Story by Hunter Baughman | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
I hope you’ve used my tips from the last two columns to catch more fish. This week I’ll take a break from tips to give you an update on life.
As I mentioned a while back, we are expecting another little girl in late February or early March. This will be a scheduled C-section delivery and as funny as it sounds, we are waiting on the 2026 NPFL schedule to be released before scheduling the due date. That’s tournament fishing dedication, right?!
Andrea has been a trooper. We are still fishing some Sunday afternoon tournaments on the Arkansas River. This past Sunday was our last one and we finished up the season with a win. The only real change to our fishing since finding out she was pregnant has been taking it much easier when hitting waves while running the boat. She has actually caught our biggest fish multiple times this summer and her fishing skills improve every trip. We’ve got a full day championship for the Sunday series in October, then our fishing will be over for the foreseeable future. With a newborn next year, she won’t be able to fish any series. Moving forward, we need to find someone crazy enough to watch all three kids while we fish!
My river tournaments have nearly come to an end. I will fish a championship this Thursday before we leave for Logan Martin and another on the day we leave. Then all that’s left on the river is the Sunday Series championship. Other than that, there are a couple of lake tournaments left, and my season is over. It’s always bittersweet as the season winds down, but it’s also a nice break for a few months while I hunt.
Speaking of hunting, this is that weird time of year I’ve talked about. Fishing is still going strong but hunting season preparations are in full swing too. It’s been busy jumping between the two plus being home with the family.
As of now, I’m fully focused on the NPFL finale at Logan Martin next week. I’m really looking forward to this event. When I was there last month, I noticed several comparable characteristics between it and the Arkansas River. Hopefully this will be a good event.
Check in next week as I give a mid-practice update from the lake!
