Dave Lefebre Wins MLF Bass Pro Tour Heavy Hitters 2026

Ron Nelson made a charge on the final afternoon, and while he fell just short of his first Bass Pro Tour win, he was able to secure a runner-up finish with a variety of techniques. He caught fish with swim jigs, frogs, and punching mats, and did his best trying to throw something different than everyone else. His frog of choice was a black SPRO Flappin Frog 65, which he fished on 50-pound Sunline Xplasma Asegai. For his swim jig fishing, he went with a bluegill-colored 1/4-ounce jig with a sungill Reaction Innovations Skinny Dipper on the back and fished it on 30-pound Sunline Shooter fluorocarbon.

Tennessee's Jake Lawrence had a great week on Orange Lake, winning the Knockout Round and cashing $30,000 for his 9-8 that day. On the final day, he only caught four scoreable bass, but they were solid fish, and he led for a good portion of the day. In practice and at the very beginning of the event, a 3/8-ounce, gold-bladed Buckeye Buzzerk buzzbait with a black soft-plastic toad in lieu of the skirt did most of his work. Then he switched to a Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer ChatterBait in dirty shad with a gizzard shad-colored, 5-inch Yamamoto Hinge Minnow on the back and started getting even more fish to bite.

Florida has been good to Mark Davis on the Bass Pro Tour with two runner-up finishes and now a fourth-place showing at Heavy Hitters. He stuck to the same general area each day of the event and fished with his trademark slow and methodical approach. His baits were both black and blue and 3/8-ounce, and he used a swimbait-style trailer on both his vibrating jig and swim jig.

Texas pro Marshall Hughes caught better-than-average fish throughout the week, including 8-pounders on each of the final two days. His primary weapon was a vibrating jig, which he found to be the best approach after trying multiple baits. His bait of choice was a 3/8-ounce Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a matching Yamamoto Zako on the back. The color was perfect for the water clarity he was fishing.

Alton Jones Jr. has made a good amount of money at Heavy Hitters over the years and added another solid finish at Orange Lake. While most of the field headed south from takeoff, he went the other way and was alone for the final two days. While he caught fish with a frog, a buzzbait and flipping, the vibrating jig was his top performer. He went with a chartreuse and white 3/8-ounce Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a matching Geecrack Bellows Vibe on the back. Jones fished it on a 7.2:1 KastKing MegaJaws Elite reel and 755C glass Reese Fishing Next 2 rod and 30-pound Cortland Master Braid.

Brent Ehrler spent his week on Orange Lake fishing in cleaner water and around isolated grass. It worked well enough for him to make it to yet another Championship Round, but the dropping water affected his bite. He fished the Yamamoto Swim Worm - a green pumpkin red flake version - with a 3/16-ounce Ark tungsten weight and 5/0 offset Gamakatsu worm hook. Earlier in the week, he leaned on a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen JackHammer ChatterBait in green pumpkin white with a Yamamoto Zako on the back. He also caught two key fish during the week with a Lucky Craft G-Splash topwater during slick, calm conditions.

Bobby Lane, the consummate Florida pro, had surprisingly never fished Orange Lake until this week. Still, he used his vast knowledge of Sunshine State bass fishing to break down the vegetation. While he only landed one scorable bass on the final day, it was a 6-pounder. He rotated between a handful of Florida staples but found a frog was the best way to trick bigger fish. Lane fished his Berkley Swamp Lord popping frog - in burnt bone - on a 7-6 heavy Abu Garcia Fantasista X rod, an 8.3:1 Abu Garcia Zenon X reel, and 50-pound SpiderWire DuraBraid.

All week, Cole Floyd spent his time in a backwater area with clean water that produced big fish for several anglers. He was the only one of that crew to make it to the final day, so he was excited to have it all to himself, but it didnŐt pan out because fishing pressure had gotten to the area. Floyd flipped a green pumpkin Strike King Rage Bug with a 5/0 Hayabusa FPP Straight and a 3/4-ounce Strike King Tour Grade Tungsten weight. He also used a Strike King Thunder Cricket or a bone Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater. Cole's flipping setup accounted for most of his biggest fish, including a 9-7 during the Knockout Round. He fished it on a 7-6, medium-heavy Lew's Custom Lite flipping rod, an 8.3:1 Lew's Custom Pro reel and 50-pound Strike King Contra braided line.

Another pro with plenty of past Heavy Hitters success, Jeff Sprague made a Top 10 on the strength of soft plastics in cleaner water. When fishing with any breeze, Sprague swam a honey craw-colored Lake Fork Lure Co. Hyper Worm with a 3/16-ounce weight and a 5/0 hook. During calm conditions, he went with a weightless, blue bruiser Lake Fork Hyper Stick and cast it to holes and depressions in the grass. Sprague fished the swimming worm on 50-pound P-Line EndurX braid and turned to 20-pound P-Line Tactical Fluorocarbon for the stick worm.