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NSKA

Table Rock Grind: Schneider Solves the Summer Puzzle at NSKA Event #6

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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.

Levi’s Big Bass from Table Rock – Source: TourneyX

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.
Discount on Lurenet, Booyah Baits, YUM baits, war eagle lures, great lakes finesse, Bobby Garland

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″

.

NSKA

2026 NSKA NWA H2 Heat & Air Road Runner Recap: Shattering MLF Records

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The fifth stop of the 2026 NSKA NWA season, presented by H2 Heat & Air, brought the field face-to-face with the most mentally taxing format on the schedule. This event completely abandoned the traditional five-fish safety net and dropped the trail into a pure Major League Fishing (MLF) style shootout. Would the records be broken? Would fish be caught? Yes, and yes.

The rules were clear but unforgiving: any legal bass measuring 12 inches or longer counted toward an angler’s total cumulative length. There was no ceiling. The boundary line was a strict 55-mile radius centered on Springdale, forcing a massive strategic choice of where to go hunt for bass. Anglers faced warm, humid conditions with partly cloudy skies and in many areas a nasty morning rainstorm that may have soured the mood of the bass that morning in some cases.

Fanny Phomsopha’s Big Bass from the event, a 20.50″ largemouth bass. Source: TourneyX

The geographical breakdown of where the field scattered tells the entire story of this event. If you chose the right water or region, you had a good day. If you didn’t make the right choices…your day went differently:

  • The Beaver Lake Bust: 16 anglers bet their day on Beaver Lake. It turned into an absolute miss, with only 2 of those 16 managing to crack the top 20 on the final leaderboard. The Dead Sea was in full effect after morning storms rolled through.
  • The Table Rock Paradise: 13 anglers opted for Table Rock. The gamble paid off across the board; the lowest-finishing angler in this group took 19th place, putting 100% of the Table Rock crew inside the top 20.
  • The River Sleepers: Only two anglers decided to skip the major reservoirs entirely to hunt in flowing water. One of those river runners rode that current straight onto the podium.
  • The Outliers: No other independent body of water within the 55-mile ring attracted more than a single competitor and for the most part were not a factor.

By the Numbers

  • Total Anglers: 42
  • Anglers with at least one fish: 88% (37 of 42)
  • Limit Percentage: 62% of the field put a traditional five-fish limit or better on the board.

The Leaderboard – Top 10 Finishers

The historical standard for an MLF-style Road Runner tournament usually requires a strong day pushing toward the 380-inch mark to walk away with a trophy. This year, that baseline wasn’t just broken—it was completely left in the dust. Levi Schneider put on an absolute clinic on Table Rock, dropping a mind-boggling 475.00 inches on the field to shatter the all-time one day club record and pocket the $470 winner’s check. Jason Adams had a very strong 2nd place, beating out 3rd by more than 70 inches.

  1. Levi Schneider – 475.00″
  2. Jason Adams – 330.50″
  3. Jake Wilkie – 255.75″
  4. John Hall – 234.25″
  5. Dwain Batey – 231.25″
  6. Tony Sorluangsana – 228.75″
  7. James Haeberle – 201.50″
  8. Justin Malott – 198.25″
  9. Kyle Long – 196.25″
  10. Cole Sikes – 191.50″

Big Bass & Side Pots

While the top of the leaderboard was a race of pure volume, the Advanced Automotive Big Bass honors belonged to Fanny Phomsopha. Fanny fooled a 20.05″ largemouth to secure a sweet $126 cash prize along with a custom-painted glide bait from GiffGlidez Custom Swimbaits.

Proving he was clearing out everything swimming in his zone, Fanny Phomsopha pulled off a rare double-dip by also claiming the Trash Fish side pot, banking an extra $42 for wrestling a prehistoric 4-foot long gar into his kayak. Meanwhile, the $42 check for the tournament’s biggest verified Spotted Bass went to our event champion, Levi Schneider, who anchored his massive cumulative card with a solid 16.75-inch spot.

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Angler Roundtable: Top 3 Q&A

Our top three finishers sat down at the ramp to detail how they handled the unique pressure of the clock and the rules. Let’s hear how Levi, Jason, and Jake made their day:

1. Where did you go to fish and why?

  • Levi Schneider: I went to Emerald Beach at Table Rock because I knew it’d set up well for the every fish counts format.
  • Jason Adams: I headed to Table Rock and targeted the backs of pockets with water running into them. Honestly, my first instinct was to hunt one big fish. Levi edged me out by an inch on the last event on the Heavy Hitters standings, so that was on my mind. I pre-fished Lincoln Lake on Wednesday, pulled up, and there were 16 bass boats already running a tournament. That settled it pretty quick. Mandie and I decided to stay together and fish Table Rock instead.
  • Jake Wilkie: I went to the upper Illinois River. Plan was to catch as many Smallies as possible.

2. What were some of the main techniques or baits that worked for you?

  • Levi Schneider: I caught all of my fish on a jighead minnow, spoon, and a football jig.
  • Jason Adams: Early in the morning I was dragging a jig in the flowing water at the backs of those pockets and it was working. As the day went on and the fish pulled off the current, I transitioned to a drop shot around stumps. Read the fish, adjusted the presentation. Pretty straightforward day on that front.
  • Jake Wilkie: Caught everything on a Ned rig and Texas rig. Current was swift so you really had to make a good cast and put it on them.

3. How did you adjust your strategy specifically for the MLF format?

  • Levi Schneider: The only thing I really adjusted was the rods I brought with more finesse tactics but ultimately caught them all on my normal staples.
  • Jason Adams: Time management became everything, and honestly it bit me a little. I made a move to the main lake mid-day that ended up costing me close to an hour. I borrowed Mandie’s kayak since I didn’t have my boat with the Torqeedo, and that main lake run was a lot longer than I remembered. Lesson learned. On top of that, the TourneyX app was fighting me all day in the rain. Had to close it and restart it multiple times just to get fish submitted. When you’re in a format where every fish counts and every minute matters, that’s frustrating. Those two things together probably cost me a few fish on the leaderboard.
  • Jake Wilkie: When the schedule came out I knew I would be in a creek or river somewhere for this event. The heavy rain made it a tough decision but I found some clean enough water to make it work. It got very sketchy at the end of the float as the river started to rise from the rains around lines in time. Thankful I had a good buddy floating with me just in case it got unsafe.

4. How did forward-facing sonar play into your finish?

  • Levi Schneider: I utilized mine a lot to be more efficient to hit my offshore targets on the first cast. I caught majority of fish on offshore cover/structure such as ledges, brush piles and rock piles so being able to ensure my bait was in higher percentage areas helped generate more bites. I had one rock pile produce 7 of my scorable fish.
  • Jason Adams: Short answer, it didn’t. I was on Mandie’s kayak and she’s pretty clear about not wanting me messing with her setup, so no electronics, no motor. I was running purely on water-reading and instinct. Followed the fish from the current-fed pockets in the morning to the deeper timber cover later in the day. Sometimes you just have to trust what you’re seeing on the water.
  • Jake Wilkie: No FFS just a paddle yak and a couple medium light spinning rods.

Ketch Angler of the Year Race Update

The race at the top of the trail remains tight. Justin Malott held onto the overall AOY lead by putting up a gritty 93-point performance on TourneyX, bringing his total score to 468 points.

However, his breathing room completely vanished. With his record-breaking 100-point performance, defending trail champion Levi Schneider vaulted up to just behind Justin with 465 points. Only three points separate first and second place with three events left on the schedule. Tyler Zengerle and Kyle Long remain locked within striking distance, keeping the pressure on the leaders.

AOY Standings (Top 10)

  1. Justin Malott – 468 pts
  2. Levi Schneider – 465 pts
  3. Tyler Zengerle – 457 pts
  4. Kyle Long – 456 pts
  5. John Hall – 453 pts
  6. Dwain Batey – 451 pts
  7. Seth Jones – 450 pts
  8. James Haeberle – 447 pts
  9. Jason Adams – 445 pts
  10. Josh Landreth – 434 pts

Arvest Heavy Hitters Standings

The big fish race continues to shift as tracking quality over five separate tour stops catches up to the field. Dwain Batey grabbed a clutch 19.75-inch kicker during the Road Runner chaos to break out of the pack and claim the standalone lead in the Heavy Hitters race with a total of 92.00 inches.

Levi Schneider sits just three-quarters of an inch behind him in second place at 91.25 inches, while Jason Adams used his solid 17-inch fish from Table Rock to hold down third place at an even 90 inches. Justin Malott and Tyler Zengerle round out a highly competitive top five.

