If there is a signature to Banks Shaw's 2026, it is the final-day charge. The Harrison, Tennessee angler produced another one at Lake Eufaula on June 7, overhauling overnight leader Cal Lane of Alabama to win Stop 5 of the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit — a result Major League Fishing called his third win of the season.
That tally started in February on Lake Okeechobee. Shaw edged Kyle Cortiana by three ounces, bringing 49 pounds, 5 ounces to the scales across three days for a $79,250 payday that included a $35,000 Phoenix MLF bonus. The strange part was that he had predicted it out loud.
"I told my cameraman on the way down here, 'I'm due for a win,'" Shaw said. For a man used to comfortable margins, the photo finish stung. "Usually when I win it's by a decent margin, so this was nerve-racking. But I'm glad to pull it away."
He leaned on one area and a Rapala Mavrik 110 jerkbait to get it done. "When I went to my main area, luckily right when I pulled up it was clean, and I caught my biggest fish in there – a 3 1/2-pounder," he said, adding: "I'm definitely off to a good start, riding the momentum from last year."
Then came Wheeler Lake in March, and a $100,000 winner's cheque that arrived on the heels of a personal low. Shaw weighed 62 pounds even and, again, climbed over the field on the last day.
"I recently had my worst pro level tournament at the Bass Pro Tour at Lake Whitney. It definitely bothered me," he said. "To turn it around like this, it definitely gets my hopes back up, my confidence back up."
"I was completely changing it up. I knew I couldn't target the fish I was catching on forward-facing. I knew I could keep my bait around fish on visible structure, so I was targeting logs, visible stumps, barge ties, anything that makes a current break," he said. He had gone into the final day with low expectations: "I didn't think I had a shot with what I had, I thought possibly, if I had 22 pounds, I could have a shot if these guys stumbled."
For all the winning, Shaw is still early in his career. The Sale Creek High School graduate and 2022 Bassmaster High School All-American is studying at the University of North Alabama, fishing as a Bass Pro Tour rookie while holding the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Angler of the Year crown he already owns. His Major League Fishing earnings have topped $600,000 since January 2024 — and at Eufaula, the rally machine showed no sign of slowing.