WILKESVILLE, Ohio—The National Professional Fishing League has scheduled its 2027 Championship and five of its six regular season tournament events for 2027. Anglers who wish to be part of the 2027 field must complete their application by midnight on Friday, November 13.

“Creating a tournament schedule is a challenging task,” saidNPFL President Brad Fuller. “Ultimately, our goal is to put our anglers on quality fisheries in outstanding communities and to produce compelling and competitive events for our fans. We’re confident that this schedule does that, and we’re excited about the upcoming season.”

The NPFL 2027 season includes six regular season events, the fourth annual NPFL Championship, three astronomical seasons, and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. Four of the venues are established NPFL favorites, two are new to the League, and one venue has yet to be finalized.

Championship: Lake Mitchell, Alabama

Competition Dates: March 4-6

Host: City of Clanton

Forty-two anglers qualified for this event based on their performances in 2026, including the top 40 anglers in the Work Sharp Angler of the Year standings and the winners of each of the regular season stops. They will compete on 5,850-acre Lake Mitchell, generally regarded as one of the best bass lakes in Alabama though never before visited by any of the top tournament trails. Largemouth and spotted bass will be the targets in this fourth annual test of the best.

Stop 1: Lewis Smith Lake, Alabama

Competition Dates: March 24-26

Host: Visit Cullman

Smith Lake was the site of the 2026 NPFL Championship won by Patrick Walters. The 2027 event comes a month later, a month warmer, and perhaps a month better. The Championship was a cliffhanger. Every day produced new challenges and momentum shifts. Stop 1 in 2027 could be the same, but the fish will likely be more plentiful and  bigger as waters warm and the spawn approaches on the 21,000-acre impoundment.

Stop 2: Norfork Lake, Arkansas

Competition Dates: April 15-17

Host: Mountain Home Advertising and Promotion

The three most targeted black bass species are the largemouth, the smallmouth, and the spotted bass. Arkansas’s Norfork Lake has them all, and they’ll all be “players” at Stop 2. What better way to challenge the field? This will be the League’s first visit to the 22,000-acre reservoir.

Stop 3: Lake Murray, South Carolina

Competition Dates: May 12-14

Host: Lake Murray Country

Stop 3 of the 2027 season marks the League’s return to “the Jewel of South Carolina.” Lake Murray covers 48,000 acres and it was the location of the 2024 season finale. That was in December. Next year’s competition will be in May, when the blueback herring are active and big largemouth bass show themselves with splashy, explosive topwater strikes. It should take better than 20 pounds per day to win.

Stop 4: To Be Determined

Competition Dates: June 10-12

The specific location and host will be announced soon.

Stop 5: St. Lawrence River

Competition Dates: September 16-18

Host: City of Massena

In 2025, the NPFL’s stop at the St. Lawrence River out of Massena, New York rewrote the League record book, establishing new top marks for total weight, heaviest average bass, and heaviest average daily catch. In 2026, the NPFL anglers did it again! Those two tournaments were in July. Next year’s event on the world’s greatest smallmouth fishery will be in September. Conditions and fishing patterns will be different, but the bass will still be big and plentiful. For the third year in a row, the St. Lawrence seems a likely candidate to produce the heaviest catches of the year.

Stop 6: Neely Henry Lake, Alabama

Competition Dates: October 21-23

Host: City of Gadsden

The season will end, the Angler of the Year title will be awarded, and the field for the 2028 NPFL Championship will be determined at 11,200-acre Neely Henry Lake in Alabama, where spots and largemouths abound. Fall fishing in the Deep South can be tough, but nothing worth winning should be easy. All the season’s questions will be answered here.

“In 2027, NPFL anglers will prove themselves on some of the best, some of the most diverse, and some of the most challenging bass fisheries in the country,” said Fuller. “That’s what the best tournament anglers want, what our fans want, and what our sponsors and partners deserve and expect. To participate, all anglers who want to join the League and test their skills against the very best in an environment of integrity, fairness, and quality of character must fill out our online application by midnight on November 13.”

About the National Professional Fishing League

The National Professional Fishing League (NPFL) was founded to bring competitive fishing to a broader audience and offer anglers a platform to compete at the highest level. The NPFL is committed to fostering integrity, competition, and innovation in the sport, providing anglers and fans alike with an exciting and unique experience.

Media Contact: Ken Duke — (407) 574-1898 or [email protected].