Whew boy! That was quite the shootout for the recent NSKA NWA King of the String tournament. As the old saying goes, you gotta beat the King to be the King. Who came close? Who came out on top? How did the King stay on top? Read on…

Well the pre-tournament predictions by many were too low, by a lot, for the most part. Here on KFF I predicted the winner would have 25-27 fish total (not far off) with a total of 335″ in length (not close). The real shocker was how far down the standings people were with fish totals that would have been top 10 last year! In retrospect, those of us bemoaning the tough fishing were just sucking, apparently the fish were there to be caught.

KOS Results

There were 62 anglers registered for the event, who accounted for 541 bass, an average of 8.7 fish per angler, up almost one BPA from last year. Tenth place in 2021 caught 20/253.75″ compared to 16/210 in 2020, and 20th place in 2021 was 12/167″ compared to 10/138.25″ in 2020. Performance was up in 2021 over 2020.

Roy Roberts has ended any debate (if any existed) on who is the King of the String with his third straight win of this event. That’s insane, unbelievable, and phenomenal. He’s definitely set the mark as his 2021 total was 28/373″ while his 2020 win total was 28/375.75″. Wow! Talk about consistency. That’s the number. You want to win next time, beat 28 fish and break 380″ and that might get you there.

Josh Howard took 2nd place with 27/358.25″ while Craig Wood took 3rd place with a 23/304.50″ total. Kyle Long took Big Bass with a 20.50″ hog with a magical spinnerbait landing. The rest of the Top 10 were: Dwain Batey, Cole Sikes, Devon Esry, Michael Burgess, Tyler Zengerle, Jason Coleman and Jason Adams.

My day on the water could have used some improvement, making some adjustments after a really bad start to salvage a few fish. Overall though it was my standard MLF performance, plus an early morning call to wake up my wife, lol. Here’s the video should you want to watch the recap:

Angler Roundtable

As usual, one of the awesome things about kayak fishing is how we are willing to share our experiences. The top anglers shared a lot of great details about their day and how they caught them. Lots of great stuff in here from Roy Roberts and Josh Howard!

What area of the lake did you go to and why?

Roy – I fished the clear water on the north end of the lake. I knew the water would be warmer up in the rivers and fish would be more committed to the spawn so I was a little nervous about my decision. However, in this format I wanted to fish my strengths and stick to the area of the lake I am most comfortable. I didn’t get a chance to practice so I just closely watched the conditions leading up and had a pretty good feeling where the fish would be. Another reason I chose this area was the strong population of all three species of bass. Being able to quickly change techniques and target different groups of fish was a key to get consistent bites all day.

Josh – I went up the river arm. Honestly, I wrestled with that decision all week. Based on history, research and the MLF format, I originally I had narrowed it down to 2 areas around the mid-lake area. The day before the tournament, I completely changed my game plan.

Craig – I chose Natural Walk as my spot for the tourney because it has several creeks coming in and there are a lot of spawning areas as well. One creek/cove gave me ten fish and the motivation to carry on.

Did you change anything or what was your mindset to try to catch numbers?

Roy – My game plan was to power fish shallow for the early bite on some steeper banks. This part went well…I had 10 fish by 8:30 on a crankbait / jerkbait / swimbait just covering water. That bite tapered off and I was working some pockets out of the wind with little success. The cold front had pushed the fish down to 18-20 foot range and they were holding tight to the bottom. Because of the wind I couldn’t use my normal finesse techniques to target these fish so I tied on a Carolina rig with a heavy sinker and a Zoom Centipede. The wind was brutal but bites were consistent. Because of the wind I had trouble feeling the bites and lost several nice fish. I just kept my head down and fished this pattern as efficiently as I could for the rest of the day.

Josh – My approach was to keep moving and cover water. I usually tend to target a small area and then work to get all I can out of that spot, but for this event I felt I needed to cover as much water as possible and keep my bait in front of new fish. Every time I felt myself slowing down or spending too much time in one area, I had to remind myself to keep moving.

Craig – I thought I would throw a spinnerbait and pick up fish, but just 15 minutes in I lost confidence in it, so I started pitching a jig and it produced bites. The storm may have caused them to hold them a little tighter to their spots and the jig gets in tight to those small strike zones.

We have a lot of new anglers this year, any advice for them in tournaments?

Roy – Man there are so many cliches and everybody has their opinion. It’s exciting to see new anglers getting involved and asking good questions. If I had to say one piece of advice I would just say be yourself. Understand what your good at and use that during competition. The hardest thing in bass fishing is chasing dock talk or someone else’s fish. I think people put too much pressure on “practice”. Me included. Just go out have fun, try new things, and learn the lake. Apply what you learn, block out some of the noise, and have fun. I’ve probably read as many articles and watched as many videos as anybody, but the knowledge I have gained firsthand far outweighs anything else.

Josh – Fish your strengths and control the controllable. Identify your strengths or the way you prefer to fish and then seek water that fits your style. I’m not saying “don’t try new baits or be reluctant to adapt to conditions”. I changed my area and plan the day before the tournament because I did not have 100% confidence in it. Win or lose, I want to spend the day fishing the way I want to fish. Control the controllable. This Club is absolutely stacked full of hammers it’s critical to me that I minimize wasted time. A couple minutes here or there can really add up throughout the day and I need every minute, every cast I can get. Organization, maintenance, ATTITUDE are all things that can cost you fish.

Craig – My advice is be patient. Its taken years for me to recognize subtle changes in a bass’s willingness to bite.

What’s your boat/kayak setup/type?

Roy – I have a Hobie PA12 with the 180 drive. I love this kayak. I got it about this time last year and it was a gigantic upgrade for me. I don’t have any fancy motors or electronics but it gets the job done!

Josh – I fish an Old Town Predator PDL. I’ve had it for 2 years now and love it. It’s been very reliable and gives me the confidence to fish any water or weather condition I encounter. Last year I installed a Power Pole Micro Anchor and I cannot say enough about it. Other than my pedal drive, my Power Pole is my #1-can’t fish without accessory.

Craig – I fish out of a Hobie Pro Angler 12 and it gives me the ability to carry a lot of gear and be comfortable in all conditions. I will always fish from a Pro Angler. Also the addition of great sidescan imaging has helped immensely. Congratulations to Roy, the shear amount of fish he caught and upload successfully was incredible.

Heavy Hitters Update

Oh we have a horserace here in the Heavy Hitters pool. (Still time to enter…) Kyle Long is off to a great start, with two solid bass to get things going, but there are several right behind him. Right now those with at least one 20 are a threat. The good news is nobody is out of it yet, we’re taking the top five best fish, so anyone can make a run!

Table Rock is next up, an interesting curveball to the schedule. Should be some huge totals caught there during the ongoing spawn. Get ready to roll!