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

Takahiro Omori Wins 2026 Bass Pro Tour's O'Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance on Lake Hartwell!

Takahiro Omori scored his first Bass Pro Tour win and was the only angler to never use his forward-facing sonar throughout all of Stage 2. Photo by Phoenix Moore.

By Mitchell Forde

BASS PRO TOUR

OCONEE COUNTY, S.C. — Prior to the Bass Pro Tour’s first ever visit to Lake Hartwell, the prevailing expectation was that finesse techniques and spotted bass would rule O’Reilly Auto Parts Stage 2 Presented by Lowrance. A few anglers have managed to contend in past tournaments on the famed fishery by catching shallow largemouth, but given the Bass Pro Tour’s every-fish-counts scoring, the February timing of this event and the fact that the water is about 7 feet low, no one would have predicted that bladed jigs, dirty water and largemouth would dominate.

That included Takahiro Omori.

The angler best known for exclaiming “I knew it!” after he caught the winning fish at the 2004 Bassmaster Classic admitted that he didn’t anticipate being able to contend on Hartwell while sticking in his power fishing wheelhouse – much less earning his long-awaited first Bass Pro Tour win. 

“To be honest, I had no motivation to come here,” the Tokyo, Japan, native said. “I thought I was coming here to get beat by the spots.”

But Omori never wavered from his game plan. The veteran pro spent the entire event in the Tugaloo River, using his smooth casting skills to pick apart whatever shallow cover he could find in the backs of creeks. He never even bothered to turn on forward-facing sonar.

The result was a near wire-to-wire win. After he finished Day 1 in second place, Omori topped the Qualifying Round, earning an automatic trip to Sunday’s Championship Round. There, he overcame a slow start to stack up 36 pounds, 6 ounces on 12 scorable bass. With post-frontal, windy conditions making the bite tough on everyone, that was enough to edge Jacob Walker by 2-10. His first tour-level victory since 2018 and the ninth of Omori’s decorated career earned him $125,000.

Here’s how the Top 10 pros finished the Championship Round:

1. Takahiro Omori – 36-6 (12)

2. Jacob Walker – 33-12 (12)

3. Matt Becker – 29-4 (11)

4. Banks Shaw – 27-9 (10)

5. Jacob Wall – 23-15 (9)

6. Spencer Shuffield – 22-6 (9)

7. Jesse Wiggins – 19-6 (5)

8. Jacob Wheeler – 14-14 (6)

9. Ott DeFoe – 14-7 (6)

10. Justin Cooper – 13-12 (5)

2024 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors on Grand Lake Day 2: Justin Hamner Widens Lead!

Canadians Gallant 6th, Cory Johnston 20th, Chris Johnston 22nd & Gustafson 31st

By Bryan Brasher

BASS PRESS Release

Since practice began last week, Alabama pro Justin Hamner says he hasn’t been able to duplicate two patterns from one day to the next.

That trend continued Saturday, but it doesn’t seem to be affecting him adversely.

Hamner caught yet another five-bass limit that weighed 20 pounds and increased his two-day total to 42 pounds, 6 ounces, to maintain the lead in the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Jockey Outdoors on Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees.

Hamner, who has seemed strangely calm all week, said his only plan for Championship Sunday is to “win the Bassmaster Classic.” Beyond that, he isn’t sure what he’ll be doing once the tournament resumes.

“The dream is going pretty good so far, but we’ve still got one more day,” said Hamner, who is fishing only his second career Classic. “I had to do something totally different today than what I did on the first day of the tournament. The area I started in this morning had completely changed, and I left there around 10 or 10:30 (a.m.).

“In my new spot, I immediately caught three big ones and left there.”

Hamner had been hoping that increased winds would improve his bite. But on Saturday, he said it actually hurt him and forced him to change his plans.

“Yesterday, when I caught all of those fish in those creeks, there was zero bait,” he said. “Today, the wind actually blew directly into those creeks and the fish were more active. They were feeding on the bait, but I could not get those fish to bite.

“It was the weirdest thing and I have no explanation for it.”

