Major League Fishing (MLF) announced the schedule for the eighth season of professional bass fishing’s most competitive circuit, the 2026 Bass Pro Tour, and local fans and anglers are very excited to see Beaver Lake on the list once again.
Northwest Arkansas and Beaver Lake will play host to Stage 5 of the 2026 Bass Pro Tour season, April 30-May 3. Hosted by Destination Rogers, the event will showcase a field of 51 of the world’s top professional bass anglers competing for the sport’s largest payouts – including a top prize of $150,000 at Beaver Lake, and a season-long purse of millions of dollars in earnings and valuable points in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) race and qualification into REDCREST 2027.
“Rogers is thrilled to welcome the MLF Bass Pro Tour to Beaver Lake in 2026,” said J.R. Shaw, Executive Director for Destination Rogers. “Outdoor recreation in Arkansas fuels our state’s economy, and events like this support small businesses and bring great awareness to Rogers and Northwest Arkansas as a premier outdoor recreation destination. Destination Rogers looks forward to partnering with the Major League Fishing staff and community in hosting this prestigious tournament.”
The event will mark the first time that the MLF Bass Pro Tour has visited Beaver Lake. The historic fishery last hosted a major professional-level bass tournament in 2017, and until that point had been an annual stop on the FLW Tour. FLW was purchased by MLF in 2019, and this event marks the league’s much-anticipated return to Beaver Lake.
“Our 2026 schedule showcases everything we love about the Bass Pro Tour – challenging new waters, high-stakes competition and a roster of the most accomplished anglers in the sport,” said Kathy Fennel, MLF Executive Vice President & General Manager. “We’re excited about several new stops on the Tour next season but also looking forward to returning to some of our most successful venues from the past, including Beaver Lake and Northwest Arkansas. There’s never been a better time to be a fan of the sport of professional bass fishing.”
A key storyline entering the 2026 season is the Bass Pro Tour’s transition to a 51-angler field – the final step in a strategically planned two-year restructuring of the league’s competitive format. The next evolution is designed to create a more streamlined, sustainable model that elevates the profile of each competitor, improves storytelling for fans and sponsors and maximizes the league’s evolving digital broadcast strategy.
As in 2025, each Bass Pro Tour event will feature the full field of anglers competing in the Qualifying Round on Days 1 and 2, followed by the Knockout Round on Day 3 and then the Championship Round on Day 4. The league’s signature catch-weigh-release format ensures immediate fish care and maximum fan excitement, with every fish scored and streamed live on MLFNOW! via the MLF app, MyOutdoorTV (MOTV), Rumble, and at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
With a field of the world’s best anglers ready to make history, the 2026 Bass Pro Tour promises more action, more surprises and more big bass moments than ever before.
2026 MLF Bass Pro Tour Schedule:
Jan. 15-18 Stage 1 at Lake Guntersville Guntersville, Ala.
Hosted by Marshall County Tourism & Sports
Feb. 19-22 Stage 2 at Lake Hartwell Oconee County, S.C.
March 5-8 Stage 3 at Lake Whitney (Days 1-2) & Lake Waco (Days 3-4) Waco, Texas
Hosted by the Greater Waco Sports Commission, the City of Waco and the Waco TPID
March 26-29 Stage 4 at O.H. Ivie Lake (Days 1-2) & Lake Brownwood (Days 3-4) Early, Texas
April 16-19 REDCREST 2026 TBA
April 30-May 3 Stage 5 at Beaver Lake Rogers, Ark.
May 16-21 MLF Heavy Hitters at Orange Lake Ocala, Fla.
Hosted by the Ocala/Marion County Visitors & Convention Bureau
June 18-21 Stage 6 at Grand Lake Grove, Okla.
Hosted by the City of Grove and the Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau
Aug. 6-9 Stage 7 at Lake Erie Sandusky, Ohio
Hosted by Shore & Islands Ohio
Proud sponsors of the MLF Bass Pro Tour include: 7Brew Coffee, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing Co., Bass Force, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, BUBBA, E3 Sport Apparel, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Lowrance, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Rapala, Star brite, Suzuki Marine, Toyota and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the 2026 Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube.
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