Tag Archives: Tournaments

KBF

KBF Central Open – Tournament Recap

The two-day KBF Central Open on Beaver Lake and Grand Lake is in the books and it all came down to 1/2 inch for $10,000. Based in Bentonville, Ark., the KBF Central Open allowed anglers to fish either the Ozark reservoir of Beaver Lake with its FLW history or the sprawling Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees of B.A.S.S. Elites fame.

Conventional wisdom was that Grand Lake offered a more dense fish population and larger average bass, but anglers there were going to be handicapped by getting on the water an hour later due to an anti-kayak rule in place to prevent launching until 1/2 hour after sunrise and a longer drive back to check-in. Beaver Lake had less access restrictions, but was known to be a finicky and risky pick for those looking for big fish and consistency over two days on the water. Weather made it tough on the 68 competitors because of high skies and a muggy 91 degrees each day.

20″ Largemouth on Grand Lake from Cody Milton in the KBF Central Open tournament.

KBF Central Open Results

Some of the top kayak anglers in the country were on hand and did well on day one with 31 of 68 (46%) of anglers turning in a limit and 82% of all entrants turning in a keeper.  The leaderboard looked like this at the end of the first day:

  1. Cody Milton 90.25″
  2.  Richard McMichael 84.50″
  3.  Mel Ashe 83.50″
  4.  Joshua Stewart 83.25″
  5.  Jason Kincy 82.75″

Day two proved to be tougher with lighter winds and increased pressure. On the second day only 21 of 68 (31%) turned in a limit with only 48 of 68 (71%) recording a keeper.  Day two results featured some of the same names in different order;

  1. Joshua Stewart 88.75″
  2.  Eric Siddiqi 86.00″
  3.  Jason Kincy 83.00″
  4.  Mel Ashe 81.25″
  5.  Cody Milton 81.25″

Final standings after both days were:

  1. Joshua Stewart 172.00″
  2.  Cody Milton 171.50″
  3.  Jason Kincy 165.75″
  4.  Mel Ashe 164.75″
  5.  Richard McMichael 160.75″

Cody Milton and Eric Siddiqi both hooked a 20″ largemouth for the biggest bass of the weekend. See complete results for the KBF Central Open here.

Angler Recaps

Top finishers Joshua Stewart, Cody Milton, Jason Kincy and Mel Ashe share how they caught ’em at the KBF Open in this roundtable.

Where did you go each day and why did you choose that lake and that part of the lake?

Joshua – I chose to fish Grand Lake. Arrived on Wednesday to prefish and started out looking at creeks and found one that had potential but couldn’t find a suitable launch. Caught some decent fish from the bank there. A lot of us ended up at the same spot I’m guessing because of the 150 foot rule and that area had a channel bend with a bridge all relatively close to the bank.

Cody – I chose to fish Grand Lake both days. I stayed in the dirty water on Grand because the fish there were staying shallower longer than they were around the dam. On the first day I wanted to hit 4 spots at 3 ramps before 10:00 a.m., with hopes of running into a big group up shallow. Fortunately, that worked out great the first day and I ran into 86 inches off my second spot. The second day I did the same but flip-flopped my starting spots and got around 81 inches pretty quick.

Jason – Being from Arkansas, I chose to go to Beaver Lake instead of Grand Lake, even though Grand is believed to have more and bigger bass. I prefished Beaver from the dam up to the river area and chose to go to the upper end because I just liked the water color and the type of cover I could find there. This area of the lake also had several ramps in close proximity in case I wanted to move around, which I did.

Mel – I fished Grand Lake also. Richie McMichael, Brad Case and I had originally planned on fishing Grand but when we found out about the rules we moved to Beaver. Me and Richie prefished Beaver on Wednesday and Grand on Thursday because we didn’t like what we found on Beaver. We decide we were going to fish Grand for the tournament that evening.

An 18.5″ Beaver Lake largemouth from the KBF Central Open. – kayakfishingfocus.com

What were your overall tactics for catching bass?

Joshua – The first day I ended up catching one of my better fish from the bank on a buzz bait in the morning due to the delayed launch time. The remainder of the day I would cruise around fishing the points and docks with a 1/8 wacky rigged Senko and a ½ ounce jig. Second day I figured I was fishing for second place because of Cody’s strong lead over the rest of the field. The wind was a little stronger so I put on ¾ ounce jig and basically caught all my fish on it. As the day went on I slowly kept culling my fish out and gaining ground. At around 1:30 I crossed to the other side of the bridge and got my biggest fish in about 5 feet of water on what looked like a little current break. After crossing back to the other side I was down a quarter inch with my smallest being 16.25″. with about 35 minutes to go I hooked into a fish with the anticipation of it being the one I needed but was 16.25″. After a few more casts I hook into a 17″ which gave me the lead by .50 inches.

Cody – After 10am I was focusing on brush piles on steep points in 18-22ft. That’s where I was getting the big bites day 1 but never got a bite off any of them day 2. All my fish came fishing a 1 oz football jig.

Jason – My plan on both days was to try and take advantage of topwater early and then fish deeper once the sun came up. Day one my plan was failing, with only one fish on topwater, so I wound up moving three times that morning trying to find something I liked, catching a keeper each time I moved, generally on a Ned rig. About 1:30 I landed on my last spot of the day and over the next hour and a half I used a Carolina Rig in deep water to move from 70″ up to 82.75″, including two 19″ bass in the last hour. On day two I started in the vicinity of where I ended day one and caught a quick four keepers on topwater and then moved to my Carolina Rig spot. Fishing that spot from 9:00-2:30 I caught 17 more keepers with the best five totaling 83″ and was lucky enough to finish third overall.

Mel – The morning of day 1 I got to the ramp I was going to launch from and it had a cable running across the ramp about 2 and a half feet out of the water. Eric Siddiqi had slept at this ramp one night so I called him to ask about the cable which he knew nothing about. He told me he was just three minutes up the lake from me and to come there and fish with him. I had originally planned to fish docks on the way to the bridge so I would have ended up down that way regardless. I caught my 1st fish bank fishing at the ramp with a Jackhammer chatter bait. After we were able to launch I fished my way to the bridge. There I was able to catch my limit on a shaky head and trick worm. Shortly after I made my way back to a point near the ramp and was able to cull two fish using a Jackhammer and fishing how I like to fish. Day 2 I basically did the same thing except I lost a fish at the boat ramp bank fishing and I left the bridge to go find my 5th fish.

When traveling the country to an event where you are unfamiliar with the water, how do you approach choosing a spot and prefishing?

Cody – The way I approach a new body of water is covering a lot of ramps across the lake as fast as I can. I wanna know water the water color is like in different areas of the lake before really dialing in where I’m looking to fish the tournament.

Jason- When I do travel to a new lake, I obviously will look in detail at Google Earth to find areas I’m comfortable with. Then when on the ground I will jump from ramp to ramp to look at an area and see if it matches what I thought it looked like on Google. Ultimately I am looking for water that matches how I want to fish with the type of structure and water color I’m looking for.

