Zack Birge Wins 2026 NPFL on Lake Harris Chain of Lakes!

Oklahoma pro stayed consistent all three days to claim his first NPFL victory at Stop One.

Birge continues hot streak with his first win on the NPFL at Stop One. 
(Photo: NPFL/ Tanner & Travis Lyons)

By Justin Brouillard, NPFL Press Release

It came down to the wire on the Harris Chain, where consistency proved to be the difference-maker. Changing weather, long runs to Lake Apopka, and a last-minute adjustment after losing access to his starting area all played a role — but in the end, Oklahoma angler Zack Birge made the right moves at the right time to earn his first NPFL victory.

Birge started strong on Day One, boating 22-6 to kick things off in third place. He moved into the lead on Day Two with 21-14 and was the only angler to eclipse 20 pounds on both of the first two days. On the final day, fending off a charging Todd Auten, Birge added 17-14 to secure the win, besting the veteran by a mere 5 ounces.

Making a charge on the final day, Todd Auten was not going down without a fight. His best bags of the week came on Day One and Showdown Saturday. He started the event in second place with 25-3, dropped slightly on Day Two with 12-3, and then surged with the biggest bag of the tournament on the final day — 24-7 — ultimately finishing in second place, just short of the NPFL victory in his first event.

In third place, Derek Lehtonen was perhaps the most consistent angler all week, but lacked a true giant bass across his three days. Still, his 51-0 total moved him up on the final day, earning a solid payday and valuable points toward the 2027 Work Sharp NPFL Championship.

While many predicted a double-digit bass in this event, it was a 9-0 kicker caught by Greg Vinson on Day One that earned Big Bass honors. A slower Day Three dropped him to 25th overall, but Vinson still walked away with a solid check for his efforts.

Birge Adjusts for the Win

Wrapping up his second tour-level victory of the season, Zack Birge is on a tear in 2026. Birge took the win at the MLF BPT event earlier this month and is now a first time NPFL Champion. Fishing both leagues the last couple of seasons has been tough, and missing practice and tournament days caused him to miss the 2026 Epic Baits Championship by just a few points. Now, he’s a lock for the 2027 Championship by way of his win, and he kicks off the NPFL season leading the Work Sharp Angler of the Year race.

“It sure feels great,” Birge said. “I’m sure tomorrow, making the drive home, it’ll set in more, but I’m tired. This was a long week, and today was super stressful. Right off this morning things got tough, having to change my day around, and I felt like I was stuck in Apopka for a little while.”

Luckily, Birge had a Plan B. When his flipping bite only produced one small keeper, it was time to make a big decision — abandon ship early and head back toward Harris, or figure something out in Apopka to get the day back on track and kill some time.

TOP 10 Below

Patrick Walters Wins 2026 Epic Baits NPFL Championship on Smith Lake!

South Carolina pro seals the deal on Showdown Saturday at Smith Lake, capturing the Championship trophy and $100,000 payday.

Hunting for dirty water, Walters' big Day 2 ensures championship win!
Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons

By Justin Brouillard 

National Professional Fishing League Press Release

It took the event’s biggest bag by far on Day Two to reset his tournament after sitting in 29th place following Day One, but South Carolina pro Patrick Walters was able to right the ship and claim the NPFL Triple Crown. Walters is now the first angler in NPFL history to possess a Regular Season shield, an NPFL AOY shield, and now an NPFL Championship shield after winning the 2026 Epic Baits NPFL Championship on Smith Lake.

His three-day total of 44-11 was enough to secure a two-pound margin over Alabama pro Kyle Welcher. Walters admittedly slipped on Day One, bringing just 9-11 to the scales and leaving himself frustrated. But with rain overnight and fresh water flowing into Smith Lake on Day Two, Walters capitalized on newly formed mudlines with a crankbait and a jig, putting an astonishing 22-9 in the boat and launching his comeback.

When the dust settled on Showdown Saturday, things were closer than expected as Walters worked to protect his lead. His 12-7 on the final day was enough to earn the NPFL shield and the $100,000 Championship prize.

Welcher, no stranger to NPFL success, previously earned the 2024 NPFL AOY title and finished second in the 2025 season, just one point behind Walters. His 42-11 total secured the runner-up spot.

