CLEWISTON, FL – Qualifier #5 of the 2026 Roland Martin Marine Center Series presented by HUK is the final qualifier of the 2026 Season. At sunrise, October 10th, 115 teams took off out of the Roland Martin Marina in Clewiston, FL, to see who would raise the final big check of the season before the Championship.
Before the weigh-in even began at 3:00 p.m., we had the answer.
With a couple bass in their well struggling, the team of Chris Schirling and Alex Nagdeman decided to head in early before a dead-fish penalty could hurt their chances. Turned out to be the right call saving them valuable ounces for the win.
With 25.17 pounds, Schirling and Nagdeman were the first weigh-in, and were invited back on stage to collect the winning check for the second time this season.
“We just went and fished the way we know how to fish,” Schirling said. “We caught them all on a Bruiser Baits Big Nasty and a spook with a Senko Stick.”
“We caught a lot of fish and had an amazing day of fishing,” Nagdeman said. “Now we’re ready to bring home another Classic win.”
For the second time this season, the team took home top honors and the winning check for $5,000.
On their heels was the second place team of Bennett and Colin that brought 25.03 to the stage with a dead-fish penalty that cost them the win. The 2nd place finish netted them $3,000.
Rounding out the top three by the slimmest margin was the team of Surman and Reed with 25.02 pounds. Can’t get any closer than that. And they collected $2,000 for the 3rd place finish.
As the highest paying team tournament trail in Florida, the payouts continued deep into the field.
Along with their winning check, Schirling and Nagdeman also collected $150 in Bruiser Bucks for the Mega Bag of the event and Nagdeman collected $250 as the highest finisher to cross the stage in HUK GEAR. With the biggest bass of the event, U.S. Sugar awarded Aaron Yarvorsky $500 for his 7.35 bass. 2nd Big Bass of 7.04 pounds belonged to Surman & Reed earning them $100 Gambler Bucks. The highest finishing Mercury owner earned Chris Schirling an additional $250. Aaron Navarro collected $250 as the highest finishing Gilbert Chevrolet owner. Coming in as the highest finishing Lady Angler, Esperanza Picos took home a new pair of Bajio Sunglasses. As the highest finishing youth angler, Hunter Deka also won a pair of Bajio Sunglasses.
That’s it for the 2026 Season. Next up, the 2026 Championship with the winning team possibly taking home a record $50,000. So mark your calendar for December 5th & 6th and be sure to join us for a raffle full of valuable prizes, free fishing rods and tackle for all the kids and of course, big bass and big checks. We’ll see you then.
