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.
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:
- Chris Jones 56.75″
- Toby Bogart 56.75″
- Carson McBride 49.25″
- John Wofford 16″
- Christa Hibbs 14.25″
- Braydon Richardson 13.25″
- Jason Kincy 11.75″
- Jason Stovall 11.5″
- Jay Kester 11.25″
- 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.