Heavy Hitters Standings (Top 10)

  1. Dwain Batey – 92.00″
  2. Levi Schneider – 91.25″
  3. Jason Adams – 90.00″
  4. Justin Malott – 89.75″
  5. Tyler Zengerle – 87.50″
  6. Seth Jones – 87.00″
  7. Kyle Long – 86.50″
  8. Jason Kincy – 86.25″
  9. James Haeberle – 84.50″
  10. Josh Landreth – 84.00″

This is the first time in a few years that this thing is wide open still going into July. Due to the lack of 20s caught this season, there is a lot of room for anglers to make up ground. If you drop the smallest two fish in the current bag, the race gets tight and some new names are in the top 5-7 anglers.

Up Next

We are packing up the rigs and heading back north to standard operating procedures. Get your maps ready for Table Rock II on July 18th, where we return to standard five-fish limit rules to see who can back up their early summer patterns on deep clear-water structure.

Tournaments

2026 NSKA NWA Southtown Sporting Goods Beaver South Recap: Slick, Soggy, and Shaky

The fourth stop of the 2026 NSKA NWA season, presented by Southtown Sporting Goods, brought the tournament trail back home to northwest Arkansas. This time, the field descended on the river arms and winding bluffs of Beaver Lake South. After a beautiful tournament day on Tenkiller, this event forced anglers to contend with a massive, atmospheric variable: a relentless, soaking rainstorm.

Conditions were anything but comfortable. Anglers faced soggy skies, high humidity, and water temperatures hovering in that transitional post-spring phase. For many, a downpour like this signals a fast-moving power fishing bite. But Beaver Lake has a reputation for being finicky, and the torrential downpours had the opposite effect on the bass, forcing some competitors in many areas to dial back the speed and pick up a grind mentality to secure their limits, while anglers in the river seemed to be able to keep ripping and running to catch fish.

James Haeberle’s Big Bass won a tiebreaker and the trophy. Source: TourneyX

By the Numbers

  • Total Anglers: 44
  • Total Fish Submitted: 308
  • Fish Per Angler: 7.00
  • Anglers with at least one fish: 93% (41 of 44)
  • Limit percentage: 75% (33 of 44 anglers brought in a 5-fish limit)

The Leaderboard (Top 10)

The standard of competition on this trail remains razor-thin and is a slug-fest every event. Fractions of an inch once again decided who took home the heavy checks and who went home with a wet kayak. Seth Jones took first place with 87.00″, with James Haeberle taking second with 85.75″, and Justin Malott finishing third with 83.75″ on the day.

  1. Seth Jones – 87.00″
  2. James Haeberle – 85.75″
  3. Justin Malott – 83.75″
  4. Cole Sikes – 81.75″
  5. Tyler Zengerle – 81.00″
  6. Josh Landreth – 79.50″
  7. Dwain Batey – 79.25″
  8. Chris Jones – 77.75″
  9. Kyle Long – 77.75″
  10. Fanny Phomsopha – 76.50″

Big Bass & Side Pots

The Advanced Automotive Big Bass honors belonged to runner-up James Haeberle. He fooled a gorgeous 19.25″ largemouth out of a shallow creek arm, earning him $132 in cash plus a custom swimbait from GiffGlidez Custom Swimbaits.

On the completely opposite end of the spectrum, Josh Goforth won the smallest bass side pot, cashing a $42 check for a microscopic 7.50″ monster.

The Eco Fishing Shop Trash Fish award went to Tyler Zengerle for wrestling a beautiful 26″ striped bass into the kayak.

Discount on Lurenet, Booyah Baits, YUM baits, war eagle lures, great lakes finesse, Bobby Garland Lurenet.com www.lurenet.com Lurenet Coupon

Angler Roundtable: Top 3 Q&A

As is tradition, our top three finishers gathered around the kayak launch ramp and talked about their day. Awesome sportsmanship to take us all along with them on their winning patterns.

1. What part of south Beaver Lake did you fish, and why did you go there?

  • Seth Jones: I launched at Beaver Shores so I could focus on bluffs in or around the thermocline.
  • James Haeberle: I went to Twin Bridges because I checked the water color the evening before and it looked good. Plus, it’s only a 15-minute drive for me.
  • Justin Malott: I launched out of Beaver Shores since it’s an area I’m familiar with and have had success fishing in before.

2. It was destined to be a very rainy day. How did that impact your game plan?

  • Seth Jones: Knowing the rain was on the way, I decided to try some shallower docks in hopes that some fish would move up.
  • James Haeberle: I was actually excited to see the rain and clouds for tournament day. Especially this time of year when I know the fish will be chasing bait. Bad weather usually works well with my style of fishing.
  • Justin Malott: I was pretty excited when the rain rolled in. I thought it would set up a solid spinnerbait bite, but when it started pouring, I struggled to get anything going.

3. What were the main techniques you used to catch your fish?

  • Seth Jones: I noticed during practice that some docks had several fish of different sizes, but often the smaller fish would pick the bait up first. To remedy this, I switched to 1/4 and 1/2 oz shaky heads. When a small fish picked it up, they felt the heavy weight and dropped it, letting the big fish grab it right behind them.
  • James Haeberle: The only bait that produced quality bites for me was a Strike King Sexy Dawg topwater in sexy shad. I was able to fish it all day with the weather we had.
  • Justin Malott: I junk fished for most of the day, mixing it up and catching fish on a little bit of everything—worms, swimbaits, jerkbaits, you name it. Eventually, I had to slow down and start dragging my bait when the downpour killed the fast bite.

4. How’d you catch your biggest bass?

  • Seth Jones: I decided to target the front of docks directly under the walkway cables where most boaters avoid casting. Three of my final fish came from this method.
  • James Haeberle: I saw a big tree washed up in a small creek in a couple feet of water. I threw my topwater around the root ball several times and gave up to fish up the creek. On my way back out, I made one last cast at the deeper water around those roots, and she came out and hammered it.
  • Justin Malott: I spotted two smallmouth blowing up on shad right against the bank. I already had a 3-inch swimbait in my hand, cast right at them, and it got smoked almost instantly.

Ketch Angler of the Year (Top 10 Standings)

What a difference a soggy day on Beaver makes. Taking advantage of the chaos, Justin Malott has made a move to the top of the rankings. By backing up his hot streak with a 98-point showing, he has officially seized the AOY lead with 375 total points. He is arguably the hottest angler on the trail right now, but breathing room at the top is nonexistent.

Tyler Zengerle and Beaver South champion Seth Jones are practically breathing down his neck, tied for the runner-up spot just two points back at 373 points. Levi and Kyle are lurking just behind, within 10 points in the lead. AOY is still up for grabs for lots of anglers.

AOY Standings (Top 10)

  1. Justin Malott – 375 pts
  2. Tyler Zengerle – 373 pts
  3. Seth Jones – 373 pts
  4. Levi Schneider – 365 pts
  5. Kyle Long – 364 pts
  6. John Hall – 356 pts
  7. Dwain Batey – 355 pts
  8. James Haeberle – 353 pts
  9. Josh Landreth – 349 pts
  10. Jason Adams – 346 pts

Crucial AOY Trends

  • The Logjam at the Top: Only 11 points separate 1st from 5th. Malott, Zengerle, Jones, Schneider, and Long have all proven they can score big points in any given event.
  • Sleepers: Every week there’s a new leader, proves nobody is safe. On the flip side, keep an eye on James Haeberle (8th – 353 pts) and Dwain Batey (7th – 355 pts). They both used huge scores at Beaver South to put themselves squarely in the conversation.

Arvest Heavy Hitters (Top 10 Standings)

We also have a massive shakeup in the big fish race. Jason Adams, who has used his 21-inch giant from the season opener to bully the field all year, has finally been passed by Levi.

Defending AOY champ Levi Schneider went to work at Beaver South, landing an 18.50-inch kicker to bring his four-fish cumulative total to a very strong 74.00 inches, sliding past Adams by a single inch.

The biggest upward moves came from Justin Malott and Dwain Batey, who are now tied for 3rd place at 72.25 inches. Both of them found massive 19.25-inch bass in the rain at Beaver South to rocket up the leaderboard.

