The second stop of the 2026 NSKA NWA season, sponsored by Grime Away NWA and fueled by Eco Fishing Shop, took us to the rugged west end of Table Rock Lake on April 11th. This event threw a challenge at the field for this one: a total ban on Forward Facing Sonar (FFS). For one day, the “video gamers” had to put down the remote and pick up the old-school intuition and playing hide and seek with the bass. For those that picked up the Wacky worm rig – they had a good day.

Conditions were quintessential Ozarks spring. We saw a high of 81°F and a low of 57°F under mostly cloudy skies, with a manageable 9 mph breeze. Table Rock historically has produced a lot of bass year round, the west end showed out for those who could read transition banks without a screen telling them where to throw. It was an incredible day for fish catches!

By the Numbers

• Total Anglers: 43
• Total Fish Caught: 402
• Fish Per Angler: 9.35 (Insane total, maybe an all-time high?)
• Anglers with at least one fish: 98% (42 of 43)
• Limit %: 93% (41 of 43 anglers brought in a limiit)

The Leaderboard (Top 10)

The competition was incredibly tight, with the top spots separated by mere fractions of an inch. Jeriamy Vann took 1st place, with Seth Jones in 2nd, and Chris Robbs in 3rd. All three had big totals! Here is how the top of the pack shook out:

1. Jeriamy Vann – 89.75″
2. Seth Jones – 89.50″
3. Chris Robbs – 88.25″
4. Justin Mallot – 85.25″
5. Tony Sorluangsana – 85.25″
6. John Evans – 85.00″
7. John Hall – 84.25″
8. Jim Hall – 84.25″
9. Tyler Zengerle – 84.25″
10. Maurilio Gutierrez – 84.00″

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Big Bass / Heavy Hitters

The Advanced Automotive Big Bass of the event belonged to our tournament winner, Jeriamy Vann. He landed a stout 20.25″ largemouth that anchored his winning bag.

Angler Roundtable: Top 3 Q&A

Recapping the 2026 NSKA NWA Table Rock West event are your top anglers – Jeriamy, Seth, and Chris, who share with us how they caught such big bags on Table Rock Lake in April.

1. What part of Table Rock did you go to and why?

• Jeriamy Vann: I put in at Holiday Island Marina. I picked out a couple spots during the week, but I couldn’t make my mind up, so I made the decision to go there while driving in Saturday morning.
• Seth Jones: I went to Eagle Rock. I had planned to mark brush piles with LiveScope during pre-fishing (since FFS was banned for the event), but those spots were private or closed. I settled on Eagle Rock as my backup.
• Chris Robbs: I fished more towards the main lake. I was familiar with the area, and my pre-fish spots didn’t give me the confidence that winning fish were there.

2. What were the primary baits and techniques?

• Jeriamy Vann: I caught all 5 keepers on a Watermelon Candy Senko worm, wacky rigged. They were in 2 feet of water or less on 10 to 30-degree banks with gravel and chunk rock.
• Seth Jones: I started with a wacky rig but it was too slow. I actually bought a new rod and reel specifically for crankbaits for this event and stuck with that until noon.
• Chris Robbs: My best 5 fish all came on a custom painted topwater bait by Council Bluff Crankbaits.

3. What was a key decision that made the difference?

• Jeriamy Vann: Keying in on the specific bank angle and rock composition. Once I found they liked that gravel/chunk mix, I just hunted similar stuff the rest of the day.
• Seth Jones: I marked every spot I caught a fish on the crankbait, then circled back later in the day with a 2.5-inch Hula Grub. That’s when the big upgrades happened.
• Chris Robbs: Since I hadn’t pre-fished my primary area, I decided to cover water fast until I keyed in on how they were set up. Once I found them, it was on fire.

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Ketch Angler of the Year (Top 25 Standings)

Two events are in the books for the 2026 NSKA NWA season, and the race for the Ketch Angler of the Year is already starting to separate the grinders from the one-hit wonders. In the Ozarks, consistency is the hardest thing to catch, and the current Top 25 represents the guys who have figured out how to pivot from the clear waters of Beaver to the rugged banks of Table Rock.

Here is the official Top 25 standings as we head toward the mid-season stretch after the 2026 NSKA NWA Table Rock West tourney.

2026 Ketch Angler of the Year: Top 25 Standings

Rank	Angler	Beaver North	Table Rock West	Total Points
1	Seth Jones	96	99	195
2	John Hall	97	94	191
3	Tyler Zengerle	98	92	190
4	Maurillio Guitierez	93	91	184
5	Justin Malott	84	97	181
6	Levi Schneider	100	78	178
7	Danny Dutton	92	86	178
8	Tony Sorluangsana	81	96	177
9	Jason Adams	99	74	173
10	Kyle Long	91	81	172
11	Dwain Batey	89	79	168
12	Terrill Standifer	95	72	167
13	Josh Landreth	83	82	165
14	Jim Hall	72	93	165
15	James Haeberle	73	90	163
16	Nate Higgins	94	64	158
17	Jason Kincy	68	89	157
18	John Evans	62	95	157
19	Josh Goforth	86	67	153
20	Jose Abraham Garcia	82	71	153
21	Jeff Malott	76	75	151
22	Justin Wright	71	80	151
23	Justin Smith (R)	74	70	144
24	Richard Souvanaraj	58	85	143
25	Jamie Shumate	69	73	142

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Arvest Heavy Hitters (Top 25 Standings)

While the Angler of the Year race is about the grind and building up solid point totals, the Heavy Hitters race is about monster catches. This is the hunt for your biggest individual fish of each event, where a single cast can vault an angler past the field in the totals. Do it consistently through the season and you might just become a Heavy Hitters champion.

After two stops, the leaderboard is starting to see some separation between those who find the “dinks” and those who find the “kickers.” Jason Adams sits on top after two events with a golden 21″ in his bag that is a strong advantage early in the season. Danny Dutton, Seth Jones, and Nate Higgins all have 20″ or better in their totals so far.

