Alabama pro Alex Davis earns his first NPFL win at Lay Lake with a three-day total weight of 51-10.

While things were changing across Lay Lake, the one thing that did not change at the Work Sharp NPFL Stop 3 was Alabama angler Alex Davis’ game plan. He started strong, stayed consistent, and caught fish early and often all three days to seal the deal.

Davis weighed 19-5 on Day One to take a share of the lead, added 18-5 on Day Two to move into the solo lead, and caught 14-0 early on the final day to build a comfortable cushion heading into the afternoon. While things got tougher across the fishery with increased boat traffic and fishing pressure, Davis had done enough to earn the NPFL shield and $100,000 with a three-day total of 51-10.

No stranger to NPFL victories, South Carolina angler Patrick Walters came close to earning another. Walters started strong on Day One with 19-4, including a 5-3 kicker, added 16-7 on Day Two, and weighed 15-1 on the final day to finish second with a three-day total of 50-12.

South Carolina angler Kristopher Queen finished third with a three-day total of 49-5 after weighing 15-2 on Day One, 17-8 on Day Two, and 16-11 on the final day. Georgia pro Drew Cook finished fourth with a total weight of 49-1, while fellow South Carolina angler Wesley Gore rounded out the top five with 47-8.

Big Bass of the event belonged to Ryan Satterfield, who finished just outside the top ten in 12th place with a three-day total of 42-4, anchored by a 7-10 kicker caught on the opening day of competition.

“I found those fish in practice after shaking off two fish, and I saw a big one boil,” said Satterfield. “I had no idea the quality of fish I was around, but I probably caught 30 fish in that little area this week. Every fish I weighed came within 40 yards of that big fish. I caught it on a wacky Senko around shallow grass, and it really kicked off my event.”

Davis Employs the Urchin

Earning his first major victory on an urchin-style bait was not on Alex Davis’ bingo card coming into the event. But after a day of practice and a few key bites, it quickly became a pattern that gave him the confidence to dedicate time to throughout practice.

“I would have never guessed my first big win would be on an urchin bait, but here we are,” Davis said. “I had no idea coming in that I would even throw one, and honestly, I only had six of them to my name. On the first day of practice, I fished for four hours and only had a few small fish. Luke Clausen told me he got a few bites on one (Hags baits), and I gave it a try. We ended up overnighting more of those baits to the house before the tournament.”

Over the rest of Day One, Davis boated roughly 21 pounds worth of Lay Lake bass. On Day Two of practice, he committed to it all day, and while the bite was slower, he was still able to catch numbers of fish while covering water and finding fish. On the final day of practice, he started learning which areas would be best. He boated over 20 bass and also found a jerkbait bite that gave him some added confidence.

“I actually started on the jerkbait bite the first day of the event and caught a few small fish,” he said. “I got sick of it and started throwing the urchin, and within the first few hours I had my Day One limit. I was simply going down the bank, keeping my eyes on Humminbird MEGA 360, fishing every dock, brush pile, stump, or patch of grass I could find. I knew after Day One I had a shot.”

On Day Two, during Live Coverage, his first fish was a 5-pounder that immediately got things rolling. Before lunch, he had over 18 pounds and did enough to take over the solo lead. But it was a decision on Day Two that ultimately set the stage for his victory on the final day.

“At one point I was catching so many fish yesterday that were not helping me, I was throwing back 3-pounders and realized I cannot do this,” he said. “Conserving fish was key. Having a bunch of different places was key. MEGA 360 was key. I just fished slow and methodical, and I knew it was my time going into this morning. I just put my head down and fished.”

On the final day, before Live Coverage had even kicked off, Davis got to work. He boated over 13 pounds early, calming himself down and giving him confidence that he could close it out. Later in the morning, a 2.75-pound cull brought him to his eventual winning weight and was enough to hold off the late charge from Patrick Walters.

“When I came in for weigh-in, I talked to Derek (second place to start the day) and he said he struggled. I talked to Patrick and he showed me his scale, and I thought I may have had it,” Davis said. “This is something I have worked my whole career for. I have been close and finished second several times, and this time was my time. I knew it was my time, and I made it happen. It was a great week.”

Walters Climbs to Second

Practice started well for Patrick Walters, and he turned it into a near victory. In practice, he checked some deeper places and got bit quickly, mostly on a prototype Rapala jerkbait. He then went to the bank, trying to see where the bass were and what they were doing.

“I was looking for any sign of life; brim beds, spawners, shad spawn, just gauging where things were,” he said. “I had enough deeper stuff from the Elite three years ago, so I knew I could run around. We had Scope back then, so I knew how things set up and what the piles looked like. This time, I had to use Humminbird MEGA 360 to be as efficient as possible.”

