I saw one of our anglers compare fishing on Pumpback (Chimney Rock Lake) to fishing on the moon – with craters and rock as the main terrain. Historically Pumpback is a smash-fest where 80 inches might get you into the top 12. On a day like we had on Pumpback, Craig was right, it was like the moon. Not much to be found for 62 registered anglers on a sunny March day with light winds.
Tournament Results
I believe this is the second most difficult tournament in NSKA history, with the numbers to back it up. In 2019 on ‘Snake’ Fort Smith there were only 68 fish caught by 67 anglers and the winner, Cole Sikes, only had four fish. Now…on that day it was chocolate milk, very cold water and cold day. You could argue that a nice March day on fish-factory Pumpback Lake with water 50+ degrees should have been a LOT better – but it wasn’t.
A paltry 107 fish from 62 anglers resulted in a 1.72 fish per angler score – compared to 2.99 FPA from the tough opener on Beaver Lake. Five limits out of 62 is incredibly low (7.6%), but oddly 66% (41) of the field caught a fish, which is a solid number. That early bite I think helped out a lot of anglers get at least one. From a size perspective, it was a strong 15.64″ average, compared to 14.42″ in the opener on Beaver Lake.
Looking at the fish volume based on time, the VAST majority of fish were caught in the first couple of hours, then a steady drop-off the rest of the day. If you look at big bass each hour though, there was a 19+ submitted almost every hour, so the big ones were eating throughout. Tough fishing, resulting in only three anglers culling a bass to upgrade.
Four 20s were caught, including two 20.25″ which tied Vince Minnick and Jacob Simmons, with Jacob winning the prize by going to second largest bass.
The Top Ten from Pumpback:
- Levi Schneider
- Jamie Shumate
- John Evans
- Sam McClish
- Roy Roberts
- Jason Kincy
- Andrew Newsom
- Terrill Standifer
- Devon Esry
- James Haeberle
Angler Roundtable
Our top finishers from Pumpback sat down to give a bit of the juice on how they caught ’em on a tough day. Let’s hear from Levi, James and John.
What was your strategy going into the day, and did it work?
Levi – My only strategy really was to fish this one flat I had found on Navionics, but since the lake was so low I knew that wasn’t going to happen so I just went out there and just decided to cover water and fish points and different areas that caught me eye and looked like fish may hold to. Also, whenever I checked the water temp in my graph and saw it going up the further I went back into coves I decided to go to the very back of one that produced 4 of 5 keepers and even lost a giant Smallie that might’ve gone for big bass but hey – with treble hook baits you’re bound to lose fish.
Jamie – Going into the day I didn’t have much of a strategy. With the lake being the size that it was and how many anglers there where I knew I would be fishing behind guys so I just started beating the banks.
John – No real plan, it had been a few years since I fished Pumpback, I just focused on the back of the coves.
Any key baits or techniques that helped you catch your fish?
Levi – My only key bait was Berkley Stunna +1 that I didn’t intend on throwing at first but I saw an Alex Rudd Instagram post of a huge Smallie he caught with the Stunna +1 so I decided to tie it on and sure enough – it produced every single fish I caught.
Jamie – I started out throwing the normal spring time baits – crankbaits, square bills and jerk baits but gave up with in an hour. I tied on the A-rig and within the first 10 minutes I had a 16.25″ smallmouth and an 18″ black bass. I had my limit by 10:00 and when I added it all up and saw what I had I thought ‘dang this is great!’ Everyone I talked to said it was tough…I went from around 10:30 till around 1:15 without a bite. I caught 3 at the end of the day with the last one coming at 2:45 and I upgraded a .25 inch. Congratulations to Levi on the win.
John – It was a mix of crankbaits, shaky heads, and jigs. Didn’t find a set pattern they preferred, they were scattered around for me.
What is your favorite lure to throw in the spring?
Levi – Without a doubt my favorite spring time bait is a finesse jig. It just seems to get a ton of bites and quite a few big ones as well. My PB came off a finesse jig in the middle of April so I’m ready to go whack ’em this April with it.
Jamie – Fishing a crank bait is probably my favorite spring time bait when the bite is on it can be a fun day. I’m still fairly new to kayak fishing and I want to say that this is the best group of guys and gals to fish with everyone is always helpful and fun to be around.
John – I don’t think I have a favorite, but I throw several options to see what they might like.
Trash Pot Winner
Chris Needham smoked two drum of the same length (21.75) on a jerkbait to take the big Trash Pot prize!
Heavy Hitters
Now we’re getting into it with Heavy Hitters and AOY, and a fantastic championship belt was unveiled at the event, courtesy of Justin Wright and Steadfast Plumbing. That thing is awesome! Here’s a look at the leaders, but there is a looong way to go this season. Anyone with 18s and above is in good shape early, with the top three looking strong!
AOY Race
It’s also very early in the Angler of the Year race for NSKA NWA. Some fresh names at the top for now, can they hang on? Anything 90+ is a good score that could factor in for the winning total. Andrew, James and Terrill are starting out hot! It’s a long road to win, lots of time for anglers to move up.
Back to the friendly confines of South Beaver Lake on April 9 for the next event – presented by Capps Mens Cuts. Know someone that kayak fishes? Invite them to come out and enter. The Dead Sea will be coming alive for spawn, you won’t want to miss it!