Another year of Phoenix Fantasy Fishing Presented by 13 Fishing starts Thursday when the Bass Pro Tour kicks off the 2026 season at legendary Lake Guntersville. New for Fantasy Fishing players this year is the opportunity to compete not only against your buddies, but also against JT Kenney.
The three-time FLW Tour winner and current MLFNOW! color commentator is challenging everyone in a new contest – Beat JT Kenney Presented by 13 Fishing. All players who submit picks for Bass Pro Tour events will be automatically entered, and their results from each event will be compared to JT’s. The season-long winner of the competition will take home a Heavy Hitters-style championship belt and a premium prize package from 13 Fishing.
Here’s who JT is picking for his lineup at B&W Trailer Hitches Stage 1 Presented by Mercury. For a chance to beat him, be sure to make your selections before lines in at 7:45 a.m. CT on Thursday.
Flight 1
JT’s picks: Dustin Connell, Ott DeFoe, Alton Jones Jr., Wesley Strader, Jacob Wall
I don’t think it’s a real big secret that forward-facing sonar is going to be a big deal in this event. But given that anglers are only allowed to use it for one period each day, they’re going to have to find other ways to catch them, too. I expect the grass bite will be a major player.
So, I’m picking a team of anglers with a mixture of skills. Dustin Connell and Alton Jones Jr. are two of the best minnow-shakers in the game. It’s especially hard not to pick Connell since he just won on Guntersville less than a year ago. Then you have Wesley Strader and Jacob Wall, both of whom are comfortable doing the forward-facing deal but have also proven themselves to be well-rounded anglers. They’ll also both have some local knowledge on their side. Wall lives on Guntersville and fishes the lake as much as anyone, while Strader probably knows the upper end of the fishery better than anyone else in the field – hence him running up there and finishing second at REDCREST last spring. Don’t be surprised if he does the same thing this week. Finally, I trust Ott DeFoe to find either a shallow grass bite or a current-related deal. He might not be the best ‘Scoper in the field, but the dude just knows how to catch bass.
Flight 2
JT’s picks: Zack Birge, Bobby Lane, Banks Shaw, Bryan Thrift, Jacob Wheeler
Obviously, I’m going to pick Jacob Wheeler. And Banks Shaw moved into the same “lock” territory last year with his insane season on the Invitationals. I can’t wait to see how he fares on the BPT. I’m guessing pretty well.
Aside from those two, Zack Birge feels like another obvious pick. His forward-facing abilities are underrated, and everyone knows he’s one of the best shallow power fishermen in the game. He’s finished in the Top 10 at the first event of the season two years in a row, plus he was third on Guntersville in REDCREST last year. Bobby Lane will figure out the grass bite, but he’s sneaky good with a little finesse crankbait, too – watch out for him to throw that Frittside that won him REDCREST on Grand Lake a few years back. Lastly, this is the time of year when fish tend to group up in big numbers on small spots, and there’s no one better than Bryan Thrift at finding a sneaky offshore hole and milking it for all it’s worth.