Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
When one plan doesn’t work, just switch it up—that’s exactly what Day One leader Jason Burroughs did at the 2025 NPFL Championship on Lake Hartwell, hosted by Visit Anderson and Anderson County. His 17‑12 limit reflects that decision, and his history on Hartwell gave him the confidence to scratch practice and fish elsewhere.
Already qualified for next year’s Championship and with nothing to lose, 2024 winner Tennessee angler Brandon Perkins went all in. His commitment to the largemouth bite paid off, giving him 16‑14 on the day and putting him in second place.
Hartwell isn’t unfamiliar territory for Trent Palmer, who has earned a lot of money in the state of South Carolina. The Georgia pro anchored his 12th-place limit of 14‑4 with the event’s biggest bass so far, a 5‑10 lunker.
Burroughs Adjusts Strategy
Coming into the event, Jason Burroughs committed to one thing and one thing only. Focusing on suspended fish, he dedicated his practice period to locating as many areas as he could to try and stay consistent across three days.
Around noon on Day One, with only a few small fish in his well, he knew it was time to make a move, so he pulled the plug and switched things up. He quickly landed on fish.
“I knew coming in the offshore deal was going to give me the best chance, and I’m comfortable enough on this lake to make a change if needed,” he said. “I gambled—opting to switch things up and move shallower, but not necessarily shallow, if that makes sense.”
Taking a calculated approach, he fished familiar areas where he knew the pressure would be lighter on the fish and made the move to get away from other anglers.
“I really took a chance because I had not practiced anything else this week,” he said. “I haven’t pre-practiced or practiced anything new this week, and all the spots I fished were old, but the fish were there.”
Pretty quickly, he culled four times, replacing several smaller fish he caught offshore, fishing dropshots and flukes for fish feeding. He built a solid limit, enough to grab the day-one lead by almost a pound – now facing key decisions for day two.
“I caught a couple big ones right away, but even beyond that I caught a couple more nice fish,” he said. “Tomorrow is going to be tough. Do I go back offshore, which I suspect will turn on eventually, or stick with what I did this afternoon? That’s the question. I’m going to try to replicate it, obviously, and will have to run a lot of new water. I’ll see how things go before I fully decide.”
Perkins Goes Green
Fishing for largemouth on Hartwell suits Brandon Perkins. It’s the spotted bass that are the difference-makers, and despite some effort in practice, it wasn’t something he was willing to focus on too heavily on day one.
“I feel like I know how to fish for largemouth here, so in practice, I kind of focused on spotted bass,” he said. “I caught some good ones on day one of practice, but it did not hold up for the other two days. My goal was to catch 14 pounds of spots, and then go head hunting, but that changed.”
Committing to largemouth, he did weigh in two spotted bass fishing how he was fishing and culled later in the afternoon—about 15 minutes before check-in—with a big spotted bass. His pattern involves fishing a lot of specific targets and covering lots of water.
“I am having to move around a lot, and I know what I need to fish when I come across it,” he said. “The hard part is getting them to bite. Some of the fish are individuals, and some are small groups. I do not have many folks around me, but I did see two competitors today, which doesn’t help. At this point, I think I am committed.”
With “decent weather” for day two and the need to stay consistent, Perkins is likely to stick to his pattern rather than running around looking for spotted bass on brush. His areas are so vast, and the bites are random, leaving little time for alternatives.
“It is a lot of water; I could fish it for 30 days and never fish it all,” he laughed. “I have no idea why some spots don’t produce and some do – I just need to come across one here and there. I am fishing my style and not burning a lot of boat gas—more trolling motor. I am excited for tomorrow.”
In third place, Oklahoma angler Zack Birge weighed in 15‑9, with Georgia pros Will Harkins and Drew Cook, as well as Florida pro Jason Meninger tied for fourth with 15‑8. North Carolina pro Scott Hamrick rounds out the top ten with 14‑10.
Top Ten:
Jason Burroughs 17‑12
Brandon Perkins 16‑14
Zack Birge 15‑9
Will Harkins 15‑8
Drew Cook 15‑8
Jason Meninger 15‑8
Mike Quinlin 15‑3
Joey Bloom 15‑1
Joseph Webster 14‑13
Scott Hamrick 14‑10
Kyle Welcher 14‑10