Heavy Hitters Standings (Top 10)

  1. Levi Schneider – 74.00″
  2. Jason Adams – 73.00″
  3. Justin Malott – 72.25″
  4. Dwain Batey – 72.25″
  5. Tyler Zengerle – 70.75″
  6. Seth Jones – 70.50″
  7. Jeff Malott – 69.25″
  8. Josh Landreth – 68.75″
  9. Nate Higgins – 68.25″
  10. Kyle Long – 68.25″

The upcoming Road Runner is when anglers will drop several giants on the board. We’ll see after that event who are the contenders and who are the pretenders.

Up Next: Get ready for a change of pace. We are switching to an MLF-style Road Runner format on June 27th. No keeping fish in a digital livewell all day—every ounce and every score counts in real-time. This is going to completely change how the field strategizes!

2026 NSKA NWA Grime Away Table Rock West Recap: Wacky Wild West
NSKA

2026 NSKA NWA Thai Spice Beaver Lake North Tournament Recap | Results, Patterns, and Big Bass

The 2026 NSKA NWA Thai Spice Beaver Lake North kayak fishing tournament brought 55 anglers to one of Arkansas’ most challenging bass fisheries. With water temperatures in the mid-50s and pre-spawn bass beginning to stage throughout the lake’s creeks and rocky transitions, competitors had to balance covering water with slowing down around high-percentage areas. In the end, consistent keeper bites—not giant bass—proved to be the winning formula.

Kayak bass anglers launched across the northern end of Beaver Lake chasing a five-fish limit measured by total inches. While limits were possible, the leaderboard revealed a tournament defined by consistency over giants. Many anglers found solid keeper bites in the mid-teens, but very few fish eclipsed the 18–20 inch mark that typically separate the top finishers from the rest of the field.

Beaver Lake Kayak Tournament Results

Levi Schneider put together the most consistent bag of the day, securing first place with 88.75 inches. Schneider’s winning limit was built on a series of high-quality Beaver Lake keepers:

  • 18.50″
  • 17.75″
  • 17.75″
  • 17.50″
  • 17.25″

Rather than relying on a giant kicker, Schneider’s victory came from stacking five fish between 17 and 18 inches—exactly the type of bag that often wins early-spring events on Beaver.

Jason Adams claimed second place with 83.75 inches, anchored by the biggest fish in the tournament, a 21.00″ largemouth. Tyler Zengerle rounded out the podium with 81.50 inches, while John Hall finished fourth with 81.00 inches and Seth Jones completed the top five with 80.25 inches.

Top 10 Finishers

  1. Levi Schneider – 88.75″
  2. Jason Adams – 83.75″
  3. Tyler Zengerle – 81.50″
  4. John Hall – 81.00″
  5. Seth Jones – 80.25″
  6. Terrill Standifer – 79.50″
  7. Nathan Higgins – 79.00″
  8. Maurilio Gutierrez – 78.25″
  9. Danny Dutton – 78.00″
  10. Kyle Long – 76.75″

The Big Bass award for the tournament went to Jason Adams, who landed a 21.00″ largemouth during the event. Large fish were relatively scarce during the tournament, making Adams’ 21-inch bass one of the standout catches of the day.

Out of the 55 anglers in the field, 45 anglers submitted at least one fish, meaning 81.8% of competitors recorded a catch.

However, filling a full five-fish limit proved much tougher.

Only 26 anglers landed a complete five-fish limit, meaning 47.3% of the field managed to fill a limit.

Across the entire field, anglers submitted 204 bass totaling approximately 3,083 inches of fish.

Breaking that down further:

  • Average fish per angler: 3.71
  • Average fish per angler who caught fish: 4.53
  • Average inches per angler: 56.1″
  • Average fish length: 15.1″

These numbers reinforce a classic Beaver Lake scenario—anglers could find keeper fish, but locating the larger pre-spawn females proved far more difficult.

Angler Roundtable

Once again, the top anglers of the tournament open up and share how it went down in a Beaver Lake kayak tournament in March!

1. What area did you fish and why go there?

Levi Schneider:
“I went to Indian Creek because I found a few coves that had a large population of fish and never found anything better elsewhere.”

Jason Adams:
“We fished Rocky Branch on Beaver Lake. I chose that area because it has a good mix of docks, rock, and deeper water close to the bank. This time of year the fish can slide up or pull back depending on conditions, and that area gives them that option.”

Tyler Zengerle:
“I chose to fish Prairie Creek simply because I have more familiarity with that area in the winter and early spring months than other parts of the lake. The thought of the boat tournament launching out of Prairie Creek almost made me change my mind the night before, but I decided to stick with my gut.”

2. Any techniques that worked for you to catch your fish?

Levi Schneider:
“I caught all of my fish on a 4.25″ Rapala Mooch Minnow and a Berkley Stunna +1.”

Jason Adams:
“Most of my fish came on a jig fishing docks and rock transitions. The biggest fish of the day came on a Neko rig with a morning dawn trick worm and a heavy nail weight. Slowing down and fishing deeper docks seemed to help.”

Tyler Zengerle:
“I started with a custom painted crankbait, painted by none other than Dwain Batey himself. I caught my first three fish off of it in back-to-back-to-back casts in the first fifteen minutes.”

3. What fish was most important?

Levi Schneider:
“My most important fish was probably my 17.75″ smallmouth that reassured me my smallies were still close to where I had found them before, which led to my 18.50″ smallmouth.”

Jason Adams:
“The last fish of the day without question. Catching that smallmouth on the final cast and getting the picture submitted with seconds left is what gave me a full limit.”

Tyler Zengerle:
“My most important fish was probably the 16.25″ chunky spotted bass that came at 11:45 and helped me secure third. That was my last cull of the day. Without it I would have placed fifth.”

4. Who has influenced you the most regarding your love for bass fishing?

Levi Schneider:
“I couldn’t necessarily say one person influenced me more than the others, but my dad for sure got me started with trout, crappie, and multiple saltwater species. In high school the Googan Squad got me more into bass fishing, and then all the top pro level events got me hooked to where I’m at today.”

Jason Adams:
“My dad started it all for me. He put a fishing rod in my hands when I was young and we spent a lot of time on the water together. These days getting to fish tournaments with Mandie and share that experience with her has made it even better.”

Tyler Zengerle:
“My mom was my biggest influence growing up. She had a 17-foot aluminum Tracker boat that she would take me fishing in, and we’d go catch whatever would bite nightcrawlers.”

Discount on Lurenet, Booyah Baits, YUM baits, war eagle lures, great lakes finesse, Bobby Garland

AOY Race and Heavy Hitters

It’s the first event of the year, so not much news on the AOY front beyond the top 10 finishers. More to come down the road. Until then, here is the Angler of the Year sheet for your reference.

Heavy Hitters is off and running as well, this one had some big fish caught, especially for Beaver Lake. Jason Adams, Danny Dutton, and Nate Higgins are out of the gate with giants in this first one. Complete Heavy Hitters Standings for your reference.

NSKA

2023 NSKA NWA Beaver Lake South Recap / AOY / Heavy Hitters

You can almost set the weather forecast by the NSKA NWA event calendar. Have a tournament coming up on a Saturday? It’s going to rain supernatural proportions on Thursday and Friday. This March tournament on south Beaver Lake, presented by Black Creek Electric, was no exception. With several inches of rain in the 48 hours before lines in. Combine this dirtied water with temps still in the very low 50s (if that in some spots) and it was a recipe for tough day on Beaver.

After several tournaments where our favorite stingy fishery has really shown out with big limits (89.25, 88.75, 84.25, 88, 88, 87, 86.25 89.25 for example in the past year), Beaver Lake humbled some folks on this post-front day in March.

This chart shows the precipitous rise in water level leading up tot he event, leading to unusually high water for March..

A low 3.95 fish per angler rate fell well below 5.95 from this tournament last year. Less than half the field (48%) turned in a limit, a fairly low number in recent history. Of the 48 registered anglers, 40 turned in at least one bass.

Josh Landreth took first place with 80.75″ on the day, followed by Sam McClish with 80.75″ (second on tie-breaker), with James Haeberle taking third with 76.50″.

“Big” Bass for this event was an 18″ monster, caught by Josh Landreth. This is the first event with no 20″ bass in the past 17 regular season NSKA NWA tournaments. (2022 Classic also had no 20s). On this day though, Josh caught a biggun’!

Big Bass?? Was on this day on the Dead Sea!

