For the first time since 2004, Columbus is back on the circuit for the highest-level competitive bass-fishing anglers, who’ll descend on the area for a four-day showdown on the murky waters of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
With pride and a large cash prize up for grabs, competitors are ready to wet their lines when the 2026 Mountain Dew Bassmaster Elite Tournament begins tomorrow with a first-day sendoff at 7 a.m. from the Columbus Marina at 259 Marina Drive.
The tournament wraps up on Sunday with the final weigh-in at 3 p.m. Daily weigh-ins will also be held at 3 p.m. and coverage of the tournament will be broadcast on Bassmaster.com. FS1 will host the morning session on Saturday from 7-10 a.m., then coverage will move to FOX from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday’s coverage will be on FS1 from 7-10 a.m. before moving back over to Bassmaster.com, where all weigh-ins will be streamed, for the rest of the day’s action.
More than 100 professional anglers are in town looking to be the one to hold the trophy – and a check for $100,000. Among the competitors is Bassmaster pro Justin Atkins, who grew up in Columbus. He’ll try to use his hometown edge to win as the anglers battle over four days atop a portion of the tumultuous 243 miles of the Tenn-Tom waterway that connects the Tennessee River to the Tombigbee River. The system was completed by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1984 and includes 10 locks and dams that separate major pools of water.
Lurking below the waterline are feisty largemouth and even smallmouth bass the pros will be looking to hook and keep for their total weight. Each angler is looking to fill their limit of five fish per day with the biggest ones they can catch. The angler with the highest total weight of fish after the four days will win the event.
While not known for its gigantic specimen like some other fisheries in Texas or Florida, the Tenn-Tom does boast the potential to catch plenty of quality bass.
“I’d say to make the top 10 you’ll need 36 pounds after three days and it won’t take a lot less than that to make a check,” Atkins said in a release. “You might need 10 to 11 (pounds) a day to get a check, but if you get 12 a day, I believe you’ll make the top 10. … There will be a couple of six-pounders caught. My dad had a 10 (pound bass) several years ago and I have caught a couple of eight-pound spawners.”
The Tenn-Tom is home to a habitat full of stumps, submersed grasses, docks, timber and a variety of aquatic plants – all of which bass love to call home – but obstacles are around every corner. With limited time on each day, traveling times to certain spots will have to be carefully calculated in order to maximize time fishing. Along with picking which bait or lure to use, anglers will have to worry about traversing the locks and dams that separate parts of the river, which takes time to traverse. Anglers will also have to watch out for the large barges that chug through the waterway.
“When you lock from Pool 8 to Pool 9 (on the Mississippi River), you fall approximately 4 feet, so it’s a pretty quick little deal,” Atkins said. “When you lock on the Tenn-Tom, it’s a 30-minute endeavor. When a barge gets involved in that 30-minute turnaround, it extends that wait. There is a lot of barge traffic on the Tenn-Tom, so locking can be risky here. I’ve never felt in danger (of losing too much time) on the Mississippi River. Here, I’ve only been burned one time, but it will get you.”
Though potentially back-breaking, Atkins said lockhopping could prove to pay off for some who take the risk and reach sections of the river left untouched by the other pros. It’s all part of the Tenn-Tom risk and reward system.
“If somebody can string a couple of locks together during the day and have some time to fish and get back, that could be the recipe to do well; it could also be the recipe for disaster,” Atkins said. “The guy that stays close and figures out how to catch them with the pressure could have the recipe for success, but he could also burn his fish out by Day 2 and that could be the recipe for disaster.”
Anglers will need smart decision making and an added boost of luck to leave Columbus $100,000 richer.
“This is an ultimate tournament venue because it’s a little tough and it has a lot of options,” he said. “I don’t think it can be won (by) doing one thing, so making good decisions will be critical.”
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