Florida’s John Cox rallied over the final two days to finish third with 40-8. Todd Auten moved into fourth with 40-3, while North Carolina pro Hank Cherry rounded out the top five with 40-2.

JT Russell’s Day One 5-5 kicker earned him Big Bass honors for the event.

Walters Trusts His Gut

On a week where things changed by the hour, the real winning moments for Patrick Walters came during the tough stretches. Coming in, he knew conditions would not be the same as they were in practice, but he constantly fished through the lulls and kept himself around the right areas to catch fish that were willing to bite.

TOP 10 BELOW

2020 Bassmaster Classic Lake Guntersville Day 2: Hank Cherry Continues to Lead with 45-13lbs!

Canadians Gustafson 31st, Chris Johnston 34th & Cory Johnston 47th
By Bryan Brasher
BASS PRESS RELEASE

Jerkbait and crankbait key to Cherry's lead.
(Photo:BASS)

If Hank Cherry’s arm is bothering him, it certainly doesn’t show.

The North Carolina veteran pro, who fell and injured his arm in his boat Friday, played through the pain Saturday to catch five bass that weighed 16 pounds, 10 ounces. Added to the 29-3 he caught Friday, it gives him a two-day total of 45-13 that leads the Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.

Competition is taking place at Lake Guntersville, and weigh-ins are being held at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. Cherry’s solid Saturday catch gave him a lead of 4-13 going into Championship Sunday with a $300,000 first-place prize on the line.

“I’m gonna do what I’ve got to do to get this done,” Cherry said. “New fish are still moving into my area. I’ve just got to relax — and if it’s my time, it’s my time.”

Cherry fished the same three baits Saturday that he used to catch his massive bag Friday — a bladed jig, a jerkbait and his own Hank Cherry Signature Series Jig from Picasso. He’s fishing one small area with a causeway and a flat, and he’s done so little running that he hasn’t even had to buy gas for his boat this week.

Now, it’s just a matter of settling down and finishing the job.

“My last thoughts before I go to bed tonight will just be to thank the good Lord for putting me in this position,” said Cherry, who finished third in the 2013 Classic at Grand Lake in Oklahoma. “Then I’ll just get up in the morning ready to go.

“I have to stay relaxed. I have to get that first one in the boat. The first one’s always the roughest one. After that, they start coming.”

The angler closest to Cherry going into the final day is Fayetteville, Tenn., pro Brandon Lester, who caught 20-1 Saturday and jumped from fourth place into second with a two-day mark of 41-0.

Lester started his day with a lipless crankbait and caught a limit early. But since he didn’t have the quality of fish he knew he’d need to win, he made a drastic change.

John Cox Wins the 2016 FLW CUP with 54-13 lbs.!

Chris Johnston grabs  8^th!

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

This is John's second FLW victory this year. (Photo FLW)

John Cox started his fishing career in an aluminum boat, participating in small pond tournaments in a johnboat powered with just a trolling motor.
In 2011, in his rookie season on the Walmart FLW Tour, Cox earned his first Tour win out of an aluminum boat on the Red River.
In 2015, he finished runner-up in the Tour Angler of the Year standings with an aluminum boat. And in March of this year, Cox got his second Tour win out of an aluminum boat.
Today, Cox reached the pinnacle of the bass tournament world, winning professional bass fishing’s Forrest Wood Cup, and he did it out of an aluminum boat. With his $300,000 victory, Cox has made a bit of unique fishing history, being the only pro to ever win a modern world championship bass fishing event from an aluminum boat.

In doing so, he proved to the fishing world that owning a big brand new glass boat maxed out with a 250-hp outboard is not necessarily a prerequisite to winning a world title in bass fishing. Indeed, his memorable week at Wheeler Lake, which culminated today with the Forrest Wood Cup held high over his head, should serve as an inspiration for tournament anglers at all levels.
“I started in aluminums because I could not afford bigger glass boats,” Cox says. “Aluminum rigs are a more realistic boat purchase for the average working person. I used to paint apartments and just could not afford a $60,000 glass boat.