The forecast for Championship Sunday calls for 20 to 30 mph winds with occasional gusts up to 40 mph. Hamner said he plans to start on the same brushpiles where he caught his best fish Saturday — and if that doesn’t work, he’ll redirect on the fly once again.

2022 Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork Day 3: Livesay Lead Going into Last Day!

Canadians Chris Johnston 8th & Gustafson 24th.

Lee Livesay of Longview, Texas, is leading after Day 3 of the 2022 Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork with a three-day total of 87 pounds, 15 ounces. (Photo: BASS)

BASS PRESS RELEASE

QUITMAN, Texas — Despite a lifetime of fishing Lake Fork and several years of guiding on the East Texas powerhouse, Lee Livesay found something he’d never seen before and that revelation delivered a Day 3 limit of 27 pounds, 5 ounces that kept him atop the Simms Bassmaster Elite at Lake Fork with a three-day weight of 87-15.

 

Livesay heads into Championship Sunday with a 3 1/2-pound advantage over Idaho superstar Brandon Palaniuk — and he credits much of his success to that new discovery.

 

“Most of the fish I’ve caught this week have come from a spot I’ve never even caught a bass on,” said Livesay, who won his first St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by Mossy Oak Fishing at Ross Barnett on April 30. “I found them the first day of practice and thought they were little, but they grew. I got lucky yesterday and got an 8-pounder on another spot where it was just her.”

 

Livesay knows Fork intimately, but the spot he’s leveraging this week was so unassuming that it had never caught his eye. During practice, another tournament crowded the lake’s diminished waters — the lake level is down 5 1/2 feet for dam repairs — so Livesay searched for less obvious spots.

 

“I went looking at off-the-wall stuff I’d never looked at,” he said. “When I found them, I thought they were catfish. I came back the second day of practice and caught two under 4 pounds.

Kenta Kimura Wins 2022 Bassmaster Northern Open!

Japanese Elite Pro Kenta Kimura uses buzzbait and cranks to 
claim James River victory.(Photo: BASS) 

BASS PRESS RELEASE 

RICHMOND, Va. — Bassmaster Elite Series angler Kenta Kimura said earlier in the week that he did not know what he was doing on the James River. But now that he’s won the St. Croix Bassmaster Northern Open at James River presented by Mossy Oak Fishing with a three-day total of 65 pounds, his story seems less than convincing.

After a Day 1 limit of 17 pounds put him in 19th place, the pro from Osaka, Japan, added 23-5 a day later and surged into second. Finishing Championship Saturday with 24-11 — the event’s second-heaviest bag — Kimura edged Keith Poche of Pike Road, Ala., by a margin of 3-9.

LeBrun Surges To Victory In 2021 Bassmaster Central Open Finale On Grand Lake

BASS PRESS RELEASE

GROVE, Okla. — Nick LeBrun’s strategy of “go big or go home” carried him to a dominant victory in the Basspro.com Bassmaster Central Open at Grand Lake with a three-day total weight of 50 pounds, 2 ounces.

 

Hailing from Bossier City, La., LeBrun placed third on Day 1 with 17-12, then improved to second with Friday’s limit of 15-3. Championship Saturday saw him sack up the day’s heaviest catch — 17-3, which helped him edge Day 1 leader Kenta Kimura of Japan by 4-6.

 

Along with the top prize of $47,833, LeBrun earned a spot in the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk, which is scheduled for March 4-6 on South Carolina’s Lake Hartwell.

 

“Money spends, but going to the Classic is a childhood, manhood, everything dream,” Lebrun said. “It’s going to take a while for that to sink in.”

 

LeBrun, who placed second at the Central Open on Alabama’s Smith Lake two weeks ago, caught all of the fish he weighed this week on a Whopper Plopper and another plopper-style bait. He started throwing the 110 size bait in practice, but windy conditions prompted him to upsize to the hefty 130, which holds its own in blustery conditions.