Complete Top Ten for Beaver Lake South:

  1. Josh Landreth 80.75
  2. Sam McClish 80.75
  3. James Haeberle 76.50
  4. Maurilio Gutierrez 74
  5. Tyler Zengerle 72.25
  6. Jimmy Chokbengboun 72.25
  7. Jacob Simmons 71.25
  8. Kyle Long 69.50
  9. Jason Adams 69.25
  10. Tony Sorluangsana 67.75

Angler Roundtable

Let’s all gather around the campfire to hear from the top anglers on the day. Josh Landreth, Sam McClish and James Haeberle share how they made it happen on a tough day at the Dead Sea.

What part of Beaver Lake did you fish and why?

Josh – I went to Natural Walk. I wanted to get away from the crowd and had decent success in a previous Beaver South tourney there in flooded conditions. I knew I wanted to go against the grain and take a chance in the muddy water, and felt like I knew the structure better there than other options.

Sam – I chose to go to Hickory Creek. The spinnerbait bite has been really solid for the last couple weeks. Plus I love dirty water.

James – I fished at Monte Ne. I know of a few spots the fish like to stage on before going back to spawn this time of year and hoping to find some cleaner water after the rain we had.

What were the baits used to catch your fish?

Josh – I caught several right off the bat on a chartreuse/white Strike King Spinnerbait with 1 big gold willow blade and 1 Colorado. Just fishing shallow near wood. Three of my keepers were on that bait. The key bait was the methiolate floating worm though. The two biggest fish I caught were on the floating worm. Casts had to be extremely tight to cover with both baits.

Sam – My first limit of fish came off a Booyah Covert spinnerbait with two Colorado blades. I started my day fishing shallow in and around all the flooded brush. I went an hour or so with out a bite so I knew I had to make a change. I switched to a Tru Faith custom bait coleslaw spinner bait with a big white willow blade and a small yellow Colorado blade. I also changed my strategy. I did a quick Google map check and found a big long point. I went to the original shore line (still only sitting in 12’ of water but about 70 yards off the bank) my very first cast slow rolling the blade across it i caught a 16″ bass and couldn’t believe it. I went on to catch 20+ fish on this one spot in about 45 minutes. At one point catching seven fish on seven consecutive casts. I upgraded every fish on this spot.

James – I was using a War Eagle 1/2 ounce double willow spinnerbait and slow rolling it around a flooded brush on channel swing points and pockets. After the spinnerbait bite was over, I moved out away from the bank and fished a chatterbait slowly along the bottom and finished off my limit with a 16″ bass.

Talk about how you caught your biggest bass on the day – what happened?

Josh – My big fish came at 8:24am to complete my limit that already had a 17″ and two over 15″. I tossed the floating worm out along the edge of some flooded bushes. Fished it like a fluke, basically. I saw the fish come out of the bushes and nail it! The floating worm bite is one of my favorites and it was a pretty awesome take! I thought the fish was probably 15-16″ when I saw it take the bait. I was fishing it on a medium action spinning rod with 8 lb mono. She took me for a ride for a few seconds and was lucky to keep her out of the bushes. I was surprised she was 18″. I knew that fish nearly guaranteed me a top 10 and gave me a chance to win. I never dreamed she would be the Big Bass though!

Sam – Eventually the bite died so kept moving and catching a ton more fish but nothing that would upgrade me until 2:00pm. Then, I decided to go back to the honey hole. As soon as I pulled up on the spot fish were pushing shad everywhere. I threw out a 3” Keitech and before I could even engage my reel a 16.5″ bass had it swallowed. That was my second 16.5″ on the day and by far the most meaningful fish of the day since it upgraded my length total to 80.75″ putting me in first place (for a very short time).

James – My biggest bass from the tournament was 17″ and came from pitching my spinnerbait up in the brush and bringing it out slow. I only had a few feet of line out when it hit, so I just boat flipped it so it wouldn’t have a chance to get me hung up in the brush.

What lure or technique have you historically caught more bass on than any other?

Josh – I’m not super patient and like to be on the move. I fish a spinnerbait a lot and love to fish top water in the summer. At heart, I’m a river smallmouth fisherman. You can’t beat the smallmouth whopper plopper bite!

Sam – I have a handful of “go to” or “favorite” baits. I love throwing a swim jig probably the most. Second would be a spinnerbait or jig. But my confidence bait that has caught me more fish in a crunch than anything year round is a small single swim bait, either a 2.8 Spark Shad or Keitech. It’s such a fun little bait that catches fish of all sizes.

James – I always have a few baits ready to go all year long. Some sort of crankbait, a spinnerbait, a weightless fluke, jig, and a Texas rig. Different times of the year and conditions call for a different approach to the day. But I will always enjoy and is probably my favorite way to catch them is a fluke.

Josh Landreth kicking tail and taking names on Beaver Lake South.

AOY and Heavy Hitters Races

There are a variety of new-ish names in the top ten for Angler of the Year after two events. A few anglers are off to a hot start, but in particular Josh Landreth is on fire, leading both Heavy Hitters and AOY at this point of the season. If you’ve tanked in the first two events like I have, this is it, need to make the rest of them count. Lots of season to go, but history shows you are better off being at the top of this list early than not.

Angler of the Year Top 25

Heavy Hitters Top 25

Back to Beaver Lake for the next event, get it on the calendar or sign up today!

NSKA

2022 NSKA Table Rock 1.0 / Border Battle / AOY Race / Heavy Hitters Recap

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Three tournament events totaling more than 170 kayak anglers descended on Table Rock on a blustery April Saturday in an expected big fish spawn smash-fest. Think again friend, as fishing often doesn’t work out the way the book says. NSKA’s Table Rock 1.0 presented by Las Fajitas (I’ve eaten more Mexican food here than anywhere in NWA, it’s great) joined the fray along with the Moyak and All-American trail events to enjoy sustained 15-20 mph winds with gusts up to 35-40 on the water.

Yeah, if the wind would stop blowing That would be great - Office Space Lumbergh HD - quickmeme

Tournament Results

Several anglers from NSKA entered the Moyak and All-American events to double or even triple dip. And boy, did that pay off for some as some south of the border anglers went up and had themselves a good time. For the NSKA event, there actually were quite a few fish caught with a 5.45 Fish Per Angler (FPA), compared to 2.99 on Beaver North, 1.72 on Pumpback, and 5.95 on Beaver South. Wait…did Beaver South just out FPA Table Rock? It’s time for an All-American event Beaver Lake!

Ryan’s Big Bass winner. Source: TourneyX

Ryan Paskiewicz took his second win of the year with a big bag of 90.75″ and also won Big Bass with a 21.5″ lunker on a big swimbait. Danny Dutton put up a big 87.75″ for second and Craig Wood caught 85.50″ for third place.

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz 90.75
  2. Danny Dutton 87.75
  3. Craig Wood 85.50
  4. Kyle Long 84.50
  5. James Haeberle 83.75
  6. Robert Murphy 82.75
  7. Chris Longshore 82.00
  8. Jason Ray 81.50
  9. Dwain Batey 81.00
  10. Chad Davidson (tie) Jason Kincy 80.75

Overall the field of 73 anglers did well, with 66% catching a limit and all but a few catching at least one keeper. Full standings are available on TourneyX.

embrace the meme - Texas Fishing Forum

NSKA vs Moyak Border Battle

How did the above numbers compare to the Moyak total field? The FPA for the Moyak field was 4.48 and only 51% of the field turned in a limit. With some Moyak anglers in the NSKA event and vice versa, their numbers cancel out for the most part. Three of the top seven and six of the top twenty spots were filled by NSKA anglers, which made up on only 17 or so of the 153 anglers.

Overall, Moyak squeaked out the Border Battle by 1.25. NSKA placed 1st, 5th and 7th while Moyak took 2nd, 3rd and 4th – and they won the battle: 260.25 to 259.00. Congratulations to MoYak, they have a lot of great anglers. Are we going to see Moyak in a rematch next year on Beaver Lake?

All in all, NSKA competitors acquitted themselves very well by comparison – great work! You should be proud and brought the hammer to the ‘Rock.

Recap of my 80.75″ on TR, including a specific pattern found.

Angler Roundtable

Time again for the traditional post-tournament roundtable, where the winners spill the beans. Ryan, Danny and Craig share how their day went. Listen and learn…

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

Ryan – I launched at Big Indian. I was able to pre-fish it and had a little success. I knew I had one good fish locked on a bed that I could catch and decided to start there. The wind made it much harder but I eventually landed my PB Meanmouth at 17.75”. It was clearer than I would have liked but it ended up perfect with the wind.

Danny – I went to Shell Knob area. I had no idea where to go and was not going to be able to pre fish. Andrew Newsome picked the area by researching Google Earth.

