Rickey Morris finishes strong on final day to claim victory at the Strike King NPFL Stop Two on Millwood Lake

After two steady days to start the event, Rickey Morris saved his best for last, capitalizing on a key early window to claim the win at the Strike King NPFL Stop Two on Millwood Lake. His three-day total of 48-pounds was enough to best second place by a pound and earn his first NPFL shield.

Morris opened the event with 13-14 on a slower Day One and followed it up with 14-4 on Day Two, steadily learning more about his areas. On Championship Saturday, everything came together. He got going early and never looked back, making the jump from around 16th place after Day Two to seal the victory.

After a slow Day One for big fish, NPFL anglers saw what lives in Millwood on Day Two. Big Bass honors went to Jared Lintner with a 9-0 kicker. Behind him, Hank Cherry weighed in an 8-2 giant as well.

Morris Makes His Move

Despite only coming to Millwood once before this event, Rickey Morris knew he had to learn the lake before he could really start fishing. So that’s what he did, running boat lanes, checking creeks, and figuring out how to navigate for the week. Then came fishing.

“When I finally dropped the motor on Day One of practice, the first thing I wanted to find was a shad spawn, and I looked for it all over,” said Morris. “I had found a few places on the main lake, but heard there had been some activity up the river, so I explored there too.”

With the shad spawn dialed, he knew he needed more. Despite not getting a bite flipping all week, he locked a punch rod in his hand and went to work on Tuesday, the final day of practice.

“I found an area and flipped in a few times and my line swam off,” he said. “But I never set the hook. Later that day, I figured I might want to know what the quality was, so I went back. Five flips later, I caught a 9.92. That was it — I got off the water and called it practice.”

After two consistent days, Morris again knew he needed more. By 9 a.m. this morning, his shad spawn bite had died, but not before he caught a 17.5-pound limit, a solid way to kick off Showdown Saturday. Still not satisfied, he knew a few key bites would make the difference.

“I was flipping this afternoon and I knew something was up,” he added. “The NPFL asked for my location, and then a camera boat showed up. I knew then I might have a shot to win. I was fishing pencil reeds and came to a rounded clump. I culled up with one fish slightly, but it clued me in.”

By the end of the day, Morris had fished every rounded clump he could find and worked his way to an almost 20-pound limit. He flipped junebug in practice but switched to white on Day Three, which made all the difference.

“I can’t even describe it, really,” he said. “I made good decisions and things worked out this week. Even better, my family, my girls; they all got to be here with me. Everyone behind the scenes, it was truly an amazing week.”

Lintner Punches His Way to Second

While Day One was not what Lintner was hoping for, his event actually started even worse. Coming into practice on Sunday, an illness kept him sidelined, giving him only about a day and a half to explore Millwood. While not ideal to have limited time on a new body of water, he made the most of it.

“I had done some research like everyone else using Google and such, and I also used the Deep Dive App,” he said. “I basically prepped for a shallow spring event, but I didn’t prepare for being sick. I finally got on the lake late Monday morning and basically just rode the whole lake and learned how to navigate.”

When he did start fishing, a few key bites on a buzzbait clued him into a pattern. Seeing both shallow and deeper vegetation, he expanded to a punching bite, eventually using both to earn a second-place finish.

“I think overall I caught four fish on the buzzbait and 11 on the punch rig,” he said. “That’s exactly how I like to fish. After a slower Day One, where I was still figuring things out, I decided to mix it up. I started on a big fish spot, caught a good one, and eventually landed the 9-0 on a buzzbait.”

That fish earned him Big Bass honors for the week and anchored his comeback. Once he got into a groove, he was able to generate bites consistently.

“Today, I couldn’t get them to bite the buzzbait at all, so I went straight to punching and got going early,” he added. “I noticed where they were set up and remembered similar-looking areas from practice — the first quarter mile leading into the sloughs. I narrowed it down, and if it had the right depth and grass, I could get bites.”

While his slow start in practice and on Day One hurt his chances at the win, Lintner is taking the positives, leaving Texarkana with solid points, a strong finish and a second-place paycheck.

“You always want more practice, but sometimes too much can make you overlook what’s right in front of you,” he said. “Being sick made it tough, and I probably would have figured things out sooner, but it is what it is. It was a grind, but it worked out.”

Top Ten:

Rickey Morris 48-0
Jared Lintner 47-0
Brock Mosley 46-12
Shane Lineberger 45-2
Matt Herren 44-15
Barron Adams 43-12
Ryan Satterfield 43-5
Ray Hanselman 43-1
Keith Bardolf 42-11
Greg Hackney 41-7