GROVE, Okla. – The Bass Pro Tour will make its return to Grand Lake next week, June 18-21, as Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Toyota brings the league’s high-intensity, every-fish-counts format back to Oklahoma.
Hosted by the City of Grove and the Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau, the four-day tournament will feature 51 of the world’s top professional anglers competing for a $125,000 top prize and their share of a $600,000 purse, along with valuable Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) points in hopes of qualifying for REDCREST 2027 – the Bass Pro Tour championship – and the Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event. Competition will unfold under MLF’s catch, weigh, immediate-release format, where every bass over the 2-pound minimum counts and SCORETRACKER® – the MLF live leaderboard – keeps the pressure on throughout the day.
“We host many tournaments each year, but having the best of the best come to our city and lake is truly something special,” said Brent Malone, Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau Director. “It’s an incredible opportunity to showcase our amazing fishery and the natural beauty that makes Grove a top destination for anglers. We’re also super excited to show off our brand-new, 50,000-square-foot Expo Center located right in the heart of Wolf Creek Park. This state-of-the-art facility is a game changer for our community, and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it during this premier event.”
The field heading to Grand Lake brings together a blend of the Bass Pro Tour’s most accomplished veterans and current title contenders, led by reigning Bass Pro Tour Angler of the Year and REDCREST 2026 champion Jacob Wheeler and three-time REDCREST champion Dustin Connell. Proven winners and fan favorites like Edwin Evers, Ott DeFoe and Zack Birge continue to anchor the roster, while Grand Lake’s history adds another compelling layer to the competition. Oklahoma’s Birge enters the event as the most decorated Grand Lake winner in the field with two career victories on the fishery, while Bobby Lane and Mark Daniels Jr. each own notable tournament wins there as well.
While Grand Lake has hosted more than 120 MLF tournaments through the years, Zenni Stage 6 Presented by Toyota marks only the second time the Bass Pro Tour has visited the fishery. Grand Lake previously hosted the 2022 REDCREST championship, where Lane claimed the $300,000 top prize, and over half the field – 28 of the 51 pros competing next week – fished in that event. With SCORETRACKER® and the BPT’s catch, weigh and immediate-release format once again in play, pros will have the opportunity to revisit one of Oklahoma’s premier bass fisheries and see how it has evolved since REDCREST was last contested there.
Talala, Oklahoma, pro Evers said he believes Grand Lake is setting up to showcase its reputation as one of the nation’s premier bass fisheries when the Bass Pro Tour arrives next week.
“Over the last 10 years, Grand has been one of the best lakes in the country,” Evers said. “It’s going to be a great tournament. I think we’re hitting it perfectly. We haven’t had any monster floods, and the lake looks like it’s going to be fishing really good.”
Evers said one of Grand Lake’s defining characteristics is the diversity of patterns available to competitors. With water levels currently sitting at the base of shoreline willow trees and favorable conditions across the fishery, anglers are expected to have a wide range of options.
“The lake’s going to be wide open,” Evers said. “Anglers will have the opportunity to fish shallow or out deep and really fish their strengths.”
If water levels rise even slightly, Evers said shallow-water anglers could find success targeting bushes, willow trees, laydowns and rock banks in the upper reaches of the lake. Power fishing techniques such as spinnerbaits, swim jigs, vibrating jigs and buzzbaits are also all expected to play a key role.
“You can basically just pick your favorite power fishing technique, put it in your hand and go,” Evers said.
Grand Lake’s offshore bite should also remain a major factor. Evers said he expects anglers targeting deeper fish to rely on traditional staples such as crankbaits, minnows, Carolina rigs and football jigs. He also believes forward-facing sonar will play an important role, despite the Bass Pro Tour’s one-period sonar restriction.
As for weights, Evers anticipates a highly productive event from top to bottom. He estimates anglers may need nearly 50 pounds per day to survive the elimination rounds, while the leaders could eclipse the century mark on their best days.
“I expect a lot of fish to be caught,” Evers said. “I think you’re going to see more than 100 pounds a day on the top end of things.”
For Evers, the event also offers the added benefit of competing close to home. Grand Lake sits just over an hour from his residence, providing a welcome break from the extensive travel that typically accompanies a Bass Pro Tour season.
“I’m just super excited to be competing close to the house,” Evers said. “It’s been a nice year for us on the BPT, not having to travel far, and now we’re going to have one that’s within about an hour of the house, which is exciting.”
Anglers will arrive each morning at 6:15 a.m. CT to Wolf Creek Park, located at 963 N. 16th St. in Grove, Oklahoma, with takeoff starting at 7:15 a.m. Anglers will return to Wolf Creek Park each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are welcome to attend all launch and takeout events and also encouraged to watch the event live online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! livestream and follow along with SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
On Saturday and Sunday, June 20-21, from 3-6 p.m., MLF invites fans of all ages to Wolf Creek Park for the MLF Fan Experience & Watch Party. Fans can watch the Bass Pro Tour pros live on the MLFNOW! big screen, enjoy free food for the first 100 fans each day, enter hourly giveaways, browse MLF merchandise and the bargain bait bin, participate in a free fishing derby and casting contest, and cheer on their favorite anglers. Live music begins at 4 p.m., (Brad Hemphill on Saturday and Morgan Rohrs on Sunday) followed by Top-10 angler interviews and the trophy presentation at 5 p.m., including autographs and photos with Bass Pro Tour finalists. The first 50 kids ages 14 and under will receive a free rod and reel each day.
Student anglers from sixth grade through college are invited to join MLF pros at the free Columbia PFG Student Angler Clinic on Saturday, June 20 from 2-6 p.m. The clinic will also be held at Wolf Creek Park, and offers a unique opportunity for students to learn from the BPT pros, gain hands-on fishing instruction and compete in the national MLF Casting Competition. For more information or to register for the Columbia PFG Student Angler Clinic, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Zenni Stage 6 at Grand Lake Presented by Toyota will feature anglers competing with a 2-pound minimum weight requirement for a bass to be deemed scorable. The MLF Fisheries Management Division determines minimum weights for each body of water that the Bass Pro Tour visits, based on the productivity, bass population and anticipated average size of fish in each fishery.
The 2026 Bass Pro Tour features a field of 51 of the best professional anglers in the world, competing across seven regular-season tournaments around the country for millions of dollars and valuable points to qualify for the annual Kubota Heavy Hitters all-star event and the REDCREST 2027 championship.
The full field of anglers will compete in the two-day Qualifying Round on Thursday and Friday. After the Qualifying Round is complete, the pro with the heaviest two-day total will advance directly to Sunday’s Championship Round. Anglers who finish second through 25th will advance to Saturday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round, weights are zeroed, and the remaining anglers compete to finish in the top nine to advance to Sunday’s Championship Round. In the Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $125,000.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the action live on all four days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. CT. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app and Rumble.
Television coverage of Zenni Stage 6 at Grand Lake Presented by Toyota will premiere as a two-hour episode starting at 7 a.m. ET, on Saturday, Sept. 26 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Force, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, OFF! Deep Woods, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota, Yuengling and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram, Rumble and YouTube.