Category Archives: RVKA

RVKA

RVKA Pick Three Road Runner – Tournament Preview

The River Valley Kayak Anglers are hitting the road this week for the Pick Three Road Runner which will take anglers to one of three area lakes to try and catch a limit.

Kayak anglers who dare to enter will choose their fate by drawing from one of three bodies of water: Booneville, Greenwood and New Spiro city lakes. Captains need to be checked in at Gellco Outdoors at 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 26, to be ready to participate. Anglers will draw their lake at the meeting and then will take off to fish.  Must be back to Gellco Outdoors by 3:00 to submit your fish and photos.  (3:15 if you went to Booneville)

The Lakes

I’ve only been to one of the lakes among the three, so Chris Jones helped provide a breakdown and a quick look at each destination fishery:

Greenwood Lake – This little lake southeast of Fort Smith features stained water, grass, and flooded timber.  There are two creeks that feed into the lake on the southern end and north of the bridge Greenwood Lake is a bit deeper with steeper banks. There are grass and trees in the water all around the lake. Greenwood Lake was made by flooding Vache Grass Creek and Vineyard Creek – finding the best spots on and around these creek channels is key.

New Spiro Lake – This lake just south of Spiro, is fed by Holi-Tuska Creek coming in from the northwest and is just over 2,000 acres with a max depth of 23 feet. Features stained water year round with  grass banks around most of the lake. Lake is very shallow except by the dam. The vast majority of this lake is less than 10 feet deep. It is well known as a big time bluegill lake with some giant slabs lurking in the waters. It’s a place where it is common to throw topwater all day long.

Booneville Lake – This is the largest of the three, with flooded grass
around almost all of the southern end of the lake. The upper part is a shallow, but wide creek area. This is also the only lake of the three with Spotted bass in the waters. Booneville Lake is the clearest of the three lakes as well. Hosting huge schools of shad, it is not surprising to find fish in 20-30 feet of water on this lake.

This should be an interesting event and for me will be a chance to explore some new waters. Be sure to drink plenty of fluids and watch out for dehydration as the weather starts to turn warmer. As always, wear your PFD!

 

RVKA

RVKA Ozark City Lake Tournament Recap

Ozark City lake hosted the RVKA night bass fishing tournament in late April under a full moon. The lake did pretty well in giving up some good numbers to the 22 anglers on hand.

Carson McBride took first place with 82.5″, with Declan McDonald taking second place with 77.5″ and Chris Jones finishing third with 71.25″ overall. Big Bass was won by Chris Jones for a 23″ monster caught  after dark.

Ozark City Lake winners Carson McBride and Declan Mcdonald used the ned rig to catch their bass. - Courtesy Aaron McBride.
Ozark City Lake winners Carson McBride and Declan Mcdonald used the ned rig to catch their bass. – Courtesy Aaron McBride.

The top 10 anglers were:

  1.  Carson McBride
  2.  Declan McDonald
  3.  Chris Jones
  4.  Toby Bogart
  5.  Trey Rogers
  6.  Josh Childress
  7.  Gavin Collins
  8.  Jason Kincy
  9.  Lloyd Mize
  10.  Brandon Crippen
23" Big Bass caught by Chris Jones.
23″ Big Bass caught by Chris Jones.
Angler Recaps

The top three finishers from the Ozark City Lake event, Carson McBride, Declan McDonald and  Chris Jones, shared some of their insights on the tournament and how to successfully compete in these type of events.

How did you catch your fish and what were the key baits? 

Carson –  I caught my fish in 5 feet or less of water bouncing a Ned rig off of the bottom.

Declan –  I caught all my fish on the bottom on ned rigs, just popping it off the bottom just covering the same spots multiple times.

Chris – I threw a popper for first four fish before dark, then caught 2 on a chatterbait after dark.

What was your strategy for the night tournament, how was it different than a regular tourney that starts in the morning?

Carson – My strategy for the night tourney was to start out finesse since it was three in the afternoon with bluebird skies and not much wind. This is instead of throwing a topwater or moving bait in the morning like I would in any other tournament.

Declan – My strategy was to find fish fast and catch a early limit then upgrade later. I knew the blue bird skies and mid-day conditions would be tough so I thought the fishing would improve later toward dark so I just tried to capitalize on the fish I could find.

Chris – My strategy was get around the whole lake and try to locate the biggest baitfish action for a topwater bite and see if it carried into the night.

What is your advice for someone new in preparing for tournaments?

Carson – My advice for someone preparing for tourneys is to throw what your most confident with and stick to that when fishing gets tough.

Declan – My advice would be to just stay confident and throw what you have confidence in if your going to a new lake Google maps is always a great resource.

Chris – Watch the weather and ask questions about the lake and Google search for past tourney results and information.

What’s one specific tip you would give for finding fish on a lake?

Carson – One specific tip I would give for finding fish on a lake is to cover water with what your most confident with.

Chris – Look for bait fish.

Declan – A specific tip would be to pay attention to water temp and weather conditions.

Congratulations to all who came out and fished the event!
J
RVKA

RVKA Lake Fort Smith Recap

The first area tournament of the season took place at the start of March and although the anglers were ready to go – the fish were not quite so cooperative. Lake Fort Smith is a lake nestled in the Boston Mountains at the southern end of the Ozarks. A truly scenic lake with very little development, it was a great setting for the River Valley Kayak Anglers (RVKA) opener.

RVKA tournament on Lake Fort Smith - Kayakfishingfocus.com
RVKA tournament on Lake Fort Smith – Kayakfishingfocus.com

Recent rains had turned the lake muddy and had it up a few feet over normal. Usually this can be good news, but the fish were definitely in a funk.  This tournament was a shotgun start from the ramp area which is always fun.

Here Fishy Fishy…

Chances are, if you fished in this tournament you left with a big fat zero. Of the 38 anglers who hit the water that morning, only nine carded a keeper, with 27 (71%) not turning in any fish. No anglers turned in a limit, and the top spot went to Chris Jones with a four fish total of 56.75″ and he also won Big Bass with 18.25″.

Here are the Top Ten finishers:
  1.  Chris Jones 56.75″
  2.  Toby Bogart 56.75″
  3.  Carson McBride 49.25″
  4.  John Wofford 16″
  5.  Christa Hibbs 14.25″
  6.  Braydon Richardson 13.25″
  7.  Jason Kincy 11.75″
  8.  Jason Stovall 11.5″
  9.  Jay Kester 11.25″
  10.  Chris  Nemeth 11.25″

First place went to Chris Jones based on his 18.25″ Big Bass as the tiebreaker.

Word is that the baits that put the top anglers into the money included a red Spro Little John squarebill and a yellow Strike King KVD 1.5″ squarebill.

Although the fishing was tough, the tournament was well-run for this new club and it was great to have an event where all anglers were in the same location and could visit with one another. Check out the RVKA Facebook page for more scheduled events.