MOUNTAIN HOME, Ark. — Kaden Buchmann followed the same script that had him headlining the first two days’ weigh-ins for the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Norfork Lake presented by Bass Pro Shops, but only Act 1 brought the applause.
Fortunately, that’s all the Troutman, N.C., pro needed to close out a wire-to-wire win with a three-day total of 42 pounds, 7 ounces.
“This is incredible,” Buchmann said. “I absolutely did not think I had it.”
Buchmann set the early mark with a Day 1 leading limit of 16-7 and held the top spot after adding a second-round bag that went 14 even. Buchmann found Championship Friday less generous, but his 12-pound limit allowed him to edge Cody Stahl by a margin of 1-14.
For his efforts, Buchmann won the top prize of $71,317. He also received an invitation to fish the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour, March 19-21 at Lake Hartwell.
For two days, Buchmann made it look fairly easy on a notoriously tough lake that felt the complicating influence of an early season cold front. The slight cool down was just enough to nudge Norfork’s bass toward their summer/fall transition and bring the usual head-scratching moodiness.
Buchmann did not seem terribly bothered by the meteorological mayhem in the early goings, but Day 3 required more mobility.
“I fished the whole lake,” Buchmann said. “I fished from about 3 miles from Missouri, all the way down to a pocket by the Norfork Dam.
“Today, I caught four of my fish on places I’ve never fished.”
Same as the first two days, Buchmann fished the final-round with a black Berkley Choppo 105 topwater bait and a 1/2-ounce Queen Tackle skipping jig with a Zoom Z-Craw Jr. trailer. Today, the topwater did all the work.
“I had a decent limit of 10 to 11 pounds by about 11 o’clock,” he said. “The previous two days, I’d skip my jig around docks later in the day and catch a big one or two — or at least have a couple chances.
“Today I just never had those chances. I had a couple of little ones, pound-and-a-halfers, but somehow it was enough.”
Noting that he could tell the final day was considerably tougher than the first two, Buchmann said he ran as many shaded areas as he could. He looked at a variety of natural and manmade spots and ended up catching his topwater fish in 6 inches to 2 feet of water.
“I just kept my trolling motor on 10 and tried to cover as much water as I could, because I knew how spread out these fish were,” Buchmann said.
A field of 134 competitors took to this White River impoundment for the first of three “EQ” events, also including Toledo Bend (Oct. 21-23) and Lake Guntersville (Nov. 11-13). After the final event, the Top 10 anglers in EQ points standings will qualify to fish the 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
Summarizing his plan for the next two EQ events, Buchmann said: “Just go fishing, find some big ones and try to catch them.”
Hailing from Barnsville, Ga., Stahl turned in daily limits of 14-3, 12-3 and 14-3 for a tournament total of 40-9.
Stahl, who won the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Kissimmee Chain presented by Battery Tender in early February, started his mornings with topwater baits — plopper style, buzz bait, wakebait — but found the morning bite window diminishing daily. After the topwater effort, Stahl fished brushpiles with a 1/2-ounce Berkley flipping jig with a green pumpkin Berkley MaxScent Stank Bug trailer.
“I knew it was going to be a grinder, I knew the bites were going to be limited, but I knew the quality was in the area and all I needed was two or three kicker bites and I’d have another really good bag.
“That’s exactly what happened. I started the day with a big one, then stayed at it throughout the day with the jig. The last hour, I had two little ones I had to get rid of, but I had faith that I could get a couple more good topwater bites and that’s what happened.”
Finishing third with 39-4, Jack Dice of Lynchburg, Va., weighed limits that went 11-6, 15-6 and 12-8. After dialing in a pattern on Day 2, he did most of his work on deep brushpiles with a 3/4-ounce Buckeye Lures mop jig, but he had to expand the offering for his final-round limit.
“I tried to stick with that today and I caught the majority of my fish on the mop jig,” Dice said. “I caught one of my keepers on Neko-rigged Senko and one on a Bill Lewis Spit Stick topwater.”
Colby Bryant of Houston, Texas won the $500 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with a 5-7.
Buchmann leads the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops standings with 127 points. Stahl is in second place with 126, followed by Dice with 125, Brennan Flick of West Monroe, La., with 124 and Nathan Reynolds of Nashville, Tenn., with 123.
This event was hosted by the City of Mountain Home, Arkansas.