Inside the Bassmaster Classic: Five days at the ‘Super Bowl’ of bass fishing

Many fishermen firmly believe that the Bassmaster Classic is the “Super Bowl” of bass fishing. While other organizations may match the money payouts, they don’t come close to the popularity, publicity, and enthusiasm generated at the Classic.

The 2026 B.A.S.S. (Bass Anglers Sportsman’s Society) Classic was held in Knoxville, Tenn. March 13-15. The 58-anglers were allowed to fish on the Tennessee River consisting of Fort Loudoun and Tellico Lakes.

It was a record Classic in many ways. First, the attendance was expected to surpass any of the previous 56 Classics. At the take off during the three days of competition, there were an estimated 5,000 fans watching in-person each morning.

If you have never attended a Classic, I would highly recommend to do so. Grab the family or a friend and try to participate in one. There are things to do for anglers of any age.

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Practice Day

To my pleasant surprise, I got paired with and spent practice day riding with the current leading Angler of the Year, Cory Johnson. Johnson, who hails from Ontario, Canada, caught several bass using a handful of techniques. Johnson caught his fish during the day on flat-sided squarebill crankbaits, chatterbaits, and a few other lures.

By the end of the day, he was feeling somewhat confident.

Media Day

We in the press were also allowed to pick a half dozen anglers to interview on press, or media day, at the Bass Pro Shops store in Kodak, Tenn.

I got signed up to interview all half-dozen on my list. After the morning’s press interviews, the public would be let in to talk to the pros lined up in their wrapped boats and trucks.

For two hours, and changing every 15-minutes, I had the pleasure of meeting and asking questions to the top bass anglers in the world during the morning interviews. The pros I talked to were; Brandon Lester, Dylan Nutt, Easton Fothergill, Cory Johnson, Brandon Palaniuk, Dillon Falardeau, along with Japanese anglers Kyoya Fujita, and Taku Ito.

After the morning interviews were over, Bass Pro Shops treated the anglers and press to a great Tennessee barbecue. Then I had the pleasure of briefly chatting with former four-time Classic Champion Kevin Van Dam.

VanDam retired from tournament angling and is currently doing a national fishing TV show and coaching Team USA for the Bass Fishing World Championship. He informed me that he needs to come up to New York and do another show in our area.

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Day 1

Friday was not only the first day of competition, but also the first day of the Classic Outdoor Show. The Bassmaster Classic pros would weigh in inside of the Food City Center where the University of Tennessee’s men and women basketball teams play.

The Classic Outdoor show was held at the Knoxville Convention center, and may just be the best fishing/boating show in the country. It’s a “Who’s Who” of the outdoor industry. There’s an unbelievable amount of things to do and see for the young and old alike. There was a line of thousands of anglers wrapped around the huge building waiting to get into the show.

Most of the people who attend the Classic, hit the outdoor show in the late morning, then head over to the weigh-in starting mid afternoon. At the outdoor show, there are booths by most major manufacturers of tackle, boats, trucks, marine items, outdoor clothing, and other things.

If you’re a fan of one of the TV fishing icons, anglers such as Hank Parker, Jimmy Houston, VanDam and others are in one of their sponsor booths or walking around. They are more than willing to chat with you or take a selfie. One of the neat things I enjoy at the Classics is the Dock Dogs competition. It’s amazing to watch a well trained canine soar through the air.

The Day 1 weigh-in found Easton Fothergill in the lead with 20 pounds, 13-ounces. Fothergill won the 2025 Classic and was hoping to be one of the handful of anglers to have won it back to back. While interviewing him on media day, he informed that he was on some quality smallmouths in the 4- to 5-pound range.

Day 2

The attendance at the outdoor show starting in the morning was amazing. The weigh-in started at 4 p.m. and after all the competitors weighed in, Dylan Nutt, a young 22-year old angler from Nashville, Tenn. took the lead with a 26-pound, 7-ounce limit; boating 45-pounds, 12-ounces for the first two days. Nutt took a 5-pound, 9-ounce lead into the third and final day. Fothergill, meanwhile, dropped to third place and it looked like any of the top three or four anglers had a chance.

Again, I interviewed Nutt on media day and was amazed at his confidence. He told me he was on some big smallmouth and largemouth bass and thought he could win.

Day 3

The outdoor show on Sunday is usually very busy and you may have to wait in line to view exhibits. It is also a good bet to leave the outdoor show early and get a good seat at the weigh-in before it fills up.

Nutt proved that the confidence he showed me was correct and weighed in a 20-pound, 9-ounce limit to win the 2026 Bassmaster Classic. His 66-pounds, 9-ounce three-day limit beat second place angler Trey McKinney by 9 pounds, 5-ounces.

Nutt won over $307,000 for his effort.

Next year’s Bassmaster Classic will be held in March on Lake Hartwell near Greenville, S.C. If you’re a big fan of bass fishing, it’s the place to be. Plan on staying for all three days of the Classic. It’s a great show that you will probably want to attend year after year.

Kevin VanDam to serve as angler/coach at 20th World Bass Fishing Championship in October

The U.S. Angling Confederation recently announced that Kevin VanDam (KVD) will play a dual role for Team USA at the 2026 20th Bass Fishing World Championship at Lake Hamilton in Hot Springs, Ark., Oct. 1-3.

VanDam served as the team’s coach last year on it’s way to winning a gold medal in South Africa. This year, the host team will feature KVD as angler/coach, along with Jacob Wheeler, Dustin Connell, Ott DeFoe, Drew Gill and Scott Martin.

Learn more about the event at: https://usangling.org/2026-blackbass-world-championship/