LEESBURG, Fla. – The Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Presented by MillerTech season began with Stop 1 Presented by B&W Trailer Hitches on the Harris Chain, and all the pros had to battle tough conditions. Though the weather wasn’t terrible during the event, the water was cold, and the bass were definitely in a negative mood for the most part.
As such, most pros sought to maximize fishing time, the run to Apopka was unpopular, and a range of non-standard Florida techniques worked. Here’s what got it done to start the year.
1. Umbrella rig powers Gill
Fishing for offshore, suspended fish, Drew Gill rode big bites to a big win.
Gill used a YUM YUMbrella Flash Mob Jr. rig with 3 1/2-inch swimbaits – on two screwlocks, two 1/8-ounce heads and a 1/16-ounce head. He threw it on 25-pound Seaguar Tatsu and never had an issue handling any of the giants he hooked.
Gill also caught some fish on a 4.8-inch Big Bite Baits Spotlight Minnow in blue gizzard on a 1/8-ounce head, as well as several key fish on 3/8- and 1/2-ounce ChatterBaits. For the ChatterBaits, he used 14-pound Seaguar R18 on the 1/2-ounce model and 20-pound Seaguar Tatsu on the 3/8-ounce model, which he fished shallower and around docks.
2. Campbell starts the year strong
Mixing the ‘Scope bite in Beauclair and a good grass spot in Harris, Brody Campbell started the 2026 campaign in fine fashion.
He used a whole bevy of baits to get the job done, starting with a 6-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm on a drop-shot. He also utilized a 1/2-ounce lipless crankbait, a Carolina rig, a minnow, a dice bait and a Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer. For all of it, he leaned on Bird Dog Rods.
“In practice, I knew the tournament was going to get won out of Beauclair. I saw a ton of big fish in there,” he said. “I knew it was going to get won in there, so, I had to go try. My other best thing was Harris. Everyone I talked to, Harris was the best lake for bites. I had to run the two-prong approach.”
On Day 1, fishing in Harris, Campbell hit on his best stuff.
“I lucked into that little hole in the grass the first day,” he said. “I knew there were some fish in the area, and I found that one-cast spot on Day 1. I caught one in the afternoon, and then I spot-locked and caught seven in a row. I got lucky to find them with the ChatterBait and then recognized it and made the most of it.”
3. Big Day 1 buoys Yavorsky
Leading the event on Day 1, Aaron Yavorsky didn’t catch a limit the rest of the way. But thanks to boating a kicker each day, he still stayed in the mix.
“Day 1, I pulled up to a little hole in the eelgrass with hard bottom,” he said. “There were big ones swimming around. I was throwing the crankbait, trying to get a reaction from the roaming fish cruising the bottom. I really only caught five all day.
“Day 2, I went back there, I didn’t have any luck and ran around all day,” he said. “I was throwing the jerkbait over some grass and caught that 7-pounder with like 5 minutes left.”
On the final day, Yavorsky ran the same game plan with little success until the end of the day, when once again, his grass patch gave up a big bite.
His crankbait of choice was a 6th Sense Cloud 9 Series C10, which he paired with a 7-foot, 4-inch Fitzgerald Bryan Thrift Series rod. He used a 6th Sense Provoke 97DD for his jerkbait, matched up with a 6-8, medium Fitzgerald Stunner HD.
4. Beauclair bite lets Jacob start strong
One of four Pro Circuit rookies in the Top 10, Connor Jacob surged up the leaderboard with a big final day and spent a good bit of time live on MLFNOW! on Day 1 and Day 3.
In Beauclair for the most part, Jacob used a 3/8-ounce drop-shot with a 2/0 Owner Cover Shot and a Roboworm Fat Straight Tail Worm as well as a 5-inch Deps Sakamata Shad on a 3/16-ounce head. He used Shimano Sustain reels and Shimano Zodias rods for both and also added a ChatterBait fish on Day 2.
Jacob caught most of his weight in the mornings, starting with strong ‘Scope sessions every day.
“Going into it, I had been through the gauntlet of Harris Chain tournaments in college. I had a lot of experience getting beat by people in Beauclair,” he said. “So, I did a little pre-fishing after my season wrapped up last year and spent two days on Griffin and one day on Beauclair.”
Obviously, Griffin was a no-go in the event, so Jacob practiced more in Beauclair and started there in the derby.
“I really want to maximize those three hours, and starting on the X seems to be the winning strategy in these, so I wanted to do that,” he said. “It was a rough week for my no ‘Scope time, honestly. I was hoping for a bite or two that would help me. I was pretty disappointed that I only weighed one over three days.”
5. Poche goes off the grid
Keith Poche did what he does best in this one, mining a secluded area for most of his weight.
“The mouth of the cuts had a few, but the meat of my weight came from cypress trees and some Kissimmee grass in patches,” he said. “That was the first day and the second day, and the third day, it didn’t work. I went and flipped in a bayou late in the day and caught every one of them. It had a few pads, but mainly the fish were on wood next to some reed clumps.”
