Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
I’ve been a sports fan for a long time. First there was fishing, then baseball, football, and basketball. Even when I got too old and out of shape for the stick and ball sports, I was an avid spectator until about 25 years ago. In fact, at one time, when I lived near Atlanta, I simultaneously had season tickets to the Braves, the Falcons, and the Hawks.
One of the things that drew me to the stick and ball sports—even as a kid—was statistics. My parents would tell you that I learned math only so I could calculate my Little League batting average.
Statistics are a shorthand way to greater understanding of anything, but particularly sports. Baseball is the ultimate stats game. It has a pace that lends itself to stats, and every little action on a baseball diamond can impact the outcome. I think the same is true for basketball, but it’s much less true for football. If the football team with a big lead runs the ball up the middle 30 times in the second half is it because they’re good at running the ball or because they’re killing time on the clock. If a quarterback throws for four touchdowns and 300 yards in the first half but zero TDs and 50 yards in the second half, was he suddenly ineffective or did the coach decide to take time off the clock by running more? Ultimately, it may mean that the score is the only meaningful stat in football.
Over the decades, I’ve tried to bring stats to professional bass fishing. They can lead to greater understanding, better and more meaningful conversation, and—hopefully—greater interest.
One stat that’s always confounded me has been prize money. It’s not always a good indicator of an angler’s skills or success because prize money has fluctuated so much through the decades. In the earliest days of modern tournament fishing, first place in a major tournament was about $2,000. Today it’s $50,000 or $100,000 … or even more.
Bill Dance, the biggest star the sport has ever produced, earned less than $100,000 in prize money over his entire career. Of course, this was pre-1980, and Dance made his impact and fortune on television and through endorsements rather than on the weigh-in stage.
But some fans are fascinated by prize money data, and the NPFL is new enough and the prize money has been stable enough that earnings stats for the league tell an accurate story. Here’s some data you might find interesting.
First, here are the top 10 anglers in career prize money with the NPFL:
1. Patrick Walters $471,000
2. Brandon Perkins $394,450
3. Gary Adkins $264,100
4. Louis Fernandes $260,650
5. John Soukup $256,200
6. Taylor Watkins $254,000
7. Trent Palmer $223,050
8. Keith Carson $221,800
9. Will Harkins $198,000
10. Mike Corbishley $197,150
All of those anglers have one thing in common. They’ve all won at least one NPFL event. The top three and five of the top six have won more than once.
Timmy Reams is just outside the top 10 and leads all anglers who have not won an NPFL tournament.
2023 Progressive NPFL Angler of the Year Todd Goade has the record for most consecutive in-the-money finishes with 11. That’s remarkable, and it’s unlikely that anyone will break it soon because the league continues to amass talent.
Thirteen different anglers finished in the money in every event for an entire season. In 2021, they were Derrick Blake Keith Carson, Brandon Perkins, Bryant Smith, John Soukup, Taylor Watkins, and Joel Willert. In 2022, only Gary Adkins accomplished the feat, and in 2023 it was just Todd Goade. This past season, Drew Cook, Wes Logan, Joseph Webster, and Kyle Welcher all did it.
Of interest to me is the fact that every Angler of Year cashed in every event of the year when he won the title. That trend is likely to end soon since the field of angling talent continues to grow.
They say money isn’t everything, and we all know that to be true. But when it comes to AOY titles, you need to cash a lot of checks if you want to hoist the big gold trophy.
