NASHVILLE — Old Hickory Lake isn't handing out many favors this week. But apparently nobody told Matt Robertson.

The Bassmaster Elite Series pro hauled in a five-fish limit weighing an impressive 20 pounds Thursday to take the lead after Day 1 of The Champions, a historic tournament pitting 30 Bassmaster anglers against 30 Major League Fishing pros for a record $3.25 million purse and a whopping $1.25 million first-place prize.

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And on a lake that's been downright stingy for much of the field, Robertson made it look almost easy.

"It was a pretty good day. A little rough, but once we got to where we wanted to go, it happened pretty quick," Robertson told OutKick OutDoors after Thursday's weigh-in.

"Caught two real quick, and then I started wanting to run around, but I just made myself sit there and grind it out. And yeah, we caught us a little bag today."

A little bag, indeed.

Robertson's 20-pound haul put him 4 pounds, 9 ounces ahead of second-place Fisher Anaya, who finished Thursday with 15 pounds, 7 ounces. MLF's Michael Neal sits third at 13-09, followed by Bob Downey (13-07) and Bryant Smith (13-03).

Anaya, meanwhile, had to work for his five-fish limit.

"Oh, it was tough, but it was fun," the Bassmaster rookie told OutKick OutDoors. "We caught three big ones, got two babies, but I think it's enough to kind of settle me in for tomorrow, so I ain't got to catch much."

But as the anglers hit the water again Friday morning, Thursday's leaderboard offers no guarantees.

LiveScope could shake up the leaderboard

One of the biggest wild cards heading into Day 2 is the tournament's restriction on forward-facing sonar, commonly known as LiveScope.

Anglers can use the technology on either Thursday or Friday, but not both. That means competitors who relied on their electronics to locate fish on Day 1 must go without them Friday, while those who saved their sonar day could have an advantage.

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And that's where the top two anglers find themselves in very different situations.

Anaya used LiveScope on Thursday, meaning he'll have to fish without it Friday.

"It's going to make it tougher," Anaya acknowledged.

But with the field narrowing to 15 anglers for Championship Saturday, he's more concerned about catching enough weight to survive the cut.

"I think I'm going to need about anywhere from 5 to 7 pounds to make the cut," he said. "So that's what we're going to swing for. Hopefully, we catch them better than that. But we'll see."

Robertson, on the other hand, caught his tournament-leading bag without forward-facing sonar. That means he still has the option to use it Friday.

Not that he's particularly interested.

"We didn't use no LiveScope today. We'll have it tomorrow, but not really planning on using it," Robertson said. "So try to catch us one or two tomorrow and call her good."

And Robertson's successful Thursday has apparently attracted some attention. After traveling through a navigation lock to fish beyond Old Hickory Dam on Day 1, Robertson headed back in that direction Friday morning — this time with several other anglers following him toward the lock.

So yeah, the secret is out about that little honey hole.

The pressure is on to survive Friday's cut

The stakes extend well beyond the two anglers at the top.

Only the top 15 competitors after Friday's weigh-in will advance to Championship Saturday, when weights reset to zero and the remaining anglers battle for the $1.25 million grand prize.

And with much of the field struggling to find quality bites on Old Hickory, there's very little room for error.

After Thursday's competition, Team Stars (Bassmaster) held eight of the top 15 positions, while Team Stripes (MLF) claimed seven. That advantage could easily change Friday as anglers adjust to the sonar restrictions and the difficult conditions.

Reigning Bassmaster Angler of the Year Trey McKinney is among those facing a particularly tense second day. He finished Thursday in 16th place with 11 pounds, 1 ounce — just a single ounce behind Takahiro Omori, who currently occupies the final qualifying position.

And while Robertson has built himself a comfortable cushion, the race to make Saturday's final is considerably tighter.

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Friday's weigh-in begins at 4 p.m. CT at Sanders Ferry Park in Hendersonville, where the Champions Cup team winner will be determined and the final 15 anglers will punch their tickets to Saturday's championship round.

OutKick OutDoors is on the ground at Old Hickory Lake, bringing readers exclusive interviews, tournament updates and behind-the-scenes coverage of the richest competition in professional bass fishing.

Follow OutKick OutDoors on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for exclusive interviews, video highlights and coverage of The Champions all weekend long.

Sixty of the best professional bass anglers in the world. Three days of competition. One lake. And a whopping $1.25 million payday waiting for whoever comes out on top.

The biggest names in professional bass fishing have descended on Middle Tennessee for the inaugural The Champions tournament, where a record $3.25 million purse is up for grabs on Old Hickory Lake.

