SALLISAW, Okla. — The 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Kerr Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops is senior Clayton Easter’s final regular season event, and so far he is going out with a bang.
The Tarleton State University angler caught 19 pounds, 9 ounces to take the Day 1 lead at Kerr Reservoir on the Arkansas River and holds a 1-ounce lead over Brody Robison and Peyton Sorrow heading into the final day of the tournament.
“I stayed hunkered down all day,” he said. “I knew the possibilities of the area I found, I just didn’t know how good it was going to be.”
Rounds of rain and storms have battered eastern Oklahoma the last couple of weeks, but the fishing is still plenty strong. Three teams caught over 19 pounds while nearly 100 teams landed five-bass limits.
Easter had never been to this section of the Arkansas River before this week but had a strong warm-up period. He knew the area he had found held the potential for a near 20-pound bag, it would just be about capitalizing on the right bites.
Once he made the 30-minute run there, he caught a 4-pounder almost immediately before landing a 5 1/2-pounder close by.
“That really made my day because I only had six bites all day. I think it was a morning bite deal,” he said. “I caught a few more in that area. I’m with a lot of boats, and most everyone was catching them around me too.”
From there, he was able to fill out his limit, but once the sun popped out from behind the clouds around mid-morning, the bite got stingy.
Easter worked four different presentations around vegetation in 5 to 7 feet of water. The two big bass he landed were prespawners while the other bass he landed were protecting nests.
A later boat number will have Easter arriving at his primary area a little later than on Day 1, and with the amount of fishing pressure on Day 1, he isn’t sure how the bass will bite on the final day. But Easter said there are plenty of bass still there if he can figure out a way to make them bite.
Robison and Sorrow are second with 19-8 followed by Texas A&M duo Tyler Gentry and Nicholas Cernosek in third with 19-6. Montevallo’s Dylan Sorrells and Thomas Turnbull are fourth with 18-6 and McKendree’s Ethan Fields and Lane Stephens are fifth with 18-1.
The full field of 189 teams will launch from the Cherokee Nation Sallisaw Creek Park beginning at 6:30 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in beginning at 2:30 p.m. The Top 10 percent of the field will punch their tickets to the 2026 Strike King Bassmaster College Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops at Leech Lake in Aug. 20-22.
This is the final chance for teams to earn points in the Legends Trail Team of the Year race, and the winner of the division will advance to the College Classic Bracket presented by Lew’s.
For more information on the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Kerr Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops visit Bassmaster.com.
These events are being hosted by Cherokee Nation.