Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Day One of the Epic Baits 2026 NPFL Championship begins this morning on Lewis-Smith Lake in Cullman, Alabama, with takeoff at Smith Park Boat Launch at 6:00 a.m. CST. Running February 26–28, the entire field will compete each day on beautiful Smith Lake, with weigh-ins beginning at 3:15 p.m. CST at Smith Lake Park or online at TNFPL.com. Live coverage with Luke Dunkin and FatCat begins this morning from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. CST.
The 42-angler field, representing 13 states, consists of the best pros from the 2025 NPFL season, including the top Angler of the Year finishers and single-season event winners. This marks the third-ever Championship event in NPFL history, and the Epic Baits 2026 Championship is expected to live up to the hype. Twenty-three anglers are making their Championship debut, while 13 others are fishing their second Championship. Only six anglers competing this week have fished all three events.
Coming into, warm spring weather made it look like the spawn might take place during competition. A brief cool spell ahead of the event may have slowed things slightly, but the fish are still biting. Smith Lake holds strong populations of both spotted bass and largemouth, with multiple patterns in play for both species. When the dust settles on Showdown Saturday, we’ll see which species — or mix of both — prevails.
Anglers Take
Brandon Perkins is one of the six anglers who have fished all three Championships. He took the win in the inaugural event on Lake Amistad in 2024 and is built for the nothing-to-lose, winner-take-all style format. While Perkins is not fishing the full NPFL season in 2026, that doesn’t mean this is his final event. A win this week would automatically qualify him for next year’s Championship.
“I had only been here a couple times and only a handful of days similar to this,” Perkins said. “However, I knew what I was hoping to do coming in, and throughout practice, I was able to fish how I wanted.”
With 42 anglers, Smith’s roughly 21,000 acres may seem expansive, but Perkins believes it could fish small. According to him, much of the field has dialed in on similar areas.
“I was a bit shocked actually,” he said. “There were a lot more guys around than I thought, and a lot of the community-style stuff, rightfully so, has been covered up. I think it’s going to fish small, and there are a lot of guys bunching up. It may be tighter weight-wise than I expected.”
While Perkins struggled to replicate bites across the lake, Alabama pro Kyle Welcher says the challenge isn’t finding bites — it’s finding the right size.
“Smith is still Smith, you know,” Welcher chuckled. “It’s not ever really that good and I think this weather may have hurt things across the board. It’s been hard to catch keepers. That’s been the hardest part for me, and it’s a little surprising.”
For Perkins, the pattern isn’t necessarily too specific. He believes some anglers may be catching them more consistently in different ways, but for the Tennessee pro, being around the right stretches has made bites easier to come by.
“It’s easy to catch eight pounds, but 10 to 12 is very tough,” he added. “I’m hoping for a mixed bag of spots and largemouth, but things have been more specific for me than I like. I know I’m going to have to adjust. With different flights on Days One and Two, I’ll need to figure out how to catch them better outside of my key bite windows. We’ll see.”
Whether it’s his final NPFL event for the near future or a Championship win punches his ticket back for next year, Perkins is embracing the moment.
“I’m all amped up; I love these Championships,” he said. “I can put it all out there and fish for big ones. Coming in, I just wanted a shot to win after practice. I just want to be there on the final day with a chance — that’s all you can ask for.”
As for Welcher, a tougher practice means a different approach on Day One — something he’s comfortable with.
“I’m going to fish all new water on Day One,” Welcher said. “Practice was not great, and I am going to keep practicing until I figure some things out. It was tougher for me this week. The lake was cleaner than I expected, and temperature-wise, it was pretty consistent around the lake.”
Weather Watch
Rain kicks off Day One this morning on Lewis-Smith Lake, with temperatures hovering around 60°F at takeoff. Showers are expected to continue throughout the day — heavy at times — with highs reaching the mid-60s by weigh-in this afternoon. Winds will be steady out of the SSW at less than 10 mph.
How to Watch
Tune in daily to watch the action from Smith Lake and the beautiful City of Cullman. Check out the daily LIVE Leaderboard, LIVE Blog, and on-the-water photo galleries and blogs of the anglers for the NPFL Championship.
Catch the LIVE Coverage with Luke Dunkin and FatCat at TNPFL.com will run all three days, starting today @ 8:00AM CST through Saturday.
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!