2026 Arvest Heavy Hitters: Top 20 Standings

Rank	Angler	Table Rock West	Beaver North	Total Inches
1	Jason Adams	21.00″	18.00″	39.00″
2	Danny Dutton	20.50″	17.00″	37.50″
3	Jason Kincy	18.50″	19.00″	37.50″
4	Seth Jones	17.25″	20.00″	37.25″
5	John Hall	18.25″	18.25″	36.50″
6	Levi Schneider	18.50″	17.75″	36.25″
7	Nate Higgins	20.00″	15.75″	35.75″
8	Terrill Standifer	17.75″	17.25″	35.00″
9	Maurillio Guitierez	16.75″	18.25″	35.00″
10	Justin Malott	16.75″	18.00″	34.75″
11	Tyler Zengerle	17.00″	17.25″	34.25″
12	Dwain Batey	16.25″	18.00″	34.25″
13	Jeff Malott	15.00″	19.00″	34.00″
14	Kyle Long	16.50″	17.25″	33.75″
15	Josh Goforth	17.50″	15.75″	33.25″
16	Justin Smith	16.75″	16.50″	33.25″
17	Jamie Shumate	16.00″	17.25″	33.25″
18	Josh Landreth	15.75″	17.25″	33.00″
19	Jose Abraham Garcia	15.25″	17.75″	33.00″
20	Tony Sorluangsana	14.75″	18.00″	32.75″

A huge thank you to Eco Fishing Shop for being our title sponsor and supporting the NSKA NWA trail!

As September arrives, anglers on the Ozark reservoirs like Beaver Lake face a unique challenge. The intense heat of summer is gone, but the water hasn’t fully cooled, creating a tricky time to find and catch bass. The fish are often scattered, sometimes staying in deep water and other times moving to the shallows to follow baitfish. This change of seasons makes for an unpredictable tournament day with unpredictable results.

This past weekend, anglers converged on Beaver Lake, a 28,000-acre reservoir in the Arkansas Ozarks. Known for its clear water, rocky cliffs, and extensive shoreline, it is a favorite for those targeting largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass. The lake’s diverse environment, from deep timber-filled coves to steep rocky points, makes for a complex fishery with many options. Beaver Lake was the perfect setting for the final event of the season for the Natural State Kayak Anglers (NSKA), the 2025 Beaver Lake Crucible, which was sponsored by Cherokee Casino.

Tournament Results

Your NSKA president, Josh Landreth, shared the results after the event:

A gorgeous day on Beaver Lake yielded some mixed results but some monster bags!

All results are pending a 24 hour protest period, and nothing is official (including Classic qualifiers) until that protest period is over.

Levi Schneider absolutely smashes’em with a winning total of 91.25″ including nearly identical 19.5’s which also earned him Big Bass honor. This is Levi’s second win of the season, and gets him one step closer to his season long goals. What a day!!! We talked at the weigh-in that this may be the biggest one day total on Beaver Lake in NSKA history. We’ll need Jason Kincy to weigh in on that! (Kincy believes that is correct!) Either way, what an incredible day!! Congratulations Levi. He takes $600 for 1st place, Big Bass, and 2 hourly Big Bass.

Justin Brewer stays hot as well with back to back 2nd place finishes. He had a total of 87.0″ which would win on Beaver Lake nearly any other day besides today. Justin said at the weigh in that he had his first crankbait bite of the season. He also had matching 19.5’s like Levi. I didn’t even realize it at the weigh in, but the event Big Bass had to go all the way to the third kicker, because both Levi and Justin had 2 19.5’s. Justin wins $285 for 2nd place and hourly big bass.

Dwain Batey got off to a super hot start and finished 3rd with 86.25″. Another amazing Beaver Lake total that had to settle for 3rd on the podium. It’s awesome to see Dwain taking home hardware. He wins $193 for 3rd place and hourly big bass.

1st off the podium and last check cashed goes to Josh Landreth with 84.0″. I can tell you that that’s about what my goal was for the day, and I certainly did not expect 84.0 would not earn a trophy. Wow. What a day!! I get $130 for 4th and 2 hourly Big Bass.

After the top 4, there was a substantial drop in the standings. The rest of the top 10 included:

5th: James Haeberle 77.5

6th: Tyler Zengerle 77.25

7th: William Atchison 77.25

8th: Jimmy Chokbengboun 77.25

9th: Tony Sorluangsana 74.25

10th: Maurilio Gutierrez 72.75

Josh Landreth won trash fish with a 30″+ striper.

John Evans won the second side pot which was given to the last fish caught in our 2025 regular season. John snapped his photo of a 13″ bass at 2:59.58!! Now that’s a buzzer beater!

Kyle Long also won an hourly Big Bass prize with a 17.75″.

We also gave 3 $42 free entries as door prizes thanks to our sponsors. The door prize winners were John Hall, Nate Higgins, and Mandie Adams.

Thank you so much to Moments by Mandie Photography for taking our weigh in photos throughout the season!

Angler Roundtable

Some familiar anglers are once again going to share how they dominated on the water! Thank you to Levi, Justin, and Dwain for dropping some knowledge on us!

1. What part of Beaver did you go to and why?

Levi – I went to Indian Creek because I know it like the back of my hand and it just sets up very well for how I like to fish.

Justin – I chose to fish the south end of the lake. I’m a dirty water power fisherman and that works best with dirtier water. The south end is usually the best place to find that.

Dwain – I chose to fish the White River mainly to avoid the heavy pleasure boat traffic. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if it was the right call this time of year since I hadn’t done any pre-fishing, but I decided to commit to it anyway.

2. What were some of the key baits or techniques that led to your success?

Levi – I had a multiple off-the-wall presentations tied on but the key players for me this go around were a Berkley Choppo, a deep diving jerkbait, various jig head minnows and lastly my reliable flutter spoon. I also applied the Strike Force crappie scent to everything.

Justin – Usually do pretty good on topwater in this tournament but it just wasn’t producing so I picked up the squarebill and first cast after picking it up, caught a 16” fish and then a few casts later caught my first 19.50”. Decided to keep it locked in and it turned out to be the deal.

Dwain – All of my fish came in the first two hours on topwater. After that early bite faded, I was able to catch fish throughout the day on other baits, but I never found another quality bite that helped me cull. My only real pattern was focusing on main river channel bends with wind.

3. How have you been approaching pre-fishing this season and if you have done it how has it helped?

Levi – At the start of the year I was just going into every event with some or little practice just sort of fishing with the flow and it was working. However after I lost my freak giant smallie in the last hour of the Tenkiller event and I knew we were going to Table Rock next that combo sort of hit a nerve that I needed to shake. Ever since that moment I’ve dedicated all of my free time to practice for each event from daylight to dark and it resulted in my biggest bag ever on both Table Rock Beaver.

Justin – I have not pre-fished for a single tournament. Just showed up and went fishing.

Dwain – It’s been a tough season for me, but I don’t believe the lack of pre-fishing is the reason behind it.

4. Do you look at the leaderboard during the event to see how it’s going, and why do you or why do you not?

Levi – I like to check the leaderboard periodically just to know how I’m keeping pace with the rest of the field plus it’s a great indicator on if I just need one more big one or if I need to make a serious adjustment to start making multiple culls.