Craig – I went to Holiday Island area just because I enjoy the area and have done well over the years.

Did the intense winds affect you or how did you deal with them successfully?

Ryan – The wind definitely made it annoying at times. My XI3 has pinpoint gps and it makes it much easier to deal with wind like that.

Danny – The wind was brutal. I tried to fish with the wind when I could. I would also get into little pockets or behind docks to get a break. Caught all my fish in shallow water.

Craig – The wind did make it more frustrating but overall it may have helped me by pushing fish to the shore and cover so I could flip a jig easily.

Talk about your biggest fish catch, how did that happen?

Ryan – I have an infatuation with big swimbaits and have been trying to learn and gain confidence. I know they’ll eat them on the rock so I planned to at least throw it a little. I only had two fish at 9:30 am and was grinding mentally. I committed to throwing the glide for two points and a pocket to see if I could find a big bite and gain some momentum. I was about 5 casts in and I threw my glide up to the point coming out of the pocket. My glide got hammered. So thankful I was able to get her in the boat!

Danny – Biggest fish was early I threw a spinnerbait, parallel to the bank close to some brush. 18.25”.

Craig – Biggest catch was an 18″er that hit my jig on some shelf rock about 10am and it was a battle to get the pic and not get blown off my spot.

What is your preferred brand of line and why?

Ryan – I run a few different lines. PowerPro braid, Big game for mono and usually either Seagur Invizx/Abrazx or Sunline or sniper for Fluoro.

Danny – I use braided line with Seaguar flouro leader on my my spinning rods. I use Seaguar Invisx on my bait casters. Invisx seems to cast better for me and have had not anything break it.

Craig – I have switched from P-line tactical to P-line blue label this year just for testing purposes and have been impressed with it, very little abrasion and zero line breakage. Plus I think it’s slightly more supple than the Tactical.

AOY Race Update

We are halfway through the season and the AOY race is nowhere close to being decided. This is likely to go down to the wire, with lots of anglers still in it. In fact, if you drop each angler’s lowest score, there are seven anglers within 15 points of the leader. Lots of fishing to go. For the top 25 Classic berths, almost nobody is out of contention yet if they have a good final four events. So far this year we’ve had 78 different anglers enter events.

Heavy Hitters Race

The quest for the Heavy Hitters title is sort of like the AOY race. There are some leaders, but a lot of angers still in contention. There are four anglers less than five inches behind. Right now looks like Ryan’s to lose since he has an easy drop (16.25) but you can’t count out anyone within 7-8 inches.

Hope everyone gets in some fun fishing in the next month before we return to Table Rock.

Check out some content you may have missed:

NSKA

2022 NSKA Beaver Lake North Recap / Trash Fish Story / Heavy Hitters

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The new year and new season for NWA NSKA is finally here and the first event is in the books. As usual the Dead Sea caused problems for most who were looking for a limit, while at the same time we saw some anglers drop the hammer on the pre-spawn bass. Beaver Lake North, presented by Slow Town Custom Lures, was a great success.

Some changes came to NSKA this year with a membership feature which qualifies anglers for AOY and Heavy Hitters as well as other perks. As such, we’ll keep a close eye on those races, while at the same time we welcome anyone to fish an event regardless of their experience in competitive kayak fishing. Welcome everyone who is new or has been around for a while!

James Haeberle’s Big Bass from the tournament. Source: TourneyX

Beaver North 2022 Recap

Overall, Beaver Lake was a bit stingy this time around but once again allowed a big number at the top. That’s why I love Beaver Lake. It’s not easy, but you can still find some good ones! Looking at the numbers, only a paltry 25% (17 of 67) of the field turned in a five fish limit. This is the lowest limit percentage in a couple of years on Beaver, so if you didn’t catch five…don’t worry about it – it was hard fishing. The FPA (Fish Per Angler) was very low at 2.99, compared to 4.02 in August 2021 on Beaver Lake. Watch for more on FPA and tourney history in a future post.

Ryan Paskiewicz took the top spot with a very strong 87.75″ followed by James Haeberle with 84.50″ and then Cole Sikes with 82.50″ on the day. In a bit of an odd turn of events, there were four 20s caught in this event and James Haeberle took the Big Bass prize with a 21″ tank.

The Top Ten finishers were:

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz
  2. James Haeberle
  3. Cole Sikes
  4. Andrew Newsome
  5. Justin Brewer
  6. David Byrd
  7. Terrill Standifer
  8. Aaron Hinton
  9. Jacob Webber
  10. Kyle Long

Angler Roundtable

What makes kayak fishing way more awesome than boat tournaments is the willingness of top anglers to help others and share a bit more info on how they caught’em. Ryan, James and Cole joined me in a roundtable look back at how it went down:

Roughly what part of the lake did you go to and why?

Ryan – I went to Rambo sort of on a whim. Was going to fish Coose but the wind would have been more than i wanted to deal with, so I decided to try something I hadn’t fished much but has a reputation of producing solid limits.

James – I launched at Ventris because I know that area well and that the wind would be blowing in that direction, keeping the bait moving.

Cole – I chose to go to Big Clifty because I found a pocket that had thousands of shad in it. My fear going into the tournament was that the shad might move out or someone else might have found the same thing. Luckily, the shad were still there and I had it all to myself all day. I was able to catch the bulk of my limit by 7:30 and then my fish must have gotten full off of shad and my bite got tough. Ended up making a move mid-day and made a couple small culls.

Any key techniques or baits you used?

Ryan – I love jig fishing and caught my kicker first thing on one. I came around the corner and it was a flat leading to a point with wind right into it. I picked up a jerkbait but I realized I hate jerkbait fishing in a kayak. Because of this, I then decided to chuck a spinnerbait around the flat and landed three fish pretty quickly. I stuck with that almost exclusively, minus specific jig targets from time to time. The key was rolling it slow on bottom. It’s great to have this start, in the last two years I’ve either zeroed or finished WAY towards the bottom in the first tournament. In those two years I’ve ended up finishing 3rd or 4th in AOY race.

James – I told myself that if I don’t get a bite on an A-Rig in the first hour I was going to put it up and move on. At 5 minutes till 8:00 I got my first bite and 10 minutes later I caught the biggest fish I ever submitted in a tournament. So I locked it in my hand and fished it all day.

Cole – My primary bait was an Alabama Rig. I was just slow rolling it just beneath the shad balls. I could see on my graph that most of the fish were positioned underneath them. I also picked off a fish on a spoon and crankbait as well.

Advice for those who didn’t do well in tourney one for the rest of the season?

Ryan – My advice is out the head down and continue to fish hard regardless of the outcome. Put in the work, fish with confidence and you’ll be fine.

James – In the past I have always stressed about everything in tournaments and always made mistakes that would cost me. My advice is to have fun and don’t stress the outcome. Just go fishing and enjoy the day. Let the cards fall where they may. Learn all you can every tournament and keep building on that knowledge. It won’t take long and you will start seeing a huge improvements.

Cole – We have all been there and have struggled at tournaments, my recommendation is to keep your head up and keep grinding. Whether your preseason goal was to win AOY, qualifying for the Classic, finishing in the money, or finishing in the top ten, there are still many opportunities ahead to reach your goal.

Here’s my video from Beaver North. If you watch it, please give the gift of hitting subscribe.

Trash Fish Pot Winner

New to NSKA events this year is the Trash Fish Pot which rewards the angler who catches the largest non-scorable fish species. We got off to a huge start here when Robert Murphy caught a 32lb striper that was an absolute monster. Robert shared some of his story and how a boater helped weigh it and snag the photo.

“After catching the fish and taking some pictures myself I was about to release it and saw a boat slow-trolling in the little pocket with boat docks in it. So, I asked if they would take a picture for me. With no hesitation they reeled in there lines took a picture and weighed it,” Robert explained. “We tried to let it go but it wouldn’t go back down so they said if you don’t want it we will take it or take it to our dock and ill bring you ice and a cooler to keep it good till you get off the water.”

Robert Murphy’s whale. Source: Mr. Murphy
Murphy’s go-to giant striper bait. Source: Mr. Murphy

How did the bite feel? “When it hit. It hit next to the boat and all I saw was a big flash and line stripping out of the reel. At first I thought please be a bass, but after about 3 seconds of line pulling out with extreme speed I thought oh, that’s a striper. After 10 seconds I was thinking, dang that’s a BIG striper! After about 15 seconds I realized I was in for a ride.”

