After a week of storms and torrential rains that had the lake on an extremely rapid rise, 33 teams gathered at The Harbor to kick off the 2026 Joe Bass Team Trail Pomme de Terre division sponsored by TNT Quick Stop. Rising water had fish in the bushes, but multiple rounds of rain had the rivers choaked with debris and Ozark orange mud. Combined with a 20 degree drop in air temperatures, anglers had mixed feelings about how the fish might respond. To no one’s surprise, teams figured it out with some heavy bags brought to the weigh-in.
Scott and Brandon Hill have seen Pomme enough to know how to react to changing conditions. Their five fish limit locked in at 16.47 pounds and pushed then to the top of the Window World Leaderboard. Scott shared their TNT Quick Stop key to success was concentrating on a stretch of stained water and keeping a pair of soft plastics in the bushes. Keepers came at a premium, as they boated only 8 keepers for the day, but they knew they were on the right pattern when they boated a five pounder for their second keeper. Scott and Brandon are grateful for the support they get from Caymas boats.
Jonathon Thomas and Jeff Novel kicked off the season with a second place showing. They paired a jig in the bushes with a jerkbait in front of the cover to land 16.36 pounds of bass. Their bag included the second big bass of the derby, a 5.40 pound kicker that bumped their weight up considerably. Jonathon noted they had their fish early as the bite fell off later in the morning. They added to their second place check and runner-up big bass tally by taking Top Skeeter honors as they fished from Jonathon’s 2008 ZX200 Skeeter boat.
Adam Proctor and Rhett Hill leveraged the Wilson Truck Sales big bass of the event to reach their final weight of 16.01 pounds. The big fish, a 5.41 lunker, bit early followed by a half dozen keepers scattered throughout the day. Adam and Rhett kept a jig in the bushes to catch their fish.
Thank you Taylor Grubaugh Chevrolet, Buick & GMC for sponsoring the release boat!
LakeWay Resort is a Save-A-Receipt participant for the Pomme de Terre division, so be sure and check them out for accommodations throughout the season.
Bring your empty packages of Rapala, Crush City, Storm, VMC and Suffix with your name and phone number to your next Joe Bass Tournament for a chance at a tackle pack. Drawings are done monthly throughout the tournament season.
Clear Cast marine electronics repair is continuing to support Joe Bass Team Trail. Their support of the Tournament of Champions and Staff Shootout opportunities at the Invitational is paramount to it’s success. SUPPORT their efforts! Be sure and visit their website for details for your repair and setup needs!
For trail updates, schedule changes and results Like us on Facebook & Instagram.
Welcome NAPA as a Save A Receipt sponsor with locations in Hermitage, Warsaw, and Windsor.
Okay guys and gals we have to pay the launch fees at The Harbor launch ramp. With that said as an incentive to pay YOUR REQUIRED FEES the receipts will be added to the Save A Receipt drawing at the Invitational. The Harbor ramp and restaurant, and campground is now a Save A Receipt sponsor. PAY YOUR LAUNCH FEES PLEASE.
Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout |
| 1 | Scott Hill – Brandon Hill | 5 | 5.02 | 16.47 | 220 | $1,800.00 |
| 2 | Jonathon Thomas – Jeff Novel | 5 | 5.4 | 16.36 | 219 | $1,560.00 |
| 3 | Adam Procter – Rhett Hill | 5 | 5.41 | 16.01 | 218 | $1,050.00 |
| 4 | Kelly Jones – Roger Satterfield | 5 | 4.39 | 15.11 | 217 | $548.00 |
| 5 | Ron Belew – Derek Dace | 5 | 4.89 | 14.72 | 216 | $180.00 |
| 6 | Cody Campbell – Quinten Carr | 5 | 3.81 | 14.08 | 215 | $180.00 |
| 7 | David Mulkey – Tyler Weaver | 5 | 3.86 | 13.26 | 214 | |
| 8 | Chris Schiffelbein – Scotty Cavanaugh | 5 | 3.63 | 12.12 | 213 | |
| 9 | Terry Barnett – Rodney Bowersox | 5 | 4.58 | 11.73 | 212 | |
| 10 | Kelly (Bob) Nunn – Terry Bradley | 5 | 11.64 | 211 | ||
| 11 | Will Pierce – Steve Allen | 5 | 11.62 | 210 | ||
| 12 | Lorenzo Debrecht – Eric Dearduff | 5 | 4.35 | 11.03 | 209 | |
| 13 | Jay Roe – John Bollinger | 5 | 10.8 | 208 | ||
| 14 | Greg Askew – Terry Case | 5 | 10.36 | 207 | ||
| 15 | Earl Horton – | 5 | 2.81 | 9.55 | 206 | |
| 16 | Troy Nogosek – Jeremy Fiedler | 5 | 9.44 | 205 | ||
| 17 | Paul Redmond – Stephen Goceljak | 5 | 9.31 | 204 | ||
| 18 | Ryan Fritz – David Fritz | 5 | 8.37 | 203 | ||
| 19 | Zachary Cooley – Brian Mendenhall | 5 | 7.82 | 202 | ||
| 20 | Matt Gunter – *Colt Gunter | 5 | 7.71 | 201 | ||
| 21 | Rusty Darnell – *Mark Thompson | 3 | 6.85 | 200 | ||
| 22 | John Williams – Jim Williams | 3 | 4.78 | 199 | ||
| 23 | *Ruphus Harris – Kevin Snyder | 2 | 3.72 | 198 | ||
| 24 | Danny Waite – *Brad Martin | 2 | 3 | 197 | ||
| 25 | Jerry Addington – Jasper Addington | 0 | 20 | |||
| Dan Cox – Tim Kastning | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Gary Cox – Don Cox | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Jack McCurdy – Jackson Chronister | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Josh Miller – Ethen Johns | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Ron Peek – | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Jonathan Pimentel – Jeremy Johnson | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Jerry Roark – Jamie Edge | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Chad Wagner – Kevin Altman | 0 | 20 |
*alternate