Justin – Yes. I check it regularly. I just like to know what I’m up against. Whether it be me leading and what I’ve got to do to stay on top or for if I’m behind what I’ve got to get to gain some ground.

Dwain – Normally, I don’t check the leaderboard. This event was an exception, though, because I was sandbagging three good fish and didn’t submit them until later in the day.

AOY Race and Top 25 Classic Field!

The Angler of the Year race is winding down, but the Classic counts double and could still play a role. Levi is in the lead and has a cushion, but a disaster of a Classic combined with a top finish from a few others could result in a change at the top! If Levi can finish in the Top 10, AOY is likely his to win. The rest of the Top 25 is below, including some rookies and some old-timers. Should be a challenging and fun two days on Beaver Lake.

If you didn’t qualify, don’t forget about the Classic Shootout, a one-day event where the winner gets invited to the big party!

Heavy Hitters

The Heavy Hitters competition is concluded for the regular season, and Levi Schneider is your champion for 2025! As usual it was a tight race down the stretch, but Levi did what he needed in the final event to seal the deal. Congratulations to Levi, our 2025 Heavy Hitter!

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:

1. Austin Nims 204.25
2. Justin Brewer 170.00
3. Tony Sorluangsana 169.75
4. Jason Kincy 165.75
5. Levi Schneider 165.00
6. Brian Lookadoo 162.25
7. Andrew Newsom 154.25
8. Will Atchison 153.50
9. Dexter Scott 153.50
10. 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!

As the sun beat down on this July Saturday, 40 anglers descended upon the pristine waters of Lake Eucha and Lake Spavinaw for the event sponsored by H2 Heat and Air. These twin jewels of Northeast Oklahoma, known for their stunning “Green Country” scenery and reputation as top-tier largemouth bass fisheries, promised a challenging yet possibly rewarding day on the water. Temperatures soared into the high 80s to low 90s Fahrenheit, accompanied by oppressive humidity with dew points around 71°F, making for a muggy atmosphere.

Lake Eucha, a picturesque 2,860-acre reservoir, boasts 49 miles of scenic shoreline and is known for producing big bass and giant bags. Just downstream, the slightly smaller Lake Spavinaw, completed in 1924, offers 20 miles of shoreline and a robust population of largemouth and crappie surrounded by a grassy shoreline.

Tournament Results

This event was truly one of the haves and the have nots. Choosing the right lake and right area had a lot to do with the outcome for anglers. Overall, the fishing was TOUGH for the field with a very low FPA of 3.49, compared to 6.8 recently on Table Rock, and 4.6 on Tenkiller. For anglers on Spavinaw, it was a bad choice – of the close to a dozen anglers who started the day on Spavinaw none of them turned in a limit. Dwain Batey was the highest finishing Spavinaw angler, coming in 15th overall in the field. The top 14 anglers came from Lake Eucha. There were some newer names at the top of the standings, making for a fun event!

Maurilio Gutierrez won first place with a big 89.50″ on the day, including a 20″ Largemouth bass. Fanny Phomsopha was second with 87.50″, and Mandie Adams took third place with 86.25″ on the day. Big Bass went to a tiebreaker between Jason Kincy with a 21.50″ Spavinaw Largemouth and Kase Ingram with a 21.50″ Eucha Largemouth. Kincy won the tiebreaker with an 18.75″ as the second biggest bass.

Seth Jones won trash fish with a 18.25″ Drum as well as the Eucha/Spavinaw plaque raffle. The awesome Ketch doorprize drawing was won by Kase Ingram.

Eucha + Spavinaw Top Ten:

1. Maurilio Gutierrez 89.50
2. Fanny Phomsopha 87.50
3. Mandie Adams 86.25
4. Cole Sikes 84.50
5. Kase Ingram 83.50
6. Jason Adams 83.50
7. Justin Brewer 83.25
8. Seth Jones 83.25
9. Nate Higgins 83.25
10. Terrill Standifer 83.00

Angler Roundtable

Join Maurilio, Fanny, and Mandie as they recap their day and how they conquered Lake Eucha to win the trophies and the money!

What lake and general area did you decide to go to and why?

Maurilio – I decided to fish lake Eucha, I pre-fished a few weeks ago at the ramp that has the main office and I liked everything It had to offer in the area so I decided to launch there. As for the storm I told my self if my area was blown out then I would just move to the next ramp to try and find better water conditions, luckily past the bridge the water had a nice stain to it and not much debris in the water. I prefer fishing stained water anyway.

Fanny – I got to Eucha around 4:30pm Friday stood at the boat ramp look around saw some bluff banks reminded me of Tenkiller, I like Tenkiller. I started at the bluff across the lake from ramp then back to the boat ramp side looking for more bluff banks.

Mandie – I fished Lake Eucha. It was a lake I had never been on before. A few days before the tournament, I did a quick drive-by and spotted grassy areas and standing timber that immediately caught my eye. Even without time to fish it, it just looked right. After the flooding hit, I questioned if it would still hold up, but I stuck with my gut. Jason and I ride together, so I had to talk him out of his mid-lake plan and get him on board with this spot. Thankfully, he went along with it—and it worked out!

What are some of the techniques you used to catch your fish?

Maurilio – I started the day off with a Berkley Choppo for top water, a chatterbait, and a crankbait to try and locate some fish and get an idea of the mood they had after the storm. Started getting bites on the crankbait and the fish I was catching were very shallow around rocks. My 3rd fish caught me by surprise and when I was fighting him he took me under the front of the kayak and caught my trolling motor and broke me off, it was a good one! I decided to lock the crankbait in my hand until I had a limit. After my limit the crankbait kept producing but I also used a big jig and a big Texas rigged worm to cull up.

Fanny – I made up my mind up to keep it simple first thing in the morning buzz bait and Sexy Dawg walking bait first 30 minutes, then going to jigs and shaky head the rest of the day.

Mandie – I broke my buzz bait 5 minutes into the tournament so I used a jig and Ned and bounced them off anything I could… rocks, culverts, trees, you name it. With the water being muddy, it seemed like the fish couldn’t see it well, but they could sure hear the clank and commotion when it hit something or splashed in. That extra sound and vibration helped trigger bites.

Can you take about your key catch?

Maurilio – My Key catch was a 17” fish I caught in the shady area of a rocky bank next to a point, the sun was up by then and everything I had caught was in the shade so I threw the crankbait back in the same area and caught another 17” and a 16” so I new there had to be a big one in that area. I took a breather and tied on a big football jig and told my self to fish it slow, then bam on the first cast I caught the 20” fish. It felt unreal because this was the first time I had a limit of fish that could possibly win. I didn’t want to get over confident so I kept searching for another big fish to cull a 15.5 but it never happened Luckily my limit was enough for the win.

