Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
If you watched the Epic Baits 2026 NPFL Championship, you know there was a lot of drama. It was a “nail-biter” that “came down the wire” on the most legendary spotted bass fishery on the planet — Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama.
You saw 41 of the greatest bass anglers in the world scattered across 21,200 acres of water chasing spots and largemouths for three days using a wide variety of baits and tactics on a lake that produced five consecutive world record spotted bass in the 1960s and 1970s and that continues to provide the genetics of every world record since.
But did you know …
(1) At the end of Day 1, Corey Casey and Caleb Kuphall were tied for the lead with 16-01. It was the first time since 2022 at Lake Hartwell that there was a Day 1 for first place. Casey ended the tournament in 11th after a tough Day 3. Kuphall finished 26th after failing to bring in a limit on either of the last two days.
(2) Patrick Walters ended Day 1 in 29th place, was in first place by the end of Day 2 and held on to win. It’s the biggest comeback in NPFL history. The previous record was held by Nick Brown, who was 18th after Day 1 at Lake of the Ozarks in 2024 but still got the “W.”
(3) On Day 2, Walters weighed in an astounding 22-09 — by far the biggest bag of the tournament. Second biggest was by Jesse Wise on Day 3 with 17-00. That’s the biggest gap between top two bags since 2023 at Santee Cooper when Quentin Cappo’s 30-00 bested the next heaviest catch by 6-04.
(4) Walters became the first angler to win a League event and have a competition day in which he weighed in less than 10 pounds. He had 9-11 on Day 1. The previous record low daily weight by a winner was 10-01 by Scott Canterbury at Logan Martin Lake in 2025.
(5) Despite the fact that Walters has fished all three NPFL Championships, has limited every day and never finished worse than fourth (he was third in 2024 and fourth in 2025), Brandon Perkins (the 2024 champ) still has the record for most weight in Championship history with 145-00. Walters is second with 142-04.
(6) It’s the first time in NPFL history that the reigning Angler of the Year has won the Championship. Walters edged Kyle Welcher to win AOY by just one point in the closest AOY race in professional bass fishing history. By winning AOY and the League Championship in the same season, Walters joins Mark Davis, Edwin Evers, and Kevin VanDam as the only anglers to do it at the highest level.
(7) Walters is the youngest Championship winner in NPFL history at 31 years, 5 months and 29 days. Perkins was 42 when he won in 2024 and Scott Hamrick was 61 when he won in 2025.
(8) 44-11 is the lowest winning weight in NPFL Championship history, eclipsing last year’s mark of 45-12.
(9) Walters became the first angler in NPFL history to win five events. He was already the only angler to have won four. His Championship win gave him every trophy the League has to offer — a regular season win (red, white and blue shield), AOY (gold shield) and Championship (platinum shield). Only Gary Adkins, Keith Carson, and Brandon Perkins have two of the three. Adkins and Carson lack Championship wins; Perkins lacks AOY.
(10) Of the seven Alabamans in the field, all except runner-up Kyle Welcher struggled. Of course, that’s no disgrace. In a tournament without points to be accumulated, anglers are incentivized to “go for broke” and take chances in hopes of earning the lone six-figure payday. In the end, Gerald Swindle was 15th, Scott Canterbury was 18th, J.T. Russell was 19th, Matt Herren was 35th, Wes Logan was 37th and Kyle Glasgow was 40th.
(11) With his first-place payday, Patrick Walters not only stays atop the NPFL’s all-time money list, but he’s now nearly $250,000 ahead of second place. And while earnings are a poor way for a fan to assess angler performance, the fact that Walters has more wins than any other angler in NPFL history and is the only angler to have all three shields, he temporarily ended any debate about who is the GOAT (greatest of all-time) of the League.
