The enhanced Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech has plenty of anglers eager to get the 2026 season going. This year, with better payouts – including paying a third of the field at least $10,000 – excitement for the circuit is higher than ever. As such, there are some old friends headed back on tour, and some new anglers looking to make their mark at a high level.
Interested anglers can call 270-252-1000 to sign up!
O’Barr will be one to watch in 2026
Hayden O’Barr had a ridiculously good year on the Toyota Series, making the Top 10 five times and finishing second three times. He also finished second in the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals event on the St. Lawrence, which helped him decide to go full steam ahead into the Pro Circuit. And while O’Barr is undoubtably an ace with LiveScope, he’s not afraid of the new rules for the upcoming season.
“I really fished the one Invitationals event to get a feel for how it would be fishing tournaments like that,” he said. “It was very stressful because of how much was on the line, but it was one of the most fun tournaments I’ve fished. And now that the format is changing, the BPT guys have fished that format, so (they’re familiar with it). But for everyone else, they don’t know that format – so whoever dials in that format first is going to have the best success right off the bat. I’m hoping next year I can figure out the format and run with it.”
Given the success he saw in 2025, O’Barr could have chosen just about any tournament route in 2026, but he felt like the Pro Circuit was the place to be.
“I weighed all my options; after the year I had, I’m able to pick something and run with it,” he said. “I don’t feel my best chances are in the Opens. I don’t think it was financially smart to do the Opens. I’m graduated from college now, and I’m fishing absolutely full time. Hopefully that doesn’t change – I could have to get a job – but right now, I’m fishing full time. That’s what I’m going to do next year – fish all the Pro Circuit and several Toyota Series events as well. I’m going to run around the whole entire country next year.”
Harkins eager for the next chapter
After a good run in collegiate fishing with Young Harris, Will Harkins jumped into the NPFL to continue fishing nationally, where the Georgia pro has fished for the last three years.
“I really enjoyed it,” Harkins said. “I was just ready for a change. They went to no technology. I love the idea of three hours with forward-facing sonar. And then, obviously the payout is super attractive with $10 grand being the last check – you don’t see that anywhere else at this level in bass fishing. I’m excited for a new opportunity. I felt like I had not accomplished everything with the NPFL, but enough to make a change and do something new.”
A winner on the NPFL in 2024, Harkins wouldn’t turn down a BPT invite, but his success won’t be defined by a top-five finish in the points.
“Obviously, I would love to fish the BPT; the exposure and the guys that fish it would be incredible,” he added. “But for me, I want to go out and fish, have fun, and along the way make a little difference. I want to impact people around me. I’m big on giving back, hopefully I can continue that with MLF.”
Big season at the BFL and Toyota Series levels has Anderson moving up
Coming off a great season at the lower levels of MLF competition, Caz Anderson banked more than $35,000 between Toyota Series events and BFLs in 2025. A guide and social media savant, Anderson has decided to lean even harder into tournaments in 2026.
“When I started fishing BFLs and made the All-American, that was my sign that I wanted to try this fishin’ thing and see what happens,” he said. “So, I signed up for some Toyotas and Opens, and after a year of doing those, I realized that the money, for me, was definitely at MLF.
“I had a successful year in the Toyota Series and made the Championship, and I’m basing my career setup to where I can make my sponsors happy fishing higher level tournaments and have opportunities to make a real living at tournaments throughout the year,” he explained. “I’m setting up my season to where I can try to make each championship, and I wanted to sign up for the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit to have a shot at some good money throughout the year, and hopefully make the BPT.”
Anderson isn’t that far removed from college, and this year, he put up highlights with and without forward-facing sonar. Notably, he caught two bags over 25 pounds on a spinnerbait this winter at Pickwick in an event that was dominated by forward-facing sonar. So, he’s not too fussed about the new technology rules for the ’26 season.
“I feel like you’re going to be able to fish a lot more free,” Anderson said. “If it’s a tournament where LiveScope is going to play, you need to be doing it for those three hours. and then when those three hours are over, you can be 100% dialed in on a certain thing. I think it adds a little razzle dazzle and can make everybody happy. And there’s not going to be an asterisk on tournaments where ‘Scope is allowed and some where it isn’t. For tournaments where it either is allowed or isn’t allowed, after every event, I think there’s going to be a lot of chatter, ‘Oh, he wouldn’t have won this tournament if ‘Scope wasn’t allowed, or vice versa.’ At these events, the guy that wins the tournament is going to have found out a way to do it all and do it really successfully.”
Bohannan is back
Nearly a lifer on the FLW Tour, Greg Bohannan is back on the Pro Circuit in 2026, with major sponsors Pringles and Bark Bowls in tow.
“The main reason I’m making a switch is I love to fish for $10,000 checks through 50th place,” he said. “That’s huge to me. I applaud MLF, those are big changes – the only reason I left is because we lost payouts, we didn’t have a championship. Now that these changes are made, I applaud MLF for making them. When you have $10,000 through 50th place, guaranteed $5,000 at the championship, I think those are big deals. And I’m just a hair under the $1 million mark with MLF, and I kind of want to get over that.”
Time for Pemberton to take his shot
A Texas big bass guide, Austin Pemberton has kicked around the Toyota Series the last two years, always doing well in the Southwestern Division and making the championship. Coming up, the young angler is buckled up for a big year of driving as he chases a dream.
“It’s my dream to be a professional angler, I want to make it to the point where I fish for a living,” Pemberton said. “Guiding is my income, but I want to compete. The Toyotas are great, and the payout is decent, but it’s not there. For my time and my money, the Pro Circuit seems like it is the place to be. If you finish 50th place, with $10 grand, you’re getting enough back.”
The journey will be mostly self-funded, and Pemberton thinks he’s at a spot in life where that makes such a plan acceptable.
“I was going to fish the Invitationals last year, and my sponsors backed out,” he said. “I’m going to be doing it all on my own, and I want to do it before I’m too old and have a family to worry about. I want to try to make it now and not worry about the stress and risk when I’m older. I want to say I did it once.”
Though he’s light on experience on the fisheries (with some time on Eufaula and Champlain to his credit, but not a ton of time elsewhere), the No. 1 big bass stop on the schedule has his attention.
“I haven’t been to any of them except Champlain, but I’m really excited for Santee Cooper,” he said. “I think could be interesting. I think Santee is gonna set up how I like it.”
Call 270-252-1000 to sign up!