Oklahoma pro stays consistent all three days to claim his first NPFL victory at Stop One.
Story by Justin Brouillard | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
It came down to the wire on the Harris Chain, where consistency proved to be the difference-maker. Changing weather, long runs to Lake Apopka, and a last-minute adjustment after losing access to his starting area all played a role — but in the end, Oklahoma angler Zack Birge made the right moves at the right time to earn his first NPFL victory.
Birge started strong on Day One, boating 22-6 to kick things off in third place. He moved into the lead on Day Two with 21-14 and was the only angler to eclipse 20 pounds on both of the first two days. On the final day, fending off a charging Todd Auten, Birge added 17-14 to secure the win, besting the veteran by a mere 5 ounces.
Making a charge on the final day, Todd Auten was not going down without a fight. His best bags of the week came on Day One and Showdown Saturday. He started the event in second place with 25-3, dropped slightly on Day Two with 12-3, and then surged with the biggest bag of the tournament on the final day — 24-7 — ultimately finishing in second place, just short of the NPFL victory in his first event.
In third place, Derek Lehtonen was perhaps the most consistent angler all week, but lacked a true giant bass across his three days. Still, his 51-0 total moved him up on the final day, earning a solid payday and valuable points toward the 2027 Work Sharp NPFL Championship.
While many predicted a double-digit bass in this event, it was a 9-0 kicker caught by Greg Vinson on Day One that earned Big Bass honors. A slower Day Three dropped him to 25th overall, but Vinson still walked away with a solid check for his efforts.
Birge Adjusts for the Win
Wrapping up his second tour-level victory of the season, Zack Birge is on a tear in 2026. Birge took the win at the MLF BPT event earlier this month and is now a first time NPFL Champion. Fishing both leagues the last couple of seasons has been tough, and missing practice and tournament days caused him to miss the 2026 Epic Baits Championship by just a few points. Now, he’s a lock for the 2027 Championship by way of his win, and he kicks off the NPFL season leading the Work Sharp Angler of the Year race.
“It sure feels great,” Birge said. “I’m sure tomorrow, making the drive home, it’ll set in more, but I’m tired. This was a long week, and today was super stressful. Right off this morning things got tough, having to change my day around, and I felt like I was stuck in Apopka for a little while.”
Luckily, Birge had a Plan B. When his flipping bite only produced one small keeper, it was time to make a big decision — abandon ship early and head back toward Harris, or figure something out in Apopka to get the day back on track and kill some time.
Viewers on Live were watching the struggle while simultaneously watching Todd Auten boat three big fish in a short window. Birge kept his cool and made a decision.
“I was planning on fishing another little canal in Apopka, but I couldn’t really get in there,” he said. “I was stressing big time. I was idling around the mouth of the lake and there were boats everywhere, but I noticed this one canal and it just looked good. There were no boats in there so I started fishing up through and got a bite pretty quickly.”
That bite gave him confidence that there were fish around. With a swim jig in hand, he got back in the game with a 6-pounder, giving him two fish on the day. Soon after, a 4-pounder gave him his third bass of the day.
“Those two fish were huge. I was able to fill a small limit for about 15 pounds, but I knew I needed a few more fish to have a chance,” Birge said. “I caught a lot of fish on the chatterbait the first two days, but today the wind wasn’t blowing — it was hot and sunny. The swim jig just felt right. Every fish I caught was tight to cover and the grass mats. I was getting bit along the edges or reeling it over the top and killing it.”
On the way out of the canal, Birge caught one more bass, culling out a smaller fish. His plan was to lock back around 2:45, giving him time to fish a couple spots on the way. He is glad he saved time to do just that.
“I was spun out this morning. Really, I was just trying to find something to kill time. I didn’t want to head back after making that run, so I settled in and made something happen,” he added. “From there, I got back to Dora and fished a spot I have history with. Knowing things were going to be tight, I knew I needed to catch a couple more fish.”
On his second cast, he added 3 ounces to his total — the difference in the win. On Day Two, Birge culled with a big fish back in Harris before check-in. Both last-minute fish proved critical in holding off the field.
“It all worked out, but man, it was a close one,” he said. “I caught all my fish on either the chatterbait or the swim jig. I threw both today, but the swim jig just felt right. I had confidence in what I was doing, and to overcome the start this morning is a huge relief.”
Auten Comes Up Just Short
Auten has been hit or miss in Florida in the past, but his last visit to Leesburg came during an Elite Series event a few years back. While the timing was different and the pattern he used for a top-30 finish revolved more around a shad spawn, it still clued him into key areas that produced most of his big fish this week.
“You know, I had no clue the potential of those areas until Day One,” he said. “I caught some nice fish in practice but never really fished anything that hard. I think I caught one good fish in practice on that canal and a couple in the lake, but those lake fish never really panned out.”
A bladed jig is one of Auten’s favorite ways to fish, and he executed nearly flawlessly. Despite a slower Day Two, he surged on the final day to finish second, just ounces shy of the win.
“I love fishing a chatterbait and a spinnerbait, and I have a lot of confidence in both,” he said. “To me, that bladed jig got more bites, as it seemed the fish were high up in the water column. I rigged a Zoom Z Craw Jr. on the back, and while I tried several different colors, the best was a white/chartreuse jig with a white trailer.”
Auten credited his bait placement for the quality fish he caught. Making tough casts under docks and around posts and crossbars can be a recipe for disaster, but he lost very few fish all week, even on Day Two.
“I never lost a fish on Day Two — it just wasn’t happening for me at all,” he said. “I think maybe the west wind blowing in there helped on days one and three, but day two it was just an off day. It is what it is. The other key for me today was my timing. On Day Two, I figured I’d start in the canal and it didn’t work out, but today I started elsewhere and came in later.”
As soon as he made that move, things came together. Starting in the lake this morning, he returned to his canal and started getting bites right away before hitting a magical flurry — boating a 7-, 6-, and 5-pounder, all while on Live coverage.
“I still had one 2-pound fish in my bag,” he said. “I also broke one off that would have been several pounds, but overall it was a really great week and a good way to start the season. I was tickled to catch four big ones today. I just kept things simple this week, and it almost worked out. I’m looking forward to Wright Patman.”
Lehtonen Moves to Third
Derek Lehtonen was slow and steady all week, bringing in three straight bags over 16 pounds — 17-7 on Day One, 16-6 on Day Two, and 17-3 on Day Three — for a three-day total of 51-0, moving him up to third place and wrapping up a solid week.
Top Ten:
Zack Birge 62-2
Todd Auten 61-13
Derek Lehtonen 51-0
Jason Williamson 50-13
Jacob Powroznik 50-5
Randall Tharp 49-13
Brock Mosley 46-10
Chad Grigsby 46-4
Kyle Glasgow 46-3
KJ Queen 45-14