DECATUR, Ala. – While University of North Alabama’s Dylan Nutt was off winning back-to-back Toyota Series events in the ultra-competitive Central Division the last two months, twin brother Carter wasn’t exactly just watching in the cheering section – in those two tournaments, he placed 16th and fourth. Now, they’ve teamed up in the 2025 Abu Garcia College Fishing Presented by YETI National Championship Presented by Columbia PFG to take the Day 1 lead at Wheeler Lake.
“It’s really cool,” Dylan said of sharing the boat with his twin brother in the championship event. “It’s just really cool to be able to share that moment. We may or may not win the tournament, but just to be able to say we’re leading after the first day, it’s an amazing feeling.”
“We were together in the womb, and we’ve been together our entire 21 years of existence,” Carter added. “It’s a blessing.”
A blessing to fish together and a blessing to be catching what they’re catching. With 22 pounds, 15 ounces on Day 1, they lead a trio of University of Montevallo teams in second, third and fourth with just a 2-ounce margin over Trace Antunes and Slade Davis (the other two Montevallo teams right behind them have 21-9 and 21-8).
That tight grouping of weights at the top of the leaderboard is indicative of how Wheeler is fishing with the current conditions and what kind of fish the Tennessee River impoundment has to offer. The entire Top 10 cracked at least 20 pounds, and 19 pounds extends all the way down to 18th on the leaderboard. However, there’s real potential to see some bags that exceed what we saw today if conditions are stable over the next couple days.
After a cold front came through the area – paired with lake levels that have risen more than 2 feet due to torrential rains and storms last weekend – Wheeler’s bass have been in a bit of a funk. Some stability may help break them out of it.
“The fish are pretty funny right now,” Dylan said. “They’re wanting to spawn. There’s some that are postspawn, some that are prespawn. They’re just hung up in transition areas right now.”
As such, the Nutt brothers used their two days of practice on a fishery they’ve never been to prior (despite hailing from Nashville, going to school in Florence, Alabama, and being aces all along the Tennessee River) to identify and collect stretches full of quality offshore bass. Interestingly enough, while they’re fishing offshore, they’re only utilizing forward-facing sonar to locate their fish – neither one watched a bass eat their bait on Day 1.
The hard part, they said, has been figuring out the timing of their rotation from spot to spot (they have about eight in total) and what the bass are in the mood to eat at any given time; though they chose to remain mum about what specifically they’re wielding with a couple days of competition remaining.
“We caught them on a variety of different lures on a baitcaster,” Dylan said. “We caught them on moving baits. We caught them dragging. We kind of had to rotate through different baits.”
The biggest bass either angler has caught between practice and competition was a 5-pounder. Today, the smallest they weighed in was 4 1/4 pounds with the largest being 4 3/4. They know true kickers are swimming around based on what they’ve seen on their graphs and what they’ve seen other anglers catch – namely, a 6 1/2-pounder they watched Nicholas Dumke (third) catch not far from them on Day 1 – but it hasn’t been easy getting those Tennessee River titans to eat.
Still, Dylan and Carter have lived near the TVA their whole lives and fish all along it about as much as anyone can, so it’s only a matter of time before their formula pays off with a big bonus fish.
“We’ve got a lot of experience on the Tennessee River, and we’ve got a lot of experience doing what we’re doing,” Carter said. “It’s confidence and knowing what to throw – and we know what to throw.”
In order to maintain (and widen) their lead on Day 2, the brothers will have to dial in their rotation from spot to spot. That’s the true key to what they’re doing.
“We’ve got eight different stretches that are good,” Dylan said. “It’s going to be all about pulling up on the right place at the right time and catching them.”
Assuming they’re able to keep the momentum train on the tracks on Thursday, that’s when they might start considering what it would mean to win the National Championship, twin brother and twin brother, on a river they know so well.
“We’re just going to have to put it in God’s hands,” Carter said. “If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.”
Top 10 Teams
1. Dylan Nutt and Carter Nutt – University of North Alabama 22 – 15 (5)
2. Trace Antunes and Slade Davis – University of Montevallo 22 – 13 (5)
3. Nicholas Dumke – University of Montevallo 21 – 9 (5)
4. Brody Robison and Peyton Sorrow – University of Montevallo 21 – 8 (5)
5. John Berry and Blake Bullock – Blue Mountain Christian University 21 – 7 (5)
6. Tucker Dottley and Jordan Hampton – Bethel University 20 – 9 (5)
7. Ethan Fields and Jaxson Freeman – McKendree University 20 – 4 (5)
8. Clayton Easter and Trevor Easter – Tarleton State – Stephenville 20 – 1 (5)
9. Brenton Godwin and Hunter Odom – University of Montevallo 20 – 1 (5)
10. Brett Mouw and Asa Putnam – University of Montevallo 20 – 0 (5)