The Many Bass Club held its first tournament of 2026 on January 10 and 11. The anglers could choose to fish either Saturday or Sunday. Fourteen anglers fished the tournament, and there were nine stringers over 10 pounds and eight of them were five-fish limits. After several weeks of above average warm weather, the anglers were greeted on Saturday and Sunday with windy and cool post frontal conditions. Winds were gusty above fifteen mph on Saturday, and Sunday was only marginally better. Water temps were in the mid-fifties. Good stringers were caught on both days. The top stringer and three other stringers over fifteen pounds were caught Sunday. The big fish and second place stringer were caught on Saturday. The bite was good in spite of the weather.
Terry Hotard won the tournament with a stringer that weighed 17.96 pounds. Terry caught his fish shallow on Rattletraps and chatterbaits in the south end of the Lake. James Edwards finished in second place with 16.31 pounds and James caught the tournament’s big fish which weighed 5.22 pounds. James caught his fish in the mid-lake area of the Lake in shallow depths with spinnerbaits, crankbaits and soft plastics. Brad Pickett placed third with a 15.82-pound stringer caught on a Carolina rig in fifteen to twenty foot depths in the mid-lake area.
The Club’s 2026 Angler of the Year Race starts with Terry Hotard in the lead with 19.96 points. James Edwards is in second place with 18.31 points, followed by Brad Pickett in third with 17.82 points, Gary West in fourth with 17.32 points, Steve Swihart in fifth with 16.98 points, Mason Campbell in sixth with 15.33 points, Jimmy Campbell in seventh with 15.2 points, and Johnny Flowers in eighth with 13.77 points.
Congratulations to the winners!