Dalton Head and Peyton Sorrow of the Lake Hartwell 5 Alive Fall Series have taken the lead on Day 1 of the TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship at Lake Hartwell with a total of 22 pounds, 13 ounces.
Photo by Dalton Tumblin/B.A.S.S.
Dec. 3, 2025
Sorrow and Head take charge in TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship
ANDERSON, S.C. — Peyton Sorrow and Dalton Head know Lake Hartwell pretty darn well, with Sorrow (who lives in nearby Abbeville, S.C.) frequently bringing his University of Montevallo teammate here to fish his home water.
Despite their advanced knowledge of this 76,450-acre reservoir along the South Carolina/Georgia border, neither young man expected to catch a 22-pound, 13-ounce limit on Day 1 of the TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship.
Nevertheless, that was the result of a bountiful Wednesday on Hartwell for the tandem representing the Lake Hartwell 5 Alive Fall Series in the Team Championship. The 22-13 haul helped Sorrow and Head jump into the early lead in this two-day derby which boasts a $50,000 cash prize for first place — part of a $120,000 total cash purse up for grabs at Hartwell.
The Top 5 teams in the standings after Thursday’s weigh-in will advance to the Classic Fish-Off portion of this event, with the 10 anglers having their weights zeroed and fishing individually for two days. The winner of that competition will clinch the final spot in the 2026 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour when it’s held March 13-15 on the Tennessee River in Knoxville, Tenn.
Sorrow and Head knew it was important to get a solid start in the Team Championship, and they did just that, putting a limit of approximately 15 pounds in the livewell early Wednesday morning. Then Head hooked a 6-3 largemouth that quickly improved their catch by another three pounds.
“We saw lots of fish (in practice) but they didn’t bite,” Sorrow said. “We went to those same areas today, though, and just hunkered down, trying to make things work.
“That big one took a lot of pressure off. It gave us a chance to go fish some new areas and practice for tomorrow. We were able to find some fresh fish and not just keep rotating through the ones we’d been beating up on.”
The new water was productive, too, with Sorrow adding a 5-12 to the mix late on Wednesday.
“We saw some fish there in practice, but we only looked at ’em,” Sorrow said. “And honestly, they didn’t look too big. But today, we threw at ’em and it was like turning on a light switch. That area had just blown up with big fish. We got that big bite then just looked at the rest of them. We let them be for tomorrow.”
Sorrow, 21, and Head, a 22-year-old Moody, Ala., resident, weren’t immediately sure of their Day 2 game plan. They have a few good areas to choose from — a fine problem to have with so much riding on Thursday’s results.
“This lake has a lot of big fish in it,” Sorrow said. “And they’re extremely smart, maybe the smartest fish in the country. They see a lot of pressure. So, anything can happen. We’ll talk about what we want to do and hopefully it works out for us.”
Damien Willis and Tyler Kiker, in second place after Day 1 with an 18-4 limit, have high hopes, too. Having combined for eight previous appearances in the Bassmaster Team Championship, Wednesday was by far the best show either angler has had in the event to date. The Alabama Bass Trail partners believe they figured something out midday that could benefit them as they seek a team title and berths in the Classic Fish-Off.
“It scares me how quickly these lakes can change,” Willis said. “But I think we may have found something. We didn’t catch any of the ones we weighed in today until maybe 9 a.m. We were seeing them but couldn’t catch them. When we changed baits, things started happening.”
Rounding out the Top 5 teams on Day 1 are third, Avery Padgett and David Fincher, of the Alabama B.A.S.S. Nation, 17-15, fourth, Bradley Day and Justin Raines, of Lake Hartwell 5 Alive No Scope, 17-0; and fifth, Kyler Murray and Parker Guy, of Georgia-based Super 6 Shootout, 16-15. Fisher and Ryan Anaya, who compete with the Alabama Bass Trail and were one of three tandems to qualify for the 2024 Classic Fish-Off at Kentucky Lake, are currently in a tie for sixth place at Hartwell with 16-5. Illinois B.A.S.S. Nation duo Austin Moore and Jeffrey Lopez also caught 16-5 on Wednesday.
A total of 200 tandems from 48 different states and three other countries began the tournament. In all, 163 of the duos caught a five-fish limit on Wednesday. Brad Stalnaker and Chris Lumpkin, of Georgia-based Berry’s Team Trail, weighed the heaviest bass (6-4) on Day 1 and are in 12th place overall with 15-11.
Other notable tandems in the hunt include Tyler Campbell and Blake Campbell, of Lake Hartwell 5 Alive, in 10th place with 15-13. They were one of three teams to make the 2024 Classic Fish-Off cut, and Tyler Campbell won that portion of last year’s tournament, earning a spot in this year’s Bassmaster Classic in Fort Worth, Texas. Clint Knight and Noah Morgan won last year’s Team Championship and are in 19th place at Hartwell with 14-13. The Russellville, Ky., pair is representing the National Team Bass Association.
Historic Green Pond Landing, 470 Green Pond Road, in Anderson, S.C., is home to the 2025 TNT Fireworks Bassmaster Team Championship. The Day 2 take-off is set to begin at 7:20 a.m. ET with weigh-ins starting at 3:30 p.m. ET.