Natural State Kayak Anglers Beaver Lake Results

On the same weekend of the KBF Central Open was the NSKA Beaver Lake tournament with 63 anglers on the water. Read the recap of how this tournament was won on Beaver Lake.

NSKA

NSKA Beaver Lake – Tournament Recap

A hot June Saturday greeted the Natural State Kayak Anglers to Beaver Lake along with 90+ degree temps, a poly-flake blend boat tournament, wake boarders and tough fishing conditions on the Dead Sea. The NSKA event produced a big turnout of 63 anglers who scattered across the lake from Twin Bridges down to Beaver Dam.

Brayden Richardson took 1st place in the NSKA Beaver Lake event.

 

Although the lake was stingy, overall the fishing wasn’t among the toughest historically on the Dead Sea, with 23 of 63 (37%) turning in a limit, and a robust 84% (53 of 63) turning in a keeper.  These numbers may seem huge when NSKA returns to Beaver Lake in August.

Top Anglers

Junior angler Brayden Richardson took first place with 77″ on the day with 17″ being his big fish of the day.  Jeriamy Vann took second with 75.5″ followed by Declan McDonald and Roy Roberts with 74.75″ each. Big Bass was won by Toua Khang with a 20.25″ largemouth.

Toua Khang won Big Bass on Beaver lake with this 20.25″ largemouth bass.

 

The top 10 finishers were:
  1. Brayden Richardson
  2. Jeriamy Vann
  3. Declan McDonald
  4. Roy Roberts
  5. John Evans
  6. Jason Cowell
  7. Tyler Zengerle
  8. Lloyd Mize
  9. Clay Johnson
  10. Carson McBride
Angler Recaps

The top finishers of the event share where they went and how they got the fish to bite in this roundtable recap.

Where did you go on Beaver Lake and why did you choose that place?

Brayden – I fished the event at Beaver shores; originally I was going to head to Van Winkle, but with my dad not fishing the event I chose to go to the area I was most comfortable with and prefished some.

Jeriamy – Horseshoe Bend due to familiarity with the area.

Declan – I went to the north end of Beaver lake around Kirk Hollow after seeing the lake went down and the fish weren’t in the bushes I thought it would be my best chance to catch a limit.

Roy – I started the day near the dam at Lost Bridge Marina. I am the most comfortable fishing clear water so this has been my go to area on Beaver Lake. Later in the day I made a move to the mid-lake area.

In general how did you catch them, what techniques and anything noteworthy you did?

Brayden – Early morning treated me well with a 17″ on a Whopper Plopper. Soon after that I realized I left some of my key plastics In the truck and has to pedal back so I missed out on more topwater time. As soon as the sun came out I switched to my old reliable, a 4″ trick worm Neko rigged. I was fishing it right off the rock shelves from about 4 feet of water to 15 feet in the back of coves.

Jeriamy – I fish jigs…mostly. I got lucky.

Declan – I started the morning throwing a Whopper Plopper and a weightless fluke. After I worked a good section of bank and had no bites I picked up a Ned rig and worked a point and got a 18 incher so I fished the rest of the day with the Ned rig.

Roy – I caught 10 keepers on the day. The two baits that were producing for me were a Balsa Pro topwater and a 3/4 oz Jewel Football Jig in PBJ.

What is the key to fishing in the summer in your opinion?

Brayden – To me the key to summer fishing is fishing early in shallow water near deep water where they will head later in the day. All my fish came before 10:00 a.m. so the early bite was key.

Declan – I think the key to summer fishing is to get on the water early morning or late evening into night. For me the bite shuts off around 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.  A big thing for tournament fishing is to keep grinding it out through the day and keep a good mindset.

Roy – Summer is my least favorite time to fish. To me the fish are less predictable and harder to pattern. A couple tips I would suggest are always pay attention to shady areas and don’t be afraid to use big baits. I would much prefer to fish at night this time of year.

Anything else happen you want to mention or say?

Declan – After changing my mind two days before the tournament about where I was going to go I was nervous about it being the wrong move, but after catching a good fish I felt a lot better about it. Later around 8:00 or so the rod I was throwing my Ned rig on broke, it was hard not to be negative about it but I had to get another rod and keep fishing hard. A big key to tournament fishing is to not give up and keep fishing hard.

Roy – Last Saturday I got to practice and noticed several fish hanging out around a particular dock. I started at this dock and caught a double on the topwater right off the bat, a 14.25” and 15.5”. This really gave me a boost for the rest of the morning. I made a move up the lake and picked out a point with lots of wind and waves that I had never fished. This quickly paid off with a 15” and a 15.5” Smallmouth.

Next up for the Natural State Kayak Anglers is the Draw 4 event on July 14th, watch for more information coming soon.

 

NSKA

2018 NSKA Road Runner – Tournament Recap

The annual NSKA Road Runner was predicted to produce a lot of fish and big limits – and it delivered.  The Kentucky Derby of the NSKA schedule produced a dark horse lake which ran away from the field in producing the big limits.

What makes the Road Runner the premier event is that every angler can pick the body of water where they feel like they have the best chance to catch fish. Previous statistics showed that Beaver Lake would play into the top totals, but this year it was Siloam City Lake which stole the show.

NWA Road Runner FPAA and Results

As expected, there were a lot of fish caught and most anglers found success on a beautiful May Saturday. Almost all of the 60 anglers who participated (93%) turned in a keeper, with a strong 65% (39) turned in a limit.  A very big indicator of how successful anglers were on the day was the high FPAA (Fish Per Angler Average) of 5.22 for the event. This compares to a FPAA of 3.72 for Beaver Lake South and 2.5 for Lake Fort Smith.

Bo Sarratt took first place at Siloam City Lake in the 2018 NSKA Road Runner.

First place on the day went to Bo Sarratt with a whopping 93.5″ (Siloam City Lake) followed by Dwain Batey with 87.50″ (Siloam City Lake). Third place was Carson McBride with 85.25″ (XXX) with Roy Roberts taking fourth with a total of 83.25″ (Siloam City Lake and Illinois River).  Big Bass on the day was a 22″ giant caught by Justin Brewer at the big bass factory known as Lincoln Lake.

The top 10 was as follows:

  1. Bo Sarratt
  2.  Dwain Batey
  3.  Carson McBride
  4.  Roy Roberts
  5.  Josh Goforth
  6.  Robert Murphy
  7.  Justin Brewer
  8.  JeriamyVann
  9.  Josh Sherrill
  10.  Chad Warford
Top Angler Recaps

The top finishers Bo Sarratt, Dwain Batey, Carson McBride and Roy Roberts shared how they made the most of their day on the water:

Where did you go and why?

Bo – I went to Siloam City Lake because it is the lake I fish the most in my kayak and I have some confidence in the fact I have caught some big fish there.

Dwain – I wound up fishing at Siloam Springs City Lake. It was not in the plan, but I had a phenomenal day on the last day we could practice there and made a last minute change of plans.

Carson – I went to Hickory Creek because it was muddy and the water was up and I knew the big fish would be moving, and Beaver historically is the winner of this tournament.