Fanny – Caught a 18.75″ on a jig at 9:00am gave me my limit sitting on 77″ then around 10:00am hooked up on 19.75″ on a shaky head a 6 inch cull with almost 4hrs left. Last cull came in around 12:45 (87.50″) around 1:00pm hooked up got excited oh baby, this is for the W! It was a stinkin’ 17” drum.

Mandie – My key catch was actually my first fish. It came off a rocky ledge that dropped about 4 feet. I cast into the shallow side and hooked something that felt… weird. It was fighting extremely hard. When I got a look at it, I actually thought it was a white bass. And honesty, I almost tossed it back and messed up my bag again, just like at Tenkiller. But something told me to really look, and sure enough, it was a largemouth. That fish gave me the confidence boost to keep grinding through the chaos.

As you are continuing to fish tournaments, what is the most important thing you have learned?

Maurilio – This tournament really taught me to be more patient and to try to keep a positive mindset, even after that fish braking me off and I also had another that spit my crankbait previously I would have been flustered and would of made bad decisions. I just kept telling my self be patient, shake it off and keep grinding. Another thing I really have been trying to improve on is how to catch bigger fish and making a change to bigger baits definitely helped me in this tournament. That’s what I really enjoy about this sport is the past 3 years I’ve been doing it, it has been a constant learning process. Can’t wait for the next one!

Fanny – Keep it Simple and enjoy the moment and make life lasting friends.

Mandie – Trust your instincts and don’t overthink it. Especially when the conditions are tough, your gut is usually more reliable than you think. I’ve also learned not to second-guess what I’m seeing just because it doesn’t “look” textbook. The mental side of tournament fishing is just as important as the technique… maybe more.

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Angler of the Year

The Angler of the Year race didn’t shake up too much in this event. Most of those at the top struggled in this one but a few anglers moved up within the top ten, improving their overall position. In the race to qualify for the Classic Championship as a part of the top 25, this was an impactful event. A few really solidified their standing for the Classic including our top three finishers who really strengthened their points totals. Now that we have six events in the books, you can for the first time see the ‘best six’ top 25. There is going to be a lot of drama and some heartbreak down the stretch as several anglers have zeros that will drop after event seven. We may not know the last five in until after the final event!

Heavy Hitters

Like AOY, there weren’t many moves made in the Heavy Hitters standings, but a few put some good fish on the board to help their standings. With five 20+ bass submitted, anglers like Brewer, Kincy, Ingram, Gutierrez, and Mandie Adams added some big numbers to their totals. Right now Levi Schneider is in the lead with a cushion, but some close behind can make big jumps with a 20+ in the Road Runner. Several within 6″ of the lead can replace a relatively smaller bass with a big one – Landreth (17), Wilkie (17), Sorluangsana (17.25), Standifer (16.25), Brewer (14.75), S Jones (13.25), and Hibbs (16.25). This is not over if Levi fails to upgrade his 17, but if he does that may be tough to catch.

Special thanks to Eco Fishing Shop for being the trail sponsor for 2025. They do a lot to support our sport of kayak fishing and have great products and service!

Tournament four is in the books for 2025 with the H2 Heat & Air Lake Tenkiller event held this past weekend. This tournament followed by a week the Bassmaster Kayak Series stop on Tenkiller, but it was a completely different fishery from the previous week. Water was back close to normal levels, which took a lot of shallow cover out of play. As usual, some anglers really figured out how to catch’em and some did not.

Tournament Results

Overall, the Fish Per Angler rate was in the average range with a 4.57 – not too bad compared to some events, but not up to historical Lake Tenkiller standards. The water fluctuation and fishing on a post front day following storms I’m sure didn’t help. Tony Sorluangsana took 1st place with 88.25″ on the day, followed by Terrill Standifer with 82.75″ for 2nd place, and John Hall took 3rd with 82.75″. Terrill won the tiebreaker with an 18″ bass for his top fish. Big Bass went to Tony Sorluangsana as well, giving him quite a big day on Tenkiller! Additional winners included Fanny Phomsopha as the WM Trash fish winner with a gar that was around 36”, and the prize for smallest bass went to Bryan Sanders with a 7” beast!

Lake Tenkiller Top Ten:

1. Tony Sorluangsana 88.25
2. Terrill Standifer 82.75
3. John Hall 82.75
4. Will Atchison 82.50
5. Seth Jones 82.25
6. James Haeberle 82.25
7. John Evans 82.25
8. Dwain Batey 82.00
9. Billy Bowden 81.00
10. James Fortune 77.25

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Angler Roundtable

The top anglers share how they did it. Thanks to Tony, Terrill, and John for recapping their day on the water!

Question 1: What part of Tenkiller did you go to and why?

• Tony: “I launched at a ramp just north of Cookson bend, it was 10 minutes for the Airbnb. I was familiar with that area and knew I could find a limit there.”
• Terrill: “I launched at Chicken Creek. The thought process was after they sucked the lake down rapidly last week, most of the fish would be main lake. I went across to Party Cove and the entire shoreline was covered in dead shad. I had to go back to Chicken Creek to find fish.”
• John: “I fished near the dam. During practice, it seemed to have the best quality out of all the places I tried.”

Question 2: What were some of the main techniques or baits you used to catch your winning total?

• Tony: “In the morning I was using a Jackhammer and fluke, but moved off the bank by mid-morning and caught my best 5 on a jig head minnow and various deep diving cranks.”
• Terrill: “The early bite was all top water on a Whopper Plopper. A big key was seeing the bank covered in carp which pushed the bass out from the shore. You had to run it at least a few feet off the bank. Once that died after an hour, I switched to a jig. Super tough bite, but I found a few upgrades in the very far backs of pockets where there were waterfalls. It took multiple casts in the same small area and patience to finally get a bite.”
• John: “I caught all of my fish on a Megabass Magdraft and a shakey head.”

Question 3: Talk a bit about your key catch and what happened.

• Tony: “It was a 15.75” smallie that didn’t even make the cut in the final 5 but it confirmed what I was seeing on the graph. In practice I found huge schools of white bass and as I graphed over a ledge, I saw the same type of school. I almost didn’t cast at them, but glad I did bc it turned out to be a massive school of bass in the above average size.”
• Terrill: “I caught a 19” Smallie and let it jump off the board. I wanted to puke but just went back to casting and tried to block it out. A saw a fish bust out in open water, so I cast to it and landed an 18”. That 18” was the key fish that broke the tie.”
• John: “I caught 3 nice ones really fast after lines in on the Magdraft, but once the storm rolled out, I went 3 hours without a bite. I tried a lot of different baits but eventually picked up a shakeyhead just to get a limit. I started throwing the shakeyhead in the dark, shaded areas of a bluff wall, and I started getting bites. My 4th keeper of the day was really key because I knew I was on the right track after struggling for a few hours.”

