Dylan Nutt Sets New Pickwick Lake Record at Toyota Series Central Division Opener
FLORENCE, Ala. (Feb. 8, 2025) – This week’s Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Central Division tournament on Pickwick Lake delivered one of the most intense and record-breaking competitions in MLF history. Whether you call it a heavyweight showdown, a slugfest, or a battle royale, the numbers speak for themselves: 30 five-fish bags over 25 pounds, and an average of 21 ½ pounds just to crack the Top 25.
With a final-day 30-pound limit and a three-day total of 84-4, University of North Alabama standout Dylan Nutt shattered the Pickwick Toyota Series weight record, securing the title and a $39,000 payday.
Nutt, a college national champion, surged past six-time Tennessee River champion Jake Lawrence (79-14), 2024 Toyota Series Championship winner Hayden Marbut (76-4), and 2024 Toyota Series winner Banks Shaw (76-0) to claim victory in his Toyota Series debut.
“It seemed like I couldn’t do anything wrong this week,” Nutt said after hoisting the trophy in front of family, friends, and UNA Lions supporters. “They say ‘when it’s your time, it’s your time.’ That sure feels true right now—it’s humbling.”
Pickwick’s All-Star Lineup & Prime Conditions
Heading into the event, expectations were high. The angler lineup featured a mix of local hammers, Bass Pro Tour pros, and Elite Series competitors, all anticipating 25-plus-pound bags.
Adding to the excitement, Mother Nature set the stage for a three-day slugfest. A winter cold snap had initially dropped water temperatures into the low 40s, pushing fish into deep-winter patterns. But as the tournament began, warming conditions and rising water temperatures created the perfect storm for monster catches.
“It’s been really cold in Florence, but as the week went on and we had some warmer days, that water rose to about 50 degrees,” Nutt explained. “I found areas where fish were transitioning between winter and prespawn, and I settled in where I knew I could find some big ones. I thought it might take 80 pounds to win.”
Winning Strategy & Key Baits
Nutt started strong and only got better.
Using a Picasso Lures Bait Ball Extreme with 1/8- and ¼-ounce VMC Boxer Jig Headsand Keitech swimbaits, as well as a 3/8-ounce Scottsboro Tackle Tungsten jighead paired with a True Bass FF Minnow, he put together a 26-13 bag on Day 1, securing fourth place behind Ken Thompson’s tournament-leading 31-3.
By Day 2, Nutt climbed within 2-10 of the lead, weighing 27-7. That afternoon, he tested unexplored water and landed two of his biggest fish—an area that would pay off in a huge way on Championship Sunday.
“I had a couple of areas I knew held big ones, so I went back and grinded it out,” he said. “One school showed back up on the final day, and I ended up catching most of my fish out of that school. The bites I got there were big ones.”
Mastering Pickwick’s Current & Breaking Records
Having grown up in Nashville, Nutt used his experience fishing Chickamauga and Guntersville to his advantage. His knowledge of Tennessee River currents helped him pinpoint the biggest bass locked onto deep bars.
“(Tennessee Valley Authority) bumped up the current a lot, it’s been pumping pretty steady for a while now,” Nutt said. “That made fish sit tight on the bottom. They were harder to see, so you had to throw your bait in first before they’d show up.”
His 84-4 total set a new Pickwick Toyota Series record, surpassing Randy Haynes’ 79-11 in 2013. It also ranks as the fourth-heaviest total in Toyota Series history, behind only Falcon Lake (2009 & 2010) and a 2013 Guntersville event.
With this win, Dylan Nutt cements his place as Pickwick Lake’s new heavyweight champion—an unstoppable force on the Tennessee River.
