Local angler Ryan Satterfield caught 18 pounds, 9 ounces on the final day to take his first career National Professional Fishing League victory on his home body of water, Wright Patman Lake in Texas, with a three-day total of 50-04. Focusing on bass up the river, he started off the event with 16-02 and followed it up with 15-09 on Day 2.
After a tough practice, Satterfield stuck to his guns on the first two days, patiently waiting for the bigger fish to arrive. On the final day, he discovered that the bigger females were pushing back in to spawn and he capitalized with his biggest bag of the week.
“The water came up faster in the river than it did the lake,” said Satterfield. “That higher water allowed me to capitalize on the bigger fish moving back in to spawn.”
Growing up on Wright Patman, Satterfield knows the lake and knew coming in he wanted to get away from the crowd. Throughout practice, he got enough bites on a frog to make it an easy decision to fish how he is most comfortable.
“I had two stretches of bank and I was focusing on the root systems of certain types of bushes,” he added. “I was afraid it would be off, but there was enough bass to keep me in it. On the final day, I really thought I would get up there and catch a limit of males, but to my surprise, the females moved in and it was a fun day; frog-fishing is my favorite way to catch them, and I kept my mind right and went to work.”
Satterfield fished his popping frog on a Brad’s Custom Rods 7’3” extra-heavy rod with a Shimano reel spooled with a 60-pound braid. For a follow-up for fish that missed the bait, he would flip a Texas-rigged Strike King Rage Bug in black/blue color and a 1/4-ounce Jig Shack flipping weight.
Barron Adams actually caught more weight than Satterfield, but disqualified from the event for failure to produce a valid fishing license for the State of Texas.
“It makes me sick for him,” said Satterfield. “Barron had a great week out here; I don’t wish what happened to anybody. We all work so hard out here.”
Following is the NPFL's statement on Adams' disqualification:
The National Professional Fishing League (NPFL) announces that Wright Patman winning angler Barron Adams has had his weight over three days deemed ineligible for the tournament due to failure to produce a valid fishing license for the State of Texas.
“During the post-tournament verification process, it was discovered that Barron Adams had competed in the event without a valid fishing license,” said Brad Fuller of the NPFL. “In reference to NPFL Official Rules section 3 (referenced below), this resulted in his disqualification for the event.”
3. PAYBACK & PARTICIPATION – Payback is based on the full field of up to 130 anglers. Participation is open only to members of THE NATIONAL PFL. Any person’s participation in any tournament is at the sole discretion of THE NATIONAL PFL officials. All pros must have a valid fishing license for the waters they fish. Failure to provide proof of a valid fishing license within a reasonable amount of time when requested by the tournament director will result in disqualification for that day and any preceding days in which the license was required for the tournament.
“The League is confident that this was an inadvertent and unintentional rules violation on Barron’s behalf, and this is in no way a reflection of his integrity as an angler,” added Fuller. “Barron is a great person and a phenomenal angler, and we are proud to have him as a competitor in the National Professional Fishing League.”
