DAYTON, Tenn. – “Back-to-back winner” has a nice ring to it, no matter what game you’re playing. If you’re Tennessee pro Dylan Nutt, it actually has a handful of meanings. Nutt weighed in 18 pounds, 12 ounces on the final day of the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division tournament on Lake Chickamauga to push his three-day total to 81-14, giving the 21-year-old University of North Alabama junior back-to-back wins in one of the most competitive circuits in tournament bass fishing.
Even more impressive, Nutt’s 81-14 performance signifies back-to-back 80-plus-pound Series events (he had 84-4 at Pickwick) and back-to-back entries in the list of all-time heaviest bags in MLF Series history (he’s now fourth and ninth, respectively).
Coupled with his Pickwick win, Nutt’s Chickamauga victory boosted his February/March winnings to just over $76,000, placed him in the catbird seat for Fishing Clash Angler of the Year honors for the division and boosted his MLF winning percentage to an outlandish 27% – he’s won four of the 15 MLF events he’s entered in a brief career dating back to Abu Garcia High School Fishing in 2021.
“It’s crazy to even think about (back-to-back wins) in this division,” Nutt said. “I don’t know how to describe this (streak). I think it’s just God telling me it’s my time. I’m fishing extremely confidently.”
Alabama pro Hayden O’Barr finished second with 79-0, followed by Ethan Fields (73-14), Carter Nutt (72-15) and Dillon Falardeau (72-5)
Getting the job done
Nutt entered the final day on Chickamauga with a hearty 8-4 lead over Falardeau and with a good shot at eclipsing Michael Yoder’s all-time Series mark of 93-8 from Falcon Lake in 2010. Nutt kicked off with what he called a “decent start” with a handful of 3-pounders and a 5-pounder, but plateaued for a good part of the day until connecting with a 4-pounder with 15 minutes left to push him over the 18-pound mark.
It was a far cry from the 31-pound bags Nutt had weighed the first two days of the event, but a drop that trended in the same direction as much of the final-day field (Top 10 weights averaged 3 pounds lower on Thursday then Tuesday). Nutt had made hay for two days with a TrueBass FF Minnow on a 1/4-ounce Scottsboro Tackle tungsten jighead, an orange Berkley Frittside and an unnamed jerkbait, fishing a hard-bottom staging area at the mouth of a spawning bay.
It was an area he located on the first day of the tournament, caught a personal-best 10-11 on his first cast on Day 2 and exploited for a hearty percentage of the 63-2 he weighed in the first two days.
“I’d caught an 8 and a couple of 6 1/2s and last a 10-pounder there the first day, and then caught the 10-11 on my first cast on Day 2 – that was a good spot,” Nutt said. “It dried up on me, I couldn’t get a bite there (the final day), maybe because of the dropping water – it dropped maybe 2 feet during the tournament. I had to fish around on new water, which wasn’t really working very good. I caught that 4-pounder right before I ran back in.”
Some no-nonsense numbers
Regardless of how the rest of Nutt’s 2025 season unfolds, the 21-year-old’s efforts in February and March alone represent one of the most impressive runs of tournament success in recent memory.
- His 84-4 at the early February event at Pickwick was the heaviest three-day Series weight ever for Pickwick and the fourth-heaviest weight ever in Series competition.
- His 81-14 this week is second only to Banks Shaw’s all-time Series Chick record of 82-12 in 2024.
- Nutt’s two-day total from just Days 1 and 2 on Chickamauga (63-2) rank in the Top 100 in Series history.
- Nutt’s three 30-pound days to date this season (30-0 on Day 3 at Pickwick; 31-13 and 31-5 on Days 1 and 2 at Chickamauga) place him in exclusive company: he’s one of only five MLF anglers in history with three or more 30-plus-pound career bags to their credit.
As noteworthy as Nutt’s tournament stats are, Chickamauga’s productivity in 2025 is equally impressive. This week produced four 30-plus-pound bags (two for Nutt, one apiece for Falardeau and O’Barr). The 59-mile-long Tennessee River impoundment kicked out 32-7 for Corey Neece in the Feb. 8 Phoenix Bass Fishing League Volunteer Division opener; a month later, Tripp Berlinsky popped 32-9 to win the March 8 Choo Choo Division BFL event on Chickamauga.
“Chickamauga is unbelievable, it has a lot of big fish in it,” Nutt said. “You have to come out here with the mindset that you’re going to catch big ones. Every time I’ve ever been here, there are always giants caught. This place is full of ‘em.”
Final Top 10 pros
- Dylan Nutt – 81-14 (15)
- Hayden O’Barr – 79-0 (15)
- Ethan Fields – 73-14 (15)
- Carter Nutt – 72-15 (15)
- Dillon Falardeau – 72-5 (15)
- Lake Johnson – 67-14 (15)
- Fisher Anaya – 66-4 (15)
- Banks Shaw – 66-4 (15)
- Logan Dyer – 64-11 (15)
- Preston Kolisek – 64-6 (15)