GROVE, Okla. (June 20, 2026) – The tournament Grand Lake has produced bass in bunches for three days in a row, with anglers catching fish both ultra-shallow and offshore. The field has been fairly split between the two approaches throughout the event, but Michigan’s Ron Nelson used a blended strategy Saturday, working it to perfection to pace the field in the Knockout Round with 21 bass for 63 pounds, 8 ounces.
Nelson led throughout the second half of the day but briefly surrendered the top spot to Banks Shaw in the final moments, before landing a 2-1 clutch catch with less than a minute to go. Those two anglers, along with seven more, will join Qualifying Round winner Jake Lawrence to form the last 10 standing for Sunday’s Championship Round.
Nelson finished runner-up at Heavy Hitters in May and is hoping to keep the momentum rolling for one more day in Oklahoma. He’ll have to beat a stout field of offshore aces and shallow-water gurus, though, each with a chance to win on a quickly changing Grand Lake.
Nelson stayed close to the Wolf Creek takeoff each morning, focusing on shallow bushes. The area has produced a perfect storm of high-water levels and plenty of food, keeping the bass there through the first three days of competition.
“The mayfly hatch is going on, along with a little bit of a shad spawn and the water’s still up high enough that the bushes have a lot of fish coming to them,” Nelson said. “That bite is really strong in the first period, and a few of us are capitalizing on it, including a few others who advanced to the final day.”
Flipping a Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, Nelson said he was thrilled about his great day but knows it could have been even better.
“The fish are sitting high in the water column,” he said. “They’d come up and roll on it, and I missed several fish because of that. Most of it was just angler error.”
After the shallow bite slowed, Nelson shifted gears and targeted more offshore schools on what he described as a flat point, both with and without forward-facing sonar.
“When I had my forward-facing on, I could pan over there and see eight or 10 fish at a time, but it’s almost like blind fishing and casting even when it’s turned on,” he said. “The fish are sitting on the edge of the point, and they’ll cycle up and get on top of it, and you can catch them pretty quickly. I’ve been able to catch them with and without forward-facing sonar on a ChatterBait, Carolina rig, crankbait and an urchin, and the fish are all really fat, which tells me they have stabilized and are in their summer pattern after the postspawn.”
With two solid approaches in his pocket, Nelson said he is torn on which to use in the Championship Round.
“I’m really leaning towards starting on that ‘Scope area just because they’ll probably be chewing at low light, but I just can’t give up the chance to catch 10 or more scoreables first thing in the morning flipping bushes,” he said. “Once you miss that early window up shallow, it’s over, and those bushes have been beaten to death. If it’s not happening in the first hour, I’m pulling the plug and going to that flat point.”
Fresh off his recent Pro Circuit victory a little over two hours south on Lake Eufaula, red-hot Banks Shaw is keeping the momentum rolling in the Sooner State. The Bass Pro Tour rookie notched his third Top 10 of the year (along with several more on other MLF circuits) and did it with plenty of quality bass.
After opening the day with two bass over 5 pounds, Shaw added four more over the 4-pound mark. His best five fish totaled 24 pounds, 9 ounces, while his full-day haul of 20 bass weighed 62-2. The Tennessee pro said Grand Lake suits his style and feels a bit like home.
“I went into this tournament kind of hoping the fish would be grouped up offshore, and I found a school pretty quick in practice,” he said. “Right then, I was fully committed to it and looked for as many places as I could find. It feels just like the TVA out there. I love it, and I didn’t realize this lake was this fun. I was here for the Toyota Series Championship in the fall, and it was nothing like this.”
While it’s not far geographically from his most recent victory, Shaw said Grand is much different from Lake Eufaula.
“I caught them in a similar way, but on Eufaula it was all about isolated brush, and on Grand it’s schools of fish,” he said. “Grand also seems to have more numbers and bigger fish. I think if I can hit it right in the first period and then continue the momentum, I’ll have a good shot to contend for the win. I’m super excited to see how this one pans out.”
With Jacob Wheeler finishing the competition day in 13th place, Birge’s lead in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year will increase by at least four points. He came into the event a single point ahead of Wheeler and could extend his lead even more, depending on how he fares tomorrow.
Spencer Shuffield made big moves in the third period, finishing the day in 8th place with 17 bass for 47-13 thanks to a late-day flurry that saw four scoreables boated in the final 30 minutes.
The top nine pros that now advance to Championship Sunday tournament on Grand Lake are:
1st: Ron Nelson, Berrien Springs, Mich., 21 bass, 63-8
2nd: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 20 bass, 62-2
3rd: Zack Birge, Blanchard, Okla., 21 bass, 59-9
4th: Bobby Lane, Lakeland, Fla., 19 bass, 54-14
5th: Alton Jones Jr., Lorena, Texas, 17 bass, 54-10
6th: Dustin Connell, Deatsville, Ala., 18 bass, 52-4
7th: Keith Carson, DeBary, Fla., 19 bass, 51-8
8th: Spencer Shuffield, Hot Springs, Ark., 17 bass, 47-13
9th: Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 16 bass, 46-14
*QR Winner: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn.
Eliminated from competition are:
10th: Jacob Walker, Springville, Ala., 18 bass, 44-10, $15,900
11th: Ott DeFoe, Blaine, Tenn., 16 bass, 43-0, $15,800
12th: Jesse Wiggins, Logan, Ala., 12 bass, 41-15, $15,700
13th: Jacob Wheeler, Birchwood, Tenn., 14 bass, 39-11, $15,600
14th: Dustin Smith, Trussville, Ala., 14 bass, 36-4, $15,500
15th: Andy Montgomery, Blacksburg, S.C., 12 bass, 32-12, $15,400
16th: Todd Faircloth, Jasper, Texas, 11 bass, 32-11, $15,300
17th: Matt Becker, Ten Mile, Tenn., 11 bass, 31-4, $15,200
18th: Bradley Roy, Lancaster, Ky., 12 bass, 27-10, $15,100
19th: Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., nine bass, 25-9, $15,000
20th: Casey Ashley, Donalds, S.C., seven bass, 20-12, $15,000
21st: Mark Rose, Wynne, Ark., six bass, 20-8, $15,000
22nd: James Elam, Cleveland, Okla., five bass, 17-4, $15,000
23rd: Jeff Sprague, Wills Point, Texas, six bass, 15-11, $15,000
24th: Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., five bass, 15-4, $15,000
Overall, there were 326 bass caught weighing 937 pounds, 15 ounces, caught by the 24 Bass Pro Tour anglers on Saturday.
Saturday’s $1,000 Big Bass Award was again earned by Jesse Wiggins of Logan, Alabama, who caught a 6-pound, 3-ounce largemouth in the first period throwing a crankbait. Berkley awards $1,000 to the angler who weighs the heaviest bass each day.
https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/mlf-grand-62026.html
Major League Fishing (MLF)