It took Robert 20-30 minutes to get that striper in because he was using 10lb test line. He hooked it on his hand painted jerkbait and had it hooked well, it wasn’t getting off. What a great first Trash Pot story!

Heavy Hitters Update

This is the third year for the Heavy Hitters title, the recognition that goes to the angler who catches the biggest five fish from various tournaments throughout the year. The Heavy Hitters title is sponsored by Steadfast Plumbing this season – thankful for their support! It’s not too late to get involved in Heavy Hitters if you missed the first event, it’s best five events and all you need is an NSKA NWA membership.

Here is the current top ten, but we’re just getting started. Getting a 20+ on Beaver Lake is a huge advantage, so those anglers are off to a great start. The full list of Heavy Hitter rankings will be posted to the NSKA group facebook page.

Next up is Pumpback, presented by Nightengale Cabinets on March 26, hope to see everyone out there!

NSKA

2021 Beaver Lake Recap / Heavy Hitters Champ / AOY Race

The NSKA NWA regular season finale was the Ace of Blades Beaver Lake Roadrunner in the annual crucible – August on Beaver Lake! This year has seen some bigger than usual winning totals in the various events for NSKA, but the 80″ mark hadn’t been broken yet in August on the Dead Sea. Would it happen this time around?

Pretty much sums up my day on Beaver – a flop.

Tournament Results

A pretty good turnout of 59 anglers took to the water on the heels of a major change in the weather. Super hot and sunny for a couple of week, the day before lines in brought 3-4 inches of rain and thunderstorms to NW Arkansas. A cloudy tournament day on the heels of the storm definitely changed up the fishing.

John Wofford made his return to NWA for this event and went back to central Arkansas with the 1st place trophy by catching 80.50″ on the day. Justin Brewer finished 2nd with 78″ and Dwain Batey took 3rd with 77.25″. The top ten dropped off quickly after the leaders:

  1. John Wofford 80.50″
  2. Justin Brewer 78″
  3. Dwain Batey 77.25″
  4. Cole Sikes 77″
  5. Abraham Garcia 77″
  6. Christa Hibbs 74″
  7. Jacob Webber 73.75″
  8. James Haeberle 72.25″
  9. James Shumate 72″
  10. Ryan Paskiewicz 71.75″

Aly Corp won Big Bass with a 20.25″ Beaver Lake beast.

Angler Roundtable

The top three anglers wrapped up the tourney in this roundtable discussion of how they did it and what happened on the water. Join John Wofford, Justin Brewer and Dwain Batey as they spill the tea:

Where did you go and why?

John – I went to Twin Bridges because I was told fishing was really tough and that is where I feel most comfortable and can fish my strengths. Knowing Beaver in the summer I knew they’d be out suspended or tight in cover so I fished every bit of cover I could get a bait into.

Justin – I chose to put in way up the War Eagle again like in last years’ July Beaver tournament. I chose there because I know there is resident fish in the area and being a more condensed area of water If I keep my head down and fish hard I’ll be able to pick up a few good bites and hopefully more if all goes well.

Dwain – I hadn’t pre-fished but heard it was really tough, thought I would go way up north and try something high-risk with the potential for a high reward.

Any particular baits or patterns that really worked for you?

John – And Xcite baits stick worm with a golden Colorado blade in the tail and my old faithful Xcite baits Xb-1 squarebill in chartreuse black back.

Justin – A Booyah Boss Pop was what did the trick for me. I tried other baits but couldn’t get anything going. The bites were few and far between but if I could trigger one to bite it was a solid fish. No real pattern on the type of structure and cover. A few were just random fish in open water.

Dwain – I was throwing a Skirmish Baits Pendragon topwater all day. I only got a few bites, but I had the opportunity to win the event.

How’d you catch your biggest fish? What’s the story?

John – I was going down a bank picking apart spots when I looked up and saw a tree in the middle-ish of the river and thought to myself there has to be a fish in there. So I bombed a cast with my worm right in the tree and as soon as I pulled it over the first branch she smacked it and wrapped me around a limb, at this point I was questioning whether I had a fish on because it was wrapped up and really stuck. I started pedaling over while keeping my line tight and all of a sudden she popped back around the limb and the fight was on. She went for 18” and then two casts after that I hooked into a 17.5” Smallie, YES a Smallmouth in the White River!

Justin – My biggest which was only 16.75 came real early. I was still throwing a Buzzbait at that time and had one blow up on it but miss it. That’s when I picked up the Boss Pop fired back in the area and two pops later hooked up. I’m assuming it was the same fish but I guess it could have been a different one. That’s also what lead me to start throwing the Boss Pop.

Dwain – My biggest fish was on the Pendragon on my 3rd cast of the morning. I had a hunch about a particular point, and pulled in there instead of my original thoughts for a starting spot, good call on that one.

What’s one useful thing you carry in your yak that most people probably don’t have?

John – I always carry a gallon RTIC jug every time I hit the water. Staying hydrated especially on those hot days is key to staying out there till the last minute is up.

Justin – I don’t carry it all the time but it’s needed when I do and that is a stake out pole. Especially way up a river fish shallow areas it’s great to be able to stake out around a big lay down or log jam and it all apart with out having to keep repositioning or worry about floating too close.

Dwain – I don’t really have anything that stands out as something others wouldn’t have gear wise. I mean I’ve got some really cool storage options from Bass Mafia, like the new Two Bud Bag and Ice Box storage containers, but everyone knows how cool Bass Mafia storage options are. Maybe there are people who don’t think about having a hone to sharpen their hooks? I use the Eagle Claw Deluxe Hook hone to make sure that I keep my hooks sharp despite all the rocks we have trying to dull them constantly. Another one might be the Eagle Claw Wacky Rig Tool for putting O-rings on stick baits?

Heavy Hitters Champ

Pretty much leading the way wire to wire, Kyle Long smashed the big ones this year to become the second annual Heavy Hitter’s Champion. Kyle got a lead early in the season and hung on to take the title with a 95.5″ total (compared to my mark of 95″ in 2020). We took a minute to ask Kyle his secrets for being the Heavy Hitter of the year.

No description available.

What’s the key to catching big fish?

There’s a whole lot of luck involved. But I guess there’s something to throwing the right thing in the right place. This year, two of my Heavy Hitter’s fish came on a fluke, one on a spinnerbait, one on a shaky head and one on a jig. I also caught a few more on a jig and spinnerbait that could have been in my final five fish bag had I not caught one even bigger in that same event. And most of them were in super predictable spots…points, channel swings, the last bush in a line of bushes…that kinda stuff.

Some lose big fish when they hook them, what’s the secret to getting a big bass into the yak?

I use as big a line as I can get away with and I get them in the net as fast as I can. If that fish is still in the water it is on his home turf. It has the upper hand. That playing them stuff is for the birds. Get them dudes in the net as fast as you possibly can. And get a net with a handle that can reach out there and get em. One caveat…if I’m using treble hooked baits I’m a little more careful, but I still try and get them in the net as fast as possible.

Congratulations Kyle Long! We’ll be back next season with a new Heavy Hitters race.

AOY Race Update & Classic Field

The regular season and the Top 25 anglers who will make the Classic are set. Was a close race with several good anglers just barely missing the cut. First year rookies Jacob Webber and Josh Landreth made the championship, along with several other first-time qualifiers. Should be a great battle on Lake Fort Smith and Beavertown/Holiday Island. Time to defend the title!

In addition to the Top 25, the AOY race is winding down with some drama, but not much remaining. Really have not done the math, but maybe if there’s a complete collapse from Dwain and good finishes from Justin or Ryan or others then maybe there’s a chance. Really not sure, but most likely Dwain is in the driver’s seat as he has been all season long.

RankAnglerEvent 8ClassicBest 6 plus Classic
1Dwain Batey98 588
2Justin Brewer99 555
3Ryan Paskiewicz91 551
4Tyler Zengerle88 549
5Cole Sikes97 548
6Kyle Long73 542
7Devon Esry80 529
8Roy Roberts0 527
9Jason Kincy78 527
10Josh King70 519
11Josh Howard89 518
12Craig Wood90 515
13Jacob Webber ®94 509
14Clay Johnson66 496
15Justin Phillips64 495
16Justin Wright69 495
17Josh Landreth ®71 495
18James Shumate92 487
19Terrill Standifer87 487
20Jason Adams59 486
21Jason Fields72 486
22Taylor Frizzell75 484
23Jason Cowell79 464
24Sam McClish53 462
25Zeke Stevens58 462
Your Top 25 for NSKA 2021.

