Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
There’s a lot riding on the 2025 season finale on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama. For starters, there are 40-plus berths in the 2026 NPFL Championship. Then there’s the Progressive Angler of the Year race—a battle that comes down to three anglers: Kyle Welcher, Patrick Walters, and Greg Hackney. And, of course, there’s the individual tournament itself—a test of the best on Logan Martin’s 15,263 surface acres under challenging conditions.
But we covered all that yesterday. Today we dig a little deeper and look a little closer at some of the stories that may seem smaller, but which can be just as interesting.
Let’s start with one of the biggest stars of the NPFL: Drew Cook. Not only did the Georgia pro win the last NPFL event on the St. Lawrence River, but he has a streak of 30 consecutive limit catches coming into Logan Martin. That’s already the NPFL record, and no one else is close. Expect him to add three more limit catches this week and to stretch his record to 33.
The last time Cook failed to limit in an NPFL tournament was right here at Logan Martin on Day 1 of the 2024 season. That day he brought “just” four bass to the scales. Since then, he’s been perfect.
Limits galore!
Speaking of consecutive limits, 15 anglers have limited every competition day of 2025, including, of course, Drew Cook. No one has ever limited every day for a full season in NPFL history, but it will happen for a lot of anglers in 2025. Here are the pros who are in contention to do it:
Joey Bloom
Scott Canterbury
Jason Christie
Brandon Cobb
Drew Cook
Greg Hackney
Matt Herren
Shane LeHew
Derek Lehtonen
K.J. Queen
Kevin Rogers
Scott Suggs
Gerald Swindle
Patrick Walters
Kyle Welcher
If the reports from official practice are accurate, limits should be plentiful on Logan Martin this week, and all 15 of those pros should be able to finish the season with limits every day, but one or two could slip.
Are all these limits a statement about the talent level of the NPFL … or the quality of the fisheries on the schedule this year … or the weather under which the tournaments were held?
All of the above.
It’s not just talent. The NPFL has always had talent. In fact, almost half the anglers on that list have fished the League before this year.
The fisheries have been pretty strong, too. Santee Cooper and the St. Lawrence River turned out solid numbers and big bass. Norman and Douglas broke records for numbers of fish. Even Eufaula—under flood conditions—showed out with good numbers and a notable lunker or two.
Weather? Well, only one day has been canceled all year—at Eufaula—and that was due to safety conditions that cleared up quickly. Once the pros got out on the high, muddy water, they figured things out.
In the money
Kyle Welcher has 11 consecutive top 20 finishes. That’s an NPFL record he’ll likely continue here in his home state. He also has 11 consecutive in-the-money finishes, which ties him with Todd Goade for the NPFL record. Expect him to be all alone with 12 in a row after Logan Martin.
Five anglers have finished in-the-money at every event this season: Brandon Cobb, Greg Hackney, Gerald Swindle, Patrick Walters, and Kyle Welcher. They’re all a good bet to keep the streak alive.
Thirteen anglers finished in the money in every event of previous seasons. Seven did it in 2021. One each in 2022 and 2023, and four did it last year, including Welcher. Welcher stands to become the first NPFL pro to do it more than once.
Do not bet against him. In 11 previous events, Welcher has never finished out of the money or lower than 18th.
STOP 6 – LOGAN MARTIN | EVENT DETAILS
