“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” is a famous literary opening that could describe NSKA’s history on W.R. Holway Lake, Chimney Rock Lake, or Pumpback – A lake so nice they named it thrice. Once dubbed by Craig Wood as “like fishing on the moon” because of the lack of cover and barren, rocky landscape, Pumpback has provided the widest array of outcomes of any lake on the NSKA NWA trail.
Looking back at the past four events at Pumpback tells the story:
June 2020 – 1st place 93.00″, 10th place 81.00″, FIVE 20+, FPA (Fish Per Angler) of 4.73
June 2021 – 1st place 89.25″, 10th place 83.00″, FIVE 20+, 4.08 FPA
March 2022 – 1st place 84.50″, 10th place 59.75″, THREE 20+, 1.73 FPA
June 2023 – 1st place 90.00″, 10th place 52.00″, ONE 20+, 3.07 FPA
Another angler commented that they were catching fish with previous hook marks, and I’ll say the same happened to me. These fish are pressured and those shallow are seeing tons of baits. You might take note of how the top two finishers caught their bigger limits…
Overall, it was tiny fish day, with 30 fish submitted that were under 10″ – which is ridiculous on a day where the winner had 90.00″!
Josh King took the win with the 90.00″ total, including a 20.00″ Big Bass. Tony Sorluangsana took 2nd with 87.50″, and Devon Esry took 3rd with 72.25″ – with a huge drop-off after the top five. Overall, it was tiny fish situation, with 35 fish submitted that were under 10″ – which is ridiculous on a day where the winner had 90.00″!
Your Pumpback Top 10:
- Josh King 90.00
- Tony Sorluangsana 87.50
- Devon Esry 72.25
- Kyle Long 70.50
- Jason Kincy 70.25
- Jason Sibert 61.00
- Dwain Batey 57.00
- Tyler Zengerle 55.75
- Jordan Rozenblum 54.25
- Bryan Pennington 52.00
Pumpback can still put out some big fish, especially if you are looking for a PB Smallmouth. But it can also be a grind on a given day. Limits may have been higher without the storms and weather situation, but can tell you that tournament day matched exactly what anglers saw in pre-fishing.
Angler Roundtable
The gap between the top three finishers and the rest of the field was significant. Let’s hear how they caught the top limits in this Angler Roundtable, featuring Josh King, Tony Sorluangsana, and Devon Esry!
With the weather delay and late start, did that change your strategy and if so, how?
Josh – Not too much. I was hoping for a Buzzbait bite to start the day. Once we started I went near the spot I wanted and tried the Buzzbait, but switched gears pretty quick.
Tony – 100%! I was committed to throwing the topwater until at least 10am. I had actually had three rods tied up for topwater. Even with the cloud cover, I figured there was too much commotion on top w/ the rain drops – I just abandoned that plan completely.
Devon – It changed what I fished with but not where I was going to start.
What were the primary techniques you used to catch’em today?
Josh – I started seeing fish near the bottom in 20-ish foot of water so I started dragging the bottom with crankbaits and a Carolina rig. Caught a couple on some other things, but bottom fishing was key for me.
Tony – I assumed that the majority of anglers will be beating the banks, so I made the call to back out to deeper water and caught all the quality ones on a Strike King 6XD.
Devon – I started with a Pop-R, and put it down after four casts. After that, I threw a 4” Ned rig all day!! Tried to upsize here and there, but nothing. Kind of sad! That caught all eight I fish I got yesterday. Not one cull.
Tell us about the main key fish you caught – how did that go down and what did it mean?
Josh – It has to be either the first or the last. The first one confirmed that the fish I was seeing on the bottom were bass and the last one gave me a 3” cull to pull ahead of Tony.
Tony – The first three were the most important because it confirmed that they were on deeper points and that I had found a legit pattern.
Devon – My better fish came off of points when it was windy. One on the main lake, one on secondary points. My main lake fish was my fifth, caught around noon! Just a 15.50″ bass…but everyone I talked to said it was tough!!
Beaver Lake is the ‘Dead Sea’, Lake Fort Smith is ‘Dead Sea South’, and Pumpback is ‘The Moon’ because of it’s bare rock bottom. Which is the toughest for you and why?
Josh – Definitely Beaver Lake. I’ve spent a lot of time on Beaver and still suck at it. Every time I think I’ve had a good tourney day, everyone else has had an even better one. The other lakes I rarely fish, but seem to do pretty decent on them.
Tony – Lake Fort Smith, I have only fished it once before and got skunked. Maybe I need redemption. I feel like I can always catch a fish on Beaver or Pumpback – if not at least it’s a better lake to enjoy instead of Lake Fort Smith.
Devon – Lake Ft. Smith?!? Is that even a real lake?! I hate it!! Too many small fish. It’s so hit and miss.
Do you tie different type of knots based on the bait, how many?
Josh – I mainly use an improved clinch knot on everything except I use a Palomar knot for drop shot, A-Rig and the standing end of a Carolina rig.
Tony – I tie a lot of knots pending on my mood. FG knot if I’m going from braid to leader, Palomar or double Uni Knot if I’m using straight braid (rarely use), but three tag knot/Jimmy Houston knot is my primary knot for my fluorocarbon setups. But every now and then I’ll use an improved clinch. I been fortunate to haven’t had a knot break or slip…yet.
Devon – nope! Always stick with Palomar, or Uni Knot to leader Palomar knot. I mostly fish with 8lb test on all my spinning tackle. Just have to set the drag right.
Angler of the Year Race
Is the AOY crown being sized for Tyler Zengerle? He took a big step forward to the title in this event, securing an 8th place finish and quality points. A fairly healthy lead at this point in the season – he’s going to be hard to catch.
Credit to Zengerle – I ran into him a couple of times on the water and he was struggling and not catching them. But he continued to grind and found a way to get into the Top 10. IF he wins the title, I think this event may be the biggest key factor.
Others are lurking, and still can give it a run. Jacob Webber, Kyle Long, Terrill Standifer, and Tony Sorluangsana all have three green-rated finishes and Devon Esry is close with an 88. If you don’t have three greens or close at this point, sorry, you are out of it.
Heavy Hitters Race
Heavy Hitters haven’t changed much since the last event, with Josh Landreth in the driver’s seat, followed by Tony Sorluangsana in second. Tony was the only angler to really make a move in this event, gaining on Josh a bit. This is a two horse race down the stretch. Everyone else is out at this point, mathematically.