Question 4: The three of you have been getting better and better. What’s the key to improving in tournament competition?

• Tony: “Map study and staying engaged mentally at all times. I go through a lot of scenarios in my head while on the water that usually gives me clarity on what I should be doing. I use to allow the pressure of tournament fishing get the best of me, but I have learned to trust what I know and just go fishing.”
• Terrill: “It’s the culmination of all of the input from the great guys in the club. It was super tempting to watch Kristine Fisher’s videos and want to throw a cull shad all day, but I could hear Kyle saying ‘Don’t try to catch another man’s fish. Fish YOUR strengths.’ Brandon Prince has worked a ton with me on reading the situation so recognizing the carp had pushed the bass back. Also teaching me to cast to the thickest prime spot first vs trying to pick off numbers and work your way to it. Haeberle teaching me about finding great fish in the absolute very back where fresh water is coming in. On Beaver, when I finally caught a good fish, I could hear Dwain asking ‘why’d you catch that fish?’. It led me to realize they were fry guarders and how to best target them. Remembering Cole talk about how great spots reload and how many times he’s done great in a small area he fished over and over made me head back to a dock where I caught all my good fish. So many more guys have shared great info that’s taught me so much. I’m forever grateful to everyone in the club who has generously given me info that they worked so hard to obtain.”
• John: “During my first year with NSKA I fished a lot of history – or for new lakes I would watch videos and see what other people had done and try to replicate it. I stopped doing that last year and started using Google Earth and my practice time to find areas that I think can be productive based on seasonal patterns, the available structure, and the way I like to fish. For example, I tried to avoid content from the Bassmaster Kayak Series last week because I was afraid it would sway me to do something different than what I had found in practice. This new strategy seems to be working pretty well so far, and even on a lake I’ve been to a thousand times like Beaver, I try to treat it like it’s new each time.”

Angler of the Year Update

The AOY race is starting to take shape, but it is still early and several anglers are in it. With the ability to drop two event scores, there is a lot to happen still to determine the AOY champion. Standings through four events:

Heavy Hitters Update

Unlike AOY, getting off to a fast start with Heavy Hitters is a must if you want to take the title. What’s interesting is this year, there are not a lot of bigs on the board, leaving room for someone to make a late run. If you have a 20+ already, you have a leg up, but there are only a few of them so far, so ground can be made up!

Next Event: Table Rock West

The next NSKA NWA tournament is June 28 on Table Rock West. The All-American Kayak Series also has a tournament on Table Rock that same day if you want to double dip and do both events!

Looking Back at Beaver South!

We were not able to do a recap after the NSKA NWA event on Beaver South, presented by Southtown Sporting Goods, but want to recognize the winners. Justin Brewer took 1st place with 86.25″, followed by Terrill Standifer with 84.75″, and Jeff Mallot took 3rd place with 84.00″ for the day. Jason Alexander won Big Bass with a 21.50″ Beaver Lake giant. Jim Hall won the trash pot with a 28″ Striper (!), and Bo McDaniel won smallest limit with 47.25″! Congratulations to all of these winners and other participants!

Stop number two for Natural State Kayak Anglers was on the beautiful waters of northern Beaver Lake! Am I the only one that gets myself confused that north Beaver Lake is up on a map, but is considered ‘down’ lake as the current flows? Anyway, this early April matchup follows a quick jump in water level and drop in water temps – confusing the bass and adding mystery to where they could be found in the spawn cycle.

North Beaver Lake Results

The NWA Makers Beaver Lake North event proved to be a very difficult day for the 62 anglers who entered the field. With a 3.76 FPA (Fish per angler), this tournament had one of the toughest fish catch rates in the past couple of seasons for NSKA. Of the 62 anglers, only 40% had a limit, and only 77% turned in at least one catch. Nonetheless, fish were caught – mainly smallmouth at the top of the standings! Jason Kincy 1st place with 87.50″ total of all smallies. Blake Weilant went a different route, turning in a limit of largemouth for 82.25″ and took 2nd place. Levi Schneider took 3rd place with a 81.50″ bag of smallmouth. Josh Landreth won Big Bass with a 21.25″ Beaver Lake giant.

Tournament Top Ten:

1. Jason Kincy 87.50
2. Blake Weilant 82.25
3. Levi Schneider 81.50
4. Justin Brewer 81.25
5. Tony Sorluangsana 79.25
6. Austin Nims 77.50
7. John Hall 76.50
8. Jason Adams 76.50
9. Christa Hibbs 76.00
10. Seth Jones 74.75

Additional winners included Jake Wilkie capturing the Trash Fish trophy wish a 23.50″ Drum, and Kyle Long won for Last Fish submitted.

Angler Roundtable

Our top anglers Jason, Blake, Levi, and Josh sat down to recap how they did it on tournament day. Let’s dive into how they made it happen.

1. Where did you go on Beaver and why did you choose it?

Jason – I haven’t been able to get out much to pre-fish and knew the water had risen quite a bit, so I wanted to go somewhere I was pretty familiar. Prairie Creek seemed to have 25 kayak anglers there which wasn’t great, but it was the closest drive from the house – so it made sense.

Blake – I’m not 100% sure of the boat launch name that I was. I believe it was called Hobbs it’s a nice cove I found on Google maps and it won the coin flip between there and one other ramp that was closer to the weigh ins. I’ve never been to Beaver Lake before so I was all luck landing at the right spot at the right day.

Levi – I chose Indian Creek because I’m very familiar with it and it treats me well. Ironically I did most of my damage In a creek arm that I had never fished before.

2. What were some of the main patterns or techniques that were key to your success?

Jason – I told a couple of other anglers before the event that I was going to keep it low key and drag some things around instead of chucking and winding. That turned out to be the deal as all of my fish came off of a shakey head or a Carolina rig. With all the fancy and sexy baits we have in the tackle box, sometimes the basic ones are the best. Most of my fish came off of steep banks or offshore drops around 19-20 feet deep.

Blake – With it being a new lake and some really clear water I just stuck to my confidence. Shakey head, which wasn’t my game plan coming into this. I thought it would be all moving baits. But once I launched and saw the clear water I went straight to bottom contact. I was catching them pretty consistently in about 16-20 feet.

Levi – I caught every fish on a flutter spoon and a jig head minnow. Flutter spoon was for the fish relating to structure such as docks, boulders, and brush piles. The minnow was fish roaming either by the structure or in deep open water.

