Welcome to the mid-summer grind, folks. The NSKA NWA Eco Fishing Shop Trail Event #6 landed on Table Rock Lake, and it fished exactly like you’d expect for the dead of summer. A massive thank you to our event sponsor, Capps Mens Cuts, for supporting the trail and the kayak fishing community.

Conditions were brutal. It was flat-out hot with surface water temperatures sitting around 85-88 degrees. When you mix clear water, scorching sun, and heavy recreational boat traffic, Table Rock was a trying situation for many anglers.

By the Numbers:

• Total Anglers: 48
• Fish Per Angler (FPA): 2.40 – A very low mark for Table Rock!
• % Who Caught One Fish: 82%
• % Who Limited: 31%

Table Rock was stingy, and catching a limit was an accomplishment. Most of the field had to grind all day.

The Leaderboard

Here is your Top 10 for Table Rock. A huge congratulations to Levi Schneider, taking the crown on a day when every inch was earned in sweat. His winning total was far and away from spots 2 thru 6 which were separated by 1.25″ total. Moyakers Trevor Motzkus and Josh Boothe took second and third, respectively on their home lake. More from these three later on… Troy Enke took 4th place and Josh Landreth finished in the last money spot in 5th. I of course, lost the three way tiebreaker to land first out of the money!

1. Levi Schneider – 90.5″
2. Trevor Motzkus – 81.5″
3. Joshua Boothe – 81.0″
4. Troy Enke – 80.25″
5. Josh Landreth – 80.25″
6. Jason Kincy – 80.25″
7. Johnathan Dominguez – 78.0″
8. Terrill Standifer – 77.5″
9. Kyle Long – 76.25″
10. Dwain Batey – 75.5″

Tiebreakers for 4th, 5th, and 6th place were settled based on big fish tiebreakers.

Big Bass, Heavy Hitters & Side Pots

Levi Schneider didn’t just put up the biggest bag; he anchored it with the Advanced Automotive Big Bass—a 20.0″ largemouth caught late in the day on an ole Flutter Spoon. That kicker secured him $144 for Big Bass and $470 for 1st place, plus the hardware. He also took home a GiffGlidez custom swimbait, fitting since a couple of his key fish came on their prototype.

Other notable payouts and prizes:

• Johnathan Dominguez took the Trash Fish side pot with a big catfish.
• Jamie Shumate won the middle-of-the-pack side pot for finishing 24th.
• $42 door prizes were won by Bobby Hogan, Jobie Vee, and Troy Enke. Hogan also won the Table Rock plaque raffle donated by Danny Dutton.
• The remainder of the Top 10 received a new urchin bait provided by Seth Jones and Sizemore Paving.

Angler Roundtable

We caught up with the top three finishers to get the dock talk on how they broke down Table Rock. Levi, Trevor, and Joshua revealed the keys to their day:

• What general area of Table Rock did you go to and why?
  • Levi Schneider: I went to the Baxter area because I’ve spent a lot of time learning where those fish like to stage.
  • Trevor Motzkus: Shell Knob Area.
  • Joshua Boothe: I went to the Shell Knob area as well. It was a new area to me that I had never been to before. Looking at map study it looked like that area would be sheltered from the wind and give me plenty of water to fish. I had zero practice and it was my first tournament since April.
• What were the top baits or techniques that worked for you on the day?
  • Levi Schneider: I managed two of my keepers on a 3/4 oz Football Jig. Two on a prototype GiffGlidez Flutter Shad. It’s like a hybrid of a spoon/glide bait and it’s a dang fish catcher. Lastly, caught my late-day 20 on the ole Flutter Spoon.
  • Trevor Motzkus: Topwater (Megabass Dog-X) in the morning with a few smaller Rock Crawler bites mixed in. Chased a non-existent deep crankbait bite for too long into the midday and finally switched to targeting shallow shade pockets with a Brush Hog. I then downsized even more to a Finesse Jig which got my final few culls after 2:20. I caught a ton of fish in the morning and afternoon with a big lull in the middle (my fault).
  • Joshua Boothe: I threw a Buzzbait all day long and never touched another rod. I was pulling the bass out of flooded bushes.
• What’s your kayak setup, including yak, electronics, battery, motor, etc.?
  • Levi Schneider: I run a Bonafide PWR 129 with a 24v Minn Kota Terrova, dual Garmin 106sv’s, LVS 34 on a sniper pole. 24v 80ah battery for the motor and 12v 80ah battery for everything else.
  • Trevor Motzkus: Jackson Coosa X, Garmin Force Current w/ 24V Battery. Garmin 93SV I hardly look at.
  • Joshua Boothe: I fish out of a NuCanoe U10 with a NK 180 Pro motor and a massive 24v 100ah battery that means I can move at 5mph top speed and have enough battery to last me for days so I can cover lots of water. My Google Earth says I covered over 13 miles of shoreline. I have just a basic Lowrance setup with no fancy electronics. My plan was just to cover as much water as possible.
• For new anglers, what’s a tip in adjusting to fishing in the summer grind?
  • Levi Schneider: Find topwater/actively feeding bass early in the morning. Once it starts warming up don’t be afraid to throw big heavy baits to entice reaction strikes or, like Trevor said, chase shade lines. Especially on Table Rock, you can always find fish on bluff walls this time of year. Lastly, stay well hydrated and keep your head mentally in it cause you never know when you’ll stumble across a pod of them.
  • Trevor Motzkus: Fish as hard as you can in the morning. If you want to fish shallow throughout the day, find the shade pockets. If you don’t want to be out in the blistering sun, neither do the bass. Full tournament video will be on my channel @TM_Outdoorz on YT and FB.
  • Joshua Boothe: My advice for anglers new to the sport in the summer is that you not only have the heat to deal with, but the boat traffic as well. Hydration is vital, and knowing where the ski and wake boats like to play can be helpful on lakes like Table Rock.

AOY & Heavy Hitter Race Update

The season is in the home stretch, and the standings are tight. Levi made a move with his win, setting him up to finish it off in the next two events, but some others aren’t too far behind. And remember, the Classic is worth double, so there’s still a lot of time left. Heavy Hitters is also showing Levi in the lead, thanks to that 20 he picked up. There are still a few in striking distance, but people need to make a move now!

Current AOY Top 10:

1. Levi Schneider – 565 pts
2. Justin Malott – 558 pts
3. Kyle Long – 548 pts
4. Dwain Batey – 542 pts
5. John Hall – 541 pts
6. Tyler Zengerle – 540 pts
7. James Haeberle – 536 pts
8. Jason Adams – 531 pts
9. Josh Landreth – 530 pts
10. Seth Jones – 521 pts

Heavy Hitters Top 10:

1. Levi Schneider – 94.00″
2. Dwain Batey – 92.25″
3. Justin Malott – 91.50″
4. Jason Adams – 90.00″
5. Kyle Long – 89.00″
6. Jason Kincy – 88.75″
7. James Haeberle – 88.75″
8. Terrill Standifer – 88.25″
9. Tyler Zengerle – 87.50″
10. Seth Jones – 87.25″

.