Big day moves South Carolina pro Patrick Walters to the lead.
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
After Day One in Alabama at the Epic Baits 2026 NPFL Championship, much of the field may have written South Carolina angler Patrick Walters off. His modest 9-11 on Day One had him around seven pounds back of the leaders, but Day Two was a different story. Walters boated nearly three bass over five pounds and weighed the biggest bag of the event so far with 22-9 – climbing him into the lead with 32-4 total.
Day One co-leader Corey Casey backed up his opening round with a slightly slower Day Two, but he did enough to remain near the top. His two-day total of 29-10 has him in second place behind Walters.
North Carolina pro Hank Cherry got off to a solid start on Day One, boating 13-12 to slide into the top ten. After an even better Day Two, Cherry’s 15-11 moved him into third place with a total weight of 29-7. Kyle Welcher has likely been the most consistent angler in the field, boating 15-6 on Day One and 14-0 today to sit in fourth with 29-6.
The big bass were plentiful today on Smith Lake, with several quality fish hitting the scales. Both Walters and Cherry landed five-pound bites. Day One co-leader Caleb Kuphall added a 5-3 on Day Two, and the biggest bass of the week so far still belongs to JT Russell with a 5-5 kicker.
Walters Welcomes the Sun
After the practice period earlier this week, Patrick Walters liked what he saw heading into Day One. But rain and cloud cover put the kabosh on the bite he believed was possible on Smith Lake. He fished a mix of offshore and shallow patterns — as viewers saw on Live Coverage — but nothing ever really got going. Day Two, however, was a different story.
“I saw the potential to catch them good, but knew Day One was going to be tough,” he said after weighing in the biggest bag of the tournament. “Today things just lined up. The rain last night helped, the sun was the biggest key, and out here you just need to get the right bites and land them — and I did that today.”
Walters claims he didn’t reinvent the wheel — he was simply “in the right place at the right time,” and the bigger largemouth showed up. On Live Coverage yesterday, Walters rotated through a little bit of everything, picking apart shoreline cover and structure, fishing docks, and sliding offshore when he felt he was around the right areas.
“The key is very small — you have to find them, and then know where to cast,” he added. “If you move too fast or aren’t clued in, you can fish right by them. I’m fishing around a lot of anglers and was still able to get some bites fishing behind several guys. We’ll see how things go out there tomorrow.”
Casey Staying Consistent
While his weight dipped slightly on Day Two, Corey Casey still felt good about where he stands overall on Smith Lake. The weather shift changed things, but the South Carolina angler continued to generate a solid number of bites, building another limit of quality, average-sized bass and mixing in a bigger fish.
“I felt like the cleaner water was not hurting me too bad, but the rain definitely got things a bit muddier,” he said. “However, I was able to catch some fish from those waterfalls in the right places, and I caught a decent number of fish today as well, so I don’t really know.”
Casey stuck with the same overall program, fishing a healthy mix of new water each day and focusing on the right-looking targets — primarily laydowns in key locations. He is rotating through a couple of different baits, mostly a spinnerbait, while mixing in a big swimbait or a chatterbait when the situation calls for it.
“I have not dialed in or learned much more today, but it’s reassuring to keep getting bites and mixing in a bigger fish,” he said. “Tomorrow is a new day. I feel like I am around the right areas of the lake, and obviously there are some bigger fish there. Maybe I will get more of those bigger bites. I like where I’m at.”
Top Ten Anglers:
Patrick Walters 32-4
Corey Casey 29-10
Hank Cherry 29-7
Kyle Welcher 29-6
Jason Williamson 28-9
Derek Lehtonen 28-4
John Cox 27-8
Barron Adams 27-1
Jason Meninger 27-0
David Williams 26-13