Beat JT Kenney Presented by 13 Fishing, an offshoot of Phoenix Fantasy Fishing, is a season-long game with one objective: Be better than MLFNOW! color commentator JT Kenney. A former touring pro, Kenney knows a thing or two about the game, and he sure knows how to model the championship belt that’ll go to one lucky (and talented) contestant at the end of the season.
Follow the blog all season long for recaps of each stage and special event of the 2026 Bass Pro Tour season as we chronicle JT’s performance against the thousands of people trying to take him down.
Zenni Stage 6 Grand Lake Presented by Toyota
JT has had some weeks, and that was certainly one of them.
Our resident expert MLFNOW! colorman was all the way up to third before Stage 6 at Grand Lake. It… did not go great. JT put up just 1,047 points and slipped to seventh in the overall season standings with just one Bass Pro Tour event to go. He’s now 2,762 points off the lead, currently held by Will F. (25,552 points) who’s 1,137 points ahead of Ethan W. in second.
Congrats to Caden Z. for his top finish in the Grand Lake portion of the season-long tournament. Jennings E., Jan David R., Curt G. and Warren T. all gave chase in a tightly contested tournament that saw the quartet finish little more than 27 pounds apart for the whole event.
JT has one more tournament to right the ship and push for a title in his own game. Can he pull it off at Lake Erie and Stage 7? Don’t forget to make your Phoenix Fantasy Fishing picks for your automatic entry and chance to beat JT at his own game.
Kubota Heavy Hitters Orange Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops
What a bounceback from JT! After a dud at Stage 6, the namesake of the Beat JT Kenney game made sure a lot of people didn’t actually do that at Heavy Hitters – and got himself WAY up in the standings in the process. JT put together a strong squad highlighted by four pros who finished in the Top 10 at Orange Lake. In total, JT amassed 2,525 points for a 273rd-place finish – almost 2,200 places better than he fared at Stage 6. Oh, and that moves the former pro into third place on the season in his own game (21,743 total points). Will F. (22,500 points) and Ethan W. (22,128), keep up the good work! You’re the only ones beating JT at his own game!
Shoutouts are also in order for the top Phoenix Fantasy Fishing Presented by 13 Fishing finishers from Heavy Hitters. Talk about a TIGHT race! Lee K. took down the victory by just 1 pound, 14 ounces over Joel M., who edged out David M. by more than 8 pounds for second. Next up in the pursuit of topping the keeper of the coveted Beat JT Kenney belt: Stage 6 at Grand Lake in a couple weeks. Study up!
Yuengling Light Lager Stage 5 Beaver Lake Presented by YETI
If you competed in Phoenix Fantasy Fishing (and the Beat JT Kenney Presented by 13 Fishing game by default), congratulations! You probably beat JT!
It’s not that JT didn’t try. The former pro spent a lot of time on Beaver Lake in his FLW days, and he put a lot of thought into his picks. Sometimes it just doesn’t work out. JT put up 1,217 points, mostly on the strength of a runner-up finish from Wesley Strader. Unfortunately, no one else on his squad from Flight 1 finished better than 24th, and while Zack Birge, Spencer Shuffield and Jacob Wheeler fourth, fifth and eighth, respectively (nice call on those ones, JT!), from Flight 2, Bryan Thrift and David Dudley just couldn’t quite rekindle the Beaver Lake magic from the FLW days. The result: a 2,464th-place finish for JT at Stage 5, and a whole bunch of Fantasy Fishing players who fared much, much better.
Congrats to Matthew H. on some phenomenal picks in taking home the Stage 5 win (3,680 points, 1,185-07 total weight). The Top 5 was STACKED with Ryan H. missing the top spot by just 7 pounds, 4 ounces and Mason S., Terry D. and Anthony S. all topping 1,155 total pounds for their picks. Great job, all! Keep it going at Orange Lake and challenge JT for his belt with some top-notch Heavy Hitters picks.
Bass Pro Shops REDCREST Table Rock Lake Presented by Mercury & Lowrance
You can’t fault JT for trying – he really did – but he didn’t survive REDCREST unscathed. With 3,158 points, he finished the tournament in 1,131st place, 1,130 points behind winner Andriah W. with 4,288 (799-10 total in the Phoenix Fantasy Fishing game). Jeff C., Andy R., Jeremy G. and Justin B. put up a good fight to round out the Top 5, the four separated by less than 15 pounds total.
