The race for 7 Brew Angler of the Year on the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech has turned out to be hotter this year than it has recently. With a group of superlative anglers at the top, nobody has a ton of separation, and with two very distinct fisheries coming up, things are far from settled.
Right now, Carter Nutt and Banks Shaw are on top, separated by 13 points. But all the way down in fifth, Drew Gill is only 29 points off the lead – it’s a doable margin when you consider the upcoming schedule of Stop 5 on Lake Eufaula Presented by K&N Filters and the finale at Lake Champlain.
Here’s the Top 10 in points after four events:
1. Carter Nutt – 756 points
2. Banks Shaw – 743
3. Ryan Lachniet – 736
4. Dylan Nutt – 728
5. Drew Gill – 727
6. Connor Jacob – 707
7. Brody Campbell – 704
8. Will Harkins – 702
9. Clint Knight – 699
10. Marshall Hughes – 695
1. Carter Nutt is in great shape for the BPT
Coming off a win at Douglas Lake and boasting a moderate points lead for AOY, Carter Nutt is more than 50 points above the BPT cut, which should give him the inside track pretty handily.
“I feel good,” Carter said. “I’m sitting in a great spot for the BPT, which is exciting. Two decent tournaments, and I’ll make it.”
On the other hand, he knows Eufaula isn’t going to be a wheelhouse event.
“Eufaula is going to be tricky,” he said. “The eye now is on winning the points, so if I can go and get a Top 10, I’ll be sitting really good going into Champlain.”
Of course, last time he was in Oklahoma, it worked out fine, as he finished 23rd in the Toyota Series Championship in the fall. So, there’s really no reason to doubt that Carter can put up another strong showing.
2. Shaw will need to rally
Last year, Shaw was cruising at this point in the season – at the second-to-last event, he knocked out a Top 10 and forged a nearly insurmountable lead. This time, he’s slightly off his scorching pace from 2025.
“I was definitely pleased; it could have went a lot worse,” Shaw said of his 17th place finish at Douglas. “I was shooting for a top five, and I didn’t miss that by a very big margin.”
Offshore fishing on Douglas was right in Shaw’s wheelhouse. Eufaula is well off his home base on the Tennessee River, but of course it is foolish to project a tough finish for Shaw.
“These next two events, the points are super tight,” he said. “I feel like Eufaula could be a completely different ballgame. I feel like most of the guys up there in points will be able to be fairly consistent at Champlain; but Eufaula, I think it’s going to shake some things up.”
With both Carter and Dylan Nutt in the hunt, there’s also a chance the two push their chips in toward an AOY title.
“It’s going to be interesting,” Shaw said. “It’s one of those deals, I’m having to fish against two of them. Dylan (Nutt) told me he’s going to give Carter all his best stuff. But I know I can run him down for sure.”
Notably, Carter is on record disputing that claim.
“We’re going like usual. We’re not double-teaming him for AOY,” Carter said of his former North Alabama teammate. “I think he’s just trying to make excuses as to why he’s getting beat.”
3. One at a time for Lachniet
Third in points but about 30 points ahead of the current BPT cut, Lachniet is not entirely focused on chasing down an AOY. What he’d like is to fish well enough to avoid stress.
“The next two events are tricky; it could shake it up a little,” he said. “But it’s Carter’s AOY race, unless he lets it be someone else’s.”
Regardless of how well Carter Nutt does, Lachniet has his eyes set on the BPT.
“I feel great about the season so far,” he said. “Hopefully, I can get through Eufaula. If I get through Eufaula with a pretty solid tournament, like a Top 30, then I could enjoy Champlain a little bit. Most likely, unless I really bomb Eufaula, I’ll have a chance to make the Bass Pro Tour at Champlain. If things go right, I’ll have a chance at AOY. But you’ve got to take them one at a time.”
Bass Pro Tour race still very mixed
The top five in points will earn Bass Pro Tour invitations at the end of the year, and that will trickle down through double qualifiers – so, Shaw or Gill could win AOY without affecting the incoming class. Because of that, there’s a little more uncertainty about what it will take to earn an invite – it’s not hard to imagine Shaw, Gill and Marshall Hughes all moving the invite line down. As is, the Nutts, Lachniet, Connor Jacob and Brody Campbell down in seventh would earn invites. Campbell is just two points ahead of Will Harkins and five points ahead of Clint Knight – both he and Jacob are very much on the bubble.
Looking down the standings, there are a bunch of capable anglers who could move up. But, there’s no particular mix of Eufaula and Champlain expertise that argues for someone to rocket up the standings. Of the anglers close, Chad Mrazek is probably the best bet to move up – he’s been to both places a bunch, and he’s generally done well at Eufaula and sometimes done well at Champlain.
Cut line for the Pro Circuit Championship will be a tight race
The Top 40 make the championship at the Kissimmee Chain at the end of the season, and now is the time to make sure you’re in it. For whatever reason, there is a ton of very interesting Florida talent on both sides of the line right now – every ounce is going to matter at Eufaula and Champlain for a lot of folks.
Above the cut line, you’ve got Bobby Lane and Brandon McMillan, two veteran Floridians who would relish a shot in their home state. Then, right below 40th, there’s a pile of interesting anglers. Kyle Cortiana, Miles Burghoff, Alec Morrison, Kennie Steverson, Mike Surman and Tripp Berlinsky all have either impressive Florida history or Florida addresses, and they would definitely like to be sweating it out on the chain this summer. Cortiana and Morrison are ones to watch, as they both have a lot of time in on Kissimmee and Champlain. But, especially for Morrison, Eufaula won’t be easy to get by; and though he’s from Oklahoma, it’s not like Cortiana has been spending a lot of time on Eufaula the past couple years.
The championship pays out $100,000 to the winner plus a REDCREST qualification, and the whole field gets paid. There aren’t many chances to fish for that kind of money with only 40 pros in the field, so there’s a lot of reason to be there.