RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats will wrap up the 2026 Plains Division season next week with its third and final regular-season tournament, June 18-20, at Lake Dardanelle in Russellville, Arkansas – the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Dardanelle.
The three-day tournament, hosted by the Russellville Tourism & Visitors Center, will feature a roster of the region’s best bass-fishing pros and co-anglers competing for a top prize of up to $100,000 in the pro division and a new Phoenix 518 Pro boat with a 115-horsepower outboard plus $5,000 in the co-angler division.
It’s been three years since Lake Dardanelle appeared on the Toyota Series schedule, and when the Arkansas River impoundment returns to host the final event of the Plains Division season, it might as well be a brand-new fishery.
Grass has taken hold throughout the lake, changing the complexion of the fishery. As a result, the playing field should fish much bigger, and the weights should follow suit.
Boater Kirk Smith of Edmond, Oklahoma, won’t be in the field for this event due to his son’s high school graduation. But with two career wins – including a Toyota Series triumph in May 2021 – and three other Top-10 finishes on Lake Dardanelle, Smith knows the fishery well. He emphasized that the recent grass growth has changed the lake. Most notably, a venue that used to fish small suddenly has entire new areas in play.
“I feel strongly that a whole new area of the lake that hasn’t shown promise in the last five or 10 years could very easily be a player this year,” Smith said. “Just because it’s a new lake with the grass growing in places that it hasn’t grown in 15 or 20 years. So, there could be areas of the lake that show out that haven’t shown out in many, many years. It’s going to be a very unusual tournament from that standpoint.”
Smith expects that grass to be a major player in this event, with lots of bass using it as they transition from spawning to summertime patterns. However, the weather and water level could change that.
“If the long spring hangs on, then I believe the grass will be an enormous player,” he said. “If the summer hits hard and fast, then there might be a transition of fish that leave the grass and go out to some of their offshore, summer-type holding areas. But if I was showing up tomorrow, I’d stick in the grass, for sure.”
That said, the transitional time of year should make for a diverse event. Smith thinks some anglers could lean heavily on their three allotted hours with forward-facing sonar, while others will fare well without ever turning it on. Assuming the water doesn’t rise – always a possibility on the riverine fishery – both power and finesse tactics should play.
Were he fishing this event, Smith said he would start in the grass until he put a solid limit in the boat, then move to offshore areas and utilize forward-facing sonar. Dardanelle isn’t exactly the Tennessee River when it comes to big, offshore schools of bass, and the sweet spots can be hard to find. But Smith said that’s a good way to catch a kicker.
“Some of those fish are going to be out there, but you might fish three hours and only get one bite,” he said. “But that one bite might be the one that’s going to push you over the top.”
Smith expects an Arkansas River staple – the swim jig – to put a lot of fish in the boat at this event.
“The (Booyah) Mobster swim jig is going to be an absolute player in this deal, without a doubt,” he said.
Topwater offerings like buzzbaits, frogs and walking baits could be productive, too, especially if the water rises. There’s always a place for flipping and pitching on Dardanelle. And Smith couldn’t discount the possibility of someone finding success with an urchin-style bait given their nationwide dominance in recent weeks.
In each of the past two Toyota Series events on Dardanelle (2023 and 2021), only one angler has topped the 50-pound mark. Smith expects that number to increase at this event, predicting the winning weight will fall in the 56- to 58-pound range.
He thinks we’ll see a few 20-pound bags hit the scales. The challenge will be backing it up across all three days. Even with Dardanelle fishing bigger than it has in years past, he still believes fish management will be the biggest key to victory.
“The 90-10 rule applies to that lake probably more than any other place I’ve ever been,” Smith said. “So, when you find the right area, you’re going to need to manage your fish.
“There’s going to be guys that have 50-yard stretches of water where they’re going to catch the majority of their fish. And you cannot just sit there and wear a groove in that if you want to be competitive.”
Anglers will take off each day at 6 a.m. CT, launching from Lake Dardanelle State Park, located at 2428 Marina Road in Russellville. Weigh-ins will also take place at the state park, starting at 2 p.m. daily. Fans are invited to attend in person and can also stay connected by following the “MLF Live” weigh-in broadcasts and daily updates on MajorLeagueFishing.com.
In Toyota Series regular-season competition, payouts are based on the number of participants competing in the event, scaling up for every 20 boats over 160 and down for every boat below 160. With a 160-boat field, pros fish for a top prize of up to $75,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard (valued at $33,500). With a 260-boat field, pros fish for a top award of up to $100,000, if Phoenix MLF Bonus qualified. Co-anglers cast for the top prize of a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, plus $5,000 cash.
The 2026 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and qualification to REDCREST 2027. The winning co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2026 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 5-7 on Pickwick Lake in Counce, Tennessee, and is hosted by Explore Pickwick Lake & Hardin County Tourism.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.
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