Texas swing to loom large in Heavy Hitters race
March is extensively thought to be one of the best month of the yr to catch a giant bass, so it is becoming that the Bass Pro Tour is taking on residence in a state that has a robust declare to be the lunker capital of the nation – Texas.
During the course of the month, BPT execs will go to 4 fisheries throughout two occasions in the Lone Star State. First up is Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Presented by MillerTech on Lakes Whitney and Waco this Thursday by way of Sunday. Then, Stage 4 will take the 51-angler discipline west to OH Ivie and Lake Brownwood March 26-29.
The subsequent two occasions will, in fact, play a big position in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year race. But they will be much more pivotal in the opposite season-long competitors for BPT execs – qualifying for Heavy Hitters.
In case you do not know, Heavy Hitters is an annual, no-entry-fee “all-star” occasion with juiced up day by day large bass bonuses, which improve every spherical up to $100,000 for catching the most important bass of the Championship Round. Qualification is decided by the sum of the most important bass caught by every angler at each regular-season occasion, with the highest 30 execs making the sector for 2027.
Unlike the Angler of the Year race, each match does not essentially carry equal weight in the Heavy Hitters standings, and Stages 3 and 4 could possibly be an actual difference-maker. No one has gained extra Heavy Hitters money than Alton Jones Jr.who took house $150,000 in large bass bonuses in 2022 then blew the sector away to win the championship belt in 2023. Since the 2026 Bass Pro Tour schedule was introduced, he is had the Texas swing circled. Look for him to prioritize getting a pair large bites throughout the subsequent two occasions, even when he has to deviate from his major sample to achieve this.
“These next two tournaments that we’re going to have are going to make or break Heavy Hitters,” Jones mentioned. “You’re going to have guys that depart right here with a giant fish of three 1/2 kilos, and you are going to have guys that depart right here with 9-pounders. Or, at Ivie, a 14-pounder.
“So, there’s a lot on the line, more than just points here. These are the two events that you circle where you’ve got to get a big bite.”
Jones, who lives close to Lakes Whitney and Waco and has years of expertise on each fisheries, expects a couple of large bass to hit SCORETRACKER® at Stage 3 – probably even a 10-pounder. However, he does not suppose there might be a ton of huge ones caught, particularly for these anglers who fail to make the Knockout Round lower. The two-day Qualifying Round will happen on Whitney, which, whereas it may need higher numbers of bass, usually does not produce the identical high quality as Waco.
As Jones famous, we may see anglers gaining 6 or 7 kilos on a few of their friends in the Heavy Hitters standings at this occasion. For reference, the distinction between Jacob Wheelerthe highest qualifier for Heavy Hitters 2026 on Orange Lake based mostly off final yr’s BPT season, and the final qualifiers (a three-way tie between Nick LeBrun, John Hunter and Takahiro Omori) was 6-13.
There could possibly be an excellent bigger hole between the haves and have-nots at Stage 4. OH Ivie has emerged because the nation’s premier big manufacturing facility in current years. It’s produced extra Legacy Class ShareLunkers (bass over 13 kilos) than every other Texas lake 5 years operating. There’s an actual probability somebody catches the primary “teener” in BPT historical past there.
But these giants aren’t simple to idiot – as evidenced by the Fishing Clash Team Series occasion held on OH Ivie and Brownwood in the autumn of 2024. The chunk was particularly difficult at that occasion, however just one bass over 4 kilos hit SCORETRACKER® throughout three days of competitors on Ivie.
Expect to hear a lot of execs speaking about discovering a “Heavy Hitters fish” throughout the subsequent two occasions. By the time the calendar flips to April, some anglers could have all however sealed a spot in the sector, and a few might be dealing with a steep climb.
AOY replace: Rookies on prime, sharks circling
As for the Angler of the Year competitors, there’s nonetheless a lot of season left that would shake up the standings. But by way of two occasions, a pair of rookies are making it obvious that they have been prepared for the most important stage.
Jacob Walker leads the factors standings after a pair of second-place finishes to begin the season. Just 5 factors again of him is a fellow rookie Banks Shawwho completed fifth at Lake Guntersville and fourth at Hartwell.
We’ve seen fairly a couple of examples in current years of rookies tasting quick success upon arriving to the Bass Pro Tour. Each of the previous three seasons, a newcomer has each gained an occasion and completed in the highest two of the AOY standings – Matt Becker in 2023, Drew Gill in 2024 and Jake Lawrence in 2025. However, by no means since 2019 (when everybody was new to the Bass Pro Tour) have two rookies completed among the many Top 10.
Shaw and Walker ought to have endurance close to the highest of the standings. Both have proven the flexibility to catch bass all around the nation. Walker notched three Top 10s in three completely different states throughout his two seasons fishing the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals, together with a win on Lake Champlain. Shaw’s dominance has been effectively documented. He gained the Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year titles on the Invitationals final season in document style, and he is now up to 10 Top 10s in his first 11 profession tour-level occasions.
But the pair could have their work lower out to maintain onto the highest two spots. Just 2 factors behind Shaw is Wheeler. The perennial bully of the Bass Pro Tour has gained the AOY title 4 of the final 5 years, together with two in a row. He will, in fact, be the most important risk, however he is not the one one.
Not far behind Wheeler is Zack Birge. After ending sixth in the factors two years in a row, Birge feels due to really problem for an AOY crown for the primary time in his robust professional profession. A degree behind him, Ott DeFoe you may have completed in the highest 4 of a tour-level AOY race 5 completely different seasons, however by no means gained. And tied with DeFoe is Spencer Shuffieldwho could possibly be harmful if he is nonetheless lurking close to the lead coming into the stretch run. Shuffield has lengthy been cash in the second half of the season. Since 2020, he is completed in the highest 20 of 14 of his 19 tour-level occasions held in June or later. That features a $200,000 win on the 2022 TITLE and three straight Top 10s to shut final yr’s BPT season.
Fishing Clash Angler of the Year Top 10:
- Jacob Walker – 158 factors
- Banks Shaw – 153
- Jacob Wheeler – 151
- Justin Cooper – 146
- Zack Birge – 143
- Spencer Shuffield – 142
- Ott DeFoe – 142
- Mark Daniels Jr. – 140
- Jacob Wall – 135
- Keith Carson – 135
