With a three-day total of 45 pounds, 13 ounces, Texas pro Nick Brown earned his first National Professional Fishing League victory Saturday at Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri. Brown kicked things off with 11-11 on Day 1, followed by the event's biggest bag on Day 2 – 21-8, anchored by a 6-5 kicker.
After a slow Day 1, Brown returned to an area he had high hopes for, and on Day 2 the magic happened. His big day pushed him into the lead and gave him the confidence to stick with his plan on the final day.
“That flat looked so good in practice and it was loaded with stumps and laydowns, with a gravelly/silty bottom," Brown said. "The fish were moving into it during the event, but in practice and on Day 1, it was a dead zone.”
On the final day, he settled in and waited for the sun to come out and the breeze to pick up. Just as the fish started to bite, the locals moved in and confined his area to five to seven targets, making it hard to fish effectively and move around.
“There were 30 or so pieces of brush in there, and at one point, there were people everywhere,” he said. “I had those two fish this morning and decided to leave it alone and try something else for a while. It was funny; that big fish I caught early came on a log I had fished hard. I made four casts with a buzzbait and a few casts with a jig, and on my first cast with that glide bait, she ate it – getting wrapped around limbs and all over the place. It was wild.”
Returning to his area at 2 p.m. paid off. As he fished around, targeting some of the isolated timber, he made his way to a couple of nice-looking pieces of wood he had yet to get a bite from.
“Pretty quickly, I caught my third keeper, a 3-pounder, and right after that, I lost one over 6 that hit my buzzbait and rolled it – I thought I had blown it. I fished around in a big loop and came back to the same tree. My very next flip in there with a little structure jig, and I caught my last keeper, giving me four.”
Despite the ups and downs of the event and not having a limit on the first and final day, he was thrilled to turn his season around and automatically qualify for the NPFL Championship.
“It feels great,” he concluded. “I had to make a Top 12 at the final two events to even come close to qualifying for the championship, and now I do not have to worry. I am also the first NPFL angler to win from a Bass Cat, which is awesome, as those guys support the league. I started running a Suzuki this year too; it’s a great combo. What a great week.”
Alabama angler Joseph Webster finished second with a three-day total of 45-8. Consistent throughout, he posted 14 pounds on Day 1, followed by 16-2 on Day 2. On the final day, his four-fish bag weighed 15-6, including a 5-pound kicker, falling just 5 ounces short of the win.
Coming into the event, Webster had a solid game plan. With a tough bite and less-than-ideal conditions, he was confident that his area would provide the opportunity to catch five fish each day and put him in contention for the win.
“Everything I caught in practice was a decent fish. I only got a few bites, but that was enough,” he said. “I rotated between a plopper, a Berkley Choppo, and a jig. On Day1, I hooked and landed six; on Day2, the same thing; and (Saturday) I hooked five and landed four and that last lost fish, with 20 minutes left, cost me.”
With the presence of big gizzard shad in his three-mile stretch of water, the larger fish were holding on the shallow cover – docks, bluffs, rocks, points, etc. – which prompted him to upsize his baits.
“I threw a big Choppo and a big jig because I think the little ones wouldn’t want to touch it,” he added. “It was simple: when it was cloudy, I threw white, and when the sun came out, I swapped to black.”
Webster excels under tough conditions, and the mindset of knowing he may only get five bites doesn’t bother him. Knowing that he had found the fish to win and secure a spot in the NPFL Championship on Lake Hartwell, he went to work.
“I like playing the mind game; I can fight through the slow points,” he concluded. “The hard part was that you never knew where the bites were going to come from. They were on so much different stuff, and I fished my whole area and everything in between. The area was good enough; it held up for me .. almost.”
Trent Palmer caught the biggest bass of the day, a 6-15, earning him the Power Pole Big Fish award.
Here's a look at the final Top 10:
1. Nick Brown: 45-13
2. Joseph Webster: 45-8
3. Drew Cook: 45-1
4. Brock Bila: 38-15
5. John Cox: 36-8
6. John Soukup: 36-8
7. Christian Nash: 36-6
8. Zack Birge: 35-11
9. Isaac Peavyhouse: 34-3
10. Brandon Perkins: 33-15
