Foutz surges into the lead in Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River

MUSKOGEE, Okla. — On a day marked with significant weather impact, Jacob Foutz looked like he was fishing different waters than the other 49 semi-finalists competing in the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River.

In a way, he actually was, as the pro from Philadelphia, Tenn., has enjoyed three days of complete solitude in a backwater area of the Illinois River branching off the east side of Kerr Lake (Pool 15). During that time, Foutz has amassed a total of 57 pounds, 10 ounces, which sends him into Championship Sunday with a cozy lead of 6-9 over the first two days’ leader Fisher Anaya.

“It feels like I’m fishing in a different fishery; clean water, big ole bass — I can’t complain,” Foutz grinned. “Where I caught them today, I found it yesterday, but it’s part of the same backwater area I’ve been fishing.”

Keeping himself in the hunt, Foutz started with a seventh-place bag of 18-1 and moved up to second with a Day 2 limit that went 18-15. Adding his best effort — a third-round limit of 20-10 — puts him squarely in the driver’s seat.

A major storm system, which brought big winds toward the end of Friday’s weigh-ins, dropped air temperatures by about 15 degrees and lingered the blustery conditions throughout Day 3. Fortunately, Foutz was fishing in protected backwaters.

Most importantly, while many of his competitors have fished shad spawns and other bass postspawn patterns, Foutz believes the cooler water coming through the Illinois has kept his area a little behind the Arkansas River’s seasonal schedule.

“Where I’m fishing, the water temperature is just now getting into the low 60s, so it seems like they’re just now starting to spawn,” he said. “They’ve just reloaded and reloaded all three days. I think most of the fish I’ve caught have been bedding, but I’ve caught some just winding around.

“This scenario has just developed as the tournament has gone on. I just went to an area where I had a few bites in practice. I didn’t really know what was there, but we’ve learned pretty quickly.”

Foutz caught most of his fish by watching a broad area with Garmin Perspective Mode. He used a Texas-rigged Burtek Cranking Bug for the bed fish and a Megabass Magdraft swimbait for blind casting the general area.

Foutz did the biggest chunk of his Day 3 work from about 10:15 to 10:40 a.m., during which he boated a trio of chunky fish of 5 1/4, 4 and 4 3/4 pounds (unofficial BassTrakk weights). This Semifinal Saturday smackdown clearly positioned him to win his first blue trophy.

Looking ahead to Championship Sunday, Foutz said he’ll return to the Illinois River in hopes that his area has enough fish to crank out one more big bag.

“I feel like I’m running out of fish, but I did see some left in there and it still seems like they’re coming,” he said. “I’m not getting a bunch of time to fish (given the travel and locking time both ways), but I left some fish, I saw some more this afternoon that I didn’t try to catch.”

Hailing from Eva, Ala., Anaya is in second place with 51-1. After leading Days 1 and 2 with limits of 20-4 and 16-13, Anaya added 14 pounds on Day 3.

Following the same general game plan that had served him well for two days, Anaya started his day throwing a jerkbait for spotted bass and then a 3/8-ounce swim jig with a Zoom Ultra-Vibe Speed Craw for largemouth. That plan put four spots and one largemouth in his weigh-in bag.

“I just went fishing today and got fortunate enough to catch one big one late in the day that helped my bag,” said Anaya, who won the season’s second Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin. “That big one was sitting in the same patch of grass that I’ve fished every day, so I’m gonna fish it again tomorrow and then run some new water.”

Jason Christie of Dry Creek, Okla., is in third place with 50-10. He has turned in daily weights of 18-4, 18-2 and 14-4.

Coming off a win in the previous Bassmaster Elite at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, Christie has committed to locking down to Kerr Lake and working a familiar area that he grew up fishing. He stayed busy, but the big fish he located the previous two days did not cooperate today.

“I caught 50 or 60 fish, but I just never had that quality bite,” Christie said. “I’ve fished this river for years and the way I fish, you move around. You flip a log here, a reed head there, a grass patch there.

“I haven’t been able to do that; I’ve been handcuffed to one area, basically, the whole time. Hopefully, it doesn’t blow tomorrow so I can move around and have a chance to catch a big bag.”

After doing a lot of work with a Heddon Zara Spook the first two days, Christie caught most of his Day-3 fish on a Booyah Mobster swim jig.

Cole Sands of Johnson City, Tn. holds the Phoenix Boats Big Bass lead with a 6-13.

Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., leads the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points with 358. Cory Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is second with 355, followed by Sands with 324, Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas with 320, and Caleb Hudson of Lincolnton, Ga., with 317.

Bassmaster LIVE action of Championship Sunday can be found on FS1 from 8 a.m.-1 p.m. before heading to Bassmaster.com for afternoon coverage. All weigh-ins will be available live on Bassmaster.com starting at 4 p.m. ET.

Visit Muskogee is hosting this event.

2026 Bassmaster Elite Series Title Sponsor: Progressive

2026 Bassmaster Elite Series Platinum Sponsor: Progressive, Toyota
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series Premier Sponsors: Bass Pro Shops, Humminbird, Mercury, Mountain Dew, Minn Kota, Nitro Boats, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Skeeter Boats, Yamaha
2026 Bassmaster Elite Series Supporting Sponsors: AFTCO, Daiwa, Lew’s, Lowrance, Phoenix Boats, VMC, Yokohama

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