Beaver Lake in the spring earlier this year was a barrel of laughs for anglers who found lots of fish, including big fish, all over the lake and easy to catch. Well the laughter is on hold for now as Beaver Lake in the summer heat is an entirely different proposition.

The only two Beaver Lake South tournaments in the past few years prior to this one yielded winning totals of 70.25″ and 75″ which were indications of what was in store for the 61 anglers who took to the water on a scorching Saturday in July. Fighting the fish, the heat and the jet skis made for a grinder of a day.

Tournament Results

Overall, the quantity of fish caught wasn’t that bad considering the conditions. The caliber of anglers in NSKA has certainly improved, accounting for more fish in the yak. A very good 54% of anglers (down from 75% in June) turned in a limit, with an awesome 95% turning in at least one keeper. The challenge of course was catching fish of good size.

Of the 274 fish caught and submitted, only 16 bass were 16″ or above. Sixteen! Out of 274! Thirteen of 61 anglers accounted for the 16″ and above club (J Brewer (2), J Phillips (2), R Paskiewicz (2), J Kincy (2), H Wofford, J Wofford, K Long, D Kelley, R Roberts, D Esry, P Vongpraphanh, D Mathews, and V Vang). The “Beaver Lake Specials” of 13s and 14s were the trend of the day.

Justin Brewer found the right formula to win with four OK keepers and a good kicker adding up to 76″ which is right in line with summer on Beaver Lake. Hope Wofford just barely missed out on the win by placing 2nd on a tiebreaker – she also had 76″ on the day. Justin Phillips finished 3rd with 74.5″ of bass.

Big Bass was won by John Wofford with a 19.25″ largemouth, and Justin Brewer edged out Hope Wofford again in a tiebreaker with an 18.50″ bass for 2nd Big Bass. (Tough breaks for Hope!)

Angler Roundtable

Here’s how the top anglers on the day did their damage. Justin Brewer, Hope Wofford and Justin Phillips share their path to success on that hot day.

Where did you go on Beaver and why?

Justin B – I went in trying to find cooler water so I chose to fish way up the War Eagle.

Hope – To be completely honest, I don’t get a ton of say in where we choose to go. I let John make that decision and roll with it. I did tell him I didn’t want to get beat up by the wind and pleasure boaters so we opted for Twin Bridges.

Justin P – I ended up going to Blue Springs. I had pre-fished a handful of spots and it seemed my more consistent bites came from that area.

Overall what strategy did you have for the day and did it play out like you thought?

Justin B – My main goal was to get on a good early bite and maybe find a cull through out the day. It did not work that way. I didn’t find a limit until 9-10 and my key fish fish didn’t come until noon.

Hope – My strategy was simply to beat my last tourney score and catch a limit earlier than last time. I wanted to try and fish my strengths, but also to try out a few baits I tend to leave alone. I definitely stuck to my strategy and it worked.

Justin P – My strategy was fairly simple; start shallow with some top water and shallower crankbaits first thing in the morning and then move out to deeper water with sharper drop-offs as the sun climbed in the sky. Going into it, once the sun got up I felt like I could catch them on a jig and a deep diving crankbait in that 15′-19′ range as I had in practice.

What were the key baits for you for the day?

Justin B – I ended up finding a short section of the river that was super dirty with less than a foot of visibility and that small section is what held my fish. I rounded out my limit swimming a Booyah swim jig with YUM Baits chunk trailer. When that bite died off I tried something a little different and tied on a Booyah Flex II chartreuse squarebill and that’s what got me my bigger bites.

Hope – I played my strengths and stuck with a spinnerbait (which I used to despise) and Texas rig. I also landed my first fish on a squarebill. To say I hate treble hooks is an understatement, but I saw a spot where I knew the squarebill would work and it paid off.

Justin P – In the morning it was calm and with the low light conditions I caught my first small keeper on a whopper plopper. However I was having to fish it in a slow method utilizing short pulls. I felt like I was burning too much time so I put it up and got out a DT6 and started covering water. I caught my next 4 keepers utilizing it and pitching a jig. At this point it was just before mid morning. I had a 16″ and the rest small keepers. I decided to start transitioning to steeper banks and testing the deeper waters looking to cull. I finished my starting stretch and moved out to the “river” section focusing on the bluffs. With the wind picking up I was able to keep culling utilizing a chatterbait and a jig.

In the summer it is key to beat the heat, do you have any advice or steps you take to stay cool?

Justin B – I carry a gallon Yeti jug with me so I have plenty of ice cold water and I also where a long sleeve hooded shirt to keep as much sun off as me as possible. Periodically I’ll wet my hat and the sleeves of my shirt. That helps provide just a little more coolness throughout the heat of the day.

Hope – I always have my gallon jug of water. I added a bottle of Gatorade for the extra heat as well as a cooling towel. Feet are in the water as much as possible! Thankfully the breeze kept it very bearable until around noon.

Justin P – The Arkansas summer heat can be brutal. When the weather heats up I usually combat it by drinking something on my way to the ramp and freezing bottles of water, (my all time favorite) Diet Mountain Dew and storing them in the hatch. Then as the day goes on, and the temperatures climb, the drinks melt. By the time I’m ready for my next beverage it still has a little ice in it and serves as a cold refresher.

Heavy Hitters Update

With one regular season tournament to go, the Heavy Hitters crown looks like it will come down to either me or John Wofford. I’m sitting with 95″ for the best five, with John in second at 89″ followed by Ryan Paskiewicz with 88.75″, Michael Burgess with 87.75″ and Justin Phillips and Roy Roberts with 87″.

John has the biggest opportunity because he can replace an 11.75″, needing only a 17.75″ to tie me and an 18″ to win. That is unless I can replace a 17.75 with something larger. Going to be a close one!

Angler of the Year and Classic Race

With one event to go things are taking shape to identify the final contenders for AOY and also the top 25 who will make the end of season Classic. Justin Brewer and John Wofford both helped themselves in the AOY race, with Justin making the strongest move. It still isn’t settled though with 4 or 5 anglers still in the mix with one event and then the Classic to go.

Many of the anglers in the top 25 who are planning on making the Classic better not get too comfortable. There are several anglers outside of the list who either only have four scores to date or have one horrific score they can drop. If those already in the top 25 don’t put up a good score, some of them may finish out of the Classic when the dust settles.

With a month off, there’s plenty of time to rest up for the regular season finale on Beaver Lake North. See everyone on the water!