Roy – I pre-fished Elmdale and Lincoln and couldn’t get on anything solid. I wanted to fish Beaver but the wind and boat traffic changed my mind. I decided I would just fish the Illinois river and its tributaries. I figured the river bite would be good all day so I started my day on Siloam City Lake because it was nearby. I was looking for a topwater bite early before I shuttled over to the river.

In general how did you catch your fish? early? Late?

Bo –  I caught my fish doing all different stuff. I started out with a spook in the morning with no luck. Once the wind started blowing I went to an area where I had caught some pre-spawn females the Sunday before the tourney in hopes that they would still be around. They were. I was able to catch two of my 18” fish there. At 11:00 I found an 18.5” fish on a bed that I caught the first flip. In the afternoon I only caught two fish but they both culled a couple 15 inch fish I had and the last one was the 21.25 incher.

Dwain – I caught fish all day long, and even caught my largest at 2:00 pm.

Carson – I caught my fish flipping buck brush with a beaver and a Rage Menace and with a chartreuse spinnerbait. All of my fish were in 3ft or less of water. I caught some fish early but still caught them all day.

Roy – Early I caught my fish at the lake on a frog, later at the river I was having success on a crankbait and Ned rig.

What was the one fish you caught that was critical and what did you catch it on?

Bo – Obviously, the big fish I caught at the end of the day was a game-changer. I caught that fish at 1:30 and culled up about 5.5 inches. Once that happened I knew it was going to be tough for anybody to catch me. I caught that big fish on a swimbait rigged on a 1/4 oz War Eagle grubber jighead.

Dwain – That last fish that I culled up with at 2:00 gave me 3 more inches, and secured 2nd place instead of 3rd so that fish would have to be the key fish. I was catching fish on a YUM soft plastic in practice, and had a secret backup bait which turned out to be the only bait that I got bit on during the tournament. I have a few more fish to catch for an online event currently running so I’m not going to spill the beans on my backup bait that became primary in the tourney, sorry. Overall it was a great event, and it was good to see City Lake show out that way because that’s not normal, while it has a lot of fish they are really hit or miss. It could have just as easily been the worst place to be that day. It was a big gamble that just happened to be a good one.

Carson – One fish I caught that was critical was a 17.75″ at the end of the day and gave me a 5.25 inch cull. He was way, way back in some buck brush and I almost never got him out.

Roy – I was catching lots of 12-14 inch Smallmouth, not able to cull up much. At about 1:00 I caught a 18.5 inch Kentucky on the Ned rig and that was a huge momentum swing and help for me.

If you didn’t win, what was something you would have or wish you had done differently?

Dwain – ]I fished clean and caught a phenomenal number of fish for city lake. I don’t know of anything that I would have changed. I didn’t catch any fish on a crankbait which is unusual for me so I guess I could wish that was working for the tourney.

Carson – I would have set the hook harder on a real nice one I hooked about midday. It wasn’t a great hookset and the hook popped out when he turned.

Roy – Obviously looking back I probably should have stayed at Siloam all day. I had 4 quality bites there early but missed 2 of them. I stuck with my original game plan and had a blast catching around 50 fish on the day so no regrets.

 

NSKA

Hitting the Road – NSKA Road Runner Tournament Preview

The best tournament of the year on the Natural State Kayak Angler (NSKA) schedule takes place on May 12 when anglers hit to road to their favorite fishing hole in search of the best limit. The NWA Road Runner taking place right in the middle of the spawn is likely to produce the most limits and the highest totals of the season.

Every angler should be able to find water to fish that fits their style or strategy. In the road runner format, anglers will be able to choose from almost any publicly accessible body of water within a 30 mile radius. Private water, farm ponds, Bella Vista lakes and SWEPCO Lake are off limits!  For a breakdown of the key lakes in play for the tournament, check out last year’s road runner preview article.  Another thing to keep in mind is the further out in the radius you go, the higher risk you have of not making back to weigh in or cutting out fishing time.

IMPORTANT NOTE – Because this is a road runner, ALL eligible water is off limits after Wednesday in this week, not just where you plan to fish.

2018 NWA Road Runner radius is 30 miles from Lowell, Arkansas.

NWA Road Runner Means Big Totals

Choosing your own water generally leads to good results for anglers and there are some common bodies of water which have been key to success the past few years:

In 2015 Beaver Lake produced the winning total of near 80″, with Lake Bob Kidd producing 2nd place, Crystal Lake 3rd, and Lincoln Lake producing 4th and 5th.

In 2016, Beaver Lake produced first place again with the Dead Sea giving up a strong 86″ with Lake Bob Kidd, Siloam City Lake and SWEPCO Lake rounding out the other money placements.

Last year in 2017, Lake Elmdale was the big dog in the road runner. First place with a huge 93.75″ as well as second place came out of Lake Elmdale. The same lake also produced a 23.5″ monster for Big Bass.  Third and fourth place came from SWEPCO Lake (off limits this season). Overall, a strong 67% of anglers caught a limit, with 93% turning in a keeper – by far the best performance in recent tournaments by the field.

This 23.5″ tank was caught by Cole Sikes at Lake Elmdale in the 2017 NWA Road Runner to win Big Bass.

2018 Angler Preview and Predictions

I asked two of the most successful NSKA anglers over the past year to join me in previewing and predicting the upcoming event.  Dwain Batey (last year’s champ), Taylor Frizzell and Cole Sikes shared their thoughts in this roundtable discussion.

Name the two lakes which will most likely produce the winning limit.

Dwain – The two lakes that I think are most likely to hold the winning fish are Lincoln Lake or Lake Elmdale. Both of these lakes have a great population of larger fish, though at times both can be very stingy, and the recent inflow of flooded waters could really change things in the area. This is typically good for Elmdale, and bad for Lincoln, but to be honest I haven’t fished either one enough this year to get a good feel of what’s going on.

Taylor – I think someone fishing Lincoln Lake or Shadow Lake has a great shot at the winning limit. This time of year is always a great time for both spots.

Cole – Lincoln Lake or Elmdale.

Jason – The numbers don’t lie, history shows it likely will be Beaver Lake. If not there Elmdale or Lincoln for those who can find the best fish.

How do you decide or narrow down where to go when a road runner gives you so many options?

Dwain – I will probably just wake up that morning, if I go to sleep at all, and randomly pick which lake feels right for the day and go all in on that one. I pre-fished Elmdale recently and I plan to fish Lincoln before the event off limits, this will give me a good idea on which lake I should hit for the event. Hey, if they’re both fishing poorly I might go somewhere crazy like Siloam Springs City Lake for the tournament, we’ll see.

Taylor – When I get a chance at a road runner I tend to look at my favorite spots to fish and then go back and see how I did in those areas in years past. This year though things seem to be happening a little later with the up and down weather we have had so it could work or be a bust.

Cole – How do you decide or narrow down where to go when a road runner gives you so many options? I typically pick lakes I have confidence in and know they have big ones.

Jason – Probably one that I don’t throw…honestly jigs should be the key with fish up and around cover.

