About this tournament

The National Bass Anglers Association is a true grassroots team trail — “over 100% payback each season” is the league’s calling card, with division winners qualifying for the NBAA National Championship at a destination lake each spring. The Eastern Montana Challenge is NBAA’s Montana division and has fished its late-season events at the Hell Creek Ramp on Fort Peck for years.

The September Hell Creek event is a two-day team tournament with a $110 team entry. Five-fish limits with a 14-inch minimum, standard NBAA live-release rules, and a Tournament of the Year (TOY) point structure that determines national championship berths and division Angler of the Year.

Hell Creek State Park sits on the south shore of Fort Peck about 25 miles north of Jordan and offers the closest launch and overnight camping for anglers fishing the upper end of the lake — prime fall smallmouth water.

Schedule

• Day 1 — Daylight launch from Hell Creek Ramp; weigh-in approximately 3:00 p.m.
• Day 2 — Daylight launch; weigh-in and awards at conclusion of day 2

Entry & Prizes

Entry: $110 per two-angler team. NBAA membership required (two options available for 2026). Per the division’s traditional structure, day-of registration accepted at the morning rules meeting.

Prizes: Over 100% payback to the field each season across the division. Cash payouts at each event, big-bass side pots, year-end Angler of the Year award, and qualification slots to the NBAA National Championship (2027 location to be announced).

What to expect

Mid-September on the upper end of Fort Peck means smallmouth grouped on main-lake points and rocky humps as surface temps drop into the 60s. Drop-shots with 3-inch minnow baits, swimbaits on a half-ounce head, and football jigs are the staples. Run time from Hell Creek to the productive water above the Big Dry Arm can be long — plan fuel accordingly.

History

NBAA has held tournaments on Fort Peck out of Hell Creek since at least 2018, with the division running an eight-event annual schedule across Bighorn Canyon, New Johns Lake, and Fort Peck. The September Hell Creek qualifier traditionally serves as the division’s season finale.

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