When the sun finally peeked over the trees, the temps were in the low-30s, the wind was howling, and I was in Bassmaster Elite Pro Justin Hamner’s boat, racing down the twisting Tennessee River. It was the first day of competition for the 2026 Bassmaster Classic.
We peeled away from the rest of the pack and Hamner’s boat came to rest on a big flat in a wide turn of the main river channel. He had located a mega school in practice. I could sense his excitement as he sent his jerk bait out to do work. “They were all big,” he assured me. Very few anglers know firsthand what it takes to win this event. Hamner knows, having won the Bassmaster Classic just two years ago on Grand Lake in Oklahoma.
But today, things did not go as planned. Hamner moved patiently and methodically through backup spots, putting together a solid middle-of-the-pack total weight, but his starting area where he had likely visualized himself catching a tournament leading bag, did not produce. His big fish were still there—he could see them following his baits. They just weren’t going to bite regardless of how many adjustments he made.The reality of the Classic is that it can be brutally unforgiving.
Over the first two days of the 2026 Bassmaster Classic on the Tennessee River, I had the opportunity to ride along with two of the sport’s rising young stars: 2024 Bassmaster Classic champion Justin Hamner and 2025 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year Tucker Smith, both representing FXR Pro Fish on the Elite Series trail.No fans of the sport would have been surprised to see either one of them, or both, in contention for the title on Sunday. Yet like the mathematical majority of the 56-angler field this week, neither ended up making it to the top-25 cut on Championship Sunday—Smith in 31st and Hamner in 40th.Spending a day of competition in each of their boats offered a clear reminder of just how thin the margin can be in bass fishing’s biggest event.
The Classic Doesn’t Give You Time
Each competition day starts long before daylight. And getting to sleep early is nearly impossible this week.They had a couple quick days of practice last week and one final look around on Wednesday, two days before competition began on Friday. The river system is vast. Checking out all the options is an impossibility, so you’d better select the areas you plan to focus on wisely. Form a plan, and a backup plan, and as many more backup plans as possible.
From the first cast on the first morning of competition, the pressure is constant.The amount of time you have to figure the fish out is constantly slipping away. Everyone talks about making decisions, but it really is more of a reaction than a decision. And the wrong reaction can cost hours of lost time…