razoryak tournament trail

AKA Beaver Lake and WAKA Charleston Lake Tournament Previews

Next up on the AKA and WAKA tournament series are Beaver Lake and Lake Charleston on Saturday, April 2nd. Both are the second event of the season for each circuit and will be important to anglers trying to move u in the AOY standings.

BeaverLake
Beaver Lake is the largest body of water in NW Arkansas, but not known as a “Big Bass” lake.

Last year’s spring tournament on Beaver Lake was later in the season and the lake was warmed up and fairly clear. This time around anglers will need to manage the conditions brought on by rotating warming and cooling trends and a body of water that is back down to normal levels but much of the lake is still dirty from the recent draw-down. Beaver Lake is a 28,000+ reservoir lake which can provide a good bite one day and no bites the next.

Fish are being caught on Beaver despite the spring roller coaster. Dock talk has been saying smallmouth have moved up from Rocky Branch down to Indian Creek and are being caught in good numbers. Mid-lake bass are being caught in the stained water in familiar areas of Prairie Creek, Esculapia and Monte Ne. On the river end where the water is darker, some anglers are having success. A good limit will be needed to win this event!

Registration for the RTT-NWA Beaver Lake event is Saturday, April 2, with registration beginning at 5:00 a.m. and captains meeting at 5:50 a.m. at Academy Sports in Fayetteville. From there anglers can drive and put in anywhere on Beaver Lake. It’s going to be a cold morning, so bundle up.

CharlestonLake
Charleston Lake should be primed for a big day.

Charleston Lake is the site of the second WAKA event of the season and there will be a giant bass caught at this small municipal lake. I’ve fished this body of water only once and can’t wait to get out there in the future. Just this year I’ve been hearing dock talk of multiple 9+ pound bass being pulled from the water.

It’s a very shallow lake with a few key contour features and a lot of vegetation in the form of buckbrush lining the banks. The ramp is near the only real hard structure on the lake, a short rip rap dam on the north side, with the rest of the lake spreading into four creek fed flat areas. During a break in the action you can catch a good view of Potato Hill. Wind can be a major factor on this lake, there just isn’t anything to provide relief. Registration for the WAKA – Charleston Lake event will begin at 5:15 with the captains meeting at 6:10.  If you catch a giant bass with a Bone Spook in its mouth, please retrieve that lure for me.