Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
A new tournament season is exciting … especially when there’s as much good stuff going on as there is with the NPFL in 2025.
The season opens March 6-8 with the Strike King NPFL Stop #1 at Santee Cooper Lakes hosted by Clarendon County Tourism. The League has been here before — in 2023 — but not with the same firepower that will be on display this year.
For one, the production efforts will be next level. FullCom Media will be center stage, on the water, behind the scenes and overseeing “Round Table,” the Live Stream with Luke Dunkin and Fat Cat Newton, and the Live Weigh-Ins with Big Al McCullough.
The Lyons Twins — Tanner and Travis — are the best in the industry at finding and capturing the images that tell a tournament story. They’ve been with the League since the beginning and know the sport and its players like no one else. Quite simply, their photographs and videos put you “there.”
Then there are the anglers. The 2025 NPFL field is the strongest the League has ever assembled … by far. Not only are League-generated stars like Louis Fernandes, Todd Goade, Will Harkins, Brandon Perkins, and Timmy Reams back, but legends like Tommy Biffle and David Fritts are still in the mix. Add to that more than 20 top names from the Bassmaster Elite Series and MLF Bass Pro Tour and you have an idea of just how star-studded the field is for the new season.
But what might be the coolest thing of all is the unknown. You can bet the farm that several anglers you’ve never heard of will establish themselves as top-level talents and will challenge for Progressive Angler of the Year honors and a berth in the 2026 Championship.
Who will they be? We have to wait to find out.
Santee Cooper will be an interesting test of the best. If the weather’s right, it’ll be a slugfest and likely take more than 75 pounds to win. If the weather is not cooperative — if there’s a wicked cold front or the wind blows from the “wrong” direction — it’ll be tough. Either way, it’ll be exciting. You just can’t send 118 talented anglers onto such a legendary fishery and not have excitement and drama … and plenty of big bass.
For what it’s worth, Santee Cooper is actually two lakes — Marion (110,000 surface acres) and Moultrie (60,000). They were impounded in 1941 to generate hydroelectric power and light up what was a very rural area.
The lakes are connected by a 7.5-mile-long diversion canal and are quite different. Lake Marion is shallower (13 feet on average) and features more cover —standing timber, cypress trees, vegetation. Lake Moultrie is deeper (19 feet on average) and more open. Both have more than enough cooperative bass to produce a tournament win.
Tournament rules, creel and size limits are always important. At Santee, there will be a 14-inch length limit and the standard 5-bass creel limit.
Along with a strong population of largemouth bass, the lake has plenty of threadfin and gizzard shad, crayfish, sunfish, catfish, and more to keep the bass fat and happy.
Lake Marion produced the state record largemouth in 1949 at 16 pounds, 2 ounces. That record was tied in the 1990s with a fish taken from a farm pond. The diversion canal produced the world record channel catfish (58 pounds) in 1964.
When the NPFL was here two years ago, local standout Patrick Walters won with a three-day total of 67-12. But that was in May when the bass were post-spawn. It’ll be very different in early March.
On Day 2 of the 2023 event, Quentin Cappo brought an even 30 pounds of bass to the scales. It’s still the largest single-day catch in NPFL history, but that record could fall … if the weather and fish cooperate.
Big bass of the 2023 tournament was 8-01 by Brad Staley. The “smart money” expects that weight to be eclipsed on Day 1.
Of course, so much depends on the weather. Average air temperatures at this time of year include lows of 42°F and highs of 66°F. The extended forecast is calling for lower temperatures than that.
Every one of the NPFL’s big bass and big bag records is in serious jeopardy next week. The record for big bass (10-09 by Jesse Wise at the 2024 Championship on Lake Amistad), heaviest three-day weight (71-08 by Brandon Perkins at the same event) and heaviest daily catch (30-00 by Quentin Cappo) are all well within reach. Do not expect all three records to survive.
Who are the pre-tournament favorites? There are lots, but you have to start with Patrick Walters. Not only is he a local with a lifetime of experience on Marion and Moultrie, but he’s the defending NPFL champ here. Drew Cook won an Elite Series tournament on Santee in March of 2022, and Todd Goade finished second at the 2023 NPFL stop here. A dozen other names could join them on the short list.
We’ll have all the answers after the last fish hits the scales next Saturday.