JT once again made the right winner pick (Jacob Wheeler) and crushed it with the rest of his Flight 2 picks: Alton Jones Jr., Zack Birge, Dustin Connell and Drew Gill. That entire group finished in the Top 10. Unfortunately, things didn’t go so well for JT’s Flight 1 picks. Michael Neal (22nd), Jacob Wall (24th), Mark Davis (32nd) and Justin Lucas (35th) sunk JT’s hopes of winning the event and maybe even the season? Time will tell.
The unofficial second half of the season starts now. It’s time to redouble your efforts in the hunt for JT’s championship belt. Up next: Stage 5 at Beaver Lake, a fishery JT frequented many times in his FLW Tour days.
Suzuki Marine Stage 4 O.H. Ivie and Brownwood Presented by Plano
JT wasn’t messing around with his Stage 4 picks. In Flight 1, he leaned heavily on anglers with an affinity for fishing shallow (Ott DeFoe, Cole Floyd and Takahiro Omori, namely) and a couple others who are either stellar ‘Scopers (Drew Gill) or favor a more balanced approach (Alton Jones Jr.). Gill and Jones headlined that groups with fourth- and seventh-place finishes, respectively. From Flight 2, winner Jacob Wheeler and Zack Birge (eighth) did the heavy lifting. All told, JT amassed 3,630 points – a solid finish fewer than 700 points off winner Lance R. (congrats, Lance!). Lance blew out the competition with 876-14 for his total weight, 27-5 ahead of Ricky P. in second.
At roughly the midway point of the season, JT is holding his own, but a big one is next: REDCREST at Table Rock Lake. With a smaller field to choose from, making the right picks will be imperative for JT to make a run at the top of his own leaderboard. Stay ahead of him by checking out all the expert intel at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Champion Teamwear Stage 3 Whitney and Waco Presented by MillerTech
If you finished Stage 3 with more than 4,028 points in Phoenix Fantasy Fishing Presented by 13 Fishing, congratulations – you beat JT Kenney (this time)! JT had a dandy of a week, but Allen C., John G., Bennett M., Dennis W. and Arnold P. deserve recognition for finishing in the Top 5.
JT turned in a top-tier performance, but he’ll have to work to stay hot. Stage 4 starts Thursday (entries are already OPEN!). Don’t forget to study up and make your picks at FantasyFishing.com and be automatically entered to compete against JT for the Beat JT Kenney championship belt and a killer prize pack from 13 Fishing for the season-long winner.
O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Lake Hartwell Presented by Lowrance
Heading into Bass Pro Tour Stage 2 on Lake Hartwell, MLFNOW! colorman JT Kenney had his eyes on South Carolina locals and high-performing finesse fishermen (i.e. the hotshot ‘Scopers on the roster) as he set his Phoenix Fantasy Fishing Presented by 13 Fishing roster. His picks actually mirrored those of the MLF Fantasy Fishing Insiders: heavy on names like Drew Gill and Alton Jones Jr.
Kenney rostered a fine lineup of 10 pros: Casey Ashley, Matt Becker, Dustin Connell, Jones and Gill in Flight 1; Jake Lawrence, Mitchell Robinson, Banks Shaw, Jacob Walker and Jacob Wheeler in Flight 2. Kenney missed on a few in Flight 1 and made some hay in Flight 2, finishing Stage 2 in the upper middle of the pack with 3,452 points.
Beat JT Kenney Stage 2 winner Weston H., meanwhile, racked up 5,149 points to finish at the top of the heap.
It’s a quick turnaround for Stage 3 – rosters are due before lines in this Thursday, March 5! Choose your 10-man Bass Pro Tour fantasy squad, and you’ll be automatically entered in the Beat JT Kenney game, where the coveted Beat JT Belt is up for grabs.
B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Lake Guntersville Presented by Mercury
If you finished in the top third of the field of Phoenix Fantasy Fishing Presented by 13 Fishing for Stage 1, congratulations – you beat JT Kenney! JT had a pretty nice week, but some of you crushed it. Take a bow, Noah H., John C., Evan S., Robert H., and Kevin C., our Beat JT Kenney Top 5 after one event.
JT turned in an admirable performance with 3,733 points, but he’ll have some work to do to claw his way to the top, starting with Stage 2 in February (entries are already OPEN!).