CLEWISTON, FL – Qualifier #4 of the 2026 Roland Martin Marine Center Series presented by HUK was a battle of the legends and the elements. August heat was on the horizon. Then Mother Nature calls an audible and decides to throw a little tropical fun into the mix with a little thunder, rain and wind. Bring it on! These sticks know how to roll with the punches.
Despite the challenging conditions, Lake Okeechobee can dish out the legendary big girls if you know where to find them. And if your name is McMillan, then it’s part of your DNA.
The morning started with sunshine as 93 teams headed out of the Roland Martin Marina for the fourth qualifier of the 2026 Season. Then the weather started getting rough and the tiny ships were tossed (not really, just throwing some drama in). But as the skies darkened and Lake Okeechobee got a bit gamey, some of the teams started rolling in early as the scales opened at noon to accommodate angler and fish health and safety.
When the familiar name of McMillan crossed the stage represented by the brothers McMillan, the bar was set at 23.36 pounds and never got topped.
“We were looking for anything hard-bottom related,” Jared McMillan said. “And looking in about 2 to 20 foot of water.”
Note: that pretty much means the whole lake. Thanks, Jared (smile).
“We were just fishing slow,” Dillon McMillan said. “Throwing Black and blue Gambler Burner worms.”
Hot off their Bass Busters win the weekend before, the team is proving to be a hard team to beat. When asked if the partnership is going to continue, Jared said it would as long as he (Dillon) can hold up his weight.
“He (Jared) told me to catch a 6.83,” joked Dillon. “And I caught a 6.84.”
So I guess that’s a warning to the rest of the field. You better BRING IT!
On their heels was the second place team of Burch and Powers that brought 21.38 pounds to the stage and collected $2,500 for the day.
Rounding out the top three was the team of Stevens and Gonzalez that ended up in third with a weight of 19.43 pounds and took home $1,550.
As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the payouts continued deep into the field.
Along with their winning check, Team McMillan also collected $150 in Bruiser Bucks for the Mega Bag of the event. Bob Stevens collected $250 as the highest finisher to cross the stage in HUK GEAR. With the biggest bass of the event, U.S. Sugar awarded Chris Hueston $500 for his 7.96 bass. 2nd Big Bass of 7.52 pounds belonged to MacQueen & Stevens earning them $100 Gambler Bucks. The highest finishing Mercury owner earned Team McMillan an additional $250. Brice Prowant collected $250 as the highest finishing Gilbert Chevrolet owner. Coming in as the highest finishing Lady Angler, Stacey Skidmore took home a new pair of Bajio Sunglasses. As the highest youth angler, Hunter Deka added a pair of Bajio Sunglasses as well.
That’s a wrap on Qualifier #4 with one more Qualifier to go on October 10, 2026. Be sure to join us for the final step leading up to the Championship in December where the winning team could possibly take home a record $50,000. So mark your calendar. We’ll see you then.
