The stakes couldn’t be higher next week at Orange Lake, where a single catch could swing the outcome of the seventh-annual Major League Fishing (MLF) Kubota Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops, set for May 16-21. With $100,000 awarded for the tournament’s biggest bass, every cast has the potential to change an angler’s season in an instant.
Hosted by the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau, the all-star tournament will showcase the 32 pros who qualified from the 2025 Bass Pro Tour season competing for a top prize of $100,000. Anglers will also compete for Berkley Big Bass bonuses during the event that pay up to $100,000 for catching the single biggest bass.
To qualify for Kubota Heavy Hitters, the weight of an angler’s single-largest bass from each event of the seven 2025 Bass Pro Tour events was recorded. The 32 anglers with the heaviest total from those seven bass qualified to compete in this event.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Major League Fishing’s Heavy Hitters event to Ocala/Marion County and Orange Lake this month,” said Loretta Shaffer, Tourism Director for the Ocala/Marion County Visitors and Convention Bureau. “This is an incredible opportunity to showcase our world-class fishing, stunning natural landscapes, and why our destination continues to stand out on the national stage for outdoor recreation.”
The 2026 edition could see the heaviest bass in the history of the big-fish-focused event – if Mother Nature cooperates. Orange Lake has been on fire in recent years, kicking out lunker bass at a better clip than any other fishery in the Sunshine State and almost anywhere else in the country. Bass Fishing Hall of Famer and Ocala native Shaw Grigsby called Orange Lake “a tremendous big-bass lake.”
“That lake has put out some beasts,” he said. “I don’t think it put out a 15-pounder last year, but it put out a 15 for like three straight years – over 15, like high 15.”
Grigsby said it’s possible the low water will concentrate the postspawn bass, making for an offshore slugfest. The fact that forward-facing sonar use isn’t restricted during Heavy Hitters – because anglers will compete out of identical, league-issued boats – could help that bite.
“With the water low and the fish offshore, they might have them concentrated, and it could be a stunning event to see that play out,” he said.
If water levels rise back near full pool, fans could see a lot more close-quarters power fishing amid the lake’s ample vegetation.
“At a normal time, you would have a lot of flipping, pitching, punching,” Grigsby said. “You’d have frogging. Catching some offshore. You might be throwing a big worm offshore, stuff like that. So, you’ll have a little bit of everything.”
Regardless, Grigsby expects the lake to fish well. It’s rare to see a high-level tournament in Florida during the postspawn, but he said it’s one of the most fun times of year in the Sunshine State, especially since the Bass Pro Tour’s catch-weigh-release format means pros won’t have to stress about keeping bass alive in the warm water.
“May is a tremendous time,” Grigsby said. “It’s the postspawn – a lot of topwater activity, definitely can get into schooling activity. It should be a real fun one, because when you start getting into that topwater time, it gets to be ridiculous.”
Grigsby doesn’t just anticipate flurries of topwater bites, but big ones. Orange Lake has already offered MLF fans a taste of the caliber of bass that live there. The Fishing Clash Team Series spent three days on the lake at the Team Series Championship in the fall of 2023, and two anglers caught bass over 10 pounds – with zero practice on the fishery. Wesley Strader boated a 10-12, while Ryan Salzman landed an 11-6.
Grigsby expects at least one 10-plus pounder to hit SCORETRACKER® again next week.
“You’re talking double digits, definitely,” he said. “I don’t think you’re going to go by without a double digit. And it could be 11, 12, even into the 13-pound range.”
Anglers will arrive each morning at 6:15 a.m. to the Heagy-Burry Boat Ramp, located at 5040 NW 191st Place in Reddick, Florida, and depart for competition at 7:15 a.m. Anglers will return to the boat ramp each evening following the end of competition at 3:45 p.m. Fans are encouraged to follow the event online throughout the day on the MLFNOW! live stream and SCORETRACKER® coverage at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Kubota Heavy Hitters at Orange Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops features the MLF catch, weigh and immediate-release format, in which anglers catch as much weight as they can each day, while also feeling the pressure and intensity of the SCORETRACKER® leaderboard. A bass must meet the 2-pound minimum weight requirement to be deemed scorable in the Qualifying and Knockout Rounds, but for the final day Championship Round a bass must weigh at least 3 pounds to be deemed scorable.
The 16 anglers in Group A compete in their two-day qualifying round on Saturday and Monday – the 16 anglers in Group B on Sunday and Tuesday. After each two-day qualifying round is complete, the top eight anglers from both groups advance to Wednesday’s Knockout Round. In the Knockout Round weights are zeroed, and the remaining 16 anglers compete to finish in the Top 10 to advance to the Championship Round. In Thursday’s final-day Championship Round, weights are zeroed, and the highest one-day total wins the top prize of $100,000.
In addition to overall tournament awards, Berkley Big Bass bonuses are awarded in each round of competition with payouts of $10,000 for the single biggest bass on each day of Group A and Group B Qualifying, $30,000 for the biggest bass in the Knockout Round and $100,000 for the biggest bass in the Championship Round.
The 32 anglers that will compete Kubota Heavy Hitters at Orange Lake Presented by Bass Pro Shops are:
Group A:
Brent Chapman, Lenexa, Kan.
Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn.
Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas
Cole Floyd, Leesburg, Ohio
Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill.
Alton Jones Jr., Lorena, Texas
Gary Klein, Mingus, Texas
Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Nick LeBrun, Bossier City, La.
Dave Lefebre, Erie, Pa.
Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala.
Colby Miller, Elmer, La.
Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich.
Takahiro Omori, Tokyo, Japan
Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla.
Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C.
Group B:
Adrian Avena, Marmora, N.J.
Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn.
Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla.
Justin Cooper, Zwolle, La.
Mark Davis, Mount Ida, Ark.
Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif.
Edwin Evers, Talala, Okla.
Marshall Hughes, Hemphill, Texas
John Hunter, Shelbyville, Ky.
Alton Jones, Lorena, Texas
Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla.
Michael Neal, Dayton, Tenn.
Skeet Reese, Auburn, Calif.
Dean Rojas, Lake Havasu City, Ariz.
Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas
Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn.
The MLFNOW! broadcast team of Chad McKee and J.T. Kenney will break down the extended action live on all six days of competition from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET. MLFNOW! will be livestreamed on MajorLeagueFishing.com, the MyOutdoorTV (MOTV) app, and Rumble.
Television coverage of Kubota Heavy Hitters 2026 Presented by Bass Pro Shops will be showcased across six two-hour episodes, premiering at 7 a.m. ET on July 4 and running each Saturday through Aug. 15 on Discovery. New MLF episodes premiere each Saturday morning on Discovery, with re-airings on the Outdoor Channel.
Proud sponsors of the 2026 Kubota Heavy Hitters Presented by Bass Pro Shops include: Abu Garcia, B&W Trailer Hitches, Bass Force, Bass Pro Shops, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Grizzly, Kubota, Lowrance, Lucas Oil, Mercury, MillerTech, NITRO Boats, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Power-Pole, Ranger Boats, Star brite, Toyota, YETI, Yuengling and Zenni.
For complete details and updated information on Major League Fishing and the Bass Pro Tour, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, X, Instagram, Rumble and YouTube.
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