Once upon a time, Beaver Lake was being called the Dead Sea – but in the past year or so it has put out some really large winning totals in NSKA NWA kayak tournaments. We’ll see if this continues when NSKA returns for the Crucible in August on Beaver, but once again the winner of the Beaver South event put up a huge stringer.
As the day began for the Capps Men’s Cuts Beaver Lake South tournament, there was hope that it would be a good day of fishing. In pre-fishing a lot of fish were being caught and there was a big warming trend. On the downside however, it was at or below freezing at lines in and we had to also contend with a 160+ boat tournament.
Tourney Results
Overall it was a great day for fishing, and a lot of fish were caught by the field. Most anglers caught a fish (95%) and a really strong 84% of anglers caught a limit. I don’t have all of the numbers, but that limit percentage has to be close to an all-time high for a full field tournament. Because of the many, many culls, the Fish Per Angler ratio was a robust 5.95, compared to 2.99 in March. The FPA for previous April events on Beaver were 4.66 in 2019 and 6.05 in 20`17. Bottom line is the Dead Sea is pretty good in April.
This event was taken by Kyle Long who won 1st place with 89.75″ and also a 21 Big Bass. Vince Minnick took 2nd with 83.75″ and Dwain Batey 3rd with 80.75″ total.
Here are the top ten finishers:
- Kyle Long
- Vince Minnick
- Dwain Batey
- Jason Kincy
- Craig Wood
- John Evans
- Zeke Stevens
- Terrill Standifer
- Ryan Paskiewicz
- Chris Needham
Yaks vs Boats
As mentioned above, there was a 168 boat TEAM tournament (2 anglers) on Beaver Lake on the same day. How did our top five finishers compare to the team boater results? Using the TourneyX weight calculation, here’s how our anglers would have finished in the boat tourney using their estimated weights: Kyle Long 16.78lbs (7th $), Vince Minnick 13.3lbs (14th $), Dwain Batey 12.06lbs (24th $), Jason Kincy 11.23lbs (35th) and Craig Wood 10.85lbs (37th). Pretty good representation by the single yak angler vs a team boat tourney. Good fishing is good fishing!
Angler Roundtable
As is tradition with NSKA, the top finishers gathered to look back at their day on the water and to share some of how they made it happen. Glad to have Kyle Long, Vince Minnick and Dwain Batey in this edition of Angler Roundtable.
What general area of the lake did you go to and why?
Kyle – I went to the river. It’s an area that I have some confidence in early but there are long stretches of unproductive water and it’s not good for me for most of the year. Pre-spawn it seems like there are some big ones here and there and I thought a kicker or two would be key for this event.
Vince – I chose to go to Monte Ne for a couple of reasons. First, I am familiar fishing this arm of the lake and had several spots that I generally can catch some if they are there. Second and most important was I was scheduled to meet my family after the tourney at the Monte Ne Chicken place down the road from the launch for dinner! Dinner was especially good too after being on the water all day.
Dwain – I chose to fish way up the river, I just like that area and it fishes different, it’s hit or miss this time of year, but I enjoy fishing there and was willing to face the consequences if it didn’t pan out.
How did you catch your biggest fish? Anything notable on the catch?
Kyle – My biggest and the only one of my 5 in my final bag came on a black and blue Jackhammer. The water was definitely dirty there. Maybe 8” of visibility. I casted it up to a root ball and on the end of a super shallow point and the bass ate it immediately but it was hung in a stick. Luckily the stick broke off and I got it in but there were a few tense seconds for sure.
Vince – My biggest fish was caught on a Strike King 7in Finesse Worm on a Neko Rig. Several key fish came off this rig along with catching a limit early on the new Strike King Chick Magnet. The water was pretty clean in the area and was a point on the north side had after getting sun on it I had that feeling to hit it and the timing was right because 3 of my largest moved up on it and were hungry. I had to say a few words to a bass boat who just didn’t understand I was fishing this point and had to say it several times before he left. Funny thing was I caught the biggest fish right as he pulled by me to leave!
Dwain – I caught my biggest fish on something I’ve never thrown before, I normally don’t fish anything new in a tournament situation, but I didn’t follow that rule this week. Despite catching fish on it, I think there’s a lot to learn about where and how to fish this thing. I’m not going to say what it was right now, maybe after I figure out the details of fishing it.
What is the fishing technique you are best at? And what’s your worst?
Kyle – I feel like if I can catch them on a spinnerbait or a fluke I’m gonna have a shot. Mostly because I’ve gotten to be a pretty accurate caster with those baits and I pride myself on that part of it. If they want it deep cranking or on a jerkbait…I’m definitely vying for the middle of the pack at best.
Vince – Best technique is finesse fishing so throwing the spinning rod was a technique I am comfortable with. I would say my weakest technique is throwing the crank bait and sticking to it until finding fish that wanted to bite. I learned that positioning the cast was key in catching my limit fairly quick in the morning. I also suck at throwing a jerk bait so I did that for a while and guess what, I still suck at it!
Dwain – My best technique, which could mean many things, but I’m going to say fishing a weightless fluke. My worst would probably just be something I don’t care for using or don’t use very often. I would say maybe that would be a lipless bait.
I finished in 4th place, to see how I caught more than 20 fish during the day on a fluke, A-rig and more – watch the video.
Heavy Hitters Update
We’re now more than 1/3 through the season and the Heavy Hitters race is taking shape, but nobody has put it on lockdown quite yet. Terrill Standifer has a chance to really build a lead if he gets another 20 on Table Rock, for now he’s in the best position.
Things WILL tighten up, and there are many, many anglers still in the running. If someone has at least one yellow or green highlight, they only need four more good fish to win. And, if you have a 20+ already, all the better. For now, Terrill is the one to catch and history says for past winners that it is better to get a lead and hold it than to chase it down from behind.
Angler of the Year Race
Three tournaments in the books and we’re seeing some familiar and some new names in the top ten. More than any other award, the AOY can change the most during the year. Each season event counts, plus points for the end of season Classic Championship.
Right now Terrill Standifer is the only angler with three ‘green’ scores, considered good for AOY points rankings.
Any angler who has at least two in green already is still in excellent shape since you get to drop a couple of scores. For example, below is your top ten if we dropped the lowest current score. This looks a bit different and illustrates that it’s going to be a season-long race! Literally almost everyone is still in the hunt if they go on a hot streak.
Table Rock is up next on April 23, an event that is concurrent with the MoYak and All-American series events. See you on the water!