The top 10 pros at the Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Dylan Nutt of Nashville, Tenn., 15 bass, 84-4, $39,659
2nd: Jake Lawrence, Paris, Tenn., 15 bass, 79-14, $15,368
3rd: Hayden Marbut, Birmingham, Ala., 15 bass, 76-5, $12,898 (includes $1,000 Phoenix MLF Bonus)
4th: Banks Shaw, Harrison, Tenn., 15 bass, 76-0, $9,915
5th: Presley Lannom, Lebanon, Tenn., 15 bass, 74-12, $8,923
6th: Broderick Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., 15 bass, 74-6, $7,932
7th: Dillon Falardeau, Hixson, Tenn., 15 bass, 73-5, $6,940
8th: Logan Parks, Auburn, Ala., 15 bass, 72-7, $5,949
9th: Caz Anderson, Haysville, N.C., 15 bass, 72-7, $5,207
10th: Drew Gill, Mount Carmel, Ill., 15 bass, 72-4, $3,966
Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.
Pro Ken Thompson of Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania, earned Wednesday’s $500 Berkley Big Bass Award with a bass weighing 8 pounds, 13 ounces. Two pros split the Berkley Big Bass Award on Thursday – both Gavin Clevenger of Knoxville, Tennessee, and pro Caz Anderson of Haysville, North Carolina, brought a bass weighing 7 pounds, 11 ounces to the scale, to split the $500 award.
Michael Luckey of Lynchburg, Virginia, won the Strike King Co-angler Division Friday with a three-day total of 7 bass weighing 31 pounds, 7 ounces. Luckey earned the top co-angler prize package worth $33,500, including a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard motor.
The top 10 Strike King co-anglers at the Toyota Series at Pickwick Lake finished:
1st: Michael Luckey, Lynchburg, Va., seven bass, 31-7, Phoenix 518 Pro boat w/115-hp outboard motor
2nd: Johnny Suratt, Lawrenceburg, Tenn., seven bass, 27-10, $4,966
3rd; Rodney Keel, Bedford, Ind., six bass, 27-2, $4,123
4th: John Morales, Plainfield, Ill., eight bass, 25-12, $3,476
5th: Andrew Wright, Crossville, Tenn., seven bass, 25-5, $2,980
6th: Corey Smith, Hazard, Ky., seven bass, 24-1, $2,483
7th: Brian Lopp, Springfield, Ill., seven bass, 24-0, $1,987
8th: Daniel Vasquez, Boynton Beach, Fla., seven bass, 23-10, $1,738
9th: Ricky Sexton, Oliver Springs, Tenn., seven bass, 22-7, $1,490
10th: Keith Iddins, Knoxville, Tenn., seven bass, 22-1, $1,242
Strike King Co-angler Alan Bernicky of Dardanelle, Arkansas, earned Wednesday’s $150 Berkley Big Bass co-angler award with a 6-pound, 6-ounce bass, while Thursday’s Day 2 $150 co-angler award went to Rodney Keel of Bedford, Indiana, who weighed in a 9-pound, 13-ounce bass.
The Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats at Pickwick Lake was hosted by the Visit the Shoals. It was the first of three regular-season tournament for the Toyota Series Central Division. The next event for the Toyota Series Central Division will be March 18-20 on Lake Chickamauga in Dayton, Tennessee. For a complete schedule of events, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com.
The 2025 Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats consists of five divisions – Central, Northern, Plains, Southern and the Southwestern – each holding three regular-season events, along with the International and Wild Card divisions. Anglers who fish in any of the five divisions or the Wild Card division and finish in the top 25 will qualify for the no-entry-fee Toyota Series Championship for a shot at winning up to $235,000 and a qualification to REDCREST 2026. The winning Strike King co-angler at the championship earns a new Phoenix 518 Pro bass boat with a 115-horsepower outboard. The 2025 Toyota Series Championship will be held Nov. 6-8 on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma, and is hosted by the City of Grove Convention & Tourism Bureau.
Proud sponsors of the 2025 MLF Toyota Series include: 7Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, BUBBA, Deep Dive App, E3 Sports Apparel, Epic Baits, Fishing Clash, Grizzly, Humminbird, Lew’s, Mercury, Minn Kota, Mossy Oak, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, Polaris, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Strike King, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, Vosker, WIX Filters and YETI.
For complete details and updated information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF’s social media outlets at Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery Channel, Outdoor Channel, CBS Sports Network, World Fishing Network and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV).
Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 13 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.
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