Mount Carmel, Illinois pro paces field into Championship Sunday with 7-pound, 15-ounce lead
LEESBURG, Fla. (Feb. 7, 2026) – Day 2 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech Stop 1 on the Harris Chain Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches finished better than Day 1, with quite a bit better weather. The field managed 54 limits on the day, up from 46 on Day 1, and the pros caught 906 pounds of bass, up from 878 pounds – certainly not up to the usual Florida standards, but definitely better on a tough Harris Chain.
Consistency was tough to come by, and those who stayed steady were rewarded. The best of the bunch, Drew Gill backed up his three-bass, 21-pound effort from Day 1 with a limit for 19-4, bringing his total to 40-4 – nearly 8 pounds ahead of second place. Brody Campbell rolled up the leaderboard with 17-11 to claim the second position at 32-5, while Keith Poche maintained his third place position with another limit to get to 30 pounds even.
To make the 50-angler cut and advance to Championship Sunday, it took 14-8 for two days. Lucas Black, who caught three bass for less than 3 pounds on Day 1 and backed it up with five for 11-12 on Day 2, claimed the final spot.
Coming in off a win in the first Bass Pro Tour derby of the year at Lake Guntersville, it’s looking highly likely that Gill will bank over $200,000 in the first two events of the season. Fishing offshore and mostly making hay during his three hours of forward-facing sonar use, the young pro is in the midst of proving yet again that nobody ‘Scopes like he does.
Fishing roughly the same area as several other anglers on Day 1, Gill caught three giants to start out in second place. On Day 2, with at least as many competitors around, he again outstripped his competition.
“There was an absolute horde of boats in the area where I’d planned on starting. It took me an hour and 45 minutes to catch one fish – I was way off pace,” he said of his start to the day. “It was pretty rough, but I was able to rally and put some solid ones in the boat to end my ‘Scope period.”
Then, Gill hit the bank, winding a vibrating jig up shallow, where he caught two bass, including a 5-pounder. Without that fish, Gill probably still leads, but his ability to manufacture bites the old-fashioned way gave him a lot more breathing room.
As for Day 3, Gill doesn’t think anything is guaranteed, as the fish are far from reliable at the moment.
“Day 1, I saw six bass in three hours,” he explained. “Today, I saw almost 30. There’s more fish now than there were. The problem is, the reason there are more fish is not that there are more showing up. Fish that were out deep are getting pulled up by the boat traffic. They’re engaging with baits, they’re engaging with boats, and they become very hard to catch. The problem tomorrow is probably not going to be seeing fish; it’s going to be getting them to bite.”
Plenty of other pros had that issue Saturday – there were anglers fishing the same water as Gill who only caught one or two fish. But if Gill can be himself for one more day, he stands a good chance to take home his fifth major win since February 2024.
“I’ve fished my areas pretty hard the last couple days, and I don’t think there will be a lack of boat traffic there tomorrow,” he said. “So, I’ve got a pretty good gap, but I’m not remotely ready to call this. The Harris Chain has been very unpredictable this week. I could believe it if I had 4 pounds tomorrow, and I’d honestly believe it if I had 26. It’s really, really hard to tell, but by about 11 o’clock, I should have a good idea of how the day is going.”
Last year on the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, Campbell finished one point away from qualifying for the Bass Pro Tour. This week, he’s showing again that he’s bound for the next level sooner or later, having put together a very clean couple days of fishing.
“I started in Lake Harris; I caught four bass and lost two,” he outlined. “I’ve got a little starting spot where I can catch a couple. Then, I rolled out to Beauclair and caught a big one ‘Scoping. Then, I came back to Harris and culled three times.”
On both Days 1 and 2, plying Bird Dog Rods, Campbell has weighed four fish from Harris, which he caught without LiveScope, and one from Beauclair. He’ll follow the same blueprint on Day 3.
“I’m going to run the same plan,” he said. “It’s what got me here. I’m going to start on a hole; it’s guaranteed that I’ll catch a couple. Then, I’ll head down there and hope to crack a bag. And hopefully somebody cuts Drew Gill’s LiveScope cords or something.”
Though Campbell knows a win might be a longshot, he’s not totally counting himself out, and he loves the points regardless.
“We’ll see tomorrow. I need to catch 29 1/2 pounds to win,” he said. “But I can catch a limit, no doubt, to maintain. And the main goal is qualifying for the Bass Pro Tour, so I want to stay up there and not sacrifice any points. If Drew Gill messes up, hey, I might catch 20.”
The top 20 pros advancing to Championship Sunday on the Harris Chain of Lakes are:
1st: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., eight bass, 40-4
2nd: Brody Campbell, Oxford, Ohio, 10 bass, 32-5
3rd: Keith Poche, Pike Road, Ala., 10 bass, 30-0
4th: Aaron Yavorsky, Palm Harbor, Fla., six bass, 29-14
5th: Marshall Robinson, Landrum, S.C., 10 bass, 27-12
6th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., nine bass, 27-8
7th: Ryan Lachniet, Gum Spring, Va., 10 bass, 27-0
8th: Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., 10 bass, 25-8
9th: Colby Miller, Elmer, La., six bass, 24-14
10th: Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas, 10 bass, 24-11
11th: Drew Boggs, Lebanon, Tenn., 10 bass, 24-6
12th: Jared Lintner, Covington, Ga., 10 bass, 24-5
13th: Jack Daniel Williams, Kingsport, Tenn., 10 bass, 23-13
14th: Connor Jacob, Peoria, Ill., 10 bass, 22-12
15th: Dylan Nutt, Nashville, Tenn., eight bass, 21-2
16th: Chad Mrazek, Montgomery, Texas, nine bass, 21-2
17th: Mike Mayo, Athens, Texas, seven bass, 21-1
18th: Will Harkins, Blairsville, Ga., 10 bass, 21-1
19th: Teimuraz (Tom) Balachvili, Brooklyn, N.Y., 10 bass, 20-13
20th: Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas, 10 bass, 20-8
To view all 50 competitors advancing to Championship Sunday and complete results for the entire field, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Overall, there were 447 bass weighing 906 pounds, 3 ounces caught by 145 pros Saturday. The catch included 54 five-bass limits.
Pro Bobby Bakewell of Orlando, Florida, earned the Day 2 Berkley Big Bass award of $500 after bringing a bass that weighed 8 pounds, 14 ounces to the scale.
The three-day Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Stop 1 at the Harris Chain of Lakes Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches is hosted by Discover Lake County Florida and features professional bass anglers competing for a top prize of up to $135,000.
“We are thrilled to be hosting Major League Fishing in Lake County this week as part of the region’s expanding lineup of premier sporting events,” said Jason Siegel, President & CEO of the Greater Orlando Sports Commission. “Events of this caliber reinforce the strength of our community’s venues and our ability to deliver a first-class experience. As the second day of competition comes to a close, we’re confident the anglers and their families will continue to enjoy their time here, and we thank the City of Leesburg and Discover Lake County for their ongoing partnership and collaboration.”
