Dakota Ebare knew it the Tennessee-Tombigbee was going to be a grind of a tournament. (Photo: Dakota Ebare Facebook)
April 02, 2026
By Todd Ceisner
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Dakota Ebare knew going into the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Elite Series that staying mentally sharp and focused was going to be every bit as important as triggering bites on the winding river that meanders through northeast Mississippi and western Alabama.
He kept it simple and scored his best finish in a Bassmaster event and his second top-10 in three Elite Series events this season. His 18-6 stringer on day 2 was the heaviest bag of the event and pushed him into second place at that point. After slipping fourth after day 3, he caught 13-5 on the final day to claim the runner-up spot behind Jason Christie. Here’s how Ebare saw the event take shape.
Key takeaway from this tournament “It was just a really fun, shallow water power fishing grinder. There was a lot of time in between bites and I was fishing for quality not quantity most of the event. You had to be mentally in a good place to be successful. I think we were all in areas that had fish. You had to be thorough and stay focused. That was key.”
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Key discovery in practice “I’d never been there, but with time of year it was and the type of fishery it is, I spent some time looking at Google Maps. I knew some areas that looked good on the map. I was able to go in and get bites in those areas. That gave me confidence I was looking for the right stuff. There wasn’t a ton of good habitat. I just found those good areas and spent time learning how to get around safely. That was a big thing there. Figuring out how to get a bite is only part of the battle at a place like that.”
Key decision in the tournament “I rotated back through an area that I didn’t get bit in on day 2. I made a two flips back to back on one tree and caught a 4 1/2 and a 4-15. I weighed in four fish off that tree. It was just a timing thing.”
Key pattern(s) “Particular trees that were in current eddies. They had more depth than some – about a foot of water rather than 3 inches like some of them. “A lot of my fish early in the tournament came flipping. On day 3, I had to throw a squarebill on the main river to catch spots to fill my limit. On day 4, there was no current, so the flipping bite didn’t happen. I went to a different backwater and caught some on a swim jig. I came back to the lock with three fish. After I got through the lock, I went to the first bank I saw and picked up a squarebill and caught three or four keepers before check in. It was all about keeping an opening mind.”
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Key gear > Flipping : 7’ medium-heavy Lew’s Custom Lite casting rod, Lew’s HyperMag casting reel (8.3:1 ratio), 20-pound Strike King Contra fluorocarbon line, 3/16-ounce Strike King Tour Grade tungsten worm weight, 4/0 Owner 4x Jungle flippin’ hook, Strike King Rage Bug (black blue flake).
> Swim jig : 7’1” heavy-action Lew’s Custom Lite casting rod, same reel as flipping, 50-pound Strike King Contra braided line (green), 3/8-ounce Strike King Hack Attack Heavy Cover swim jig (white), Strike King Rage Craw trailer (white).
> Cranking : 7’ medium-action Lew’s Elite Series casting rod, Lew’s Custom Pro casting reel (6.8:1 ratio), 17-pound Strike King Contra fluorocarbon line, Strike King KVD 1.5 crankbait (chartreuse black back).
3rd: JOHN GARRETT John Garrett’s finishes have progressively improved over the first three events – 23rd at Lake Guntersville, 13th at Lake Martin and a 3rd at the Tennessee-Tombigbee. His season-opening surge finds him atop the Angler of the Year race a third of the way through the campaign. Like many in the field, he was surprised at the weights Ten-Tom produced as he averaged a little more than 13 1/2 pounds per day to close with 54-15, highlighted by a 17-0 stringer on day 2. Not bad for having never seen the place outside of an abbreviated scouting trip prior to off limits.
John Garrett notched a third-place finish at the Tennessee-Tombigbee and took over the Angler of the Year points lead. (Photo: John Garrett Facebook) “I broke my trolling motor and got stuck, so after three hours I went home,” he said.
Here are some additional thoughts from Garrett on how his week went.
Key takeaway from this tournament “I think we were all kind of dreading going there and it ended up being a good tournament. There were just enough fish there to keep you zoned in and focused all day. There were a few fish in the place – not a ton but some. And a few big ones – a couple 3s and 4s to make your tournament. Yes, everyobody was on top of each other, but there were a lot more fish caught than we expected there to be.”
Key discovery in practice “Based on the (Bassmaster) Open that was there last year, the top 10 all fished near the ramp. With my experience with locking, if I can stay put I then to have better success. I had to explore some, so I fished up one pool one day of practice, then around takeoff the second day. Then I went down two pools on the third day. I had basically the same experience in each place. I didn’t see anything great so I decided to stay around the boat ramp. I never put gas in my boat and stayed within two miles of the ramp the whole event.
“Those grimy, tough, shallow tournaments are so hit or miss. I could’ve done the same thing and finished last. The places we go and they’re full of fish and you can run around. It’s on you to make the most of it. Some of it’s luck but some of it’s on you.”
Key decision in the tournament “On day 2 and 3, I noticed the water was dropping. I’d been swimming a jig, but I stopped getting bites. I’m not sure if it was so many lock cycles or what, but I was noticing the water was dropping, so I started fishing the cover furthest away from the bank. I picked up more bites that way. I didn’t have tunnel vision swimming a jig. It was me putting that down and backing away from the bank that helped me put some more fish in the boat.
“Throughout the event in that area, while I focusing on what I was doing, I was also keeping an eye where everyone else was fishing. My next stop needed to be something that hadn’t been fished in the last hour. I was trying to not be right behind somebody.”
Key pattern “Two things – bank grass and wood. I did catch a few on riprap but that wasn’t a focus. The bank grass had to be specific – they were smaller, laid-over mats and isolated pieces. The wood was stuff you could see on the bank but you had to fish the ends of the cover in the water – the very ends of the laydowns. That’s where they were sitting.”
Key gear > Swim jig : 7’4” heavy-action Lew’s Elite Series casting rod, Lew’s Custom Pro casting reel (7.3:1 ratio), 65-pound Seaguar TactX braided line, 3/8-ounce Strike King Tour Grade swim jig (white), Strike King Rage Menace trailer (white).
> Flipping : Same rod, reel, line as swim jig, 1/4-ounce unnamed tungsten weight, 4/0 Owner 4x Jungle flippin’ hook, Strike King Rage Bug (black blue flake & blue craw)
> Garrett said he fished his flipping bait much like a swim jig, “even in the grass, I’d just pop it around like a swim jig until it found a hole to drop in.”
> Squarebill : 7’ medium-moderate Lew’s KVD Elite crankbait casting rod, same reel as swimjig, 17-pound Seaguar Tatsu fluorocarbon line, Strke King KVD Elite 1.5 squarebill crankbait (fools gold).