What will be some of the key baits to catch fish this week?

Dwain – I would say that my key bait would be a Skirmish Baits M9 squarebill crankbait, but with the recent heavy rains it might wind up being a jig or spinnerbait if the water is really muddy. There may be enough time to let it clear back up some in a few lakes, and then I would probably be targeting fish with the squarebill, and probably a topwater since it’s post spawn for the most part in our area now. I had a little something figured out before this rain that I am holding on to, but we’ll see if it plays in the event, if it does I’ll spill the beans afterwords.

Taylor –  I think some of the key baits are going to be jigs, chatterbaits, and a Ned rig because let’s be honest everyone is throwing it even if they won’t admit it.

Cole – This time of year when the fish are in all stages of the spawn you can catch them on about anything. I think it will be a junk fishing type tournament.

Jason – Scouting is difficult because you can’t get to many places to check them out. So I’d go somewhere you are the most comfortable with and familiar. No reason to risk a tournament day on a lake where you don’t have some spots.

Predict the winning total, and Big Bass.

Dwain – Winning length will be 89.5 inches and 21.25 inches for Big Bass.

Taylor – I think anyone with around 86 inches is going to be in a good position to win and big bass will be 21 inches.

Cole – The winning total will be 81.50” and 20.25” for Big Bass.

Jason – This is usually some of the biggest totals of the year, so I’d say 85.25″ for the winning limit and 22.5″ for Big Bass.

 

 

RVKA

RVKA Ozark City Lake Tournament Recap

Ozark City lake hosted the RVKA night bass fishing tournament in late April under a full moon. The lake did pretty well in giving up some good numbers to the 22 anglers on hand.

Carson McBride took first place with 82.5″, with Declan McDonald taking second place with 77.5″ and Chris Jones finishing third with 71.25″ overall. Big Bass was won by Chris Jones for a 23″ monster caught  after dark.

Ozark City Lake winners Carson McBride and Declan Mcdonald used the ned rig to catch their bass. - Courtesy Aaron McBride.
Ozark City Lake winners Carson McBride and Declan Mcdonald used the ned rig to catch their bass. – Courtesy Aaron McBride.

The top 10 anglers were:

  1.  Carson McBride
  2.  Declan McDonald
  3.  Chris Jones
  4.  Toby Bogart
  5.  Trey Rogers
  6.  Josh Childress
  7.  Gavin Collins
  8.  Jason Kincy
  9.  Lloyd Mize
  10.  Brandon Crippen
23" Big Bass caught by Chris Jones.
23″ Big Bass caught by Chris Jones.
Angler Recaps

The top three finishers from the Ozark City Lake event, Carson McBride, Declan McDonald and  Chris Jones, shared some of their insights on the tournament and how to successfully compete in these type of events.

How did you catch your fish and what were the key baits? 

Carson –  I caught my fish in 5 feet or less of water bouncing a Ned rig off of the bottom.

Declan –  I caught all my fish on the bottom on ned rigs, just popping it off the bottom just covering the same spots multiple times.

Chris – I threw a popper for first four fish before dark, then caught 2 on a chatterbait after dark.

What was your strategy for the night tournament, how was it different than a regular tourney that starts in the morning?

Carson – My strategy for the night tourney was to start out finesse since it was three in the afternoon with bluebird skies and not much wind. This is instead of throwing a topwater or moving bait in the morning like I would in any other tournament.

Declan – My strategy was to find fish fast and catch a early limit then upgrade later. I knew the blue bird skies and mid-day conditions would be tough so I thought the fishing would improve later toward dark so I just tried to capitalize on the fish I could find.

Chris – My strategy was get around the whole lake and try to locate the biggest baitfish action for a topwater bite and see if it carried into the night.

What is your advice for someone new in preparing for tournaments?

Carson – My advice for someone preparing for tourneys is to throw what your most confident with and stick to that when fishing gets tough.

Declan – My advice would be to just stay confident and throw what you have confidence in if your going to a new lake Google maps is always a great resource.

Chris – Watch the weather and ask questions about the lake and Google search for past tourney results and information.

What’s one specific tip you would give for finding fish on a lake?

Carson – One specific tip I would give for finding fish on a lake is to cover water with what your most confident with.

Chris – Look for bait fish.

Declan – A specific tip would be to pay attention to water temp and weather conditions.

Congratulations to all who came out and fished the event!
J
Uncategorized

NSKA Lake Fort Smith Tournament Recap

The NSKA tournament on Lake Fort Smith for 2018 is in the books, resulting in a strong turnout on a cloudy day in the Boston Mountains. Warmer weather combined with fish moving shallow made for a day where the lake gave up a decent number of fish to the 64 anglers who took to the water.

Tournament Results

A historically stingy Lake Fort Smith was a little better this time around with 49 (77%) of anglers carding a keeper. Limits were still pretty tough to come by with only 14 (22%) of anglers turning in five keepers. Christa Hibbs won her second NSKA Lake Fort Smith tournament in a row with 81.5″, while Cole Sikes took 2nd with 73.5″ and Declan McDonald finishing 3rd with 71.5″ total.  Big Bass was won by Josue Rodriguez with a 20″ Largemouth.

The top ten anglers were:

  1. Christa Hibbs
  2. Cole Sikes
  3. Declan McDonald
  4. Shane Oakes
  5. John Evans
  6. Craig Wood
  7. Ryan Paskiewicz
  8. Toby Bogart
  9. Dwain Batey
  10. Roy Roberts
NSKA Fort Smith Big Bass caught by Josue Rodriguez – 20″
Angler Recaps

Top finishers Christa Hibbs, Cole Sikes, Declan McDonald and Shane Oakes share what worked for them and how they got results on the tricky Lake Fort Smith:

In general what part of the lake did you fish?

Christa – I fished mainly the upper part of the lake the majority of the day.

Cole – I primarily fished Shepherd Springs but did dabble in the mid-lake area.

Declan – I started my day on the north end of the lake I wasn’t getting bit there so I moved to the south end towards the dam and fish there the rest of the day.

Shane –  I fished the upper end creek and creek channel. I selected this area because it best suits my style of fishing, which is some current along with a channel that has various types of structure and depth. With the water temperature around 56-57 degrees I figured some bigger fish could possibly be hanging out on structure along the mouth of the creek.

What were the main baits that worked for you?

Christa – The baits that worked for me were a topwater early in the morning and a small crankbait throughout the rest of the day.

Cole – All but one of my fish came on a jig by our sponsor Slowtown Custom Lures. My one other fish came on a red squarebill.

Declan – I threw a ned rig most of the day just popping it off the bottom hoping to get it in front of fish so they would bite.

Shane – I used some typical pre-spawn/spawn baits in that they were big bodied dark colored baits that big females do not want near their beds. Unfortunately, I mostly came across small males.

Any particular approach or strategy you wanted to employ to try to win?

Christa – My main approach was to find where the fish were holding and adjust to them. I wasn’t able to pre-fish prior to the tournament to try and search. Once I found some I noticed they were full of eggs and found a 100 yard stretch of bank that I picked through for a few hours to pull my keeper fish out of.

