The 2026 Bass Pro Tour season is packed with exciting stops and a big new twist: anglers can only use forward-facing sonar (FFS) for one period per day. This will make timing and versatility critical across all fisheries.
Here’s a complete breakdown of how each lake is likely to fish, predicted winners,
🏆 Stage 1 — Lake Guntersville, AL (Jan 15–18)
How it might fish: Winter staging on grass edges, shell bars, and channel swings. Lipless crankbaits, jerkbaits, jigs on ledges. FFS early, then shallow power.
Predicted winner: Jacob Wheeler
🏆 Stage 2 — Lake Hartwell, SC (Feb 19–22)
How it might fish: Spotted bass chasing herring offshore with Damiki rigs, flukes, and underspins. Kicker largemouth on docks, points, or laydowns.
Predicted winner: Dustin Connell
🏆 Stage 3 — Lake Whitney / Lake Waco, TX (Mar 5–8)
How it might fish: Pre-spawn crankbaits, spinnerbaits, bladed jigs, and jigs on rocky points and creek arms. Limited FFS; shallow power dominates.
Predicted winner: Ott DeFoe
🏆 Stage 4 — O.H. Ivie / Lake Brownwood, TX (Mar 26–29)
How it might fish: Suspended giants on FFS; flipping bushes, Carolina rigs, or swimbaits when sonar’s off.
Predicted winner: Justin Lucas (alternative pick: Michael Neal)
🏆 REDCREST Championship (Apr 16–19, Location TBA)
How it might fish: Likely spawn/post-spawn mix: sight fishing, shallow cover, and offshore fry guarders.
Predicted winner: Jacob Wheeler
🏆 Stage 5 — Beaver Lake, AR (Apr 30–May 3)
How it might fish: Clear-water finesse, docks, deep brush, spotted bass on points. Ned rigs, shaky heads, topwater.
Predicted winner: Andy Morgan
🏆 Heavy Hitters — Orange Lake, FL (May 16–21)
How it might fish: Pure Florida power — flipping mats, punching reeds, frogs, prop baits. No FFS needed.
Predicted winner: Bobby Lane
🏆 Stage 6 — Grand Lake, OK (Jun 18–21)
How it might fish: Post-spawn fish on brush piles, docks, offshore rock. Crankbaits, jigs, big worms, walking topwaters.
Predicted winner: Edwin Evers
🏆 Stage 7 — Lake Erie, OH (Aug 6–9)
How it might fish: Offshore smallmouth on rocks and shoals. Drop shots, Ned rigs, tubes, small swimbaits.
Predicted winner: Michael Neal
