Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
If you read yesterday’s “A Closer Look,” you know that 10 anglers entered the Chompers/NPFL Stop #5 on Lake of the Ozarks presented by Bait-Wrx having weighed in a limit every day of the season.
Yesterday — on Day 1 — half of them came up short.
Barron Adams and Brock Bila managed four 15-inch keepers each. Louis Fernandes had three. Hunter Sales caught two. And Wes Logan caught just one keeper. That’s five top pros fishing hard all day to catch just 14 keeper largemouths.
It leaves just Jason Meninger, Jesse Millsaps, Isaac Peavyhouse, Joseph Webster, and Kyle Welcher with a shot to become the first anglers in the history of the National Professional Fishing League history to limit every day for an entire season.
It’s quite an accomplishment … even in the days of forward-facing sonar.
Will all five make it unscathed through three days on LOZ? As good as they are, you should probably bet against it. The fishing is just too tough, and five is a very big number this week.
With his limit catch here on Day 1, Jesse Millsaps continues the longest limit streak in NPFL history — 23 competition days … and counting. Not only has he limited every day this year, but his streak goes back to May of 2022. Millsaps sat out the 2023 NPFL season.
Thinning the AOY Herd
Although he kept his season-long limit streak alive, the news wasn’t all good for Kyle Welcher. He gutted out a limit of LOZ bass, but he sits in 31st place — not good enough to hold onto his slim lead in the Progressive Angler of the Year race.
Drew Cook came into this tournament just six points behind Welcher in the quest to win the gold AOY trophy. After the first day, he’s in 11th place, picking up enough points to pass Welcher in the AOY standings … for now.
Four of the anglers in the top 10 coming into this event, have fallen out of the top 10 after Day 1 at LOZ.
And you thought the college football rankings were volatile!
LOZ is fishing so tough, and keepers are so hard to come by that we should expect big shakeups each day. Come back to the site each round for daily updates!
For now — after Day 1 and before the Day 2 weigh-in — here’s what the unofficial AOY leaderboard looks like. Don’t blink! These standings won’t last long.
# Angler Points
1. Drew Cook 1205
2. Kyle Welcher 1191
3. Joseph Webster 1168
4. Isaac Peavyhouse 1166
5. Trent Palmer 1151
6. Gary Adkins 1137
7. Brock Bila 1136
8. J Todd Tucker 1133
9. Jesse Millsaps1133
10. John Cox 1132
Is AOY shaping up to be a two-angler race? Maybe. But with two more days at Lake of the Ozarks and three on South Carolina’s Lake Murray, there’s still plenty of time for the leaders to fall back and for someone to come roaring out of the pack. Fewer than 40 points separates the top four anglers, and fewer than 100 points separates the top 19.
Stay tuned.