3. Talk about the key fish catch, what happened and why was it important?

Jason – I had a plan to hit the backs of creeks that failed miserably to start the day. So, I got my first big clue when I caught a 15.50″ Kentucky deep off of a steep bank. That got me going and I caught three more in the next 45 minutes which settled me in for the day. My other main catch was in the last thirty minutes with an 18.00″ smallmouth that was going to cull a 15.50″ largemouth. Once I got that I felt like it sealed the deal for the win.

Blake – My key fish would have to be my 18.50″. She upgraded me from a 15.50″ I believe. The good Lord blessed me with her about 30 minutes after I snapped off a real good one. Lesson to change out my old line.

Levi – None of my fish were giants that made them more significant however like I mentioned at the weigh in I was battling an awful stomach bug the night before and all day that also made me question even just leaving the house. Because of that I’d say they were all important because as long as I kept catching fish it made it worth going through the trouble of being out there.

4. Talk about something new you bought in the off season for this year, have you used it and how has it worked out?

Jason – This offseason I switched over to using Falcon rods and I love them so far because they get pretty technique specific. My favorites already are the Lowrider Swim Jig rod, Lowrider Lizard Dragger rod, and the Bucoo Bladed Jig rod.

Blake – No new anything for this year. Hopefully that will change soon. All and all the lake is a beautiful area and it was a great event. Thanks to everyone that helps put it together and everyone that comes out and competes! Hope see you all again soon.

Levi – My biggest offseason change was going to a Bonafide pwr129 with a 24v 80# thrust terrova. It’s so much lighter than any kayak I’ve owned and I’ve gotten it up to 5.8mph and I believe with a few small modifications I can get it up to 6mph.

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Hey Josh Landreth, how’d you catch that Big Bass winner?

I launched at Rocky Branch. I had been out twice without catching a fish leading up to the tournament. But met a guy throwing a glide bait the day I practiced at Rocky Branch. He caught several solid fish, literally off the ramp. So I talked myself into launching there and committing to throwing the glide all day. That lasted about an hour, then I started junk fishing. I found a couple small Kentuckys on docks. So I just started dock hopping to get a limit. There was a point I wanted to fish between docks. I’ve caught good smallmouth there before in the spring off a ledge. So I started throwing a jerk bait along that ledge. I was absolutely shocked with that big largemouth hit it, to be honest. Thought I was hung up when she hit. Honestly, just a lucky catch. Didn’t catch any other fish that way all day. Beautiful fish. One of the biggest I’ve ever caught on Beaver.

Angler of the Year Race

Angler of the Year is early, but it’s a good idea to get off to a good start. Don’t sleep on those not in the top 25 so far, there are some that will leap up into the standings once the tournament drops come later in the season. So far, Levi, Christa, John, Tony, and Sam are off to a hot start.

Heavy Hitters Race

The Heavy Hitters is much more important to get off to a good start than AOY. You want to be ahead in this race as summer months come along and the bite gets tougher. Not many giants caught yet this season, although that should change in the next two events. Josh is in the lead for now, but this one will change quickly the rest of the spring. What you want to look for early is anyone with 19s and above which currently includes Josh, Sam, Jake, Levi, and Seth in the top 20.

Next Event

Get geared up for the next event, the NSKA NWA Southtown Sporting Goods Beaver Lake South tourney on May 17th! Get signed up and be ready for some big spawning bass.

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Special thanks to Kayak Fishing Focus friends: Lurenet.com (Code: KINCY15), Eco Fishing Shop, Falcon Rods, P-Line Fishing

The first tournament of 2025 is in the books as NSKA took to Table Rock Lake on a mid-March Saturday. The Jose’s Grill and Bar Table Rock West event was preceded by a week of very warm temperatures and some violent storms late in the week, and a slight cold front the morning of – the conditions for this event were a mystery going into tournament day. This mixed up recipe cooked up some big totals for those at the top of the final rankings.

Tournament Results

Fifty anglers took on the Rock and it was a productive day for most on the water. This event had a 6.78 Fish Per Angler (FPA) ratio, a very high number for a tournament this early in the year. Overall totals were very strong for Table Rock, or any event in the Ozarks region. Sam McClish took 1st place with 89.00″ followed by Levi Schneider with 86.25″ and Chris Needham taking 3rd place with 85.25″ on the day. Big Bass was also won by Sam, with a 20″ largemouth

Top 10 Anglers on Table Rock:

• Sam McClish 89.00
• Levi Schneider 86.25
• Chris Needham 85.25
• Christa Hibbs 83.00
• Kyle Long 82.25
• John Hall 79.00
• John Evans 79.00
• James Haeberle 78.75
• Tony Sorluangsana 78.50
• Maurilio Gutierrez 78.50

Anglers Roundtable

After a day of big bags on Table Rock Lake, our top three finishers – Sam, Levi, and Chris share how they did it and some insight into their trophy worthy day!

1) what part of table rock did you fish and why?

Sam – I fished the Kings river area. Anywhere there is stained water is where I wanted to be. I didn’t get a chance to pre-fish so knowing the water would have color and the warm temps we had this last week I figured the fish would pull up closer to the bank.

Levi – I went to Big Bay mostly because I did so well out there pre-fishing for the monthly by catching 96.50″ for my best five. So I knew if anything the size was there regardless of how they were going to setup.

Chris – Went to the Kings River area. I chose that solely because the first time I went there I won this tourney couple years ago.

2) what techniques or patterns were key to your success?

Sam – I only took 6 rods with me yesterday knowing I could catch fish on all 6 baits tied on (jerkbait, Rock Crawler, Frittside, A-rig, 3” swim bait, jig). I started the first few hours catching fish on a Berkley Stunna jerkbait around docks in 10-20’ of water. Then once that bite died down I fished the other 5 baits until I found that my go to 3” Sparkshad swimbait was the ticket the rest of the day.

Levi – I caught all my fish with a jig head minnow and an Alabama rig. Every single one came from a roaming pack just in the middle of a pocket or cruising the tree line.

Chris – I didn’t catch a lot but all bites were quality. Caught keepers using spinnerbait, jig, squarebill, and Wiggle Wart.

3) What’s the story of your key fish for the day?