 

As it turned out, LeBrun’s big bait was a good match to the giant gizzard shad his fish were targeting. With fall bass intent on filing their bellies, many anglers were keying on the smaller and more common threadfin shad. Locating areas thick with big gizzards proved foundational to LeBrun’s success.

 

“Anytime you see those big gizzard shad up on the bank in this part of the country, it’s time to pick up that plopper and keep it in your hand all day,” LeBrun said. “You don’t get many bites, but the ones you get are usually big."

KVD Grabs Knockout Round Win; Championship Field Set on Chickamauga

Kevin VanDam secured a Knockout Round win over Jordan Lee and the rest of the field Tuesday on Lake Chickamauga. Photo by Phoenix Moore

MASON PRINCE • BASS PRO TOUR

DAYTON, Tenn. – A local legend, ledge-fishing masters, the greatest professional angler of all time, and a couple of guys trying to be the next GOAT—the Championship Round of the B&W Trailer Hitches Stage Four Presented by ATG x Wrangler has plenty of reasons to tune in Wednesday.

Kevin VanDam took the top spot in the Knockout Round with 18 bass for 46-6, and seven other pros will join him in the Championship Round for a date with Shin Fukae and Jason Lambert.

KVD Feeling Comfortable on Chickamauga

Much like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan, when Kevin VanDam is in the field with a shot at a championship, there’s an added “it” factor that’s hard to explain. The Michigan angler’s career resume is what makes him unarguably the most successful bass fisherman of all time, and he’s looking to add something to it: his first Bass Pro Tour trophy.

VanDam has three MLF Cup wins to his credit—the most of anyone—but he hasn’t yet made his mark on the Bass Pro Tour. Wednesday on Lake Chickamauga might be his best shot to do so. VanDam says he has a spot he thinks can give him the bites to outlast the other ledge specialists, so it’s all about if the area can hold on for one more day.

2020 Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Fork Day 1: Clunn become King with 29-04lbs!

Canadians Chris Johnston 40th, Cory Johnston 52th & Gustafson 81st. 

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Clunn king of autumn.
(Photo: BASS) 

A highly specific presentation plus one key bite gave Rick Clunn of Ava, Mo., the Day 1 lead at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest benefiting Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on Lake Fork with 29 pounds, 4 ounces.

Spending his day in the mid- to lower-lake region, Clunn targeted docks with an Ichikawa Rick Clunn RC King Kong Shad 10 squarebill. He found one particular structure most productive and relied on a specific undisclosed presentation.

“I fished several docks, but I caught all but one of my (limit fish) off of one dock,” Clunn said. “I found this dock in practice and it had a lot of fish holding in front of it. Today, I pulled up there and I did not see those fish, but I guess they were there.

“You can throw at that dock all day and if you’re not doing it exactly right, you’re not going to catch them,” he said. “I can fish behind three other boats and if they’re not doing (what I’m doing), I’m going to catch fish.” 

Midday delivered an unexpected opportunity that propelled Clunn into the lead. Moving to another spot, he passed a round, sandy point that looked appealing enough to merit a few casts with a different reaction bait. One of them tempted an 8-9 largemouth, which stands as the day’s second-largest fish. 

“I caught that big one trying to find other places,” Clunn said. “That was just one of those gift fish. I don’t even know where he came from and I couldn’t duplicate the cast.

“In practice, I was catching a few fish late in the day off of stuff like that. Most of the fish I caught, I caught them where I was expecting to catch them. But I didn’t expect to catch that one.”

Noting that Fork’s tremendous number of quality fish justifies its trophy lake reputation, Clunn said he caught about 15 keepers today, but his three big bites (8-9, 6-6 and a 5-9) were the difference-makers.

“This lake is so full of fish, you’re fishing over a thousand to catch one,” he said. “The key here is you have to get those two key bites to get you up over that 20-pound mark.”

Jacob Wheeler Wins $100 000 for 2020 MLF Lake Eufaula Season Opener

Adapting to changing water level key for top anglers.  

