Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Just about every tournament has something that fans can look forward to with anticipation. For the Strike King NPFL Stop One at Santee Cooper, it’s big bass, big bags and big three-day weights. Some of the most compelling and noteworthy marks in the NPFL record book are in jeopardy here this week.
The most obvious might be the heaviest daily catch—if for no other reason than that the record was set right here two years ago. On Day 2 of that tournament, Quentin Cappo came in with five bass that weighed exactly 30 pounds.
That was in May—post-spawn—when the bass are not typically at their heaviest. This time around, the League is here in March—pre-spawn—when most of the female bass are likely full of roe and 5 to 10% heavier than they’ll be in another month or two. It portends good things if you’re hoping to see big bags.
Will Cappo’s 30-pound mark fall? Every competitor I’ve spoken to this week says it’s going the way of the Dodo. There’s even a consensus that 30 pounds won’t be a top five mark after this week. I hope they’re right if only because big bags are exciting, they shake up the leaderboard, and a volatile tournament leaderboard is an interesting tournament leaderboard.
If the single-day weight record falls, there’s an excellent chance that the three-day record goes with it. The current mark is 71 pounds, 8 ounces, and it belongs to Brandon Perkins who set the record last year at Lake Amistad in the inaugural NPFL Championship. Two years ago—the last time the NPFL was at Santee Cooper—Patrick Walters won with 67-12, in May.
It seems likely that the three-day record is eclipsed, but perhaps not obliterated. Keep in mind that a 75-pound winning weight over three days is equivalent to the century mark over four days. If we see 75 pounds this week, it’s a big accomplishment.
Then there’s the NPFL big bass record of 10 pounds, 9 ounces. That mark was set by Jesse Wise on Day 3 of the 2024 Championship on Lake Amistad. Of course, that’s a very big fish, and a lot of anglers are predicting that we’ll see a double-digit largemouth or two—maybe more—this week, but fish big enough to beat that mark are infrequent in competition. Tournament anglers are mostly targeting bass that weigh between three and six pounds … unless there are a lot of big bass on beds in clear, shallow water, making sight fishing possible. Since most of the fish here are not spawning yet, Wise’s record isn’t safe, but it may be safer than Cappo’s daily catch record or Perkins’s three day record.
The biggest bass taken the last time the NPFL was at Santee Cooper weighed 8-01 and was taken by Brad Staley on Day 1.
Stay tuned. Big bass should be on display this week at Santee Cooper. It was right here in 1949 that the state record was taken. That fish weighed 16-02!
