Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
In two weeks, we will be at Lake Hartwell in Anderson, South Carolina for the NPFL Championship. This event will showcase the 42 anglers that qualified from the 2024 tournament season. I finished 15th in AOY last year and am excited to be participating.
This event is the week after our last stop of the 2025 season at Logan Martin Lake in Oxford, Alabama. We’ll have the day off Sunday to travel, and official practice will begin on Monday, September 29 through October 1. We will have an off day on October 2, which will include a Champions dinner that will be lots of fun and the event kicks off on October 3 through October 5.
Official takeoff and weigh in will be at the historic Green Pond Landing and Event Center, and I encourage anyone in the area to come out and enjoy the festivities. They have an amazing facility, and it’s a great place for families. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends as I have fished a lot of events there over the years.
The fishing will probably be challenging as well. Fall transition will be in full effect and I would imagine you can catch them in a foot of water or 30 feet of water. Hartwell is known for having lots of cane pile fish attractors, so I’ll be using my Lowrance units to find those types of places. We’re allowed to use forward-facing sonar in the 2025 Championship because the field qualified under 2024 rules. As a result, I’m sure there will be a lot of minnow shaking going on! I will definitely be using my Active Target 2 to target those offshore bass.
There can also be a shallow largemouth bite this time of year. I have seen it work several times and I have also seen that pattern be good one day and gone the next. The angler who wins will have to figure out several ways to catch bass and make good decisions—zigging and zagging at the right times.
Some baits that should play are topwaters, fluke style baits, drop shots, swimbaits, underspins, and—of course—the shaky head.
There will probably be some lake turnover going on, too, which can lead to really tough fishing. As the water mixes and the temperature drops, it can get cloudy. In some places you’ll see foam on the water. It has been my experience that those areas can be challenging, but if you get bit there, it can be a big one. I experienced several areas like this at our last event of the 2023 season at Lanier and was able to finish third. I’m sure I’ll be utilizing some of those tricks at Hartwell.
I want to personally thank all the fans that have supported the NPFL the last few years. I hope to see you at Green Pond Landing that week. I know Luke Dunkin and Fat Cat Newton will provide amazing coverage, and I hope to be in the mix for the win. Either way, someone is going to win a lot of money and take home the NPFL Championship shield!
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
