Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Stop number six of the National Professional Fishing League season kicks off this morning at Lake Lanier in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The NPFL anglers are excited to take on the spotted and largemouth bass at the historic fishery to end the 2023 NPFL season.
Local favorite Trent Palmer has punched his ticket to the 2023 NPFL Championship event scheduled for March 2024 and is looking forward to a fun and relaxing event on a body of water he is familiar with. With his win on Saginaw Bay, his championship berth was guaranteed, and qualifying through Progressive Angler of the Year is no longer a concern.
With two days of practice on Lanier, Palmer notes that the fall turnover and record low water level have thrown a wrench into his initial plan coming in.
“It is setting up to be an interesting tournament,” said Palmer on the NPFL Round Table. “We’re kind of dealing with a few factors right now; the lake is turning over so there’s a lot of water that is not necessarily unfishable, but it isn’t as productive as other parts of the lake. On top of that, we’re dealing with a historic, 10 years or so low water.”
Regardless, it’s Lake Lanier, and the spotted bass and largemouth are big. Local one-day events have recently been well above 20 pounds a day. Palmer doesn’t seem to think things will drop too much.
“I still think we’re looking at the 20-pound range each day to win,” he added. “I’ll say 58 to 62 pounds total. You are probably going to need 13 a day to get paid. The anglers are still going to catch some bigger fish this weekend; hopefully, we can be one of the ones to climb up the leaderboard.”
In second place, Jesse Wise is also optimistic that weights will be the near 20-pound average. He echoed Palmer’s prediction. “I am going with 19.5 to win and 13 pounds for a check; hopefully the good lord blesses me this week and can keep things close.”
In third place in AOY, Will Harkins has some history on Lake Lanier. Harkins grew up fishing the lake and noted on the NPFL Round Table that 95% of what the viewers see on live streaming will be offshore fishing.
“Between North Georgia trails and coming down here when I was younger, I guess I have a little history here,” said Harkins. “You might see one day of someone on the bank catching but I don’t think all three days. We will mostly be offshore; out here, you cannot overthink yourself, the conditions change each day and you have to fish the conditions.”
With lots of information about the top of the Progressive Angler of the Year race in a recent blog, things are shaking up to be an exciting event for all this week on Lanier. It’s a top-heavy standing with the top three anglers each separated by double-digit points. In fourth and fifth, Timmy Reams and Louis Fernandes are a small one point apart. Behind them, Brandon Perkins looms just three behind Fernandes. In seventh place, Patrick Walters has a six-point lead over Dustin Smith and Jason Wilson, who are tied with a five-point margin over Mike Corbishley in tenth.
This week, we have two races transpiring; the race for the Progressive AOY Golden Shield, as well as the last spots to sneak into the NPFL Championship set to take place in March of 2024 on Lake Amistad. We will be keeping a close eye on the moves made as anglers look to secure a Championship berth.
Here is a look at the top ten:
Todd Goade 1222
Jesse Wise 1210
Will Harkins 1193
Timmy Reams 1182
Louis Fernandes 1181
Brandon Perkins 1178
Patrick Walters 1167
Dustin Smith 1161
Jason Wilson 1161
Mike Corbishley 1156
Weather Watch
Anglers will launch with near 60-degree lows and highs reaching the upper 70s later in the day. A mix of clouds and sun will give way to clouds, and winds are expected 5 to 10 MPH ESE.
How to Watch
Tune in daily from October 26 through 28 to watch daily action from Lake Lanier, with Live Coverage here and on the FREE PHYX TV App beginning this morning.
Follow along and watch the daily LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers on Lake Lanier.
