August in the big water on the Dead Sea can be tough enough, throw in high sunny skies with about 2,000 wake boats on a final summer weekend and you’ve got a tough day to catch ’em on Beaver Lake. A solid turnout of 68 anglers took on the deep blue in Northwest Arkansas and did pretty well overall in finding fish.
NSKA Beaver Lake North Tournament Results
A lot of discussion of pre-fishing revealed that things had been tough on the water. Fish had been finicky in weeks prior to the tournament, but a cooler stretch of days may have helped turn them around a bit for tournament day. A strong 81% (55 anglers) turned in a keeper, while a respectable 29% (20 anglers) of the field were able to catch a limit. These are good numbers for Beaver Lake any time of year, but especially in the summer.
Jeriamy Vann took first place with a 80.25″ limit of Largemouth, followed by Vince Minnick’s strong 78.25″ limit of Smallmouth. Big Bass was won by John Evans with a 19.75″ Largemouth, followed by Jeriamy Vann with a 19.25″ and then Vince Minnick with a 19.25″ Smallmouth tank.
The top ten finishers were as follows:
- Jeriamy Vann – 80.25″
- Vince Minnick – 78.25″
- John Evans – 75.50″
- Tyler Zengerle – 74. 25″
- Chad Warford – 73.75″
- Jimmy Thomas – 73.50″
- Declan McDonald – 73.00″
- Carson McBride – 70.25″
- Christa Hibbs – 68.75″
- Tim Hotchkin – 67.75″
NSKA Beaver Lake North Angler Recaps
Top finishers Jeriamy Vann, Vince Minnick, John Evans and Tyler Zengerle reflect on the tournament and explain how they caught ’em in this roundtable recap.
How did you think about approaching the north end of Beaver, what was your overall plan?
Jeriamy – My plan was to go with the pattern that had worked for me in the Beaver Lake South tournament and to try and fish close to the Highway 12 Bridge.
John – I looked at Google maps for an entrance to coves that I could drive to. Living in Joplin, I usually don’t get a chance to pre-fish, so I looked at several areas until I found one that looked promising. My backup was Big Clifty where i fished the Beaver lake tournament, so in a nutshell I threw a dart and fished there.
Vince – My overall plan was to try and get away from the heavier boat traffic and I figured it would be lighter up closer to the dam. Earlier in the summer I accidentally found a spot that had some nice smallmouth, so I made the plan to go fish it and launch at Lost Bridge North.
Tyler – My overall plan for this tournament was to find a smallmouth bite and they were going to be up by the dam. I chose to fish Lost Bridge North because I’ve been camping at the Lost Bridge South Park for the last 5+ years, and I knew I would struggle catching fish out there with limited structure and tons of boat traffic. I pre-fished Lost Bridge North the Monday before and liked what I saw, so I stuck with it.
The bite was tough to find bigger fish, how did you catch your limit?
Jeriamy – Both my bigger fish came early in about 15′ to 20′ of water by just bumping the bottom. The other three keepers were a little more shallow.
John – I usually throw finesse baits, but have topwater and spin baits ready to entice any bites when it looks promising.
Vince – My spot had a deep trough between main lake points that were about 100 yds apart. After catching a fish off of each point early the fish moved into the deep water as the sun got higher. All of my fish came in 14’-23’ of water. My entire limit ended up being smallmouth with my largest being 19.25”. I caught my 19.25 and 16.25 on a drop shot with a 4lb test Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon leader and a Strike King Dreamshot “Magic Color” drop shot bait in 23’ of water. I saw them on my finder and dropped down to them and fortunately they were hungry.
Tyler – I started the morning in the first big cove to the left of the ramp, and was amazed to find that I was the only one in that cove until late morning. My first fish was caught in a brush pile on a PB&J finesse jig, and it was a 15.25” largemouth. Moving down the bank there were more boulders and rocks, so I switched to a Trapper Tackle shakey head with a Gambler Lures Sweebo worm in watermelon red. Caught another 15.25” largemouth, plus my biggest 16.50” fish. I just needed two more bites and it was a struggle for a bit. I noticed some fish were still chasing minnows, so I put on a small Flicker Shad just to have a chance of catching my limit no matter how big. Instantly caught a 12” smallie and 11.50” spot, which completed my limit at 70.5”. I knew I needed at least 73.75” to pass whoever was in second at that time, so finally at the end of the day, I caught a 15.25” smallie to cull my smallest which put me at my final total of 74.25”. Only two of my keepers were smallies, and the other three were largemouth, which surprised me.
August fishing is really tough, what’s one tip you have for people fishing this time of year?
Jeriamy -I think the thing that helped me was focusing on fishing very slow and deliberately. The last two fish I caught, I threw my jig in pretty much the same spot three and four times in a row before getting a strike.
John – I work for the early morning bites, then as the sun rises I focus on the shaded areas.
Vince – My only tip for the summer is don’t be afraid to fish the clear water…you just have to use your finder to find fish in the deeper water and then try to be patient. Also don’t be afraid to go down in size of your fluorocarbon, you just can’t horse them in.
Tyler – The key to doing well in the hot summer is to find fish as early as possible. The later it gets, the harder it is to get a bite. Don’t be afraid to start shallow because there are always fish there and just throw what you’re confident in. You can fish deeper later in the day for bigger fish. All but one fish were caught in less than 8 ft of water.
What’s your favorite rod and reel combo?
Jeriamy – Right now my favorite combo is the one I used in the tournament. Abu Garcia Black Max baitcaster with an Abu Garcea Vengeance 7 foot rod.
John – I use a Pflueger President reel , with a Berkley eMotion rod. When all else fails I break out the Dynamite and a dip net! lol
Vince – My rod and reel used in this tournament that caught most of my fish was a new Lews Infinity 6’6” Med Action Spinning Rod, that will be coming out to retail in 2019. My Spinning Reel is a Pflueger Supreme size 25.
Tyler – Usually, my favorite combo is a 7’3” MH Stunner HD rod by Fitzgerald Fishing, paired with a Lew’s Speed Spool with 12lb Fluoro. For this tourney, my favorite was a 7’3” MH Stunner HD spinning rod paired with a Shimano Sahara with 10lb fluoro.
Check out the complete tournament results for NSKA Beaver Lake North on TourneyX.