04/12/2026
Ryan Lachniet lifts the Alpha Championship Belt for the 2nd Time, this time at Smith Mountain Lake!
What an incredible day of fishing turned in by our Alpha Anglers. SML really showed off as spring has officially sprung and love was in the air.
It took 19lbs to grab the last check. Unbelievable day!
Ryan Lachniet grabbed the top spot of 25.03lbs to capture his second Alpha win. All of his fish came off of the highly sought after Coike bait. Said he was keying on those fish that hadn't pulled up to their beds yet. He wanted to thank Mark DiMarzio and Alpha Elite Fishing Tackle, GSM, Green Top Sporting Goods, Phenix Rods, and his parents for the support. For his work, Ryan pocketed $11,000 for the win, and will cash in on some Top Tier Contingency money from the Whitewater Group. Great job, Ryan.
Blake Miles nailed down the 2nd spot with 24.95lbs anchored by a 7.04lb largemouth. Blake along with the rest of the top 16 reported catching all of his fish sight fishing. A late day gut feeling led to a change in locations later in the day and that change was critical in catching the 7lber and a 4lber to give him almost 25 lbs. His effort was worth $5000 and he wanted to thank the staff for a great event and his Wife Megan Miles for her support. Pretty work sir.
3rd Place and our highest placing Phoenix Boats owner was Shawn Hammack with 23.48lbs. Shawn earned $3500 at the event and will be receiving another $500 from MARE of Aquia and Phoenix Boats. Not a bad days work sir. Congratulations on your first of many checks in this series.
Jared Williams' 23.18lbs anchored by the days biggest fish which weighed in at 7.20lbs was good enough for 4th Place and a $3500 pay day! Jared reported catching them throughout the day on a drop shot. Nice work and Congratulations on claiming the top placing Bass Cat Boats finish. Thanks to MARE of Aquia Richard Addy and Brian Lancaster you will be receiving some more $$ based on your finish.
5th Place went to another hammer, Martin Villa. Martin had 20.68lbs good enough for $2100. Martin wanted to thank Anglers Choice for the support. Great job sir, and thank you for fishing with us. So glad to have you aboard.
6th Place and our Angler of the Year Points leader after 2 events is the one and only Frank Poirier. Frank eyed up 20.34lbs to nab $1700. Frank wanted to thank his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, MARE of Aquia, Green Top Sporting Goods and Rhonda Brown Poirier for their support. Great job, Frank. Stay hot, sir.
For the first time in Alpha Series History we had a 3 way tie for 7th Place. Josh Wagy JT Palmore and Alex Pirowski all weighed in 20.31lbs. They each brought home $1333. Each of them thanked their wives and the tournament staff for the support. Josh's 20.31 was all smallmouth including the day's largest smallmouth know as Ezzraahhhhhh she weighed in at 5.06lbs, which made him some extra $$ in the biggest smallmouth sidepot. Great job Josh, Alex and JT. Josh is also sitting in 2nd place in the Alpha Angler of the Year points race.
10th Place went to Tony Black with his 20.04lb bag. His efforts were worth $1100 for 10th. Tony wanted to thank his wife not only for the love and support but for the reminder that when we get into our 50s we should not be jumping from boat to boat. 🙂 kidding my friend, great job and great event!
11th Place went to one of our OG River Rats showing us a little something on SML. Ronnie Baker had 19.89lbs and earned $1000 for his work. Great job Ronnie!
19.87lbs was enough to grab Heath Toler 12th Place. That effort got him $900 for the day. Nice work sir.
Lucky 13th Place went to no stranger in the check line, Mr Brad Webb. Brad had 19.54lbs that earned him $800. Nice job sir.
Cody Pike's smallmouth sack of 19.28lbs grabbed the angler $700 for the day. He reported that the first 2 hours of the day was full on enjoyment and great smallmouth action. He wanted to thank Green Top Sporting Goods, Phoenix Boats MARE of Aquia and Candice Pike for their support.
15th Place went to one the the hottest anglers around. Garrett Geouge had 19.25lbs to grab the 15th position. He earned $650 and is sitting 3rd in the 2026 Angler of the year points race. Great start to the season Garrett.
Grabbing our last check with 19.01lbs was our SML defending champ, Powell Kemp. Powell earned $600 for his efforts. Great job my friend.
Also a HUGE thanks to the best staff in the industry, Candice Camp, Jackson Camp, Renee Sintek, Donnie Ray Jackson, Paige Shafer, Autumn, Aubry Spencer and our Phoneyfrogsusa team of Jason St Mary, Angela Reece, Jayden, Star and Chelsea. Loved you guys being there. Thank you so much for the help.
Next Alpha event in May 2nd on the Chowan. Should be another shoot out!
