For the first time, a 10 fish Road Runner in NWA occurred in August. I asked Google Gemini to rank all months in order for quality bass fishing in Arkansas. Guess which one came in last? You guessed it! AUGUST How would the field fare on a very hot day in the dog days of summer?
Tournament Results
Overall, it was a decent effort by the kayak anglers on the water, facing upper 90s and high humidity. Forty eight anglers entered the event and did a pretty solid job overall with a 4.81 FPA and 42% of the field submitting a 10 fish limit. Getting a limit was job one, second to that was getting a bigger than average size to push up the total. Austin Nims crushed it with 204.25″ on the day, likely a record that may not be broken in future road runners. His limit included an insane seven 20+ bass, which is by far the most 20s included in an NSKA tournament limit. Justin Brewer took a strong second place with 170.00″ on the day, followed by Tony Sorluangsana in third with a solid 169.75″ for the event. A mammoth total of 18 bass over 20″ were caught on the day, an amazing number of giants for one day! Big Bass was won in a tiebreaker by Austin Nims with a 22.00″ Lincoln Lake largemouth. Justin Brewer also had a 22.00″ giant in his bag, also from Lincoln.
Jeff Mallott won the smallest gap between the largest and smallest fish side pot, and John Hall took home the trash fish prize with a 23″ channel cat!
Top 10 anglers:
- Austin Nims 204.25
- Justin Brewer 170.00
- Tony Sorluangsana 169.75
- Jason Kincy 165.75
- Levi Schneider 165.00
- Brian Lookadoo 162.25
- Andrew Newsom 154.25
- Will Atchison 153.50
- Dexter Scott 153.50
- John Evans 150.75
Angler Roundtable
The top three Road Runner finishers share how they did it on a super hot August day. These guys did a great job with these thoughts and recaps. Here’s the tea from Austin, Tony, and Justin!
What lake did you choose and why?
Austin – I chose to fish Lincoln Lake because my main goal in the Road Runner was to finally catch a bass over 20 inches in a tourney. And after getting skunked at the Eucha/Spavinaw tourney i just wanted to fish something small I was comfortable with.
Tony – I chose to fish Elmdale but I didn’t make that decision until Friday evening. Table Rock was my pick up until that moment.
Justin – By now everyone should know if it’s a road runner I’m going to Lincoln lake. It’s a very hit or miss lake but in previous years if it’s on I’ll be able to finish at the top. If it’s not I am prepared to be at the bottom.
Were there major patterns or techniques that played into your success?
Austin – I started the first three hours of the tourney throwing a small jighead minnow and caught zero fish. The bait and bass were up high making anything hard to see on sonar. So i begain blind casting a Minnesota Mullet hair jig through the bait. I was slow rolling it with fast twitches like a spinnerbait just a few feet under the surface and the big girls loved it.
Tony – I tried to force a reaction bite in the morning, but realize fish was tight to offshore cover, I threw various styles and size of worms to get dialed in and started brush pile hunting the rest of the day.
Justin – There is really no technique for me that out does the other at Lincoln. I just bring every rod I own and try not to get locked into one technique. It’s usually a rotation that catches my fish. It’s a frustrating way to fish and mindset to have but it’s what has to be done.
What was the key catch for the day that was critical to your finish?
Austin – I finally hooked up with a 22 inch fish that struck the hair jig seconds after it hit the water at the end of a long cast. She gave me a couple of big jumps but I managed to keep her pinned. When I got her in the net I knew I had a chance at Big Bass.
Tony – The first fish of the day. It was caught 45 minutes in and confirmed what I was seeing on the graphs.
Justin – I’d say my 22” fish. It didn’t lead me on to anything, it was just late in the day and I was running out of confidence and time. I still had a few 10” fish in my limit so a 20” fish goes a long way in that case. It just let me know there was still a chance. It was a confidence booster fish. I proceeded to catch my 21 and 19.75 after that.
August is a very difficult month to fish, what advice do you have for other anglers?
Austin – August is a rough one and generally doesn’t end with a huge bag when you leave. The fish are hit or miss. Sometimes fired up or dead sluggish. Just try new things they haven’t seen a bunch and keep changing your cadence till you find what they want that day, even if it takes a few hours of being out of your comfort zone.
Tony – August can be tough but fish can still be caught with a variety of lures, fish your strengths and don’t overthink it. September, on the other hand, is horrible!
Justin – Usually I would say fish early and fish late because that is the best times to fish but surprisingly enough my four biggest fish were caught from around 1:00-3:00pm. With that being said, the advice would be don’t ever think the heat will make you not catch fish. There are always fish to be caught.
Angler of the Year Race
The AOY race is coming into focus, with Levi Schneider in the lead as he has been the entire season. He’s still the favorite, but it is possible for anglers like Tony, Christa, Justin, and John Hall to have a terrific finish and catch up. Don’t forget the classic is worth double – that could make all the difference! Levi is the favorite if he continues to fish well.
Heavy Hitters
The Heavy Hitters race almost took a dramatic turn in this event, but Levi saved himself with a late 20.50″ – otherwise, Justin Brewer would be in the lead. Looking at the numbers at this point, there appears to be five or six anglers who still have a chance to overtake Levi in the final event if he doesn’t upgrade. Justin would need an 18.50″ to tie, while Josh and Jason need a 21.00″ to tie. This is going to the wire!
Next Event
The next event is the annual Crucible on the Dead Sea (a.k.a. Beaver Lake). This is the yearly event that really tests the mettle of anglers and sets the tone for the upcoming Classic Championship!