Patrick Walters claimed his fourth National Professional Fishing League victory on Friday at Pickwick Lake in Alabama as his 24-pound final-day stringer gave him a 70-02 total for three days.
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 20-3 on Day 1 and added 25-15 on Day 2, 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 slammed the door on the final day.
“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 1, I caught three of my fish there, two more on Day 2, and (on Day 3) 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 the first 2 days, the South Carolina pro focused on big fish only on the final day and put together a solid bag quickly, taking some pressure off and allowing him to settle in and head-hunt.
“I had some piles and hard spots saved and basically was trying to get on a good rotation. 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 4- and 5-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 Walters had already done enough to win.
“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 (on Day 3). I did my job and knew that they would have needed to catch them to beat me. It was a great week; I'm looking forward to heading up north and putting some largemouth rods away for a while.”
Day-1 leader Drew Cook finished 2nd with 66-02, followed by Isaac Peavyhouse (63-12) and John Soukup (61-8). Kyle Welcher rounded out the Top 5 with 61-3.
