Foutz finds late-day kicker for Bassmaster Elite win at Arkansas River

MUSKOGEE, Okla., April 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Family's important to Jacob Foutz, so when he made a promise to his great grandmother Judy Fisher, he intended to keep it. Two years after her passing, Foutz fulfilled his oath by winning the Gamakatsu Bassmaster Elite at Arkansas River.

After tallying a four-day winning total of 72 pounds, 4 ounces, Foutz linked a transitional moment in his final day to that longstanding family commitment.

"This afternoon, I had 30 minutes before I locked (back to Pool 16 from Pool 15) and I had gone back for a big one I had seen on bed," said the 27-year-old from Philadelphia, Tenn. "My great grandma was my biggest fan. Every time I saw her, I promised her a blue trophy.

"That big fish wasn't there and I said, 'Grandma, if you're watching, I can use a 5-pounder right now.' About 5 minutes later, I caught a 6-1. You can't script it any better than that."

Foutz placed seventh on Day 1 with a bag of 18-1 and moved up to second a day later with 18-15. Adding 20-10 on Semifinal Saturday, Foutz took over the lead by a margin of 6-9.

A leaner Championship Sunday yielded 14-10, but Foutz finished with a winning margin of 6-13 of Austin Felix and collected the $100,000 top prize.

"I've been waiting for this since I was 5 years old," Foutz said. "Bass fishing is all I've ever known. I love it more than anything else in the world. This is something I've dreamed of since I was a little, little boy."

With the event based on Pool 16, tournament boundaries also comprised pools 17 and 15. All week, Foutz camped in a couple of shallow backwater areas in the Illinois River, which branches off the east side of Kerr Lake (Pool 15).

With no other anglers fishing that area, Foutz found was able to explore at his leisure. His key area was a shallow gravel bank where he monitored bedding bass and roaming fish with Garmin Perspective Mode — a wide-angle live sonar view ideal for shallow waters.

Foutz caught his bed fish on a Texas-rigged Burtek Cranking Bug. He also caught several keepers by blind casting the area with a Megabass Magdraft swimbait.

"Coming into this week, I didn't think I was on that much, I just kinda figured it out as the week went on," Foutz said. "When it's your time, it's your time."

A 6-pound class fish always matters, especially on a fishery where 5-pounders are eye-openers. However, the timing could not have been any better.

Around noon, Foutz found himself with a limit of just under 10 pounds as the scheduled 1:30 lock time loomed closer. Unbeknownst to him, Felix and third-place Pat Schlapper were chipping away at his lead. Sensing that his opportunity was in jeopardy, Foutz resolved to fish until the last minute. His persistence paid off with a late-day kicker that slammed the door shut.

"I saw some wood (on the bottom) but I didn't see the fish," Foutz said. "I just made a blind pitch out there and my mind started moving."

Hailing from Eden Prairie, Minn., Austin Felix finished second with 65-7. Staying in the hunt all week, the 2020 Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year turned in daily weights of 18-15, 16-12, 13-12 and 16-0. Also committing his tournament to Pool 15, Felix fished various habitat features. Flexibility and adaptability were his allies.

"You had to go with the flow and fish what you could," he said. "Fortunately, I put my bait in front of 20 of the right ones (four days of 5-bass limits)."

Felix caught his fish on a 3/8-ounce Tree Shaker Tackle swim jig and a Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Bug. He used two versions of the Texas rig — one with a 7/16-ounce weight for deeper spots and a 5/16-ounce setup for finessing shallower cover.

Considering the run down to the Webbers Falls Lock and Dam accessing Pool 15, locking time and the run to the prime fishing areas, Felix said his fishing day amounted to approximately 3 1/2 hours.

"The key was keeping your head down and fishing what was in front of you," Felix said. "You couldn't really run around so there wasn't time for a Plan B or C. Fortunately, I got in an area where, even when the weather changed, a different section would go off and I could get a few bites every day."

Schlapper, who makes his home in Eleva, Wis., finished third with 64-10. His daily weights were 17-6, 13-12, 17-0 and 16-8.

Anchoring his final bag with a 5-pounder, Schlapper focused on various shallow backwater habitat similar to his Upper Mississippi River home waters where he claimed his second of two Elite wins in 2025 (also the Sabine River).

"This river fits my style of fishing; it's one of my favorite places now," Schlapper said. "There's a lot of fish and a lot of cool cover to fish.

"I caught a lot of my fish on a swim jig that I make myself from Do-it-Molds. It's so fun when you watch them come up and you watch the bait disappear."

Cole Sands of Johnson City, Tenn., won the $2,000 Phoenix Boats Big Bass award with a 6-13.

Trey McKinney of Carbondale, Ill., won the $1,000 award for leading the Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points with 354. Cory Johnston of Otonabee, Canada is second with 353, followed by Sands with 325, Dakota Ebare of Brookeland, Texas with 320, and Caleb Hudson of Lincolnton, Ga., with 317.

Seth Feider of New Market, Minn., won the $2,000 Rapala CrushCity Monster Bag with 21-3.

Carl Jocumsen of Queensland, Australia won the $1,000 BassTrakk Contingency prize for the angler whose BassTrakk estimates are closest to their official weight.

Jason Christie of Dry Creek, Okla., won the $4,000 Toyota Bonus Bucks contingency award for the highest-placing eligible angler. Luke Palmer of Coalgate, Okla., won the $3,000 second-place award.

Schlapper won the $2,500 Yamaha Power Pay contingency award for the highest-placing eligible angler. Christie won the $1,500 second-place award.

Caleb Hudson of Lincolnton, Ga., leads the Pro-Guide Batteries Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year standings with 317 points.

Visit Muskogee hosted this event.

Media Contact: Mandy Pascal, Communications Manager, 334-414-8677, [email protected]

SOURCE B.A.S.S.