Froggin' and buzzbait key to CUP win. (Photo: FLW)

“After fishing out of aluminums, I discovered they have distinct advantages of being lighter and they can get up on plane in very shallow water,” he adds. “They don’t get stuck as bad when you plant one on a sandbar, and they tend to hop over logs and stuff better. They are simply more efficient for the way I like to fish.
“I did run a glass boat for about a year on Tour,” he adds. “But I returned to aluminums because they suit my fishing style better.”

2016 FLW CUP Wheeler Lake Day 3: John Cox Leads as Todd Auten Catches Up Within 9 oz.

Chris Johnston moves to 9^th!

by Rob Newell

FLW PRESS RELEASE

Forrest Wood Cup leader John Cox of DeBary, Fla., watched his 6-pound, 7-ounce lead get slashed to 9 ounces instantly on day three of competition at Wheeler Lake.

The man responsible for erasing Cox’s leading margin?

Todd Auten of Lake Wylie, S.C.

Today, Auten checked in his biggest limit of the week, 17 pounds, 10 ounces, to leap from fifth into second and create a major threat to Cox’s Cup dreams going into the final day.

Cox’s 11-pound catch today was his lightest of the week, bringing his three-day total to 43 pounds, 5 ounces.

Cox's creek losing its magic as Auten makes dramatic comeback.
(Photo: FLW)

Despite having the gap closed up, Cox still seems very much at ease about his situation.

“I know it was my lightest bag of the week, but I pretty much expected that,” Cox says. “I went back into the same creek I’ve been fishing the last two days, and it’s playing out. I’ve caught quite a few fish out of it, and I think I’ve removed a lot of the quality fish from the area. That’s to be expected when fishing small, residential places like that. Plus, there were a few other local folks fishing back there, which is going to happen. So all in all I’m not shocked or surprised.”

For the first time all week, Cox did venture out of his primary area today to visit another extreme backwater he had been saving. That move turned out to be fruitless and is a bit more disconcerting to Cox.

“I had some high hopes for that place, but it wasn’t any good,” he says. “The good news is that I got that place out of my head, though. I won’t waste time with it tomorrow. I still have one other place I have not been to yet that I will start in tomorrow. If it goes well in there, I will stay. If not, I’m going to have to return to my original creek and hope for the best.”

Cox says the water has come up about 8 inches in the last few days, and that has made access to his remote areas easier for others. That fact, above all, concerns him most.

“When I went in these places during practice, I could barely get in them with my aluminum boat,” he says. “But now, with the water up, they’re not as hard to access, so I have no way of knowing if other anglers have been in them. When it was lower, I knew I was the only one that could get in them.”

With others in the top 10 some 5 pounds behind Cox and Auten, the final day of the Forrest Wood Cup has the appearance of being a two-man race. But enough 15- to 19-pound limits have been weighed in this week to make anything possible.

One thing is for certain: The 2016 Forrest Wood Cup is far from over.

Top 10 Pros

1. John Cox – DeBary, Fla. – 43-5

2. Todd Auten – Lake Wylie, S.C. – 42-12

3. Michael Neal – Dayton, Tenn. – 37-14

4. Bryan Thrift – Shelby, N.C. – 37-13

5. Jacob Wheeler – Indianapolis, Ind. – 37-3

6. Mark Rose – West Memphis, Ark. – 36-9

7. Brandon Cobb – Greenwood, S.C. – 35-9

8. Joseph Webster – Fulton, Miss. – 34.13

9. Chris Johnston – Peterborough, Ontario – 34-3

10. Jeremy Lawyer – Sarcoxie, Mo. – 32-15

FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell Day 1: Christie Still in Command

Lake Hartwell 3/24/11 - 3/27/11 -- Lake Hartwell
Portman Shoals Marina, Greenville, SC

FLW Press Release

Jason Christie retains first place targeting
bushes.
(Photo: Rob Newman FLW)

Diet Mountain Dew pro Jason Christie of Park Hill, Okla., caught a five-bass limit weighing 20 pounds, 4 ounces Friday to extend his lead on day two of the Walmart FLW Tour on Lake Hartwell presented by Chevy. His two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 42 pounds, 8 ounces gives him a massive 9-pound, 1-ounce lead heading into the third day of the tournament. There were 155 pros and 155 co-anglers from across the United States and Canada that started the tournament. The top 20 will fish day three and the top 10 will compete for the title on day four.

