My Dad has always said that April is the toughest month for fishing in this part of the country – the bass may not have moved up as much as you think they have, or have moved up faster. It can be feast or famine depending on the day and location. This seemed true leading up to the Lake Tenkiller kayak tournament for NSKA, presented by H2 Heat and Air. Several who pre-fished were finding it stingy, and seemingly behind other lakes like Table Rock or Beaver. Tenkiller wouldn’t be a pushover on tournament day.
Tournament Results
Overall, it was a case of the have and the have nots among the anglers on Lake Tenkiller. Of the 48 registered anglers, only 38 (79%) turned in a bass, while a paltry 20 (42%) turned in a five fish limit. The Fish Per Angler (FPA) metric was really low as well with a 3.71 FPA. This FPA rate is much lower than the 6.18 we had for the NSKA Table Rock 1.0 event in March and among some of the lower FPAs in recent seasons.
For the second straight event, Jason Kincy took first place with a total of 87.25″ on the day. Justin Brewer took second with 84.50″, Tyler Zengerle third with 84.25″, and Christa Hibbs fourth with 83.75″. Abraham Garcia took the Big Bass prize with a 20.00″ Smallmouth!
Top 10 Lake Tenkiller Anglers:
- Jason Kincy 87.25
- Justin Brewer 84.50
- Tyler Zengerle 84.25
- Christa Hibbs 83.75
- Levi Schneider 83.75
- John Evans 83.50
- Cole Sikes 81.75
- Caroline Hibbs 81.50
- John Hall 80.25
- Will Atchison 80.00
Angler Roundtable
The four top anglers from the Lake Tenkiller kayak tournament shared how they did it on a very, very windy day in Oklahoma. Here are the deets from Jason, Justin, Tyler, and Christa.
Where did you go on Tenkiller and why?
Jason – I went to the Snake Creek area, as it was about the only place I caught a fish in pre-fishing, and was going to be a bit more out of the wind on the east side of Tenkiller.
Justin – I chose to go to Chicken Creek and fish the mid-lake section. I would normally got to the river area because I’m not a clear water guy but that area hasn’t been fishing well and I got good bites in practice mid-lake.
Tyler – I chose to fish between Snake Creek and the State park, primarily to be protected from the wind.
Christa – I fished in Snake Creek. I selected this area to have a little bit of a break from the strong winds.
How did you catch your fish, what techniques or baits?
Jason – I caught a keeper on my first cast with a Booyah Covert spinnerbait, and all of my other keepers came on a Carolina rig. I had a feeling a Carolina rig would play, so had to drive to the Tahlequah Walmart the night before to pick up some beads, swivels, and hooks. Didn’t have a c-rig weight so I used a flipping weight instead.
Justin – I caught fish a a few different baits but the majority and bigger fish came on a War Eagle heavy finesse jig with Yum Craw Chunk trailer. One keeper in my limit was on a 6” Magdraft swimbait.
Tyler – First fish was on a 6” Swimbait and the rest of them were on a shakey head.
Christa – I caught all of my fish on a jigging spoon. I focused mainly on the tire reefs and used my xi3 to position my boat in the wind.
What was the key fish for you and how did it go down?
Jason – I should say the 18.00″ one that put me in first, but honestly it was a 14.00″ that was my third bass that day. I’d gone a while without catching a fish, so I relocated to a different area to find some activity. Caught this one on my second cast in that area which told me I was on the right track. I stayed the rest of the day in a stretch probably no more than 40 yards long.
Justin – A 17.00” cull fish around 1:00 that helped me settle in to my spot after I made the risky decision to go across the lake. I went on to catch another 17.00” cull a few minutes later to bump me to my final length of 84.50”.
Tyler – Key fish was around 1:30. I went back to the area I started in and when I got there, boats were leaving and some were entering, so I knew it had been fished over pretty well. First dock I pulled up to, I threw my shakey head at the front corner and let it sink to the bottom. Few seconds later, line started moving and set the hook on a decent smallmouth. I fought it for a few minutes, thinking it was my PB (it wasn’t), and was doing whatever I could to keep the fish from jumping and spitting the hook. It was a glorious feeling to get her in and also catch her in front of a bass boat 
Christa – My key fish was a 19-incher I caught later in the day. I was on the far wind blown edge of where I was fishing at that time. The fish hit it on the fall and quickly ran off with it. If I wasn’t spot locked in place, that fish would have probably never made it in the boat in that wind.
Is that the windiest tournament you’ve been in? If not, what was?
Jason – This was probably the one where I was exposed to the most wind, I fished wind all day long and was so tired by the end! But the windiest was several years ago on Swepco. Everyone knows that place is a wind tunnel in March and that day I quit before the day was over because I couldn’t hardly go against the wind and it was just dangerous.
Justin – Pretty close if not. There was a tournament on Lake Fork I fished that was pretty close but I can’t remember which was worse. All I remember is waves coming over the front of the kayak.
Tyler – Honestly, I think last Tenkiller tournament was worse than this one. Either that, or the TOC on Lake Fork in 2018 – this one probably felt worse because I was paddling at the time!
Christa – The windiest tournament I’ve fished was a few years ago on Dardanelle. I was fishing in a cut off of the main river channel most of the day. When the day was over, I came back to the main river to head back to the launch. The wind had picked up as the day went on. The combination of the current and wind made it unmanageable to cross the river safely. I no longer could control any direction I was moving. I banked the boat and waited a couple hours to cross safely.
How can anglers and fans of big bass keep up with you in social media?
Jason – Insta: @kayakfishingfocus Youtube: @kayakfishingfocus
Justin – Insta: @justinb_fishing Youtube: @JustinB_Fishing
Tyler – Insta: @tz_yakfishing Youtube: @tzkayakfishing
Christa – Insta: @chibbsfishing Youtube: @christa_hibbs_fishing (coming soon)
Keep up with NSKA Updates: Sign up for Emails
AOY and Heavy Hitters Standings
Two events in and the early part of the season is taking shape. There’s a looong way to go – anyone off to a bad start can even drop these first two events. If you haven’t fished an event yet, you still can fish the rest and be in the AOY race. It’s not too late to sign up for a membership – contact Kyle Long for more information.
Here are your current Top 25 AOY rankings after two events. The Top 25 make the end of season Classic Championship!
Heavy Hitters still is up for grabs. Not many 20s have been caught and nobody is running away with it yet. The Heavy Hitters total is best five for the season, so plenty of time to make a move. Long season to go!
– “It’s great to see you promoting catch and release. How do you ensure the fish are handled safely and effectively to promote conservation?”