Sam – The key fish of my day wasn’t a fish that I landed but a fish I broke off. I went back to a stretch I had caught fish on earlier in the day. Once I got to the spot on my first cast I caught a 17.75 which bumped me up to 3rd place at the time. It was what happened next that told me I was in the right spot. On my very next cast to the same spot I laid in to another heavy fish that immediately broke me off. Instead of getting mad like I would normally do I re-tied 2 rods with the same bait (3” Spark Shad) because I had a feeling it was about to get hectic. Sure enough over the next 35-45 minutes I caught all 5 winning fish off one tree in 16’ of water. 17.75, 17.25, 17.75, 20.00, 16.25 in that order. I had to leave the fish biting unfortunately, I was 30+ minutes from the boat ramp with zero cell service and I did not want to risk not getting my pictures submitted.

Levi – I caught my last keeper of the morning at 8:45 and when I checked the leaderboard around 12:30ish and saw Kyle had jumped me I knew I had to make a change so I tried to replicate my morning bite in a similar area and sure enough stumbled upon my 19.50” that was just roaming in the middle of a pocket looking for bait.

Chris – My key fish came in a small pocket that the wind had been blowing into the previous couple days on wood structure. I caught a 20″ and went to the very next pocket a short time later and missed another 20″ fish. Later in the day I went to another pocket almost exactly the same and missed another one the same size. All three were in wind blown pockets, on wood, about 2 feet deep. Missing those two will cost me a few nights of sleep.

AOY and Heavy Hitters Race

The first event of the year can set the tone for the AOY race, but doesn’t mean anyone is out of it yet. There is still time to replace a bad outing with a drop later on. For now though, the top finishers have a leg up in the standings.

The Heavy Hitters rankings not yet available.

Next Event: Beaver Lake

The next NSKA NWA event is the NWA Maker’s Beaver Lake North tournament on April 12.

Late August and early September on Beaver Lake brings a special challenge to the anglers each year. I believe this is the toughest stretch for fishing the lake and is the timing for the annual tradition of the NSKA Crucible – a situation of severed trial and pressure. This last regular season event is when the Classic field is finalized and some season long races take shape.

Tournament Results

Per usual, as the fishing gets tough during the late summer and anglers who have struggled fall out of the standings the field shrinks a bit. A total of 34 entrants took on Beaver Lake in early September, 53% turned in a limit, and almost everyone turned in at least one bass. The Fish Per Angler (FPA) ratio was 5.02, which was fairly respectable. There were fish caught on this day but size was elusive to almost all.

Tyler Zengerle took first place with 81.00″, and Levi Schneider took 2nd with 80.25″, while Jason Kincy was 3rd with 77.75: on the day. Jason Kincy also won Big Bass with a modest 18.75″ largemouth.

Beaver Lake top 10:

1. Tyler Zengerle – 81.00
2. Levi Schneider – 80.25
3. Jason Kincy – 77.75
4. Jacob Wilkie – 73.50
5. John Evans – 72.50
6. Jacob Webber – 72.00
7. Josh Landreth – 66.75
8. Jamie Schumate – 66.75
9. Bryan Caresia – 66.25
10. James Haeberle – 64.00

Angler Roundtable

As usual, kayak anglers are generous and helpful to other anglers learning the sport. Our top three finishers, Tyler Zengerle, Levi Schneider, and Jason Kincy share the details from their winning day.

Where did you go and why?

Tyler – I went to Indian Creek because I have a lot of confidence in that area in the summer. Even though the temperatures were going to be lower, I thought the summer patterns would still hold true (they didn’t).

Levi – I went to Indian Creek because I figured they’d be acting like the Bull Shoals fish I’d been chasing and looking for bait in the backs of creeks.

Jason – Fished the 412 / Blue Springs area because I just felt the river might be better than mid-lake this time of year. It took covering a lot of water to find the fish I found, no real pattern was evident.

What were some of the key baits or techniques that caught your fish?

Tyler – I caught a couple fish on Bryan Thrift’s micro football jig and the rest of my fish on the trusty shakey head.

Levi – I caught all my fish on a Damiki rig, Berkley Krej, and my last keeper on a Jackall counter back flutter spoon.

Jason – It was a junk fishing type of day for sure. Caught some on a War Eagle buzzbait, jig, swim jig, and War Eagle spinnerbait.

What was your key catch and how did it happen?

Tyler – My key catch came at 1:13pm on the jig. It was a 15.25” Smallmouth, which allowed me to finish with 81.00”. Without that fish, I would’ve finished in 2nd.

Levi – I managed a 17.50” largie and a 17” spot but the biggest one was my 16.75” smallie I caught in the last 30 minutes because it jumped me into second after going awhile with no big upgrades. I caught him flutter spooning brush piles.

Jason – You could say it was my first fish of the day, an 18.75″ on a buzzbait, but really it was probably the 16.25″ I caught later in the morning off a dock that gave me some confidence. Hadn’t caught a fish in a while and was starting to get discouraged before this one.

With the Classic coming up, how do you prepare or what’s your mindset going in?

Tyler – I try to keep it simple and fish my strengths. I don’t intend on trying something new or fancy. This one will take extra mental strength with being in contention for AOY, so I’ll have to manage my emotions better and make better decisions.

Levi – I honestly don’t have any plans or intentions of changing anything for the classic. All year I’ve been basically going in blind with a few ideas of what the fish might be doing but try to keep an open mind and just let the fish tell me what they want as the day goes on.

Jason – I agree with Tyler and Levi about keeping it simple and fishing your strengths. It is important to really focus on that first day and get off to a decent start for day one and just stay in range. Then day two you can close it out for the win.

Heavy Hitters Champ

Heavy Hitters was settled in this last event on Beaver Lake. Levi Schneider took the title for 2024 with his best five score of 96.00″ for the season. Jason Kincy was 2nd with 95.50″ followed by Josh Landreth in third with 94.00″ in total. Congrats to Levi on taking the win!

Angler of the Year and Classic Qualifiers Field

As the regular season comes to a close, it cements the outcome for the top 25 anglers who will be in the Classic Championship. The top 25 is below, congratulations to all who made it! For those who did not get in, you have another chance by entering the Classic Shootout on Sept 14 – enter by Sept 12!

The Angler of the Year race now seems to be down to three anglers: Jason Kincy, Levi Schneider, and Tyler Zengerle. Points are double for the Classic so any of the three could win. It is possible that if all three completely flame out someone else could make it interesting, but the way this season has gone I expect all three to be in the top 10 for the event.

Nominate NSKA NWA Sportsman of the Year

Kyle Long is taking nominations for Sportsman of the Year. The club has many great people as well as great anglers who are helpful, work in the best interest of the club, and are quality ambassadors of the sport. If you would like to recognize an angler and nominate them, please contact Kyle Long before the Classic with your nomination.

