History was made last week when 22-year-old Dylan Nutt dominated the competition on the Tennessee River to win the 2026 Bassmaster Classic. For just the second time ever – and the first time in over 30 years – a B.A.S.S. Nation qualifier hoisted the Ray Scott Bassmaster Classic trophy, proving that grassroots anglers can, indeed, become a world champion.
B.A.S.S. Nation, however, is not the only local/regional tournament trail that offers a path to bass-fishing's biggest stage.
US Anglers Choice is a bass-tournament trail and national championship series where teams of anglers compete in regional and state events throughout Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, and Wisconsin. Anglers earn qualifications for the US Anglers Choice National Championship through performance in regular season events, and those who do well can compete to earn a berth to the Bassmaster Classic.
Southeastern Wisconsin's Bailey Bleser is one of those anglers. The 25 year-old St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels ambassador started fishing competitively in high school, where he had success and earned a scholarship to attend and fish at McKendree University in Southern Illinois. Bleser began fishing some Toyota Series and Bassmaster Opens events after graduation in 2022, as well as the US Anglers Choice Series.
"Anglers Choice is awesome because it's more of a grassroots-focus team-tournament working-man series," Bleser says. "They all take place on the weekends, and they're all team tournaments. What I really enjoy about it is getting to fish with my dad, Rich Bleser, as my partner. I grew up fishing with my dad and he taught me a lot of what I know, so it's awesome to be able to travel and share the boat with him."
The Bleser's were one of 243 teams who qualified to fish at the recent Anglers Choice National Championship on Pickwick Lake, where they weighed 49.01 over two days to win the prestigious event along with nearly $80,000 in cash and prizes.
"There were challenging conditions when we first got down there," Bleser says. "A big warm front hit the first couple days of practice. It was in the 70s, then a cold front came through with lows in the 20s and highs hovering just above freezing. A lot of fish went from being tight to the bank to pulling off and we really had to adjust. We were basically fishing any sort of steep bank that was in close proximity to the main lake but also close to a spawning pocket. We found fish using those areas as a highway. When it warmed up, they would slide up on the shallower pea-gravel portions of the bank and just hang out there. They'd sit on a little bit of brush or a stump. Then when it got cold, they'd move out deeper on the bank. We just tried to focus in on stuff other guys were overlooking, whether it was a really small brush pile you could barely see on sonar or even single rocks or small sticks."
The Bleser's caught 23-6 on day-one, enough to enter the second and final day in 8th place. "Then we caught 25-4 on day-two, which included an 8-1/2-pound kicker," Bleser recalls. "It was a lot of fun. We caught most of them on a jighead minnow… an eighth-ounce head up shallow, then either a 3/16 or quarter-ounce head when the fish moved deeper."
Bleser was fishing a St. Croix Legend X2 610MLXF spinning rod with the lighter presentation and a 68MXF X2 with the heavier heads.
"I really like the 68MXF for what I consider a heavier minnow setup… anytime I'm throwing a 3/16 to a quarter-ounce," says Bleser. "It just gives me perfect control to put action into that minnow… that's my go-to. I'd switch it up once I got shallower with the eighth-ounce minnow. That's where the 610MLXF is ideal. It's just a little bit more forgiving… you have a little more tip which allows you to shake that light bait with a lot of nice rolling."
Bleser paired his Legend X2's with SEVIIN GS-Series spinning reels spooled with Seaguar JDM PEX8 21-pound braid tied to a ten-pound Invizx leader.
Winning the Anglers Choice National Championship means Bleser and his father are qualified to fish the Bassmaster Team Championship in December of 2026. The ten individual anglers from the top five teams in that event will enter a fish-off for an individual berth in the 2027 Bassmaster Classic. Fisher Anaya won that fish-off last year. Since winning the 2025 Bassmaster Team Championship, Anaya has caught fire, winning the 2026 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin and finishing 13th at last week's 2026 Bassmaster Classic.
Bleser remains open to the possibilities. "It'd be great to win the Bassmaster Team Championship and have a chance at a Classic berth, but we've got a lot of fishing between now and then," he says. "We'll continue to fish Anglers Choice, as well as B.A.S.S. Nation events. The next one is the regional qualifier in La Crosse in May."
While the Bassmaster Opens Series and the resultant Elite Qualifiers Series are undeniably pumping tons of talent into the ranks of the Bassmaster Elites, Bleser says US Anglers Choice and B.A.S.S. Nation are consistently putting anglers there, too. "It's rare, but it happens," he says. "Most anglers fishing these grassroots circuits are in it for the fun and the experience, but if they prove they can win and progress, the most talented definitely have the opportunity to compete at the highest level."
Or, perhaps, even win.
St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels are proud sponsors and supporters of grassroots angling at all levels, including the 2026 US Anglers Choice Tournament Trail and National Championship Series. Learn more at usanglerschoice.com.
About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly crafting the "Best Rods on Earth" for nearly 80 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, Rod Geeks, and the St. Croix Factory Store.
About SEVIIN Reels
Wherever and however you fish, the reel in your hand should help create better experiences. Born from St. Croix Rod's seven decades of design and manufacturing expertise, industry-leading customer service, and unbroken private ownership by the Schluter family dating back to 1977, SEVIIN reels are meticulously engineered and purpose-built to help anglers conquer every species on every piece of water on the planet. SEVIIN focuses on reels and reels only, designing and marketing products that improve the angling experience, regardless of the rods anglers choose. Seven seas, seven continents, seven days a week, SEVIIN reels are fueled by a collective love of fishing surpassed only by a passion to deliver the most reliable reels on the water. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, Rod Geeks, and the St. Croix Factory Store.