Story by Hunter Sales | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
With the announcement of the field each year, I always enjoy learning who I will be lining up against each morning. I always enjoy competing against the best guys in the sport and certainly feel that the NPFL has become that during my time with the league. I also really enjoy competing against my friends, so while they won’t be the focus of this article, K.J. Queen, J.T. Russell, Jamie Pierce, and Todd Goade are all going to be on my “hit list” this season!
The guys that I’m talking about here are legends of the sport and one young angler who has been extremely seasoned through the college ranks.
Growing up in East Tennessee, two guys that I grew up paying attention to were David Walker and Andy Morgan. East Tennessee breeds junk fishermen that are good at getting bites, and these two made a career doing just that. In the spring of 2020 while COVID had the world shut down, I was fishing weekday tournaments with then-Elite Series pro Skylar Hamilton. David Walker teamed up with David Mullins and hurt a lot of feelings that spring. I’m excited for the opportunity to redeem myself!
Andy Morgan has long been regarded in our region as one of most instinctual anglers to play the game. In recent years, his success has faded, but I look for him to have a standout year under the NPFL format. It will be fun to go toe-to-toe with someone that I spent my childhood watching.
I couldn’t write this article without mentioning Rick Clunn. I have fished against Rick many times over the years and interacted with him at various events. Rick is not only one of the legends of the sport and a wealth of bass fishing knowledge, but he’s also a fun person to be around and will be great for the NPFL culture. I respect Rick for still competing at this level as an 80-year-old at the end of next season. After long days on the water, I find myself exhausted and can’t imagine competing at this level in 50 years. We should all have some great Rick Clunn stories to look back on at the end of this chapter.
The last angler that I’ll mention in this article is young—Garrett Smith. Garrett is still in his early 20s, but he’s got a pair of Bassmaster College Championships to his name. One of these happened to be a tie-breaker win over my own Carson-Newman Eagles duo of Andrew Turner and James Sumrell. I owe Garrett a little payback for the heartbreak of that day. In all seriousness, Garrett is a great young angler and I’m happy to see him fighting the notion that all young anglers would struggle without LiveScope. He’s one that will put his time in and have success at the next level.
I will always cheer for the guys that bet on themselves in this sport.
We’ve got a star-studded field for 2026, and I couldn’t be more excited to get things underway. I’m still dealing with trying to finalize a boat deal and line up a few sponsorships, but it will be here before we know it. Competition makes us all better and there will be no shortage of attention on the NPFL this season. My goal is the same as always, catch the heaviest five bass limit that I can each day.
Hunter Sales – Angler Profile