By Luigi De Rose 

Jacob Wheeler, once again proved he’s a winner. Totalling 24 scorable bass for an impressive 68 pounds, Wheeler outdistanced himself by 28 pounds over his nearest competitor Bryan Thrift. Jacob took home $100 000 for first place and command of the MLF points. Thrift, new to the 2020 MLF format, didn't hold back and landing 13 bass for 40-11 pounds. He pocketed $42 000 at his MLF debut. 

Place     Angler   Total Weight/Fish           Largest Fish

1st         Jacob Wheeler  68 - 00  24          4 - 10

2nd       Bryan Thrift       40 - 11  13          5 - 11

3rd        Ott DeFoe          34 - 09  10          6 - 15

4th        Alton Jones Jr.   26 - 12  9            4 - 08

5th        Dustin Connell  24 - 00  6            5 - 11

6th        Brent Chapman 20 - 10  8            3 - 12

7th        Takahiro Omori 16 - 04  5            4 - 08

8th        Brett Hite           9 - 13    3            3 - 11

9th        Jordan Lee          5 - 10    2            3 - 08

10th      Adrian Avena     4 - 03    2            2 - 03

Jared Lintner Wins 2018 BASS PRO SHOP Bassmaster Open Championship with 37-00lbs!

Lintner Off to Classic!
By Craig Lamb

BASS PRESS RELEASE

Lintner's win earns him a spot in 2019 Classic!
(Photo: BASS)

Dialing into the details was the ticket to victory for Jared Lintner, winner of the 2018 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Opens Championship on Table Rock Lake.
 
Linter of Arroyo Grande, Calif., added 10 pounds, 15 ounces of bass today to push his winning total weight to 37 pounds for three days of fishing. Brandon Lester of Fayetteville, Tenn., took second \with 34-11, and Derek Hudnall of Baton Rouge, La., was third with 34-1. Bobby Lane Jr. of Lakeland, Fla., was fourth with 32-7, and Scott Suggs of Alexander, Ark., took fifth with 32-3.  
 
Weather was a key factor throughout the three-day tournament. A chilly rain on Friday was braced by sunny, unseasonably warm weather on Thursday and Saturday. The best fishing occurred during the worst weather, when the bass were most active in the low-light conditions.
 
Everyone, especially including Lintner, knew the bass were in the fall transition, moving from deep to shallow water.
 
“I knew the bass were moving shallow, just not enough to put together a reliable pattern,” he said.
 
When the bites began Lintner, took note. He discovered greater concentrations of bass holding on steeper tapering shorelines used as migration routes.
 
“It started replicating itself so I went searching for similar areas,” he explained.
 

ICAST 2015: Bandit Makes No Mistake with "Mistake" Colours!

BANDIT LURES TO MAKE MORE MISTAKES IN 2016

3 New Dual-Look Cranks Now Available In 100, 200 and 300 Series

Bandit Lures made a huge impact on bass fishing with its “Mistake” color pattern that features a black back and vertical bars over a red base on one side and a chartreuse base on the other, and for 2016 anglers get three new “mistakes” from which to choose. New are the Crossbreed pattern, which pairs up the realistic Baby bass pattern on one side and the equally natural-looking River Bream on the other, Malfunction, which blends two productive crawfish patterns into one bait with Brown Craw Orange Belly on one side and Spring Craw on the other, and Mistaken Identity, which is possibly the craziest mash-up ever. This Bandit takes the vibrant Fire Tiger pattern and pairs it with the muted Root Beer pattern to create a head-turning combination for bass and other gamefish.

The original Mistake pattern wasn’t really a mistake and neither are these. The Mistake pattern was conceived and ordered by a tackle shop, and it was such a success that the company put it in its catalog lineup where it became one of Bandit’s best selling/most productive lures ever. The color pattern was designed to let anglers show bass two different looks without changing baits – a fish under a laydown sees the chartreuse side when the angler casts on the right side of the brush, and the red side when cast to the left side. The same logic applies to Bandit’s new dual-pattern baits.

The new Crossbreed, Malfunction and Mistaken Identity color patterns are available in Bandit 100, 200 and 300 series crankbaits. For more information go to www.banditlures.com.