Cole – My main approach to the tournament was to try and capitalize early. The lake is decent in size but I knew the banks would get pressured quickly so catching as many as you could early would help. Also, I focused on the west side of Sheppard Springs because it had less blown up debris from the recent heavy rains.

Declan – My main strategy was to go out and throw my confidence baits and I knew the muddy water would only hurt, so I just tried to stay confident and cover the same spot 2 or 3 times.

Shane – As all of those who were at the final weigh-in now know, and much to the displeasure of one competitor in particular, my approach was to launch from a [very] public access point in the upper end of the creek in order to get a jump on the competition. With almost 60 competitors on this body of water I felt getting a limit as early as possible was going to be the key. From there I could focus on culling. For the most part this worked out, except that I was culling 12 inch fish with 12.5 and 12.75 inch fish and simply couldn’t find the bigger ones.

What do you think the key was to your overall success? 

Christa – The key to my overall success was being able to adjust to the fish throughout the day. My topwater bite died once the wind picked up. Next I picked up the small squarebill and they were wanting it ripped through the wood and rock with a pause. My biggest fish reacted best with a fast retrieve and with the bait deflecting off of the rock and wood.

Cole – My key for overall success was to “fish slow, fast”. When I know they are shallow and tight to cover, I try to make as many cast by the cover and only move jig a few times before making my next cast. Typically the fish will hit my jig within the first couple of seconds. Also, I finished out my limit around 1:30 with 66” and knew I would need a kicker to have a chance to win. Most of the anglers were working their way back to the ramp so I took advantage of that and headed the opposite direction to less pressured water. I found some good spawning pockets earlier in the day and fished those for a kicker. I flipped my jig into a tight-narrow opening of the log jam and hooked into the 19 inch kicker. She took me under the logs and I had to keep my line tight and work my kayak back to get to her. Luckily for me she stayed pegged and I was able scoop her in the net. Little did I know I needed two more kickers to catch up to Christa! Congratulations Christa Hibbs!

Declan – I think the key to my success was my confidence, going into this tournament I knew from previous events that it was going to be a finesse bite and I felt that I could catch a limit.

Shane – With as tough as this lake has been on all of us over the last several years I wouldn’t say any of us had an edge, except maybe one lady angler. I simply like this lake and have a lot of confidence when we come here because of the many memories made as kid, fishing it with my best friend when it was known as Lake Shepherd Springs.

 

 

KBF

KBF Bull Shoals Tournament – Ice Bowl Recap

When I signed up to enter the Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF) Trail event to be held on Bull Shoals in April, I had visions of clear water, 60 degree water and bass beginning the spawn in my head.  Boy was I wrong about that. What 53 anglers encountered on the beautiful Arkansas lake was a blast of winter that may not have bothered the fish, but it froze the butts off a lot of anglers.

It was my first trip to fish this lake and I had heard a lot of great things. Upon arrival I saw that the rumors were correct, it was a beautiful fishery with clear water and lots of rock and some shoreline cover in the form of flooded bushes almost everywhere you went. The communities of Bull Shoals and Lakeview did a fantastic job of hosting the event and really rolled out the red carpet for us. Quick shout out to Gaston’s White River Resort which was a great place to stay, definitely want to get back there and do some trout fishing on the White River.

Tough Day of Fishing – Dominant Performances

Overall the results showed a difficult day, partly due to the weather I would assume. A major cold front moved in overnight and brought with it sleet, snow and 27 degree temps at lines in. Temps didn’t get above freezing until almost noon.  It seems that Smallmouth and Spotted bass were key for a lot of the anglers who did well.

Of the 53 anglers who entered, only 12 (23%) turned in a limit of five bass, and only 30 (57%) turned in at least one keeper. This is on a lake that is recognized as being crammed with bass and usually is a pretty easy touch.

This 20.50″ Largemouth bass caught by Brian Hillman was the biggest fish turned in for the 2018 KBF Trail on Bull Shoals.

The top finishers were Jason Adams (Ark.) with 89.25″, Josue Rodriguez (Okla.) with 79.5″ and Garrett Morgan (Ark.) with 79″ overall. This was a very large margin for the winner, making it not close for first place.  You can see the full 2018 Bull Shoals results here. Read below for some insight and video of Jason’s winning day.

Here is a recap of the top 10 finishers:

  1. Jason Adams (Ark.)
  2. Josue Rodriguez (Okla.)
  3. Garrett Morgan (Ark.)
  4. Ben Spangler (Ark.)
  5. Roy Roberts (Ark.)
  6. Hans Bentz (Mo.)
  7. Cody Milton (Ark.)
  8. Brad Case (Ms.)
  9. Brian Hillman (Mo.)
  10. Dorman Hughey (Mo.)

Angler Recaps

The top three finishers participated in a roundtable to share some thoughts on how they did it. Jason Adams, Josue Rodriguez and Garrett Morgan answered my questions about the event.

Where did you go and why did you choose that part of the lake? 

Jason – I wanted to go to the furthest area that was in bounds but still in Arkansas. I was looking for dirty water and found it in the mouths of the creeks.

Josue – I went to look at several spots before the tournament and just fished from the bank trying to figure out some type of pattern. We decided on the east side of the lake, close to the check in.

Garrett – I went to Coon Creek and fished secondary points as I knew fish have been making there way to the backs of creeks as the spawn is approaching. I knew the cold front would push them out a bit but didn’t feel they would travel too far away. So, midway back toward the lake seemed like a good way to spend my time on deeper points of flats near deep water once the sun came out.

Main baits that worked for you?

Jason – I used a Ned rig on a Solid Tackle jig head and a senko cut in half. The big bites later in the day were on a Skirmish one-knocker square bill in chartreuse.

Josue – Drop shot and an A-rig.

Garrett – My two baits I caught fish on were an A-rig and a wiggle wart.

Any particular approach or strategy you wanted to employ to try to win?

Jason – To try and get a limit at my first location was my primary strategy. Then move to another location to fish with a crank bait to try and catch larger fish to upgrade. I wanted to crank and cover water.

Josue – When I started to fish I was having problems right off the bat with my micro guides, they were freezing over. So fishing slow was difficult for me because the line kept getting stuck. I caught my first fish on a drop shot, it was only 9.5 inches and I was just happy to catch a fish at the time. Then I picked up an A-rig and fished a pocket and caught two fish back to back…after that i went looking for similar pockets. I had three fish at the time and that’s when it kinda went south for me. I was really cold and wanted to get out and walk around a bit. I couldn’t feel my legs so when I stood up in my kayak I fell in the water. Lucky for me only my legs got wet but I was still freezing at this point. I was ready to call it quits and I couldn’t fish because of how cold I was. I started to paddle back to the truck. On the way back I saw a good looking cove and I wasn’t very far from it so I decided to fish it really quick. I’m glad I did because I caught my last two fish and cull my smallest one.