NSKA

2021 NSKA Pumpback Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race

On a steamy Saturday in early June, the NSKA crew crossed the border into Oklahoma to take on Pumpback (a.k.a. Chimney Rock Lake) for the second year in a row. Pumpback is an interesting place and really seems to be an engineering marvel. Whatever it is, the fish are big and feisty on this lake! Shout out to Ginger Rice & Noodle Bar for sponsoring the event!

Caught this 21 which went 6.9lbs the week before the event. Of course. Source: Kayakfishingfocus.com

Pumpback Results

Of all the places NSKA fishes tournaments, I believe the most unpredictable results and chance for anyone to land a giant is highest at Pumpback. It was great to see some varied names on the leaderboard for this one. Overall, it was a feast or famine day with a skimpy 204 fish caught by the 50 anglers. Of the 50 anglers registered, only 24 (48%) turned in a limit, while seven (14%) didn’t turn in a keeper. Those are pretty tough numbers overall compared to most May/June events. I’ve wondered if the fact they really didn’t drop the water much plus the weather made it tougher than usual.

Ryan Paskiewicz didn’t have any trouble finding the fish, finishing first with 89.25″ in total. Josh King cranked his way late in the day to a 86.25″ total for second, followed by Kyle Long also with 86.25″ (those tiebreakers are heart breakers…). Justin Phillips took fourth with 85.50″ on the day.

Here were your top 10 anglers from Pumpback:

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz 89.25″
  2. Josh King 86.25″
  3. Kyle Long 86.25″
  4. Justin Phillips 85.50″
  5. Clay Johnson 84.50″
  6. Dwain Batey 84.50″
  7. Devon Esry 84.25″
  8. Jacob Webber 83.75″ (I always think, Jacob Wheeler!?!)
  9. Nathan Henthorn 83.50″
  10. Josh Howard 83.00″

Big Bass was won by Justin Brewer with a 20.75″ Smallmouth bass caught on a popper.

Justin Brewer’s 20.75″ Smallmouth took big bass on Pumpback. Source: TourneyX

One note, we had a little post-event judging discussion on a couple of photos. Advice to everyone involved…watch your photos. Take time with them. Taking the picture and submitting is a part of the sport. Staying well within the guidelines avoids any possible deductions or questions around a submission!

Angler Roundtable

The top anglers for the event share how they did it in this roundtable conversation. Ryan, Josh, Kyle and Justin break it down:

What was your overall plan for the day and did it work out as planned?

Ryan – My initial plan was to head to the back of the long arm where I missed a really big fish in practice, but as I started my commute that morning I wasn’t paying attention to my map and went around the wrong point and ended up headed to a totally different part of the lake. LOL! At that point I just committed to the area for an hour or more and when it only produced two small fish I changed my plan and left. I headed to a stretch where I had caught a few in pre-fishing. I love throwing a jig but it was evident that was not going to be the deal. After cranking and trying a few other things, I made myself commit to throwing a fluke for 2 long stretches of bank. I didn’t have a ton of confidence in the fluke personally but noticed the shad spawn was happening and it made sense to throw it. After 30-40 casts I connected with a 17-incher. This made it easier to stick with. A few casts later I hooked a 20.25-incher. From then on I mostly targeted the middle 1/3 of coves and had success.

Josh – Going into Pumpback I only had two other appearances and they didn’t turn out very well. (Dec 2020 29” and Jun 2020 65”). My plan was to fish a different area than the last time, which had been the same areas and to throw what I know and like for this time of year. That plan failed miserably. The first two hours I didn’t catch a fish. Hooked into three, but they all spit the hook. Feeling discouraged I decided to have a little fun and troll for a striper, since I was crossing the main lake to another area. It worked. I hooked into a nice hybrid and he took me for a ride. First striper/hybrid in a kayak. So I was excited…now back to the bass. I finally landed my first bass at 8:45. It took until 12:59 to get a limit. It was a decent limit of 78.00″. It wasn’t a top 10, but I was happy! Ten minutes later I caught my PB Smallie on a crankbait and jumped to 83.75”. Now I felt it was a top 10 limit and started to develop a pattern so I started grinding and found two more culls.

Kyle – My plan was to throw a fluke early and often and the go back over the areas where I caught some with a shaky head or a jig as the water started falling. But best I could tell, the water never really started falling that much and I was able to get bit on the fluke all day. I tried other stuff plenty but couldn’t get bit on anything else.

Justin – My plan was pretty simple.  Get away from everyone and head to the backs and work out from there.  The execution was a bit more complex.  I was betting the farm I’d get a good topwater bite but I wasn’t sure what might trigger the best reaction, so I tied on a multitude of topwater baits.  With all the different rods laying out I remember thinking, “Good grief.  I haven’t made a cast yet and it already looks like I’m lost.”  For the afternoon I was going to try to gauge the mood of the fish and attempt to figure it out from there. 

Key baits you caught them on and anything noteworthy?

Ryan – The weightless fluke as mentioned. I picked up some ultra cheap Walmart flukes and later went and bought a few more packs! I fished them pretty slow and most strikes came on the fluke sinking down about two feet. In the afternoon I think the fish pulled off and I should have fished it further out a bit more.

Josh – I found that fishing deep points with a Crankbait and steep windblown banks with a weightless wacky senko was the pattern for me.

Kyle – As I said the fluke was the only bait I caught fish on but I did notice that around 9:00 my bite kinda died. Around 11:00 I was just kinda watching my fluke as I was fishing it out deeper and slower and got bit. Then I tried the slower deeper retrieve again and got bit again. From then on I caught plenty by switching up my retrieve by fishing it further out and letting it fall deeper.

Justin – Once I got to my starting area I worked through every single topwater bait to no avail until lastly I picked up a homemade buzzbait.  I immediately caught 2 including one that was 19.25”.  I kept it in my hand the rest of the morning which gave me a limit by 8:30 a.m. while also pulling in another over 19”.  As fate often dictates I lost the buzzbait and tied on another one of the same color that was store bought.  Either the fish liked my homemade one a lot better or this bite was waning.  The only interest this buzzbait was generating were total misses (I’ve since made more buzzbaits including backups).  At this point I tried working a jerkbait off points.  No dice.  Then I tried throwing a 3XD crankbait and I caught one that didn’t cull.  This fish clued me into thinking they may not be actively chasing anymore because he barely caught the rear treble hook.  So, I tied on a green pumpkin stick bait and culled twice giving me my daily total. 

Most annoying trash fish at Pumpback, hybrids, drum, or catfish?

Ryan – I caught one hybrid and I did think it was a tank Smallie for a minute. I don’t really find them annoying all that much. Those suckers fight and I enjoy that despite the moment when you realize it won’t help…

Josh – Luckily no trash fish were accidentally caught. I was a bit nervous that my Smallie was a drum at first by the way it acted.

Kyle – I have actually never caught a trash fish on Pumpback. I’m not sorry about that.

Justin – The most annoying fish is, without doubt, a hybrid.  They fool me into thinking I’ve got a black bass on.  Then the disappointment is real once I get them to the yak.

What’s your PB bass, where did you catch it and on what lure?

Ryan – I have 2 22.75”. One on Lake Atkins and one on the asterisk lake, Swepco. Both caught on a Carolina rig. My personal best Smallie is 19.5” with a jig on Beaver Lake. I want to break into that 20” Smallie club really bad.

Josh – I have a hard time with PB. I haven’t weighed many and my longest is like 20.75”. But I think my PB by weight was around a six pounder caught on a private pond with a chatterbait. Last year. Still searching for that 20” and up in a tourney. My longest, a 20.75″ came during practice on Lake Ouachita for the State Championship. Cranking a squarebill right up against the bank.

Kyle – My PB is shrouded in controversy, lol. I caught a 24.25”on a jig on Lake Fork back during the original Tournament of Champions but it was a “mouth open” tourney. However, I do have a pic of that fish touching 25” but for some reason I submitted it at 24.25” with the mouth slightly open. This cost me big bass and a power pole. The only other fish I’ve ever caught that could rival it was an 8-13 I caught behind my house on Swepco and I only got the weight…not the length. So I’m gonna stick with 24.25” since that was what was accepted in that event for length and 8-13 for weight.

