Another day at Stop Four of the NPFL on Logan Martin Lake, another tight leaderboard. Consistency has been hard to come by this week, and finding better-than-average bites has been even tougher. Corey Casey has done both, and it was enough to move the South Carolina pro into the Day Two lead with a two-day total of 29 pounds, 8 ounces.
Casey got off to a strong start on Day One, weighing 14 pounds, 9 ounces to put himself safely inside the top 10. On Friday, he backed it up with another solid limit weighing 14 pounds, 15 ounces. As Logan Martin continued to fish tougher, Casey's consistency proved enough to slide into the overnight lead heading into Championship Saturday.
Moving from eighth into second by just 1 ounce, Louisiana pro Greg Hackney also put together two impressive days. After weighing 14 pounds, 10 ounces on Day One, Hackney followed it up with 14 pounds, 13 ounces on Friday to stay consistent and put himself in prime position to challenge for the win on the final day.
Cobb Moves to the Top of the AOY Race
With three anglers separated by just 1 point entering Logan Martin, the 2026 Work Sharp NPFL Angler of the Year race was always going to be one of the biggest storylines of Stop Four. Zack Birge, KJ Queen, and Brandon Cobb have all put together stellar seasons, and through two days, the battle has lived up to the hype.
After two days of competition, Cobb has been the most consistent of the three. His two-day total of 28 pounds, 6 ounces has him sitting inside the top 10 and unofficially atop the AOY standings heading into Championship Saturday. With only one day remaining, Cobb has put himself in position to gain valuable points on the rest of the field.
Not far behind, North Carolina's KJ Queen sits in 14th place with 26 pounds, 13 ounces. Queen has continued his consistent season and remains well within striking distance of both the tournament lead and the AOY race.
Birge, meanwhile, sits in 34th place with 24 pounds, 11 ounces through two days. While he has yet to connect with the quality bites needed to climb the leaderboard, the Oklahoma pro is never out of contention. One strong bag on Championship Saturday could erase much of the gap between himself, Cobb, and Queen, making the AOY race one to watch until the final fish hits the scales.
Casey Cashes in on Late Practice Adjustment
Over three days of practice, Logan Martin was a bit of a head-scratcher for South Carolina pro Corey Casey. Then, around 1 p.m. on the final afternoon of practice, everything started to click. Two tournament days later, that late adjustment has Casey leading Stop Four of the NPFL on Logan Martin Lake heading into Championship Saturday.
“I figured things out on the last day, about 1 p.m., and between then and when I got off the lake, I caught a pretty decent bag,” he said. “I wasn’t sure how the tournament was going to go—you know, it changes so much—but it’s been pretty good so far.”
Casey has been starting each morning on a stretch of vegetation, trying to generate a few early bites before moving into his primary pattern, which, like much of the field, revolves around fishing shallow.
“This morning I caught one good one in that grass, which helped,” he said. “After that, I’m just fishing how a lot of guys are and trying to piece it all together while learning as much as I can. It can be finicky, and you have to be precise. Most of my better bites have come in the afternoon, but you’ve got to fish hard all day.”
With three rods on the deck, Casey is rotating through a handful of key areas where he has caught fish every day dating back to that final practice afternoon. The bite hasn't been fast, but it has been steady, and he continues to expand into new water while building on the pattern.
“There’s a bit of a key to it,” he said. “Some of it is the location, and some of it is the structure. It has to be right, but if it is, I pretty much know where the bite is going to come from. The hardest part is getting a bait in there. Today, I caught one that took me 10 tries, but he finally bit, and it ended up being one of my better fish.”
Beyond those key stretches, Casey has found enough additional bites to slow down and thoroughly pick apart each area before moving on.
“It seemed like a lot more guys were fishing shallow today than yesterday, but it is what it is,” he said. “I’ve been going behind guys and still catching some fish, and I’ve got a few things that I think are to myself. Overall, this isn't really how I fish back home, and it's not my favorite thing to do, but we're here, we've got a shot to win, and we're going to stick with it.”
Day Two Leaderboard
Corey Casey 29-8
Greg Hackney 29-7
Bill Lowen 28-13
Wesley Gore 28-8
Darrell Davis 28-7
Brandon Cobb 28-6
Greg Vinson 28-4
Josh Butler 28-1
Mike Quinlin 27-14
Jon Canada 27-5
Derek Lehtonen 27-4
Stacey James 27-0
Hunter Sales 26-15
KJ Queen 26-13
Russ Lane 26-13
Andy Morgan 26-6
Gerald Spohrer 26-6
Kyle Glasgow 26-6
Logan Latuso 26-5
Matt Herren 26-0
JT Russell 25-11
Gerald Swindle 25-10
Randall Tharp 25-8
Scott Canterbury 25-7
Cliff Crochet 25-6
Barron Adams 25-3
Fred Roumbanis 25-3
Lavoyd Lemmond 25-2
David Williams 25-1
Scott Suggs 24-15
Brad Staley 24-14
Hank Cherry 24-11
Wes Logan 24-11
Zack Birge 24-11
Paul Browning 24-9
Todd Goade 24-7
Jason Meninger 24-5
Shane Lineberger 24-0
Richard Cooper 23-15
Patrick Walters 23-14
Jordan Osborne 23-13
Jason Burroughs 23-11
James Watson 23-9
Gary Adkins 23-8
Buddy Gross 23-7
Ray Hanselman 23-6
James Niggemeyer 23-5
Tim Frederick 23-4
Andrew Upshaw 23-2
John Cox (FL) 23-0
Troy Roder 22-14
Alex Davis 22-14
Ryan Satterfield 22-12
Timothy Reams 22-12
Bill Day 22-12
Jacob Powroznik 22-10
Jason Wilson 22-10
Jared Lintner 22-9
Brad Whatley 22-5
Brock Mosley 22-5
Drew Cook 22-2
J. Todd Tucker 22-2
Christopher Whisenant 22-1
Quentin Cappo 21-15
Alton Wilhoit 21-12
John Cox (GA) 21-10
Adam Savage 21-6
Dustin Williamson 21-0
Chad Grigsby 20-14
Sean Alvarez 20-10
Keith Bardolf 20-9
Todd Auten 20-7
Darrel Robertson 20-7
Mitchell Webb 20-7
Timothy Wilson 20-6
Jamie Pierce 20-6
Austin Garland 20-5
Harmon Davis 20-4
Hunter Baughman 20-3
Chad Marler 20-0
Joey Bloom 19-15
Harry Moore 19-14
Josh Hooks 19-13
Garrett Smith 19-10
Pete Ponds 19-2
Tim Cales 18-12
Dustin Reneau 18-8
Jason Williamson 18-6
William Fletcher 18-5
Nick Brown 18-4
Chris Baker 18-4
T-Roy Broussard 18-2
David Wootton 18-0
Scott Wiley 17-8
Ron Johnson 17-8
Bob Behrle 17-4
Lendell Martin 17-2
Michael Comeau 16-15
Dylan Freeze 16-12
Luke Clausen 16-9
Travis Jewell 16-6
Kevin Rogers 16-2
Matthew McBee 16-2
Josh Watkins 15-14
Charlie Apperson 15-13
Bo Collins 15-7
Rickey Morris 15-6
Chip Harrington 12-9
Joseph Lineberry 10-13
Johnnie Adams 9-6