The 2026 TBN Club Division State Championship was held March 27 & 28 on the Sabine River out of Orange, Texas. Anglers competed as 6-man team members as well as individual boaters and co-anglers for cash and prizes including three coveted spots at the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship in 2027! This year’s event was hosted by the Orange Texas CVB and was kicked off with a registration meeting Thursday night where the anglers were served a delicious meal of crawfish and jambalaya prepared by The Hut. All the anglers and staff members raved about how good the food was! 

The first day of the tournament saw all 122 anglers converge on the Orange TX Boat Ramp for an early morning take-off. This is a top-notch tournament facility with a four-lane boat ramp and plenty of parking. The TBN staff all agreed this was a super venue for our state championship. After the benediction and the playing of our national anthem, the anglers were off.

Day #1 of the boater division saw Wesley Bennett of the Piney Woods Bass Club take the early lead with a 5-fish limit weighing 12.16 lbs. Wesley’s catch was anchored by nice 4.19 lb largemouth. In second place was Seven Coves Bass Club angler Aaron Slaten with a 5-fish limit weighing 11.55 lbs that also included a 4.19 lb fish. Rounding out the top three on Day #1 was Trevor Rogge of Canyon Bass Club with 10.40 lbs. Trevor’s 5-fish limit included the Big Bass of the day weighing 4.73 lbs. On the co-angler side, Marcus Crow of the Red Oak Bass Club took the lead with a 3-fish limit weighing 8.66 lbs. Marcus’s catch included a beautiful Sabine River largemouth weighing 5.28 lbs that ended up being big bass of the tournament. Taylor Weldon with Vidor Bass Anglers was second with a limit weighing 5.37 lbs. Cen-Tex Bass Hunters Chris Miller took third with 3 fish weighing 5.26 lbs.

On the final day of the tournament, Chad Petrie with Century Bass Club charged up from fourth place with a 5-bass limit weighing 10.48 lbs to take the win in the boater division with a 2-day total of 20.65 lbs! This makes Chad a 3-time TBN state champion after winning in 2022, 2025, and 2026. Congratulations Chad! Jacob Bruener finished second overall with a two-day total of 19.83 lbs. Third place went to Wesley Bennett with 19.55 lbs. 

In the co-angler division, Marcus Crow with Red Oak Bass Club hung on to take first place with a two-day total weight of 16.50 lbs. Second place overall went to The Bass Club angler Tim Jahn with a two-day total weight of 10.04 lbs. Danny Golden with Beaumont Bass Anglers took third with 9.27 lbs.

Congratulations to the top three anglers in each division. You will be representing Texas at the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championships in 2027!

The top 4 teams of this year’s TBN Club Division State Championship were:

1^st place – Century Bass Club – Total weight 69.40 lbs

2^nd place – Canyon Bass Club – Total weight 65.18 lbs

3^rd place – Vidor Bass Anglers #2 – Total weight 62.11 lbs

4^th place – Red Oak Bass Club – Total weight 59.78 lbs

The Texas BASS Nation board of directors would like to thank Orange Texas CVB for being our host this year. We, of course, want to thank our sponsors Classis Chevrolet (www.classicchevrolet.com) , Kast King (www.kastking.com) , and Dobyns Rods (www.dobynsrods.com) .