Rookie Anaya surges into lead with one day left

With severe weather in Sunday's forecast, Lake Martin title up for grabs

February 14, 2026 By Todd Ceisner

It’s good to be Fisher Anaya these days.

The 20-year-old from Eva, Ala., has had quite the last 12 months and over the next 24 hours he has a chance to add quite the exclamation point.

In fact, one year ago today, Anaya kicked off his march to the Elite Series with a 9th-place finish at the Sam Rayburn Bassmaster Open, which was shortened to one day due to weather. It was the first of four top-25 finishes in Division 2 of the Opens. He then compiled three top-20 results in the Elite Qualifier Series to clinch a ticket to the 2026 Elite Series. Finally, he tacked on a win at the Bassmaster Team Championship in December to secure the final spot in the 2026 Bassmaster Classic.

Which brings us to this week at Lake Martin for the second Elite Series event of his rookie season. After finishing a distant 65th on his home waters of Lake Guntersville last week in his debut, he finds himself leading the pack of 10 finalists entering the final day at Martin.

His 14-7 stringer today was the heaviest among the 50 anglers on the water and it pushed his three-day total to 38-10 and moved him two ounces ahead of Brock Mosley, who led after the first two days. Anaya’s effort today was one of just seven bags over 14 pounds caught so far.

Emil Wagner is in third with 37-7 after catching 11-12 today. Pake South, another rookie, sits in fourth with 37-4 after bagging 11-14 on day 3. Joey Cifuentes III is poised for his best finish since his 2023 win at Lake St. Clair. The Arkansan caught 10-0 and is fifth with 35-15. Easton Fothergill also has 35-15, but Cifuentes gets the nod based on tiebreakers.

Anaya’s weight has increased by at least 1-7 each day, which may not seem like a grandiose feat, but it’s significant considering how difficult it’s been to generate consistent 2-pound bites.

“Honestly, the key has been running as many areas as I can run and then run into enough spots so that I can upgrade,” Anaya said. “It hasn’t been easy each day. A lot of it is new pattern stuff but I’m having to figured out what they’re doing. It seems they’re related to rock every time, but it’s been a little different at each spot depending on the section of lake.”

The first three days featured steady, warming conditions but heavy thunderstorms and gusty winds are in the forecast for Sunday, which could impact everyone’s strategy.

Here’s a look at the top 10 entering the final day:

1. Fisher Anaya: 15, 38-10

2. Brock Mosley: 15, 38-8

Anaya: “I moved from a creek where I caught them in practice and on day 1. Yesterday, I went to a random creek arm and caught them good. Around lunch time today I wasn’t catching anything and I wondered maybe that creek was worth another look. I went in there and caught four of the fish I weighed in within 10 minutes of each other. That’s where I’m starting tomorrow. I just hoping they’re there and biting.”

Cifuentes: “I didn’t do that great today. I’d been catching 12 to 13 pounds and I had 10 (today), which is not a bad bag, but that main area I was fishing I really wasn’t seeing or catching any quality, so I moved to new water and caught some key fish. So instead of old water, I’m going to fish all new water tomorrow. I think that’s the key here.”

What is the one factor that will determine your success tomorrow?

Anaya: “If it doesn’t lightning with this storm. If it does, I think a lot of my fish are going to spook off. The water is so clear and the fish are so shallow and everybody knows fish looking for beds and lightning is a not a good mix.”

Cifuentes: “I have to catch a big bag. I’m fishing shallow and I’m assuming most everybody is. You can catch a big one anywhere and if I can put together five good bites, I’ll be ok. Our weather is supposed to be so bad with pouring rain and thunderstorms. It’s going to be tough on everybody.”