“It was kind of the opposite of yesterday where I caught them pretty fast,” Christie said. “I pulled in and after about an hour had caught a 5-pounder and a 3-pounder.”


Christie said he had a limit by 1:30 p.m. and had been changing locations when he happened to pull into an area where he expected boat traffic. He had the area to himself, however, and he caught fish weighing 6, 4 and 2 1/2 pounds. Christie said the fish fell for a BOOYAH spinnerbait.


“I actually had two more big fish in there, so I left and got back closer to (check-in),” Christie said.


Christie said he’s confident his areas will replenish with fish over the next two days of competition and hopes for anything but a bright, sunny sky.


“If it’s cloudy I think I can catch them,” Christie said. “I know where they’re living. They’re bedding so shallow I can see them whether it’s cloudy or not. I hope the wind blows. That would be fine with me.

Tom Monsoor with his second day's catch.
(Photo: Brett Carlson FLW)

“There’s big fish around me,” Christie added. “I’ve just got to get the bites and get them in the boat. It seems like I’m either catching 12-inchers or big ones. I’m not catching anything in between.”


Rounding out the top 20 pros that will fish another day on Lake Hartwell are:


2nd: Tom Monsoor, La Crosse, Wis., 10 bass, 33-7


3rd: Todd Auten, Lake Wylie, S.C., 10 bass, 32-14


4th: Chevy pro Bryan Thrift, Shelby, N.C., 10 bass, 32-8


5th: Stacey King, Reeds Spring, Mo., 10 bass, 32-7


6th: Prevacid 24HR pro Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky., 10 bass, 32-3


7th: Mike Reynolds, Modesto, Calif., 10 bass, 32-1


8th: National Guard pro Brent Ehrler, Redlands, Calif., 10 bass, 31-12


9th: AMP Energy pro Stetson Blaylock, Benton, Ark., 10 bass, 31-1


10th: Joe Thomas, Milford, Ohio, 10 bass, 30-14


11th: Ishama Monroe, Hughson, Calif., 10 bass, 30-9


12th: Ramie Colson Jr., Cadiz, Ky., 10 bass, 30-8


13th: Chevy pro Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10 bass, 30-6


14th: Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn., 10 bass, 30-6


15th: National Guard pro Justin Lucas, Guntersville, Ala., 10 bass, 30-5


16th: Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes pro Dave Lefebre, Union City, Pa., 10 bass, 29-14


17th: Andy Morgan, Dayton, Tenn., 10 bass, 29-12


18th: Chevy pro Jimmy Houston, Cookson, Okla., 10 bass, 29-7


19th: Straight Talk pro J.T. Kenney, Palm Bay, Fla., 10 bass, 29-1


20th: Troy Morrow, Toccoa, Ga., 10 bass, 28-15


Thrift caught the Snickers® Big Bass of 6-9 on the pro side and won $500.

Bryan's Day 2 6-09 Big Bass

Overall there were 689 bass weighing 1,571 pounds, 5 ounces caught by 152 pros Friday. The catch included 119 five-bass limits.


Pros are competing for a top award of up to $125,000 this week plus valuable points in the hope of qualifying for the Forrest Wood Cup presented by Walmart, the world championship of bass fishing. This year’s Cup will be in Hot Springs, Ark., Aug. 11-14 on Lake Ouachitawhere pros are competing for a top prize of $600,000 – the sport’s biggest award. Pro anglers are also vying for the prestigious 2011 Walmart FLW Tour Angler of the Year presented by Kellogg’s that will be determined by the most points accumulated over the six Tour Majors with the winner receiving $100,000 for their accomplishment.


J.R. Wright of Truckee, Calif., leads the Co-angler Division with an opening-round total of 10 bass weighing 28 pounds, 5 ounces, followed by Jade Keeton of Florence, Ala., in second place with 10 bass weighing 25-6.


Rounding out the top 20 co-anglers are:


3rd: Keith Honeycutt, Temple, Texas, 10 bass, 24-8


4th: Andy Scholz, Reno, Nev., 10 bass, 23-9