Palmer the early leader at Saginaw Bay

Georgia's Trent Palmer caught a 25-5 stringer to capture the Day 1 lead of the National Professional Fishing League event at Saginaw Bay in Michigan.

Building on his success over the past two seasons, including his 2023 victory, Palmer picked up right where he left off this morning as he eyes back-to-back wins on the venue.

“Today was special. I knew in practice what I wanted to do and pretty much ignored my areas from the past, figuring the fish would still be around there,” Palmer said. “One day, I sampled it quick and caught a big one, but overall, I found four or five more areas that I didn’t even touch today.”

Palmer, who owns and operates Sonar Pros in Georgia, remains confident in his plan, and with the weather forecasted to cooperate, he’s optimistic about continuing to target and catch quality bass over the next two days.

“I caught my weight – over 25 pounds – pretty quickly this morning, which allowed me to relax and do some more scouting,” he added. “I wasn’t fishing hard, but I did fish some throughout the day and ended up catching another 23 1/2 pounds or so of fish that wouldn’t help. I wandered around my area and tried to learn more about it.”

While more anglers are focusing on smallmouth, Palmer was able to fish away from the crowd on Day 1. He’s working through a variety of depth ranges and feels that, despite some fish being caught shallow, the types of areas he’s targeting don’t really align with a specific depth.

“Where I am, I’m able to catch them at whatever depth, and it’s definitely more about the area than anything,” said Palmer. "I had my spot to myself today, and I’m not sure about the other spots as I didn’t have to move much. The wind the next few days looks fine; I’m not concerned. Today was the worst wind day, so I should be fine to get out there and fish. I’m looking forward to it.”

Here are the totals for the early Top 10:

1. Trent Palmer: 25-4
2. Kevin Martin: 23-5
3. Gary Adkins: 23-3
4. Jesse Wise: 22-14
5. Zach Birge: 22-11
6. Kyle Welcher: 22-10
7. Jason Williamson: 21-1
8. Brock Bila: 20-8
9. Matt Looney: 19-14
10. Drew Cook: 19-9

---