The story behind the buoys that became the talk of the Harris Chain
Story by Ken Duke | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Leesburg, Florida—On the third and final day of the National Professional Fishing League’s 2026 season, a string of floating buoys briefly took center stage and might have impacted the result of the tournament.
Zack Birge had a commanding 5-pound lead after two days and was looking to close the door on his competition and earn a $100,000 payday. Unfortunately for the Oklahoma pro, when he arrived at his key area, he found it blocked by a buoy line that had not been there during official practice or on the first two days of competition.
Birge had no idea whether the buoys were lawfully placed or improperly placed, and in an effort to avoid the appearance of impropriety, he elected to fish elsewhere.
That’s when NPFL President Brad Fuller began contacting local authorities including county law enforcement, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and the St. Johns River Water Management District (WMD).
“We needed to determine whether the buoys were lawfully placed and whether Zack’s fishing in the area was permitted,” Fuller said. “He made a significant part of his catch there, and we needed clarity.”
Fuller learned that the buoys were put into place by the WMD, but had been removed by unknown persons sometime before Friday, March 13. That was at least two days before official practice for the tournament and before Birge would have been on the water.
According to local authorities, the buoy line was removed by local persons and Birge could not have known of its existence prior to the final round of the tournament on Saturday, March 21st.
“Zack is a true sportsman,” Fuller added, “and he did nothing wrong. He did not know he was fishing in a prohibited area, but we also could not allow him to go in there once we realized it was off limits. Fortunately for Zack, he was able to win the tournament without fishing what had been his key area.”
In addition to being cleared by local authorities, Birge successfully passed an independent polygraph test administered to all NPFL tournament winners at the conclusion of the event.
The NPFL’s next event will be on Wright Patman Lake out of Texarkana, Texas, April 23–25. By virtue of his win on the Harris Chain of Lakes, Birge has qualified for the 2027 NPFL Championship and earned a $100,000 payday.
