channel, on Outdoor Action TV, and streamed live from Florence, Alabama on www.Bassfederation.com

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.

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The District 3 National Semi Finals were held October 24-26, 2025, on Nickajack Lake.  The tournament was hosted by Marion County.  A special thank you to Mayor David Jackson, Marion County and EJ and her staff at Marion County Park.  They are always great to work with.  The tournament was a success despite the kayak race that threw us a big curve ball.  We talked to Robert and came up with a solution quickly.

The overall winner was Jack Mcillwain, a boater from Tennessee, with a weight of 29.53 pounds.  Jack is a member of the Yellow Creek Bass Club.  Second place was Dylan Strunk, a boater from Kentucky, with a weight of 25.87 pounds.

The co-angler side was won by Kenny Davis from Tennessee with a weight of 18.56 pounds.  Kenny is a member of Bradley County Bass Club.  Second place was Joshua Glacken of Kentucky with a weight of 17.72 pounds

Congratulations to these four winners as we know you will represent your state well at the National Finals.  We would also like to thank all the anglers and co-anglers who participated in the tournament.    Last but not least I would like to say thank you to the event staff that showed up and helped make this tournament a success.

TBF District 6 & 7 conducted the second annual Dual District National Semifinal at Table Rock Lake on September 27-28, 2025, at Port of Kimberling.  We have a four-year series of Dual District 6 & 7 National Semifinal events scheduled: 2024 was hosted at Grand Lake, 2025 – Table Rock Lake, 2026 Lake Dardanelle and 2027 Truman Lake.  Table Rock Lake has hosted numerous TBF and MLF events over the years, this is the first time in many years (maybe ever) that a TBF National Semifinal event has been held on the legendary fishery.  Table Rock Lake is one of the crown jewels of America’s fishing waters as well as the other lakes scheduled in the series.  The series gives our anglers the opportunity to experience the unmatched beauty of the Ozarks and gain experience on some of the best lakes in America.

Table Rock Lake is the definition of a highland reservoir – deep, clear water, mix of rock and submerged timber from the dam to mid-lake and clear to stained water and shallow cover up the river arms.  A mixed bag of largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass is common across the lake. Fishing in the early fall can be tough at Table Rock with the fish scattered from shallow to deep. History has shown that you can place well either by fishing shallow or fishing deep this time of year.  A few guys always figure it out.  With water temps still in the high 70’s and peaking near 80 in the late afternoon and summer-like heat still bearing down on the Ozarks – the lake was set up for a typical fall event at Table Rock.

Practice wound down and competitors gathered at Extreme Outdoors in Branson West, Missouri for the pre-tournament pairings and rules meeting many were still scratching their heads and looking for that perfect bait or technique to help them put keepers and above average fish in the boat.

53 pairs of anglers gathered Saturday morning, and even as boat 1 was called many still wondered how the day would unfold. The sun beat down nearly all-day Saturday, and temperatures pushed near 90 degrees, anglers found the nationally recognized lake extremely stingy. When weigh-in concluded only 5 limits were brought to the scale with Chris Huselton finding himself at the top of the boater’s leader board. On the co-anglers side only 3 limits were weighed with Missouri’s Sam Heckman ending the day as the leader with a 3 fish total of 6.95 lbs.

Sunday started out with a short fog delay.  Fishing continued to be tough throughout the day, but one angler was using his local knowledge to put it together. Local, and the Missouri 2025 Angler of the Year Cody Miller stayed calm and put his head down and went to work burning through as much water as possible to bring 5 Table Rock bass to the scales weighing 11.59 lbs. Those 5 and his Saturday bag of 16.77 lbs., give him 28.36 pounds were good enough to edge out Justin Swayze’s 2-day total of 28.20 lbs. for the win.

Cody said “I wasn’t able to practice; I just burned as much bank as possible looking for late spawning bream and gizzard shad with a top water. I stayed close to the ramp and caught 15 pounds in the first hour on day one.” Day two wasn’t so good, Miller stated, “I tried doing the same thing, but I got very few bites, and I ended up breaking off a few.” He added that he went chasing the wind in a creek arm late in the day Sunday and caught a 3.5-pound smallmouth on this last cast on a square bill. “That last fish won me the tournament.”

On the co-angler side it was Tyler Dennis with a two-day total of 12.42 lbs. coming all the way from 11th to capture the win over perennial power Ray Cates from Kansas, by just over a ½ pound.

Overall Combine District 6 & 7 Champions

District 6 Top 5 Boaters
District 6 Top 5 Co-anglers

Top Five District 6 – Arkansas & Oklahoma

District 7 Top 5 Boaters

District 7 – Top 5 Co-anglers

Top Five District 7 – Kansas & Missouri

Oklahoma – Federation National Championship Qualifiers

Kansas – Federation National Championship Qualifiers

Missouri – Federation National Championship Qualifiers

State National Semi-final Champions – Advancing to 2026 TBF Federation National Championship

Congratulations to all of the winners and those anglers advancing to the 2026 TBF Federation National Championship to compete for the Living Your Dream Prize Package and the opportunity to advance to the MLF All American and MLF Toyota Series National Championship.

The 2026 TBF Dual District 6 & 7 National Semifinal will be held at Lake Dardanelle, Russellville, Arkansas.