GUNTERSVILLE, Ala. — The only thing Dillon Falardeau had on his mind this week at the 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifier at Lake Guntersville presented by Bass Pro Shops was winning.
With two days complete, the Rhode Island native has put himself in position to do just that, catching a two-day total weighing 41 pounds, 7 ounces to take the Day 2 lead at the legendary reservoir.
The Chickamauga Lake guide caught 20-1 on Day 1 to start the tournament in fifth before landing 21-5 on Thursday to jump into the top spot. He will carry a 2-2 advantage over second-place Day 1 leader Dylan Fogarty into the final day.
If he were to pull this out, it would be the second-straight year Falardeau would qualify for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour.
“I came in here with the goal of making the Classic, and so far, it is paying off,” Falardeau said. “I’m surprised I’m leading it. There are so many big bass and it’s crazy to think I’m leading it with the anglers that are fishing this.”
He spends most of his time on Chickamauga, but several times a year Falardeau will drive down to Guntersville to fun fish. Many of the concepts that work on Chickamauga apply to Guntersville.
“The grass and main river bars are all the same. It is all about playing the current,” Falardeau said.
To achieve his win or go-home approach, Falardeau knew he had to go big. Several different oversized baits have worked during the week, but during his two tournament days, a big topwater bait has generated most of his quality bites.
His best area is a 2-mile stretch of main river bar filled with patches of hydrilla, milfoil and eelgrass in 7 to 8 feet of water.
“It is patchy,” Falardeau. “When the sun gets up, it just warms up the baitfish and gets the fish active.”
On Day 1, Falardeau started the morning throwing a frog, receiving close to 18 bites in the morning before moving to an offshore bar in the afternoon hours. When he got to his frogging area Thursday morning, he discovered the wind was blowing hard on the grass, making it hard to fish.
The bar he is fishing has been better in the afternoons, but with his matted vegetation folded over, Falardeau was forced to move out earlier than he wanted to. His gamble paid off almost immediately as the wind had the bass biting on the bar.
“I didn’t want to get there too early, because all my big topwater bites have been from noon on. So, I was nervous getting there at 9 a.m., but I caught a 4-pounder right away. I thought it was gametime.”
The rest of the day, Falardeau filled his limit with 4 and 4 1/2 pounders. At the end of the day, he moved to a line of matted vegetation and caught a key cull punching.
Fogarty, meanwhile, struggled most of the day to generate bites, but managed to add 17-14 to his Day 1 limit weighing 21-7.
“It was very stressful. I didn’t have my limit until 2:45. I missed three really good ones early on a spook. I tried to lock it in my hands thinking I would eventually get some bites but it didn’t happen. I had to go to some jerkbait fish.”
The Pennsylvania angler has spent most of his time on one main river bar targeting submerged hydrilla in 6 feet of water. A Yo-Zuri 3DB Pencil was the hero on Day 1. His most productive water did not produce how he wanted on Day 2, and he was forced to move to the end of the bar to reach his limit.
A Yo-Zuri 3DB jerkbait rode over the stringy grass in the spot better than anything other bait.
“I caught one bass in this spot in practice and got a bite every single cast I made when I first got there and filled out my limit. I’m confused why there are even bass there. There is stringy grass there.”
Louisiana’s Brennan Flick is third with a two-day total of 39-0. Opening the tournament with 18-1, Flick caught 20-15 to secure his Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series bid and put him in contention for the Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops Angler of the Year.
“It was a crazy day,” Flick said.
Flick has targeted three schools located on the same creek channel staging on hard bottom areas in 12 to 15 feet of water. A Strike King 6XD generated all of his strikes on those creek ledges.
“I had two schools, and I went idling to see if I could find one more. I went down a creek channel swing and saw some bigger dots. I swung and decided to throw a big plug just to see. I bombed it out and it locked up as soon as it hit the bottom. The next cast, I had two on at the same time. One was 4 1/2 and the other was 5. After that it was lights out. I probably burned a couple more than I should have.”
Once the sun rose, Flick moved to a stretch of grass and made a key cull.
Flick leads the Elite Qualifier standings with 348 points followed by Alabama’s Brody Robison in second with 330 points and Tennessee’s Nathan Reynolds in third with 328 points. Noah Winslow is fourth with 328 points and Kaden Buchmann is fifth with 316 points. Trey Schroeder (308), Cody Abbott (299), Bryson Osteen (296), Bailey Gay (294) and Lucas Lindsay (287) round out the Top 10. All 10 anglers will receive Elite Series invites.
Cody Stahl (283), Chase Clarke (283) and Tripp Berlinsky (281) are the first three out.
The Top 10 anglers will launch from Guntersville City Harbor at 7 a.m. CT and return for weigh-in at 3 p.m. CT. The winner will earn a trip to the 2027 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour as well as the first-place cash prize worth around $70,000.
The ten anglers advancing to the 2027 Progressive Elite Series will be officially announced at tournament’s end.
Bassmaster LIVE will carry coverage beginning at 8 a.m. ET and continuing until 3 p.m. on Bassmaster.com. The live weigh-in will begin at 4 p.m. ET.
Marshall County Tourism and Sports are hosting the tournament.