The Angler of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the Invitationals in 2025, Banks Shaw is now poised to do it again. Leading the 7 Brew Angler of the Year race by 13 points heading into the finale of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech season, the shockingly good young pro would need to put up a very uncharacteristic event to drop out of the lead. However, going into Stop 6 on Lake Champlain, AOY isn’t the only race worth your time: the battle for Rookie of the Year is hot, and there’s still plenty left to decide when it comes to Bass Pro Tour invites.
Here’s how the Top 10 are sitting ahead of the event:
1. Banks Shaw – 943 points
2. Ryan Lachniet – 930
3. Dylan Nutt – 927
4. Drew Gill – 923
5. Carter Nutt – 923
6. Connor Jacob – 899
7. Brody Campbell – 890
8. Will Harkins – 883
9. Drew Boggs – 865
10. Ethan Fields – 864
As it stands, the BPT cut line would drop down to seventh, and barring real surprises from Shaw or Drew Gill, it is reasonable to count on that staying where it is.
1. Business as usual for Shaw
At this point, Shaw has made the Top 10 more times than not in MLF competition. This is not the time to figure out exactly how incredible that is, but it’s highly instructive when it comes to figuring out his chances at locking down the AOY title. Suffice to say, with the lead he has, they’re good.
“I’m feeling pretty good, it’s not a huge lead, but I know if I get a Top 10, which doesn’t sound too crazy, then it’s a done deal,” Shaw said. “It might not even take a Top 10, I think I could get a Top 20 and still win the thing.”
Shaw hasn’t been there before, but that isn’t likely to stop him.
“I definitely feel good about it going up north,” the Tennessee pro said. “I haven’t been to Champlain before, but I’m not that worried about it, I’m going to try to catch them off obvious stuff, I’m not going to try to go for the win. To try to secure a Top 10 is definitely the plan – it would be pretty insane to wrap up the Pro Circuit season with two wins and AOY.”
Between the Pro Circuit, the Bass Pro Tour and the Toyota Series, Shaw has already won four events this year, and banked about $540,000 on the season. So, the new Phoenix boat that comes with the AOY title would be a nice addition, if only to carry his other trophies in. Maybe more to the point, winning back-to-back AOY titles is something that only the greats do – you don’t luck into it.
2. Lachniet is focused on ROY
With no finishes below 25th on the season, Ryan Lachniet has been superb, and there’s no reason he can’t finish strong at Champlain.
“I didn’t really expect to be in second, it’s pretty cool, but Banks has a little lead on me,” the Virginia pro said. “He’ll need to slip up. But Champlain is cool, and the weights are always really tight, so if I can Top 10, there’s a chance he could slip up. But, he’s got to beat himself a little bit.”
Lachniet is locked in another points race, and that’s for Rookie of the Year, where he’s narrowly ahead of Dylan Nutt and Carter Nutt. At Champlain, that might be his primary concern.
“I’m barely leading Rookie of the Year right now, and winning that would be sick,” he said.
As for Champlain, Lachniet has only missed a check there once, and he definitely has an affinity for northern smallmouth. So, it’s fair to expect him to put together a good tournament.
3. Dylan Nutt also has his eye on ROY
Coming off back-to-back runner-up finishes at Douglas and Eufaula, Dylan Nutt has handily made up for his post-Classic miss at Wheeler Lake. Still, he’s on the outside looking in for AOY, as former University of North Alabama teammate Shaw is proving a tough out.
“I think about the only way I could beat him is if his LiveScope cable was cut, and even then, I think it’s still only about a 10% chance,” Dylan Nutt said of his AOY prospects. “I’m just going to go fishing, and whatever is meant to be will happen. I’m more focused on Rookie of the Year, I think I’ve got a better chance to beat Ryan than Banks, and Carter is not too far behind, too.”
As for Champlain, Dylan Nutt put in some pre-practice time, and he’s looking forward to the showdown.
“I’m super excited; it seems like a place that is full of quality fish,” he said. “With that being said, a smallmouth fishery like that, it’s pretty easy to drop down the leaderboard. So, I’ve got a feeling that tournament is going to be all about staying consistent and trying to have an 18- or 20-pound bag every day.”
Breaking down the Bass Pro Tour situation
This year, most of the Top 10 pros are in the mix for Bass Pro Tour invites, as the five berths on the line will skip over pros already entrenched on the BPT. So, Shaw and Drew Gill don’t count for invite purposes, and Marshall Hughes and Colby Miller could have huge showings at Champlain without breaking hearts.
That being the case, the anglers who would get invites as of now are: Lachniet, Dylan Nutt, Carter Nutt, Connor Jacob and Brody Campbell. Just seven points behind Campbell, Will Harkins is in the wings, and Drew Boggs and Ethan Fields are next up, but 25 or more points behind Campbell.
Based on history, Campbell is pretty safe, despite being the last man in. Though he’s had some near misses before, his record on Champlain is sterling, and if there’s anyone likely to knock their ‘Scope period out of the park on that lake, it’s him.
In reality, the top anglers have fished so well this year, and their strengths line up so well with Champlain, that Harkins has a heck of a hill to climb. Still, he put in solid pre-practice time, and it’s easy to catch 17 or 18 pounds on Champlain and still do poorly in the standings – if that happens to someone he’s chasing, the opportunity to move up is right there.
Follow along
You can follow the action at Stop 6 on Lake Champlain during all three days of competition, July 24-26, on MLFNOW! and stay locked to MajorLeagueFishing.com for on-the-water galleries, daily stories and more.