The South Carolina pro proves once again that he’s the man to beat come derby day.
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Patrick Walters‘ goal for championship Friday was to burn it all to the ground. With 24 pounds even on the final day and a 4-pound margin of victory, that is exactly what he did.
Early in the event, Walters realized he had located a school of bass on one of the biggest community holes on the lake, and to his surprise, he was the only angler in the area.
He caught 20 pounds, 3 ounces on day one to start strong and added 25 pounds, 15 ounces on day two, rotating between the community hole and a few other spots. With nothing left to save fish for, he had free range of his Tennessee River ledges and added 24 pounds on the final day, slamming the door shut on his fourth NPFL victory.
“I think the biggest key to this week was the lack of pressure in my areas, and capitalizing on the community holes that had nobody else fishing it,” he said. “On day one, I caught three of my fish there, two more on day two, and today I caught two fish there. It really allowed me to supplement my bags with my other areas. I truly have no idea why nobody else found those fish.”
Despite fishing for an early limit on days one and two, the South Carolina pro focused on big fish only today, and was fortunate to get together a solid bag quickly, taking some pressure off and allowing him to settle in and headhunt.
“I had some piles and hard spots saved and basically was trying to get on a good rotation today. I moved to some of those areas and the wind had baitfish moved in and I focused on big fish, and ended up getting two of them – a four and five-pounder.”
Then, as the afternoon progressed, and the current started to move, so did the wind. It blew against the current and made things tough, but the deed was already done by that point, and Walters knew he had done his job on the final day.
“I knew if I could catch one more big fish it would have been game over,” he concluded. “To catch big ones out here, the conditions need to be right, and they were not for us today. I did my job and knew that they would have needed to catch them to beat me. It was a great week; I am looking forward to heading up north and putting some largemouth rods away for a while.”
Drew Cook
Georgia pro Drew Cook started strong, taking the lead on day one with 22 pounds, 13 ounces. He followed up with 21 pounds, 10 ounces on day two, and added 21 pounds, 11 ounces today, bringing his total weight to 66 pounds, 2 ounces. Cook finished the tournament in second place.
While the majority of the field opted for the ledge bite, Cook found out quickly in practice he was looking at the wrong waypoints, and turned his attention shallow.
“My spot was super shallow, and it was hard to graph,” he said. “It is a spot they are not supposed to be on now. I started fishing deeper in practice and did not like what I saw.”
The Georgia pro moved towards the bank and quickly found signs that he was fishing the wrong depth.
“I graphed some shallow stumps and they had bass. I started running my April/May waypoints and found two key areas that played throughout the tournament. They both were less than 5 feet of water and are typically places they go to after spawning – most of my fish had bloody tails.”
On day one, he sacked up a quick 18-pounds on one bar before moving to the second. In short order, he culled his entire bag and brought 22 pounds, 13 ounces to the scales and took the early lead. On day two he was able to catch over 20 pounds fairly quickly but laid off his area soon after.
“I thought it was going to be a tougher day for everyone and I stopped fishing,” he added. “That was a mistake and cost me the opportunity to make this closer at the end. Today, after I had caught a bunch, the fish scattered off and never got set back up due to pressure from other anglers. It was a great week regardless.”
Isaac Peavyhouse
Isaac Peavyhouse finished in third place with a total weight of 63 pounds, 12 ounces. On day one, he brought in 22 pounds, 7 ounces, including a 6-pound, 7-ounce kicker. He added 23 pounds, 2 ounces on day two, and 18 pounds, 3 ounces today. When his area dried up, he knew he had to make a change and opted to run new water to salvage the day.
“Everything I had was pressured and the fish got super smart. I scrapped it and fished new water, stuff I never even practiced,” he said. “I made the right adjustments this week and I am happy with it. If you told me after practice I would end up in third, I probably would have taken it. I would get a bite and leave, so I never knew what I had until the event started.”
Peavyhouse rotated between two key baits – a drop shot – and a damiki rig, with the majority of fish coming on the latter.
John Soukup
John Soukup finished in fourth place with a total weight of 61 pounds, 8 ounces. He started with 18 pounds, 13 ounces on day one, followed by 18 pounds, 12 ounces on day two, and recorded his biggest bag of the week today with 23 pounds, 15 ounces.
Kyle Welcher
Alabama pro Kyle Welcher ended the tournament in fifth place with a total weight of 61 pounds, 3 ounces. He kicked off with 18 pounds, 2 ounces on day one, followed by an impressive 22 pounds, 12 ounces on day two, and concluded with 20 pounds, 5 ounces today.
Corey Casey earns the Power Pole Big Bass award for his 9-pound, 10-ounce largemouth. Matt Looney earned $5,000 for being the highest placing Bass Cat Boat Owner.
Rest of the Best
Corey Casey 61-1
Trent Palmer 58-10
Bailey Gay 58-2
Hunter Sales 57-10
John Branch 57-10