With a plan in place, Walters sacked them up on Day One, starting the event in third place, and realized he may have a better shot than expected coming in. Each day, he mixed it up, as he generally does, throwing a variety of different baits both shallow and offshore.

“I rotated through a topwater, a new Rapala jerkbait, a Zoom Fluke Stick, and just went down the bank covering water and looking for fish,” Walters said. “The hardest thing when I got offshore was being efficient. It takes so long to fish the brush, but there were fish out there. MEGA 360 helped some; it was three or four casts rather than ten. It also helped me dial in the exact cast.”

On Day Two, he remained in third place with a shot on the final day. Each morning, he started shallow looking for a shad spawn, which turned out to be a huge letdown. Knowing he was one bite away, he may have spent just a little too much time shallow today chasing the big bite rather than trying to make a few culls offshore.

“This event was in my wheelhouse, and I made good decisions all week,” he said. “I shook two off in practice and caught them on Day One, things just worked out. Today, the sun peeked out some and I had a feeling I was one bite away. I went looking for a 5-pounder, and I probably should have tried to cull up offshore.”

To begin Showdown Saturday, he had a fast morning and built what he called a good baseline weight. Wrapping up the week in second, Walters added valuable AOY points and once again did what he does best — make things happen.

Final Leaderboard:

Alex Davis 51-10
Patrick Walters 50-12
Kristopher Queen 49-5
Drew Cook 49-1
Wesley Gore 47-8
Brandon Cobb 46-1
Derek Lehtonen 45-12
Richard Cooper 45-5
John Cox (FL) 44-9
Jason Burroughs 44-2
Darrell Davis 43-9
Ryan Satterfield 42-4
Jon Canada 41-14
Tim Cales 41-5
Luke Clausen 40-13
Jordan Osborne 40-6
Buddy Gross 39-10
Gerald Spohrer 39-1
Jacob Powroznik 39-0
Hank Cherry 38-15
Zack Birge 38-12
Matt Herren 38-7
Kyle Glasgow 37-11
Garrett Smith 37-11
Brock Mosley 37-6
Greg Vinson 37-5
Harmon Davis 36-10
Paul Browning 36-10
Bill Lowen 36-8
Nick Brown 35-15
James Niggemeyer 35-15
Randall Tharp 35-14
Fred Roumbanis 35-9
Greg Hackney 35-8
Josh Butler 35-7
Gary Adkins 35-4
JT Russell 34-14
Jared Lintner 34-13
Chad Grigsby 34-10
Andrew Upshaw 34-3
Scott Hamrick 34-0
Chad Marler 33-15
Wes Logan 33-8
Brad Whatley 33-7
J. Todd Tucker 33-4
Scott Suggs 33-2
Corey Casey 32-4
Stacey James 32-3
Timothy Reams 32-3
Todd Goade 31-14
Chris Baker 31-13
David Wootton 31-7
Lavoyd Lemmond 31-6
Barron Adams 30-15
Jason Meninger 30-13
Ron Johnson 30-4
Ray Hanselman 30-3
Dustin Williamson 30-2
Joey Bloom 30-2
Mike Quinlin 29-15
Andy Morgan 29-13
Pete Ponds 29-12
William Fletcher 29-10
Shane Lineberger 29-5
James Watson 29-3
Quentin Cappo 28-15
Jason Wilson 28-13
Jamie Pierce 28-11
Jason Reyes 28-10
Keith Bardolf 28-8
Logan Latuso 28-6
Russ Lane 28-4
Scott Canterbury 28-2
Gerald Swindle 27-15
Bo Collins 27-15
Hunter Sales 27-11
Todd Auten 27-2
David Williams 27-1
Brad Staley 26-15
Dustin Reneau 26-15
Jason Williamson 26-4
Michael Comeau 25-10
Charlie Apperson 25-7
Troy Roder 25-6
Bob Behrle 25-1
Dylan Freeze 24-14
Cole Harris 24-4
Josh Hooks 24-2
Adam Savage 23-15
Timothy Wilson 23-1
John Cox (GA) 22-12
Lendell Martin 22-12
Kevin Rogers 21-14
Matthew McBee 20-15
Cliff Crochet 20-8
Josh Watkins 20-5
T-Roy Broussard 20-2
Tim Frederick 19-6
Hunter Baughman 17-13
Scott Wiley 17-12
Craig Chambers 17-9
Joseph Lineberry 17-1
Sean Alvarez 16-13
Chip Harrington 16-13
Travis Jewell 15-3
Darrel Robertson 11-11
Alton Wilhoit 11-7
Bill Day 10-11
Johnnie Adams 9-6
Mitchell Webb 9-5
Christopher Whisenant 8-10
Austin Garland 3-4