Another Bass Pro Tour event is almost here, which means it’s time to lock in your lineups for Phoenix Fantasy Fishing. In addition to the regular competition, a new game for 2026 is Beat JT Kenney Presented by 13 Fishing. All Fantasy Fishing players who select a team for Bass Pro Tour events are automatically entered, and players’ scores at each event are compared to the MLFNOW! color commentator. The player who totals the most points by the end of the season will take home a Heavy Hitters-style championship belt plus a premium prize package from 13 Fishing.
Here are JT’s picks for Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Presented by MillerTech on Lakes Whitney and Waco. For a chance to beat him, make sure to submit your lineup before lines in at 7:45 a.m. CT on Thursday.
PICK YOUR TEAM I EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT WHITNEY AND WACO
Flight 1
JT’s picks: Keith Carson, Dustin Connell, Mark Daniels Jr., Drew Gill, Alton Jones Jr.
This is a tricky event to break down for a few reasons. One, almost none of these anglers have competed on Whitney and Waco before. I don’t know exactly what to expect from the two fisheries. Two, by all accounts, they fish very different. So, I want to make sure I pick anglers who I think can handle Whitney and at least make the Knockout Round, but I don’t want a bunch of guys who are going to flame out once they get there. I have a little bit of catching up to do, after all.
The obvious starting place is Alton Jones Jr. He’s had a tough start to the season, but he’s still on the short list of the best anglers in the world, and he’s a local. Drew Gill is another easy pick, even after a rough two-event swing in South Carolina. The more strategy is involved at an event (as will be the case here with two different fisheries in play), the more I like his chances. Dustin Connell is another angler who simply catches bass anywhere we go. He stumbled in the Knockout Round at both of the first two events, but it feels like he’s been on the verge of putting all the pieces together.
For my last two picks, I went with two strong shallow-water anglers. If there are bass either on or near spawning beds, Keith Carson will be a handful. And if not, he’s shown at the first two events this season that he can hang with the best in the world using forward-facing sonar. Mark Daniels Jr. is also great up shallow, and he has a strong track record in Texas – including a third-place finish on Lake Travis in 2021, a fishery that shares some similarities with Whitney. MDJ also has momentum on his side after a strong start to the year.
Flight 2
JT’s picks: Zack Birge, Justin Cooper, Banks Shaw, Jeff Sprague, Jacob Wheeler
Once again, I’m leaning on a mixture of obvious picks and shallow-water experts who have shown a knack for catching them in Texas. There’s really no explanation necessary for picking Jacob Wheeler and Banks Shaw, right? The dudes basically wake up in the Top 10.
Zack Birge is another super consistent hammer, and if the bass are shallow (which, again, seems to be the prevailing expectation), he should be in his comfort zone. Same goes for Jeff Sprague. The Texan rarely has bad events, and his understanding of Lone Star State bass could give him a little bit of a leg up in this event. Last but not least, Justin Cooper has been red hot – really, dating back to the start of last season, but especially early in 2026, with two Top 10s to kick off the year. He also knows this region well, so I expect him to keep it rolling.