RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. (June 21, 2026) – The final day of the Toyota Series tournament on Lake Dardanelle was full of drama, and weigh-in for both competitions was very tense. On the pro side, Drake Hemby took the lead on Day 2 and was well on his way to a 20-pound average for the event. However, on Day 3, he only mustered 13 pounds, 14 ounces for a 54-11 total. Still, it was good enough for the win and to pocket $29,329 and lock in a spot at the Toyota Series Championship.
Narrowly finishing second, Evan Sutton tallied 54-5 over three days, while Drew Porto locked up third with 52-14. With the conclusion of the Plains Division season, Shawn Kowal took home 7 Brew Angler of the Year honors.
Hemby squeaks out the win
A former collegiate angler for Carson-Newman University, Hemby is no stranger to Dardanelle, and he’s had some close calls before. Come weigh-in, he thought he was headed for another near miss.
“I’m a little shocked, to be honest with you,” he said. “I didn’t think there was any way I was going to have enough.”
But he did, and combined with a recent Top 25 in the Toyota Series event at Eufaula, Hemby might be making some headway at a career on the water instead of fixing boats for Smoky Mountain H2O Sports.
“I really wanted to give it a shot; it’s been a dream of mine forever,” said Hemby. “I fished the Opens last year and got my teeth kicked in. I decided to go a different route this year, and I haven’t had the best year, but the past few events have been good. I feel like mentally, I’m a little bit over the hump. If it keeps going like this, I’ll keep trying.”
Diverse gameplan does the trick
With a good ‘Scope strategy and some good fish in the grass, Hemby did a little of everything on Dardanelle this week.
“I started out this morning on a place I found yesterday afternoon in the grass and caught a 9-pound limit, which was nice to take the pressure off a little bit,” he said. “Then we went and fished some stuff that my co-angler had. He’s from here, and he had a lot of confidence in it.”
Later in the morning, Hemby fired up his LiveScope.
“I turned my ‘Scope on, and it took me 2 1/2 hours of my ‘Scope period to get my first bite,” he said. “Then in the last 30 minutes, I caught three big ones and didn’t catch anything after that. I was fishing brush, stumps and little hard spots that I found in practice. It was pretty simple.”
The end result was by no means a huge weight total, but it proved just enough to get the win.
Shallow, Hemby used a 3/8-ounce Boogerman Buzzbait in white, which accounted for his kicker on Day 1. He also threw a 3/8-ounce Z-Man Evergreen ChatterBait JackHammer in golden shiner, and when he had his electronics lit up, he used a Hideup Coike Fullcast with an Owner Stinger treble and a 3/32-ounce weight. He threw everything on 20-pound Seaguar InvizX.
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Dardanelle finished:
1st: Drake Hemby, Brentwood, Tenn., 15 bass, 54-11, $29,329
2nd: Evan Sutton, Highland, Ill., 15 bass, 54-5, $11,365
3rd: Drew Porto, Greenbrier, Ark., 15 bass, 52-14, $8,799
4th: Wayne Dixon, Morrilton, Ark., 15 bass, 52-5, $7,332
5th: Jarred Thompson, Vilonia, Ark., 15 bass, 52-3, $7,099
6th: Hunter Baughman, Judsonia, Ark., 15 bass, 49-4, $5,866
7th: Mat Higby, Lamar, Ark., 15 bass, 48-12, $5,133
8th: Tripp Berlinsky, Saint Cloud, Fla., 15 bass, 48-8, $5,399 (includes $1,000 Phoenix Bonus)
9th: Jackson Roumbanis, Russellville, Ark., 15 bass, 48-7, $3,666
10th: Matt Tucker, Pottsville, Ark., 15 bass, 47-10, $2,933
Pro Zack Freeman of Russellville, Arkansas, earned Thursday’s $500 Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 5 pounds, 2 ounces, while Jarred Thompson of Vilonia, Arkansas, won Friday’s $500 Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 5 pounds, 12 ounces.
Dennis Young of Olathe, Kansas, won the co-angler division Saturday at Lake Dardanelle with a three-day total of 12 bass weighing 35 pounds, 12 ounces. Young earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,550, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 co-anglers at the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Lake Dardanelle finished:
1st: Dennis Young, Olathe, Kansas, 12 bass, 35-12, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp Mercury outboard
2nd: Randy Allen, Russellville, Arkansas, 11 bass, 34-5, $3,910
3rd: Robert Jacuzzi, Mount Ida, Ark., 14 bass, 33-10, $3,008
4th: James Edmonds, Hot Springs Village, Ark., 13 bass, 31-0, $2,732
5th: Mason Chambers, Galena, Mo., 13 bass, 29-14, $2,256
6th: Lawson Lewis, Knoxville, Ark., 12 bass, 29-6, $1,880
7th: Alan Bernicky, Dardanelle, Ark., 11 bass, 28-15, $1,604
8th: Blake Defoor, Waldron, Ark., 11 bass, 26-0, $1,316
9th: Dakota Ball, Connersville, Ind., 13 bass, 25-7, $1,128
10th: Freeland Peterson, Henley, Mo., 10 bass, 24-10, $940
Co-angler Randy Allen of Russellville, Arkansas, earned Thursday’s Big Bass co-angler award on Day 1 with a 5-pound, 3-ounce bass to earn the $150 prize, while Friday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Mike Foelsch of O’Fallon, Missouri, who weighed in a 4-pound, 15-ounce bass.
With all three Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Plains Division now complete, pro Shawn Kowal of Linn Creek, Missouri, won the 7 Brew Plains Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 712 points, while Freeland Peterson Henley, Missouri, won the Plains Division Co-Angler of the Year race, with 760 points.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_%29fishing_123/toyota-dardanelle-62126.html
MLF Toyota Series