Garrett – It was a roller coaster day of highs and lows and highs! My rods, reels and feet were locking up from the cold. I managed to catch a nice Smallmouth in the same area an hour later and lift my spirits a bit. A few hours and spots later my feet were so numb I couldn’t feel them. I headed to the opposite side of the creek channel from where I had caught my first fish, rolled up on a flat reached for the wiggle wart and caught another Smallmouth! A few minutes later I managed my only Largemouth on the A-rig. By this time it’s 11:30 and I’ve got three fish and feeling much better. I tried my spots again and noticed other folks headed in, I turn my phone on, check the time and see it’s about 2:30 and decided to head back toward my first spot one more time on the way in. I fish it about ten minutes and then head in with three fish for the day. As I approach the gravel ramp I see a nice breeze catching the front of the first drop out in front of it, which I noticed on my graph when I headed out that morning and never fished. At 2:43 I cast out in front of the gravel ramp area and hook up with a Smallmouth. I quickly grab my phone to take a pic, only to realize it has 1% because it’s been searching for signal and I never turned it off after the last time I checked the time. On low battery mode it had enough to snap a quick pic. I cast out at 2:46 and three revolutions of the reel later I’m hooked up with a another Smallmouth. I boat-flipped it in my lap, threw it on measuring board, prayed my phone would take a photo, and it did! Released the fish in the water and with the help of fellow competitors was loaded in less than 6 minutes.

Anything else interesting that happened or you wanted to mention? Thoughts on Bull Shoals?

Jason – When the sun finally came out and the fish moved up on shallow road beds – I happened to be in the right place when it happened. I quit fishing at 2:00 but knew I could keep upgrading if I had kept going, I’d caught around 30 fish at my second location and culled 7 times.

Josue – Overall I really like the lake. First time fishing it and I see that it has a lot of potential living up to the hype.

Garrett – This game is 10% skill and 90% mental in my opinion. I’d say I was tested harder mentally than any other tournament. I may have cursed a few times, but I was able to reset and never believed I couldn’t get back in contention as long as there was time left to fish. Adjusting little things like the color of my swimbaits at 2:00 pm when the sun popped out and I only have three fish, is not giving up! You got to believe it can still happen on any cast! I was glad it did on my last one!

Final Thoughts

I definitely hope that KBF comes back to Bull Shoals next year, it was a great lake and venue and the town really seemed to care that the tournament was in town. I was asked several times over a couple of days about the tournament by locals and they were genuinely interested.

The event was well-run and really turned out to be cold, but a fun experience on the water overall.

 

Tournaments

2018 KBF National Championship – A Look Back

1 Comment

The 2018 KBF National Championship is in the books as 752 kayak anglers took on Kentucky Lake. The fishing was tough for many and good for some – and for almost everyone it was a grind.

Conditions were very challenging with temperature fluctuations of more than fifty degrees and water level changes of more than 12 KBF National Championshipfeet within one week. The numbers show that it was a tough event for many. On day one only 12.5% (94) turned in a limit, while a full 33% (248) did not turn in any keepers. On day two, many anglers who were out of the money due to a poor day one performance headed home, and this impacted the numbers. Day two only 10% (75) of registered anglers turned in a limit, while 49% (370) turned in no fish.

My story is related to those who didn’t turn in any keepers. I struggled in pre-fishing and never could figure anything out. On tournament day I took a chance and tried some water that I hadn’t been on yet and although I caught some bass, I just couldn’t find any keepers to turn in. Out of the race for prize money, I took the chance to head home and not fish on day two.  I just never could adjust to what was going on and didn’t get a place I felt comfortable on day one. It was a disappointing outing for me but we’ll move on to the next event for 2018.

The old trestle near Cane Creek on Kentucky Lake. - Kayakfishingfocus.com
The old trestle near Cane Creek on Kentucky Lake. – Kayakfishingfocus.com
KBF National Championship Obersvations

Overall the 2018 KBF National Championship seemed to go over successfully, even with the huge number of anglers. The water definitely seemed crowded in some areas, and the event center at the fairgrounds could barely hold all of the anglers. There were some improvements I appreciated from the previous year and you could tell they were working to make things run more smoothly. There were only a few suggestions I’d like to put out to the KBF powers that be:

  • Consider a different time of year and/or a different body of water. Kentucky Lake this early in the year is just too volatile and is an off-shore fishing lake prior to the spawn. Fish can be caught, but the unpredictability of the TVA in drawing water and Kentucky weather in March is a wildcard.
  • During the rules meeting, the importance of checking in at the captains meeting was not covered sufficiently, nor a method provided for anglers to check in if they were not attending the meeting. This held us up for a long time on Friday night as KBF tried to track down anglers.
  • The vendors and such in the different building was a good change and the food trucks were a good addition.

A couple dozen members from the Arkansas and Oklahoma area competed in the KBF National Championship, with varying levels of success. Carson McBride was the top-ranked Arkansas angler, finishing 39th and also was the top junior angler. Fellow Arkansans Cody Milton (59th) and Robert Murphy (89th) finished in the top 100 anglers.

KBF National Championship Angler Roundtable

Local kayak anglers Faron Davidson, Dwain Batey, Robert Murphy and Carson McBride share their experiences at the National Championship in the Q&A roundtable below.

Going into the tournament what was your strategy in finding water to fish? Where did you wind up fishing and why?

Faron – I relied on Google and Navionics to locate a few areas I wanted to check out. I arrived on Thursday morning and drove around and looked at the potential spots I had identified and after giving the first couple a thumbs down because the water was so low I moved on to the the 3rd spot, Johnathon Creek, I made a couple of cast from the bank and caught 2 fish and called it good. There were no kayaks at the ramp so I chose this spot to fish as it had fish and not much pressure.

Carson – My strategy going into this tournament was to go fish everything I could…ledges, points, flats, pea gravel, chunk rock and throw everything I can to find what they are eating and then adjust to it and dial them in. I ended up fishing in Panther Bay after a place named Sugar Bay wasn’t very good to me. I caught a few at Sugar and knew what kind of banks they were on and Sugar didn’t have enough of it so on day one I went in blind to Panther Bay. From seeing it on the maps I saw it had good looking structure. I ended up with a limit there on day one and had confidence I could do it again on day two.

Robert –  I wanted to fish south hoping for warmer water in creeks, mainly on Barkley. Finding nothing but lots of white bass I had to go north. That, and Barkley moves so fast even with my motor it was sketchy. Day one I picked a spot I knew had fish but not much size and close to a couple other spots if I wanted to move. Rocks was my point of attack. They seemed to be hiding in them staying warm. Flicker shads and ned rigs is what I used to catch them.

Dwain – I did some research on Google Earth and Navionics app, and then we drove around and looked at a few ramps the day we arrived at the lake. I wound up fishing Cane Creek, and it was mostly because it had a lot of rip rap, and I felt that cranking a squarebill would be my best option. It’s what I have the most confidence in and I had no idea about the zebra mussels being in the lake going in.

All of you were in contention after day one, what was your approach going into day two? Anything change?

