It is heating up in the Ozarks and it appears that ole Beaver Lake is in full summer pattern based on what anglers saw this past weekend. Some still caught them, and in VERY different ways. No matter how the sport progresses, there’s always opportunity for creativity in catching bass. Read on for the results of Beaver Lake South, sponsored by Capps Mens Cuts.
Tournament Results
This event was a pretty standard warm-weather affair on Beaver Lake. Some good fish caught at the top, but it was a grind for most of the field. The Fish Per Angler (FPA) was a reasonable 4.75, but finding quality was the big challenge. Pretty short story: If you caught a limit with a fish over 17, you did pretty well.
Levi Schneider took first place with 83.50″ caught in a unique fashion (see below), while Tyler Zengerle took second with 78.75″ followed by Jacob Webber in third with 78.75″ on the day (by tiebreaker). Doug Watson took home the Big Bass prize with a mammoth 21.75″ Beaver Lake largemouth bass. Overall, 24 of 44 (55%) turned in a limit, and 41 of 44 (93%) of registered anglers turned in a bass.
The Top Ten anglers:
- Levi Schneider 83.50
- Tyler Zengerle 78.75
- Jacob Webber 78.75
- Jason Kincy 77.75
- Doug Watson 76.50
- Bobby Hogan 74.50
- Cole Sikes 74.25
- Christa Hibbs 73.25
- John Evans 73.00
- Kyle Long 72.50
Angler Roundtable
Hear from our top three finishers how they did it. Levi, Tyler, and Jacob sat down at the table to share how they did it on a hot June Saturday on Beaver Lake.
What area did you fish and why?
Levi – I fished primarily all the mouths of the small cuts across from Horseshoe Bend marina and Joe’s Creek.
Tyler – At first, I launched at Monte Ne because I practiced there a couple weeks prior and felt confident that I could pick up a quick limit…didn’t happen that way on game day. I only had two fish when I decided to leave at 9:00. I packed up and went to Beaver Shores and picked up the rest of my limit there.
Jacob – I chose to launch at Horseshoe because it’s the area I’m most familiar with and had a couple spots I figured would be good.
Key baits used on the day?
Levi – I caught every fish on either a white or shattered glass flutter spoon.
Tyler – I caught fish on a few things. white fluke, jig, Ned rig, and the trusty shakey head.
Jacob – I caught the most fish on a Freeloader, but the three better fish all came on something different (freeloader, 4” swimbait, and Plopper)
What was your key bass and how’d you catch it?
Levi – My key fish was my 20.50″ I caught around 9:00. I had just switched to the white spoon because the fish weren’t committing well to the shattered glass spoon so I knew I needed to make some kind of change. Within three casts from switching colors that 20.50″ smoked it. I was king of horsing it in because I thought I’d hooked a striper. She also got wrapped up in my livescope pole but I was luckily able to just grab her by the mouth without losing her. I also didn’t catch my last two keepers until 12:30-12:55 and that big fish was my motivation to fill my limit and not let the day go to waste.
Tyler – My key bass was my 3rd fish. It was only a 12.75” fish, but it gave me the boost and confidence I needed to keep fishing the rest of the day. I kept my head down after that and caught my 5th around 11:00 and it was a 19.50” chunk.
Jacob – I think I had a key spot rather than a key bass. I pulled up to a main lake brush pile and caught three fish in about 10 minutes, with two of those being 18”. I would have been in trouble if I didn’t stumble upon that brush pile.
What’s something you wish you had tried that you thought about after the tourney ended?
Levi – I usually ask myself what I would’ve done different every tourney and the only things I wish I would’ve tried or even just given more time with would’ve been a weighted glide bait, a deep diving jerkbait or a slimmer profile hair jig. I threw some really large hair jigs that they wanted nothing to do with.
Tyler – I tried many other baits and nothing worked, so there wasn’t really anything else that I wish I would’ve tried. I do wish I would’ve just went to Beaver Shores first, though, and maybe I also need to learn how to fish a flutter spoon…
Jacob – I wish I just covered more water. I fished a pretty small stretch all day. I knew there was more good fish in that brush pile and decided to come back to it a couple times and try and pull 1 more out. I threw almost everything I brought with me at them but couldn’t get bit.
Heavy Hitters Race
At this point in the season, we now have five events to get the official five best fish limit. There will be opportunities ahead for anglers to drop smaller fish. Technically there are lots of anglers who have a shot remaining – you want lots of green blocks to be in contention. Four anglers in particular I believe have the best chance with three events to go: Jason Kincy, Levi Schneider, Josh Landreth, and Bobby Hogan. They each have at least one 20″ and several other green-rated bass. As always, going to be tight!
Angler of the Year
This has been an incredibly unusual season so far, with all five wins from only three anglers. The consistency at the top of the AOY chart is amazing, with the top four anglers being in the top ten in each event. Because of this, what should be a solid lead is razor-thin, with Levi, Kyle, and Tyler all within easy striking distance. Because you can drop a couple of events, and, the Classic counts double, there are other anglers in the mix as well. If you have 3-4 green rated finishes and do very well here on out, you have a shot.
More importantly, it is going to start being crunch time for the top 25 to get into the end of year Classic. Hard to tell where veryone stands because of drops, etc., but right now, here are your Top 25.
