Story by Brad Fuller | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
The first event of the 2025 NPFL season at Santee Cooper is in the books. We shattered previous NPFL numbers across the board, proved the competitive fire of our anglers, and showcased what makes this league special. But if you think I’m satisfied, think again.
I hear the comments. I see the critiques. Some are fair, some are just people doing their best troll impression from mom’s basement—and that’s okay, too. But here’s the truth: no one—no one—has higher expectations for this league than I do. No critic will ever push us harder than we push ourselves.
We expected better from our livestream. We demanded better. After countless hours of testing, refinement, and preparation, it still didn’t meet our standard. That’s unacceptable. And we haven’t slept a wink since Santee. We know where we fell short, and we’re not here to make excuses.
The live stream wasn’t good enough…period. You expect more, and so do we. We’re already back at work, attacking the problems, identifying the weaknesses, and making damn sure that when we roll into Lake Norman in a few weeks, we are delivering something our anglers, sponsors, and fans can be proud of.
This is a process. Growth doesn’t happen without struggle. But when you’re willing to take the risk, to push forward despite setbacks, that’s when real change happens.
The Guts to Try
If you want to understand what drives me, look no further than one of the most pivotal moments in modern military history—Operation Eagle Claw.
In 1980, a daring mission was launched to rescue American hostages in Iran. It ended in disaster—aircraft lost, lives lost, and the world watching as the mission fell apart in the desert. It was, by every measure, a failure. But that failure sparked something bigger. It led to an intense self-examination within the U.S. military. The result? A complete overhaul of how special operations forces functioned, culminating in the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986—a reform that created USSOCOM, the modern framework for elite joint-force operations that has become the backbone of American military dominance.
Why does this matter? Because failure, when used correctly, leads to evolution. That operation was the painful birth of something greater. Those men laid the foundation for a system that changed the landscape forever.
And before the British forces departed the region after the mission collapsed, they left behind a simple, handwritten message for the Americans:
“Thanks for having the guts to try.”
That mindset resonates with me because it’s exactly what we are doing here at the NPFL. The easy road is to keep things the way they’ve always been. To play it safe. To avoid risks. But that’s not who we are. We are building something new, something different, something that could reshape the professional fishing world. And like anything worth doing, it won’t be without setbacks.
The NPFL is in that same phase—the foundation-building phase. We’re not just running tournaments. We’re engineering the future of professional bass fishing. The setbacks? They aren’t stopping points. They’re fuel for what’s coming next.
We Owe It to Those Who Believe in Us
There are plenty of companies that claim to have high expectations. Plenty of people who talk about what they want to achieve. But there’s a difference between saying you have high standards and actually doing what it takes to reach them.
We don’t just talk about it. We take the shot.
We owe it to the sponsors who invest in us. We owe it to the fans who tune in, who travel, who engage with every cast and every weigh-in. And most of all, we owe it to the anglers who trust the NPFL with their careers.
Lake Norman is right around the corner. We’ve heard you. We’ve heard ourselves. And we will be better.
We’re working around the clock to make the NPFL better every single day. If you’re here for the ride, buckle up, because we’re not slowing down. The mission continues, and we’re just getting started.
Because good enough? It’s never good enough.