Faron – I ended day 1 in 75th place, the last paying spot. The area I fished on day was fished very hard and I wasn’t sure I could get a limit on day 2. I moved to a new spot I had not even layer eyes on, it looked very promising once I got there.

Carson – My approach going into day two was to just get a limit. I had lots of confidence in my Ned rig and was hoping for five. And, I was planning on hitting the same places I did day one and to cover more water throughout the day.

Robert – On day two, I wanted bigger fish and decided to start out at a spot mid-lake that I knew had lots of pressure and lots of rocks. When I saw no fish on my graph after trolling around the rocks before the first cast I realized I made a big mistake. Had to make a hard choice then to leave 30 minutes after first cast and miss the morning bite to head back north over an hour away.

Dwain – I had to adapt for the strong winds that were beating my best area on day two. I fished there early, before the wind made it almost impossible to do so, but the bite was later in the day so that was a wash. I was forced to fish the other side and so was everyone else, so fishing pressure made it difficult. When I finally found the fish on day two it was too late, and I lost the first one, and caught the second one, but then I was out of fishing time for the day.

What surprised you about the lake or the tournament, if anything?

Faron – I was very surprised when I showed up and the lake was dropped back to winter pool after the recent flooding.

Carson – what surprised me about the lake was how it was tough for everyone that fished just about. It also surprised me for how clear it was since it was just flooded not too long ago.

Robert –  I was surprised how low the water was and how they kept draining it. It kept me from fishing my old spots.

Dwain – If anything, it was the Zebra Mussels, and hearing that some of the leaders were fishing topwater baits, and describing a level of fish activity that just wasn’t present where I chose to fish.

If you could do it over again, what would you change about your strategy or approach for the KBF National Championship?

Carson – If I could do it over again I would just cover more water trying to get more bites.

Faron –  If I could do it over again I would have went back to my day 1 spot and finesse fished for a limit.

Robert – If I could change anything. Not going there would be it.

Dwain – I would get there a few days earlier and check out a lot more of the lake. It’s a huge lake and I’ve only seen a fraction of it. I would also probably have fished pea gravel and chunk rock banks close to deeper water, rather than rip rap.

Do you have a suggestion for KBF on how to improve the event or make it better or anything?

Faron – I feel like the event went pretty well considering the size, a couple of late starts had us waiting around more than I would have liked too though. An idea I did have was that the badges they gave us should have a unique QR code that we could use to check in with that would allow only anglers present to be drawn for prizes. I feel like it would speed things up.

Carson – I think that KBF could improve on timing to make things go faster.

Robert – I did like how KBF gave us extra time to check in but I wish the cut-off time to submit fish could be extended for people with bad service or just from the app. Crashing with so many people on TourneyX at the same time.

Dwain – The timing could be improved on the events so they start on time, but I’m sure they already know that one. I think they could get a more professional looking stage to make a better look for video, and maybe improve the production with a few changes in the way the top anglers were announced. Perhaps model it more after FLW or B.A.S.S. Events, but with obvious changes since we don’t have our fish to show on stage. Overall it was great, and although I’ve qualified every year since I started kayak fishing, this was the first time I got to actually enter the National Championship and it was awesome. I heard several people talking about how much better it was conducted than the year before, so I think they know where they want to take it and will continue to go in that direction every year.

 

NSKA

NSKA Beaver Lake South – Recap

Beaver Lake was the scene for a record turnout for a kayak bass fishing tournament in Arkansas as kayak anglers went toe to toe with bass boaters and held their own. A recent warming trend plus some dirty water on the normally clear Beaver Lake made for some high numbers in fish caught on a partly cloudy March Saturday for the Natural State Kayak Anglers (NSKA).

The southern third of Beaver Lake felt in spots a little crowded as 82 kayak anglers hit the water south of the Hwy 12 bridge along with 98 glitter rockets motoring around all of Beaver Lake in their event. (see how kayaks stacked up vs motors below)  Even with all of the activity on the lake, there were many fish caught on the day. I didn’t do very well, catching a small limit and finishing 23rd, but some of these anglers really knocked it out of the park.

Bill Campbell took the Big Bass prize with this 21.75″ Beaver Lake bruiser.
Beaver Lake South Results

Overall there were strong numbers for the anglers.  A solid 34 (41%) anglers turned in a limit, and only 18 (22%) failed to submit a keeper. These numbers are above the norm for Beaver. Baron Meek took the win with 85.75″ followed by Cole Sikes with 82″ even for second place. Tyler Zengerle turned in 77.25″ for third and Andrew Newsome had 77″ for fourth place.

Big Bass was won with a fat 21.75″ largemouth caught by Bill Campbell. Second place Big Bass was caught by Justin Phillips and was 19.75″ long.

Here are the top ten finishers:

  1.  Baron Meek
  2.  Cole Sikes
  3.  Tyler Zengerle
  4.  Andrew Newsome
  5.  Cody Milton
  6.  Bo Sarratt
  7.  John Evans
  8.  Dwain Batey
  9.  Kyle Long
  10.  Declan McDonald
Angler Beaver Lake South Recaps

Here’s how the top finishers did their thing:

Baron Meek (1st) – I ended up going to Natural Walk, because I had a friend recommend this spot and I liked the water clarity. The main baits that worked for me were a red Spro Rock Crawler, and a fire tiger Wiggle Wart. I didn’t throw anything else all day long, because I knew I could get the right bites with it. I knew that if the water temps warmed up enough to be around 50-53 degrees, I could get a crankbait bite going, so the first thing I did was check my fish finder  and it was 52. So, I knew they’d eat a crankbait. I fished until I found the specific type of rock and contour required, and then I dialed them in at about 9 o’clock. I only had about 72 inches at about noon, and I managed to find a 18, 17, and a 15.5 to cull my smaller fish and bump me to the top of the standings. It was a beautiful day, and a great day to be on the water.

Cole Sikes (2nd) –  I started the day off near Beav-o-rama which is between Blue Springs and Twin Bridges. I decided to go there because I figured it would have less pressure and the water color should be decent. I caught a small limit there with my jig on transitions from bluff to gravel. Around noon I moved locations to War Eagle Marina. Water color was much dirtier and was able to catch quality in that area. I caught all of my fish on a 1/2 ounce Slowtown Custom football jig in green pumpkin and purple. The strategy for me was just to hit as many transition banks to catch a limit and hopefully a kicker. Other than that, I didn’t have much a plan. I had only about 64” at 1:45 and I was able to catch three quality fish and cull four times in the last two hours. I then stumbled on a spot where I caught a 14.75, 16.5, 17.5 and 18 all in roughly 20 minutes. I was literally thinking about calling it a day early and heading home but sure glad I stuck it out and kept grinding!

