PARK FALLS, Wis. – February 5, 2026 – It’s an exciting week for bass fans. This year’s Bassmaster Elite Series kicks off Thursday morning on Northern Alabama’s storied Lake Guntersville. Parts of the lake were actually frozen over during practice. Then it rained. Now the weather is clearing. To add even more drama to the mix, the 2026 Bassmaster Elite opener will be one of several this season where forward-facing sonar is not allowed – a significant storyline, as the giant wintertime bags Guntersville is known for have largely come from pinging open-water targets.
J.T. Thompkins, the newest pro on the St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels team, is entering his third season in the Elites. The 24-year-old from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina blazed onto the national scene by winning the MLF Toyota Series on Harris Chain of Lakes at age 19 and finishing at the very top of the Bassmaster Opens EQ Points Race in 2023. He finished his first two Elite Seasons (2024 and 2025) in 15th place in AOY and has qualified for three Bassmaster Classics. He’s certainly one to watch at Guntersville this weekend… and this entire season.
B.A.S.S. Photo.
“Whenever I look at companies to work with, people are the most important factor,” says Thompkins. “My relationship with St. Croix and SEVIIN started with the unique support I saw them provide to my friend, Trey (McKinney), then talking with people like Jesse Simpkins and Cristian Simpkins at Bassmaster Opens events. We created this relationship over the last few years, not directly working together, but just getting to know and appreciate one another.”
When Thompkins entered the Elites, he got to know more of the St. Croix and SEVIIN Teams. “By the time I started using some St. Croix Rods and SEVIIN Reels, I just decided I wanted to be a part of this amazing team. The performance and the people are spectacular. Dominance is the best English word for it. McKinney, Schlapper, Downey, and Kuphall on the rod side notched three of last season’s Bassmaster Elite wins and several other top-tens. Then you’ve got legends like John Crews and Hank Cherry on the reel side, and Jesse Wiggins and Stephen Browning, who are at the top of their game on some of the other big tours. They can use anything, but they’re passionately devoted to these brands. I’m proud to be a part of the team.”
St. Croix Vice-President of Marketing, Jesse Simpkins, echoes equal enthusiasm. “It’s been really fun not only watching J.T. excel at every level where he’s competed, but also developing that special personal relationship with him prior to any business arrangement. It’s obvious to me that he’d be a remarkable and successful young professional regardless of his field, but here he is at the top-level of competitive bass fishing. He’s a truly special fit for our brands and we couldn’t be prouder or more pleased to have J.T. on the team officially representing St. Croix Rod and SEVIIN Reels.”
Thompkins says time will tell, but he feels like Guntersville is setting up well for him.
“I’m a good shallow-water pattern fisherman,” he says. My biggest strong suit right now is probably brush-pile fishing, and I also feel like I’m good at using my electronics… not just forward-facing sonar, but mapping and all the sonar modules. This is going to be important given the pre-tournament conditions at Guntersville, which is also a no-live-sonar event. Anglers are going to concentrate more on classic structure. So, using your mapping and sonar to really dissect, understand, and interpret the details of these areas could play big.”
Thompkins has been fishing a lot of St. Croix rods and SEVIIN reels but says the Legend Tournament Bass 74HF is one of his favorites. “It’s a versatile rod that works really well with football jigs, your big worms, your Carolina rigs, frogs, and even glides and bigger swim baits. I really enjoy that rod,” says Thompkins, who is also fan of the new Legend X2 Series. “I especially like the Legend X2 73MHF for smaller jigs, shaky heads, spinner baits, and a lot of other different presentations. That’s a standout for me, but I’ve yet to pick up a Legend X2 that I haven’t wanted to fish. The sensitivity and balance are off the charts, and the strength-to-weight ratio of all these rods is something I just haven’t experienced before.”
On the reel side, “I think all the SEVIINs are really great reels,” he says. “When you’re looking for the very highest performance, the GX casting and spinning reels are obviously top of the line. But I’ve really enjoyed the GF series, too. You know a lot of people… they don’t want a bigger, bulkier casting reel that has all the technology. They want a smaller, more affordable reel that has great structural integrity, quality guts, and great manufacturing… an extremely castable and reliable reel that flat-out outperforms its price. The GF casting reel is my bread-and-butter overall, just because the performance for the $135 price is so hard to beat, you know. It’s smaller in your hands. It’s smooth. I love it.”
Thompkins says while he’d love to make four or five top tens this season and finish in the top three for AOY, there are other goals that are more important to him. “Just becoming a better angler every day,” he says. “You know, do the best I can, put my faith in God, give it all to Him, and He’ll show me where I am as an angler. Whenever you do that while working to the best of your ability, you can never look back and say it was the wrong thing, or something else should have happened.”
Follow J.T. Thompkins, the rest of the St. Croix and SEVIIN teams, and all the action from Lake Guntersville and the entire Bassmaster Elite Series season at bassmaster.com.
About St. Croix Rod
Headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin, St. Croix has been proudly crafting the “Best Rods on Earth” for over 75 years. Combining state-of-the-art manufacturing processes with skilled craftsmanship, St. Croix is the only major producer to still build rods entirely from design through manufacturing. The company remains family-owned and operates duplicate manufacturing facilities in Park Falls and Fresnillo, Mexico. With popular trademarked series such as Legend®, Legend Xtreme®, Avid®, Premier®, Imperial®, Triumph® and Mojo, St. Croix is revered by all types of anglers from around the world. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and Rod Geeks.
About SEVIIN Reels
Wherever and however you fish, the reel in your hand should help create better experiences. Born from St. Croix Rod’s seven decades of design and manufacturing expertise, industry-leading customer service, and unbroken private ownership by the Schluter family dating back to 1977, SEVIIN reels are meticulously engineered and purpose-built to help anglers conquer every species on every piece of water on the planet. SEVIIN focuses on reels and reels only, designing and marketing products that improve the angling experience, regardless of the rods anglers choose. Seven seas, seven continents, seven days a week, SEVIIN reels are fueled by a collective love of fishing surpassed only by a passion to deliver the most reliable reels on the water. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, and Rod Geeks.
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