“I’m looking high and low, don’t know where to go
I got to double back, my friend
The only way to find, what I left behind
I got to double back again, Pumpback again”

Those lyrics from ZZ Top came to mind as we had to make a late switch from the planned Arkansas River for this event to Pumpback due to some logistical challenges. Pumpback has an up and down history in tournaments regarding to how it has fished in the past. For 2024 it was going to perform pretty well for most anglers!

For the Pumpback event, presented by Toadfish Outfitters, a pretty good turnout of 45 anglers hit the water in an always fun shotgun start. Anyone who has never done one of those of any size has missed out on a few minutes of chaos with furious pedaling, motoring, and jockeying for position.

Tournament Results

The switch to Pumpback led to some good totals at the top. Pumpback has a lot of good fish that are thick and love to fight – and they were on display on this past Saturday. Will Atchison took first place with 88.25″ on the day, followed by Fanny Phomsopha with 86.25″, and Dustin Wheeler in 3rd with 86.25″ by tiebreaker. Will also took Big Bass with TWO 20.75″ tanks, winning in a tiebreaker over Josh Landreth who also had a 20.75″ Pumpback beast.

Bryan Caresia won the Trash Fish prize, and Kase Ingram won smallest limit.

Overall for the field, we saw a 3.89 Fish Per Angler (FPA) which isn’t very strong in the overall scheme of things, while a low 40% turned in a limit. These Top 10 were able to catch some fish:

1. Will Atchison 88.25
2. Fanny Phomsopha 86.25
3. Dustin Wheeler 86.25
4. Terrill Standifer 85.75
5. Jacob Webber 84.50
6. Tyler Zengerle 81.25
7. James Haeberle 81.25
8. Josh Landreth 80.75
9. Kevin Tadda 80.75
10. Kyle Long 79.75

Angler Roundtable

Here’s how the top anglers on the day did their thing in catching some big limits on Pumpback:

What was your overall strategy going into the tournament?

Will – Coming into the tournament I felt like the fish would be holding on points feeding on shad. I knew the main lake points was going to get hammered by everyone, so I wanted to give the fish a different look, than they would be seeing by the rest of the field.

Fanny – My strategy was to go up to the Dam and get a limit with the first 2 hours then move to opposite side of the lake up in the creek arms to finish the day.

Dustin – I came into this event expecting to scope with a drop shot, ned, and jerkbait but I still brought my glide bait rod just in case. I actually had two different glides, a golden baits hellion and a versatile baits vg2 that I was going to throw.

Any key techniques or baits you used to catch them?

Will – My limit was almost exclusively filled by throwing a white 3/8oz buckeye swim-jig out in deeper water on the main lake points. Slow rolling, bouncing it off the rocks in deeper water, on main lake points turned out to be the key strategy.

Fanny – I sarted out with a buzzbait had blowup on it but no hook up and notice the wind pick up. I change to a jackhammer and slow roll it 19.5″ Largemouth hammer it so I stuck with the jackhammer had several bites only four came from it. Move to new location looking for drop off bank 14ft or less with wind on it throw the jackhammer if deeper no wind throw the shaky head. That was what we stuck with the rest of the day.

Dustin – The hellion caught my first fish in a couple minutes on the south east side of the lake. I followed it with a couple on a crankbait, letting one jump out of the yak on me then I started scoping and managed one each on drop shot and jerkbait. Both back in the creek that feeds into the lake. I decided to leave that creek area and head out to the big island. On my way out I heard a fish bust on a point right on the bank and pulled over with the vg2 and caught a decent fish putting me at 4 fish scored. Fished down that bank a short ways and caught another on the vg2 that was 18” filling my limit.

What’s the story on your key fish for the day?

Will – My key fish, I felt like happened twice. Caught the first 20.75 early, on a point with the swim jig. It’s always a good feeling to get the kicker out of the way on your first three casts. When I finally had filled my limit I knew it was enough for a top ten but I felt like one big one would put me in a good spot. The one that sealed the deal, came later in the day on a crank bait, also on a point. When I finally got him in the boat I knew it could get interesting. The other guys definitely had me scared though, being that they had 86in before the leader board even went off!

Fanny – 30 minutes left came out of the creek sitting at 82.50 caught 2 more no cull 7 minutes left I noticed tree split like a Y in 10ft deep with wind on it took about 2 minutes to get there. The jackhammer came out on the second cast 18” Smallie absolutely crushed it and went airborne three times! I’m a nervous wreck with my history on this lake losing fish after hook up. I had my net out as far as it could reach and caught it in the air on it third jump – pure luck! Thank NWA for always putting on a good tournament. Starting to put names to faces and you guys have been great to me.

Dustin – Now my biggest fish is on my glide so I locked it in my hand figuring I needed to upgrade two more times to secure a win. An hour of glide chunking passes before I catch my biggest, a 19.25” smallmouth at 10:30. I ended up fishing the rest of the day until 1:20 without another bite but at 1:20 I hook into a 20” class fish to only watch it jump off and with it my tournament ended! Had I great time and was a great event! Best day I’ve ever had on pumpback too!

What type of line do you generally use for main techniques?

Will – I usually try to use 12lb Seaguar fluorocarbon on most techniques , but the size of the smallmouth in pump-back caused me to upgrade to 15lb. Turns out I’m glad I did. The two big smallmouth in my limit put up a heck of a fight!

Fanny – I use Berkley Vanish fluorocarbon 10lbs on my shaky head and 17lbs fluorocarbon on the jackhammer.

Dustin – I was using 20lb mono with the vg2 glide and 17lb fluorocarbon with the Hellion.

Heavy Hitters

The Heavy Hitters race is coming into final shape for the year after six events. Anglers keep their best five for the season for their total. With only a couple of events left we have a new leader. Levi can’t get too comfortable, though. Jason Kincy needs only a 20″ in one of the last two events to take the lead, while Josh Landreth is in great position and I predict is the favorite for the title. He can drop two low totals in the last two events and would leap to 1st place! The next two events are not big bass producers, so it’s going to be interesting. I’d rather be sitting in 1st than not at this point!

Angler of the Year Race

Angler of the Year still has a long way to go, but there was a shakeup in the standings after this event. Tyler Zengerle now sits in first place after Levi and Jason failed to deliver a good finish on Pumpback. I’m calling it now, this is a four angler race between Tyler, Kyle, Levi, and Jason. Not saying all the events to now didn’t matter, but if you calculate the best four scores (allowing for two drops), these four are almost all sitting at 388 – basically a dead heat. This is going to go down to the Classic Championship!

Speaking of the Classic, here is your current Top 25 who would make it in if it were today. This Top 25 is going to fluctuate quite a bit with score drops in the next two events, right now I think there are about 35-40 people still in the mix for a Top 25 qualifying ranking!