Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
From the rocky flats of the St. Lawrence to the Coosa River system, the NPFL heads south for stop six, the final regular season event of 2025.
The NPFL heads south for its sixth and final regular season event of 2025 at Logan Martin Lake, hosted by the City of Oxford, AL. Stop Six runs September 25–27, with takeoff at 6:30 a.m. CST each day from Lincoln’s Landing, 740 Travis Dr, Lincoln, AL 35096, and weigh-ins at 3:00 p.m. CST with live streaming. Live coverage will be available on the GO Live & NPFL YouTube channels from 9:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. CST on Friday and Saturday.
Part of the Coosa River system, Logan Martin Lake spans roughly 17,000 acres with over 310 miles of shoreline. Managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the lake features scenic stretches, rocky flats, and pockets of structure that hold bass throughout the fall. The lake is known for variable fishing patterns—requiring anglers to adapt daily. Creek channels, current breaks, points, submerged brush, and riprap areas all play important roles in fall fishing strategies.
Thomas Shelton, a former NPFL pro who lives just 30 minutes from the lake, shared his thoughts on the current conditions and agreed that junk fishing will dominate much of the tournament.
“As far as the fishing is concerned, the ‘junk fishing king,’ Gerald Swindle, said it best; there are going to be a lot of fish caught next week, it’s just a matter of finding the size,” Shelton said. “Water temperatures are around 80 degrees now, but the days are getting shorter, and it should be high 70s and around 80 during the event.”
Shelton says fish will be caught on the bank and off the bank, but with the NPFL anglers not able to use forward-facing sonar, offshore fishing will be a bit trickier. Still, a mix of power and finesse techniques will play offshore, and common baits like crankbaits, topwaters, buzzbaits, and skipping/swim jigs will all play shallow. The field is going to catch fish, but the top anglers will need to catch three-pounders—and it will be tough to do without water moving.
“Some guys will run into an area that has 2.75 to 3.25 pound spotted bass, and if one of the days they can catch a big fish, that seems like a recipe for winning to me,” he added. “By the time they turn on the one Turbin, and get water flowing, it is late afternoon. The fish will get set up and chew—but it’s beyond the tournament hours. So, the guys will have to figure out how to catch fish while the water isn’t moving.”
With lots of fish to be caught, much of the field could bring in a five-fish limit each day. In fact, Shelton expects only a handful not to have limits, with so much in play, anglers can “run anything and catch fish.”
“With the brush piles, which usually is what the locals fish and dominate with, it can be very hard coming in and not knowing which ones are magic,” he said. “If you idled the whole practice period, unless you find a magical pile, it’s not easy. You could only fish brush in this event, but there are still 3,000 other brush piles out there, so it will be difficult to find the ones holding fish.”
For those opting away from the brush, the bank will produce. The anglers who have been successful junk fishing, who know the lake a little, and who are at their best fishing a variety of locations, will succeed. Anglers with history on the lake—Scott Canterbury, Matt Herren, and of course Gerald Swindle.
“Don’t forget about Drew Cook. He busted a big bag last year here and that builds confidence on this place. With three days of practice next week for the NPFL, you can bet he will get them good as well,” added Shelton. “Otherwise, it’s hard to say. If I was fishing, I’d probably fish the lower river, side scan and look for schools of fish I could dropshot or crank, or look for brush on deeper points. I’d find places for the morning I could hopefully catch a big one on a topwater—seawalls and riprap things. Once I got a decent limit, I would fish docks with a big jig and hope for another big bite. You really have to mix it up.”
Logan Martin is not a pattern lake. It forces you to fish differently, and things will change each day. Like other TVA lakes, it is very rare to find the same results on consecutive days. Shelton also says that you need to find the bigger baitfish to locate bigger fish.
“If I see small shad, you can bet there will be some smaller fish around. But if you find the big gizzard shad, you will probably find bigger spotted bass,” he said. “Another example of how this event could shake out is based on a recent 50-boat tournament. It was a Georgia event, but the guys know this place a little. It took 13.5 pounds for a team event to win, and 12 pounds got last check. I think it is possible, however, that someone in this field will average 13.5 and have one big bite one of the days for a win.”
The event is hosted and supported by the City of Oxford, but the typical NPFL trailered weigh-in would put unnecessary stress on the fish. With water temperatures remaining in the 80s and fish care as the utmost concern, the City of Oxford is putting the fishery first, and the weigh-in will take place at Lincoln’s Landing. The NPFL will support the city through outreach and appearances during the event.
“A big shout out to the folks in Oxford, AL for stepping in and supporting this event on Logan Martin, but also recognizing the fact that the normal trailered weigh-in would simply cause more harm on the fish and anglers,” Shelton said. “So, thank you for the city supporting financially and putting the fishery first.”
How to Watch
Tune in daily from to watch the action from the Logan Martin – watch the LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers fishing each day in Alabama.
Catch the LIVE Coverage with Luke Dunkin and FatCat at TNPFL.com on days two and three.
Under the Go Live Tab, choose LIVE Broadcast or check out the real-time leaderboard on the Fishing Chaos Catch Track with estimated weights entered by the anglers on the water and join us for the LIVE Weigh-ins, here!
And be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, & X.
