For a myriad of reasons, most of them tied to the ‘Rona, the second Road Runner of the year took place, this time with a 30 mile radius around Rogers, Arkansas. Once again some familiar bodies of water played a big role in the outcome.

Tournament Results

Another large field of 84 anglers spread out over the 30 mile radius to their favorite fishing holes in search of big bass. As usual for a Road Runner there were a lot of fish caught – 57% of anglers turned in a limit and a strong 87% were able to catch a scoreable bass.

Dwain Batey took first place with 93.5″ followed by Ryan Paskiewicz who had 85″ for second place. Third place was Chris Needham with 84.75″ and Nathan Henthorn took fourth with 82.75″.

Chris Needham also took home Big Bass with a 21.75″ tank, followed by Kyle Long who had second Big Bass with 20.25″.

Angler Recaps

The top anglers from the event took some time to share how they were able to be successful on a sunny Saturday in April. Dwain Batey, Ryan Paskiewicz, Chris Needham and Nathan Henthorn share their thoughts below. (You can tell it’s getting serious…they are being a bit more secretive…)

Where’d you go and why’d you choose that place?

Dwain – I hadn’t had a chance to pre-fish at all so I just picked a lake at random where I have confidence I can do well if the fish are cooperating, and there aren’t too many people fishing there at once.

Ryan – I chose a lake that I was confident that if i got 5 bites I’d have a chance at a good finish. It’s also a lake that can humble you in a hurry. All my pre-fishing was on Beaver before the switch to a Road Runner. I had to punt and go with my gut.

Chris – I fished close to Prairie Creek. I pre-fished the area a week prior and caught a couple around 15 inches. I didn’t think I could win but thought I could make it competitive. I figured Siloam Springs City Lake would get it done again.

Nathan – I chose a river because I know the quality of fish that live there and it’s where I’m most confident fishing.

What baits (technique or specific) were key to catching your fish?

Dwain – I basically had to junk fish, catching some on a fluke, wacky rigged senko, jackhammer, Skirmish Baits M9-OK Squarebill, a hollow body swimbait, and a Texas rigged Reaction Innovations Smallie Beaver. I believe most fish were spawning, though I only caught one while looking at it, and that one was smaller than I thought and didn’t help me.

Ryan – I started in an area I know I thought would produce a good one early, it didn’t in the first 45 minutes or so and I moved to some clearer water that before the sun got up. I threw a wacky rig at a lay down and hooked up to a solid 18+ but my drag was a bit tight and it broke me off. Had to take a few to regroup but calmed down and retied. I threw back at it and caught an 18.5 followed by a 13.75. Once the sun got up I moved back to my start and fished a chatterbait and was able to catch a 19.5 and a 20” on it. I struggled to find a 5th fish and was worried the one I broke off would haunt me. I finally slowed down and fished some bedding areas and found a 13” on a drop shot.

Chris – I caught my first one at 6:19 on a jig and had my limit in 30 minutes. I tore them up with the jig the first two hours of the day. One of my keepers came off a fluke but once I had a decent limit I stuck with the jig hoping for another stud.

Nathan – My best 5 came on a wacky rigged stickbait fished very slow.

Any interesting or good story from the day with a fish or location?

Dwain – I caught an 18.75” bass on the way back to the ramp on a swimbait that I had thought about trying all day and finally tied on with just a few minutes left in the day. I wound up with mostly male bass and if I had done that earlier I may have been able to find some bigger females offshore, but at least it worked out in the end.

Ryan – I had 6 bites all day. Lost the one good one. It was a good day to work on the mental side of a tourney day. In the past losing the first big one could have wrecked my day. I chose to put my head down and stay positive. It paid off.

Chris – My day started out like a nightmare. I figured I would start my day throwing a Whopper Plopper. The first cast I got it stuck in my net and bungee cord on my front hatch. It took me awhile to get it unstuck. My second cast my line snapped and I absolutely launched the bait deep in the woods. I sat there dumbfounded as to what was taking place. I picked up my jig and threw it in a tree. My first actual cast that landed in the water I caught a 21.75” 5.5 pound bass! When I got the big girl on my board she almost flopped off into the water. I tackled her and got her calm enough for a picture. If she would have fallen in the water I would have just went home for a good cry.

Nathan – Although I caught several fish, it was still a tough day. I squandered the morning bite trying to figure them out and got really frustrated by a nice fish getting off. I found a perfect stump on the bank that created current break and cast my squarebill to it but got stuck on the stump. As I popped it free a big one inhaled it on top. Unable to get a good hookset, it spit it when it jumped. Next cast with stickbait I caught a keeper. I let the spot rest for an hour and came back, first cast caught my 18.5 which I believe was the same fish that spit it earlier. This was a crucial upgrade late in the day

What’s the best advice you could give a new angler?

Dwain – Your photos are just as important as catching the fish, get a good system down for taking them so you’re both efficient and accurate. It’s hard enough to catch fish sometimes, you want them all to count.

Ryan – In the short couple of years I’ve been fishing seriously I’ve found that surrounding yourself with anglers who have been at it a while is very helpful. Ask questions! Many guys in our club are willing to share advice on the different aspects of bass fishing. Also, try not to be too hard on yourself. Learning this thing is a process and takes time. Also, every 1/4” matters. I fought hard on every fish to get that extra 1/4” and ended up securing 2nd instead of 3rd because of it. Take your time and get good pics and make the most of each fish.

Chris – Just have fun and be thankful we can experience God’s creation in the way we do.

Nathan – My best advice for new anglers is practice taking pictures, and figure out what works best for you. I prefer the board to span the kayak instead of having it in the lap. The lap can cause a terrible angle and if holding the camera overhead, you are taking pictures blind. Also, if the fish flops in your lap, there is a greater chance of him going back in the water. Also, if you are serious about fishing, make your second kayak your first kayak. If not, either you will get frustrated and not want to kayak fish, or most likely, get addicted and wish you had something better!

Heavy Hitters Standings

As a fun side-contest for the season, we’re running a Heavy Hitters competition which will take the largest fish from each NSKA AOY competition events and create the best five fish limit for the season. There is STILL TIME to enter the Heavy Hitters competition – Do so before the next event!

The Top Five after two events are: Jason Kincy, Roy Roberts, Michael Burgess, Cole Sikes and Andrew Newsome.