As usual, Poche did serious damage with a 3-inch Berkley PowerBait Pit Boss, on a 3/8-ounce Texas rig. He used 20-pound Berkley Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon, an 8.3:1 Abu Garcia Zenon X reel and a 7-5, heavy Fenwick World Class rod.
6. Cranking pays the bills for Lintner
A great example of the atypical approaches possible in this event, Jared Lintner got his work done with a crankbait. For Lintner, the choice was a Bill Lewis Hammer Flat, which he threw on a 7-3 Daiwa DXB rod, picking his way through docks and canals for the most part.
7. Offshore fish carry Mrazek
Finishing seventh, Chad Mrazek was one of four anglers in the Top 10 who missed a limit at least once – a good testament to how tough it was. The Texas pro did most of his damage off the bank.
“I was fishing shell and deep grass,” he said. “They were focused on the shell, but there was new growth; it was the freshest, cleanest grass. I was fishing really slow with the drop-shot and the lipless.”
Mrazek’s best baits were a new 6th Sense Bounce Worm in plum apple on a drop-shot as well as a 6th Sense Duke 65. He used a 7-foot, medium-heavy 6th Sense USA Custom Series stick for the drop-shot and a 7-5, medium-heavy 6th Sense Team 6 stick for the lipless. He also caught one quality bass flipping on Day 2.
8. Luckey only needs one spot
Fishing at the mouth of one of the lakes for the most part, Brody Luckey basically leaned on one spot for the whole event.
A mix of baits got it done, as the Virginia rookie used a Strike King Red Eye Shad Tungsten 2-Tap, a 1/2-ounce Strike King Thunder Cricket with a gold blade and a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in bruised green pumpkin. For the Thunder Cricket, he used a 4.5-inch Missile Baits Spunk Shad trailer, and he used a 5.5-inch model for the JackHammer. He fished all his baits on a 7-3, medium-heavy Kister Helium rod.
Fishing shell and grass, Luckey camped out.
“I pretty much banked on one spot,” he said. “I knew they were living there, and it was a spot I knew they could show up on. I really focused on fishing grass that was a little lower to the bottom, that way I could get my bait down to fish that were lower and hunkered down to the bottom. I can’t believe I made the Top 10 – I had 10 bites in practice, fishing dawn to dusk.”
9. Robinson mixes and matches
Starting his campaign to requalify for the Bass Pro Tour in fine style, Marshall Robinson ran a somewhat unique game plan.
Fishing canals and grass, he plied a 1/2-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer with a watermelon Yamamoto Zako trailer. For a finesse approach, he used a drop-shot with a 6-inch Roboworm Straight Tail Worm and a 1/8-ounce weight. For his drop-shot, he used a 12-pound P-Line CFX leader, P-Line EndurX Zero Fade Braid and a 7-1, light Phenix Feather. For his ChatterBait, he used 17-pound P-Line and a 7-foot, medium-heavy Phenix Ultra MBX.
“It set up for my style; I felt really comfortable,” he said of the event. “The weights were tough, and it was a lot of junk fishing, and I love that. Day 1, I started in Dora – all that was horrible. So, I bailed and came to Eustis, and I fished a stretch of Kissimmee grass and caught a 5-10 on my ChatterBait. I ran to Harris to fill my limit out in my limit hole, and I caught seven keepers, and I caught a 5 and a 4 on that drop-shot that were floating over 10 foot. It was in a canal, and they were where the clear water mixed with the dirty water.”
All week, Robinson caught quite a few fish in canals, mostly targeting the mouths. He also used his time with LiveScope differently than many others, who tended to start their day with it.
“For me, I didn’t start with ‘Scope. My places that I was catching them, I wanted the sun to get up,” he said. “I thought that first thing in the morning, they were buried in cover or on bottom, and I wanted them to get up and suspend. I tried to capitalize on the morning bite and fish first thing, and then when the sun got up, I would go ‘Scope from 11 to 2 or 10 to 1. My deal all week was to fish first and ‘Scope later, and after I ‘Scoped, I had some time to run some other stuff.”
10. Beauclair game plan also works for Lachniet
Ryan Lachniet ran a similar program to Jacob as well as a few others and started each day with his sonar fired up in Beauclair.
“I would ‘Scope isolated grass clumps and throw a drop-shot at them,” he said. “After that, I would go back to Harris and flip cypress trees with a Senko.”
His drop-shot setup was a Big Bite Baits Nekorama in matte margarita with a 1/4-ounce Jig Shack tungsten weight and a 2/0 Roboworm Rebarb Hook. He paired that with a 7-2, medium Phenix M1. He flipped the OG 5-inch Yamamoto Senko with a 3/16-ounce Jig Shack tungsten weight and a 7-3, heavy Phenix K2 Torzite rod.