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But this isn't just about the money.

For the first time ever, 30 of the top anglers from the Bassmaster Elite Series will go head-to-head with 30 of Major League Fishing's (MLF) Bass Pro Tour stars in a tournament designed to settle one of the sport's biggest debates: Who's really the best?

And according to MLF superstar Jacob Wheeler, winning this one would mean more than just about anything else he's accomplished in his decorated career.

"It would have to be number one," Wheeler told OutKick OutDoors during Wednesday's Media Day in Nashville.

"This is like in football, you have an AFC championship and an NFC championship, and basically we never compete against the other league, right?" he explained. "So now for us to come together and compete under one roof, one tournament here in Nashville ... it would have the most meaning."

"The money's one thing, and that's great, but it's the meaning of being the best for that year."

The competition begins Thursday at 7:30 a.m. CT, with the anglers divided into Team Stars (Bassmaster) and Team Stripes (MLF). They'll compete for team bragging rights over the first two days, with the top 15 individual anglers advancing to Saturday's championship round. Weights will reset for the final day, when one angler will walk away with the biggest first-place payout in bass fishing history.

And just to make things interesting, two amateur anglers — Eric Giessing of Missouri and Kyle Carr of Texas — earned their spots through a sweepstakes and will compete alongside the pros.

The old guard isn't handing anything over

While the two circuits are coming together for a historic event, that doesn't mean there isn't a little friendly competition brewing.

Team Stripes captain Zack Birge believes his squad has an advantage over the Bassmaster youngsters. And it has a lot to do with experience.

"I just feel like the other side has a lot of young, talented guys," Birge told OutKick OutDoors. "We have a lot of middle-aged guys."

So, basically, he's calling his teammates old?

"Yeah, basically," Birge laughed.

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But his argument is that the more experienced anglers have a deeper arsenal of traditional fishing techniques to fall back on, while some of their younger competitors are more accustomed to relying on electronics.

"I feel like that gives us an advantage here, especially on a tough one," he said.

And Wheeler, for one, agrees with his captain.

"We call them the OGs," Wheeler said of the veterans on Team Stripes. "That experience definitely does play a role."

Of course, the young guns aren't exactly lacking confidence.

Bassmaster Angler of the Year Trey McKinney acknowledged that there's a target on his back after his remarkable 2026 season. But he's not particularly worried about it.

"We're all equal competitors," McKinney said. "We're all buddies and friends ... but when we get out on the water, we put our hard hats on, and that's when we go to work."

Old Hickory isn't making things easy

As if battling the best anglers in the world for a life-changing amount of money weren't stressful enough, Old Hickory Lake has decided not to cooperate.

The notoriously challenging fishery has already tested the competitors during practice, with low water levels and little current making the bass difficult to locate.

"It's a grind, and you got to stay at it 100%," McKinney said.

In fact, the 21-year-old believes the difficult conditions could create an opportunity for a surprise winner — potentially even one of the two amateur competitors.

"This is the one tournament that I think the Average Joes could literally win," McKinney said, explaining that the unpredictable fishing could level the playing field.

Another wrinkle? Forward-facing sonar.

Anglers must choose whether to use the technology Thursday or Friday, but not both days. On Championship Saturday, they'll be permitted to use it for only half of the competition.

MLF pro Drew Gill, known for being a LiveScope expert, believes those restrictions could have an enormous impact on the final results.

"When it comes down to Saturday, that day where we're all fishing for the win, that three hours is going to shake things up because this lake is definitely a tremendous hurdle," Gill told OutKick OutDoors.

"That intel from seeing underwater is just so darn valuable, even when you shut it off," he added.

With so much money on the line, even the most seasoned pros will have to find a way to manage their emotions.

Wheeler believes that could ultimately separate the winner from everybody else.

"The key is you have to sort of control your emotion. And it's hard to do in an event this big," he said. "But that's what the best do in big moments."

For McKinney, a victory would mean more than a trophy and a trip to the bank.

"When you're talking retirement-status money that you're fishing for," he said, the stakes are impossible to ignore.

And if he does happen to pocket that $1.25 million?

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"First thing I'm doing, heading to the beach," McKinney said. "And I'm going to sit there with my toes in the sand for about a week and a half or more."

After that, he'll worry about investing.

OutKick OutDoors is on the ground at Old Hickory Lake for The Champions, bringing readers exclusive interviews, tournament updates and behind-the-scenes coverage as the world's top anglers compete for bass fishing's biggest payday.

Follow OutKick OutDoors on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube for exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes videos and coverage of The Champions all weekend long.