Tyler Zengerle (3rd) – The day before the tournament, I told myself I was going to Fish Hickory Creek. That night, I decided to hit up War Eagle marina instead. I’ve never been there before, but something told me to just go. I figured Hickory Creek, Twin Bridges, and Blue Springs would be heavily pressured by the other anglers, so I wanted to stay away from them. It worked out because as far as I could tell, I was basically the only one there.  Three of my biggest fish were caught on a Texas-rigged Gambler Lures 6” Burner worm in Junebug color, and the rest of my catches were on a 2-Tap Tungsten lipless crank. My first plan of action was to stick to what I know, Texas-rigs and crankbaits. I found banks where depth dropped from 4-10ft and fished those drop-offs.  I also caught my first Striper that morning which was pretty interesting. I fought it for about 10 minutes and I was hoping I had hooked into absolute beast of a largemouth…but it wasn’t.

Andrew Newsome (4th) – I put in at Natural Walk hoping I could find some water that had cleared up a little. I had check down there Wednesday and it was still pretty muddy so I knew it was a gamble. I went into the tourney expecting to flip around brush to get bites but for some reason that wasn’t working for me so relying on past experience, I pulled out a red craw pattern wiggle wart and started hitting some chunk rock banks. Within a few casts, I caught my first one. I switched back and forth with a few different baits but was only able to get a bite on the wiggle wart so I rode it out the rest of the tourney. Most of my fish came between 8:30 and 10:30 with one cull later on around 2:00. Overall, it was a really great day with limited mistakes and I consider myself very blessed to have had such a good finish. Can’t wait for the next one!

Catching a keeper on Beaver Lake with a YUM bait. - Kayak Fishing Focus
Catching a keeper on Beaver Lake with a YUM bait. – Kayakfishingfocus.com
Kayaks vs Boaters

Heard a lot of stories about bass boats cutting off kayaks during the day, and I had one zoom in right in front of me to flip some wood and then zoom out again. A lot of the boaters don’t respect the kayak angler, but how did the two tournament results compare? Not too bad. The boaters had use of the entire lake and kayak anglers only had the upper 1/3 to fish, but the top anglers weren’t too far off.  Using estimates to evaluate the weight, Baron had approximately 14.6 lbs which would have placed him 7th of 98 and Cole Sikes would have finished around 10th, both in the money. Bill’s Big Bass also likely would have taken the big fish prize in the boat tourney with an estimated 6.17 lbs. Not to bad for the yak anglers.

Here is the score sheet from the boat tourney with Baron’s totals calculated on the side.

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NSKA

NSKA Beaver Lake South Preview

The  upper end of Beaver Lake will be home for the first Natural State Kayak Anglers (NSKA) event for 2018, and it’s going to be a challenging one. Beaver Lake is replacing Swepco Lake as the kickoff event, meaning anglers will have to face some stained cold water instead of the hot tub to get the season going.

The boundaries for this NSKA Beaver Lake South tournament are from the War Eagle Mill and Twin Bridges down to the Hwy 12 bridge.  This includes some of they key fishing areas of Beaver Shores, Esculapia, Horseshoe Bend, Hickory Creek, War Eagle and Blue Springs.

Beaver Lake - Kayakfishingfocus.com
Beaver Lake – Kayakfishingfocus.com

Anglers should register on the Tourney X page for the event, and should attend the captains meeting will be Friday evening at the Boar’s Nest in Rogers, but there will also be an online attendance option.

Past Beaver Trends

The last time we had an NSKA tournament early in the spring on Beaver was in 2016 and there were 70 anglers who took to the water. Of the 70 entrants, 49 (70%) turned in a keeper, and 15 (21%) turned in a limit. The winning total was 82.5″ and Big Bass was 19.5″ long.  Last year the lake performed pretty well in a couple of tournaments, producing good numbers and size of fish.

Kayak tournaments on Beaver since 2015 have yielded the following percentages of anglers with a limit: 21% 22%, 10%, 52% and 15%. So history says that if an angler turns in a limit, they’ve had a good day on the water and are in contention.

Beaver Lake (aka: the Dead Sea) can be a real challenge on some days. With the recent rains and dirty water, it can be daunting, but that actually might help anglers find some bass.

NSKA Roundtable – Beaver Lake South

To help us look ahead to the kickoff tournament, I asked a few NSKA anglers for their take on the event and predictions on the outcome. Had a chance to ask Tim Hotchkin, Jeff Malott and Carson McBride a few questions.

1. Beaver lake has risen dramatically in the past two weeks and is muddy, how do you expect that to impact the tournament?

Tim – I think it will cause more confidence issues than anything. I think the fish will still be there but more spread out as now they have more water to access. Anglers that fish Beaver may not be used to the debris and lower visibility and anglers that do fish dirtier water will not be used to the depth. Should really even the playing field.

Jeff – My first guess would be that the fish will push shallow. With the full moon this week, rising water temps, and rising water level it makes sense that the fish will try and push up. Although, there should still be plenty holding in pre-spawn locations.

Carson – Since the lake has risen I expect that to push the fish shallow, especially with the muddy color that has come with the rising water. I think that it should make for a decent day of fishing. And I expect that to have some of the quality fish biting.

2. First tournament of the season, is your approach any different for a first event than others? How do you approach it differently?

Tim – For me it’s no different. I will not get a chance to pre-fish so I am going to an area that I know has fish year round and stick to what I am good at and grind it out. Focusing on a bite once the sun comes out.

Jeff – For my first event nothing really changes other than making sure all gear is in perfect working order. There is a little extra prep time, but I don’t want to get analysis paralysis either.

Carson –  I am going to approach this one differently because the lake has changed so much so I won’t pre-fish at all. I’m just gonna go to my spot and grind it out.

3. For new anglers fishing their first “real” kayak tournament, what’s one key piece of advice?

Tim – Stay calm, just because it’s new to you doesn’t mean you have any less advantage than the other anglers, and stick to your plan not what others are saying will work.

Jeff – For the new guys, come up with a plan and stick to it. Enjoy the day and try not to get to high or too low with your emotions.

Carson – My advice to new anglers fishing their first tournament is to not be afraid of trying something completely different on tournament day because things change and especially on Beaver.

4. What makes fishing Beaver different from other small lakes in the area?

Tim – There is so much more water. It’s completely different than the other lakes and different structure. The small lakes I fish regularly are shallower and have grass. At Beaver it’s about finding the right structure and water for the area. There are sweet spots within a area of the lake that attracts more fish than others.

Jeff – I divide Beaver into almost 3 lakes … The upper end and lower end fish completely different. Mid lake has the best of both worlds a lot of times. Unlike the small lakes, grass plays no factor and you also have a shot at the black bass slam depending on where you’re fishing. A lot of people call it the Dead Sea, I actually really enjoy fishing it.

Carson – Fishing Beaver is different from small lakes because it is different on different parts of the lake. And it doesn’t pattern as well as small lakes. Seems like fish are doing something different all the time.

5. How many inches will win and what will be big bass?

Tim – Realistically I think 81″ could win. Big bass I am going to say will be 21 inches.

Jeff – It will take 85 inches to win in my opinion, something in the 21″ range for big bass. Consistent high water for a few years have lead to some really good spawns. Fish quality on Beaver has really improved because of it.

Carson – I predict 83.50″ inches to win with a 20.75″ inch big bass.

Good luck to all anglers and have a great day on the water for the opening tournament. Wear your PFD and stay safe!