Justin – My PB was caught at Lake Windsor in Bella Vista.  It was a spring day with muddy water.  I was throwing a fire-tiger jerkbait in 4’ of water.  She came out, choked it and jumped.  A guy who was watching from his docks starts screaming, “That’s a 10 pounder!  That’s a 10 pounder!”.  Once I got her in we weighed it on the guys dock.  Sadly it wasn’t 10 pounds but it was a beauty of an 8 pounder.                

AOY Race Update

Well, well, the AOY race is taking shape, sorta. Honestly it is a mess and we can’t tell much right now. We have some really good anglers that have a zero which they will drop later on. We have some really good anglers with a low score they will drop later on. We have some who have some medium scores who will struggle to stay in the race. As of today, the Top 25 looks like this. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THE CLASSIC. Keep grinding, tons of people are still in contention to qualify. Word on the street is this year is going to be next level in regard to trophies and swag bags for the Top 25!

As of today, the Top 25 looks like this:

Right now looking at the board, lots of anglers can compete for AOY but it appears that Dwain, Devon, Michael and Roy are in the best spots. Brewer is a dark horse to watch with two 98s.

Heavy Hitters Update

Heavy Hitters is also looking like an interesting race. Kyle Long is maintaining his lead but Devon and Terrill did good things on Pumpback to improve their position.

This time of the season it is important to look at DROPS instead of biggest fish. Who can improve things the most with big fish in the last three events?

Don’t sleep on Paskiewicz or Zengerle. They could steal it at the end.

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NSKA

2021 Beaver South Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race

Water levels in May on Beaver Lake have been following a familiar pattern in 2021, carrying on a year over year over year tradition. High water along with a week of rain for the four straight time prior to an NSKA event made for daily changing water conditions. If you look at the past three years on Beaver Lake in May, you should prepare to fish in high water – which is a good thing on the Dead Sea.

Beaver Lake in May means water levels between 1,126 and 1,129. Source: uslakes.info

The past two tournaments I’ve had to work really hard to understand what’s going on with the lakes. After a terrible start to the year I needed to ensure a decent finish. This meant a lot of driving around of Beaver Lake the week prior to the event, and the weekend prior I hit two of my go-to areas on Beaver Lake South with horrifically bad pre-fishing results. This told me I needed to do something else…that the river area felt like it was dead for the most part and the action would be down lake toward the Hwy 12 bridge. The results I think showed this to be mostly true at the top.

Beaver Lake South Tournament Results

We had a really strong field for this one, including some top anglers who came in from NSKA Central and RVKA. Love the fact they came up! May is a great month to fish Beaver Lake because of the elevated water levels, still some spawning or fry guarders present, and with some color in the water – it gives an angler a better chance of getting them shallow. Of the 53, a really strong 70% turned in a limit for the day, and I suspect that everyone who got on the water turned in at least one keeper.

I was fortunate to catch enough to take the win with 87.75″, followed by Christa Hibbs with 84.25″, and then Justin Brewer with 82.75″ for third place. Big Bass was a good battle, where Christa and Justin both caught a 21.75″ and Christa won the tiebreaker to take the prize. (Justin beat me in a tiebreaker for third place on Table Rock, so he’ll be OK. Ha!)

Here is your top ten from Beaver Lake South:

  1. Jason Kincy – 87.75
  2. Christa Hibbs – 84.25 (RVKA)
  3. Justin Brewer – 82.75
  4. Jeriamy Vann – 81.00
  5. Chris Jones – 79.75 (RVKA)
  6. Garrett Morgan – 76.00 (NSKA Central)
  7. Josh Goforth – 75.75
  8. Roy Roberts – 75.50
  9. Michael Burgess – 75.25
  10. Jeff Malott – 75.00
Christa Hibbs’ 21.75″ Big Bass had a gigantic head and a skinny body! Source: TourneyX

Angler Roundtable

So how’d the top finishers for the event do it and what are their thoughts on Beaver Lake? I joined Christa Hibbs, Justin Brewer and Jeriamy Vann in this recap discussion. Here’s the scoop:

What part of the lake did you fish and why?

Jason – After doing a lot of looking around, I decided that dirty water was going to be the key to a chance to win. Monte Ne gets really dirty when it rains hard in Rogers, and I’ve fished it quite a bit because it is the closest part of the lake to my house. Took a chance and it paid off.

Christa – I fished the Horseshoe Bend area for the event. I decided on this area because in the past it’s always fished well for me and held good fish each time I’ve fished it.

Justin – I put in at the War Eagle Marina and fished pockets on the main channel swing. That was my pattern at Table Rock so I tried to duplicate it at Beaver. Only difference was that I didn’t get the dirty water I was hoping for.

Jeriamy – I went just south of the HWY 12 bridge Saturday. Really wanted to fish a stretch that I had never fished before and this area looked really nice on the maps that I had studied all week.

Describe how you caught your biggest bass of the day, and what on?

Jason – After catching several keepers early on a spinnerbait, the bite started to slow as the rain cleared off. Wanted to keep throwing a moving bait so chose a white chatterbait. On a long cast that landed right next to a bush, it immediately got heavy and could tell that she was wrapped up in a bush so I just tried to keep some pressure on and she eventually came out. Second 20″ fish that morning, only the second time that’s happened to me in a tournament. Was very lucky.

Christa – My biggest bass of the day was the 21.75 that came around 7 am. I’d missed a bunch of fish just swatting at the buzzbait that morning, so I decided to put a trailer hook on. Three casts later, that big one hit it. Once in the net I noticed it was only hooked by that trailer hook. I luckily adjusted just at the right time.

Justin – My biggest bass came on a wacky rigged Yum Dinger. I pretty much kept it in my hand all day with the hope that eventually I would come across a big female or some decent males still on beds. It took me all day but I eventually found the big female and then a bonus male with her.

Jeriamy – I caught a 19.25″ which was my biggest of the day on a Santone Rattling Jig Black, Blue and Purple with a (CRAWL) trailer. I eased up real quiet to some floating debris and submerged trees in the back of a pocket and had just enough room to make a pitch across to the bank and work the bait along big root ball. I twitched the jig a few times and she came out from under the wood and crushed it.

Was seeing 20 / 20 on tournament Saturday. Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

Beaver Lake showed out a bit on Saturday, what are your thoughts on the lake as a fishery?

Jason – My grandfather, dad and his brothers fished Beaver Lake from when it was formed, and took me there when I was a kid so I will always have soft spot for this lake because of that. It’s a tough place at times but I really like the challenge of a changing lake rather than when people can just hit their honey holes. I joke about it being the Dead Sea, but it’s all in fun, you can catch’em there! For NWA it is our premier fishery and a beautiful place that we are lucky to have nearby.

Christa – I’ve always enjoyed fishing Beaver Lake. It may not always kick out the 20+ inch fish like a lot of other lakes, but I’ve had some awesome fun fishing days out there. In this tournament it produced some nice ones. I think with the heat of the summer not quite here yet, the higher water level, and cloud cover we had on tournament day helped keep those big ones out roaming and more vulnerable. Congratulations to all the top finishers!

Justin – I know many people call it the Dead Sea but other than a couple of trips I’ve always enjoyed the lake. Especially if I can find some dirtier water it’s always put up good limits for me.

Jeriamy – I’m pretty biased about Beaver lake. It’s my favorite with Lake Ouachita being a close second. I was a little surprised at the number of fish caught Saturday, but then I realized that I shouldn’t be with all the sticks in this NSKA group.

Video recap of my day on Beaver Lake, including baits my best five were caught on:

Heavy Hitters Standings

The Heavy Hitters pool is starting to take shape as we’re now four events in. As a reminder, anglers take their top fish from five events, so there’s a long way to go. This week was a real plus for me and Jeriamy getting some big ones on the board to make up some ground. Kyle Long still leads and is in a good spot, with Roy Roberts and Josh Howard on his tail. Again, don’t sleep on those with 20s on the board like James Haeberle, Tyler Zengerle and Cole Sikes. They are still in great shape.

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NSKA Classic / AOY Race

The top 25 finishers in AOY will make the end of season Classic Championship. It’s too early to tell much, but let’s take a look at who’s “in” as of today. Keep in mind it’s the top six events with two drops, so a lot is going to change. Everyone has a chance to get in at this point. For overall AOY – Dwain, Michael and Roy are still in the best position, but any angler with two scores above 95 is likely still a threat to close the gap.

Next Up – Pumpback

We’ll do a preview for Pumpback next week – it’s a really weird and cool little lake (More formally known as Chimney Rock Lake). If you haven’t been there, be sure to mark your calendar for June 5 to experience this pool of giant smallmouth and largemouth bass.