If the weather is crazy and the water is high, must be spring in the Ozarks. Round two on Table Rock Lake was set up to be a slugfest as the fish were still spawning and water was up in the bushes. It was time for the ZPRO Lithium Batteries Table Rock West tournament.

Pre-fishing for this event I felt like I’d found a little something with a buzzbait and a swim jig, but due to a bout with Covid I was a late scratch and missed my first NSKA NWA tourney in three years. (I’m on the mend) Was still pretty fun watching the scoreboard light up on tournament day.

Tournament Recap

Because of bad weather moving through the area, the Saturday event was moved to Sunday, but the post-front conditions didn’t slow the anglers down. Of the 41 registered anglers, 40 submitted at least one fish, and, 36 of 41 turned in a limit with a strong FPA of 7.54. Incredible numbers for a fun tournament day!

Chris Needham and Craig Wood tied with 88″ on the day, and although both had a 20″ fish, Chris won the tiebreaker with a 22″ giant to secure 1st place. Craig won 2nd, followed by Dwain Batey in 3rd with 87.75″ and then Tyler Zengerle was fourth with 87.00″ on the day. Needham’s 22″ beast took home the Finntek Big Bass pot.

Complete tournament results can be found on TourneyX.

Angler Roundtable

As usual, our top finishers sat down to share how their day went. Here’s the juice from Chris Needham, Craig Wood, Dwain Batey and Tyler Zengerle.

Where did you go and why?

Chris – I decided to fish the Kings as I’ve never fished there before. Had zero expectations so just went to have fun and maybe luck into some fish.

Craig – I went to Beaver Town area as I know the area and it has produced fish in the past.

Dwain – Kings River.

Tyler – I chose to go to the same launch I went to last year since I placed third in that one. I knew the area and seemed like it would set up well with the high water and debris.

How did you catch your big fish?

Chris – At about 10:30 I finally figured out the pattern and started wrecking them on a spinnerbait. About five minutes before I caught the 22″ I missed a 20″ while I was netting her so I knew I was doing the right thing. When I caught the big one she had the body of a 7 pounder but only weighed 3.13 lbs. Longest kayak fish to date for me.

Craig – Caught a 20.50″ on a Slowtown Custom Lures jig with a Zoom twin tail, combing the flooded brush.

Dwain – My fish were all on topwater, and they were pretty similar in size. I lost more good fish than I caught, and will have to do some thinking on what I can change in my game to eliminate the issue.

Tyler – My biggest fish was only 17.75” and I caught it using a Gambler Bacon Rind (creature bait) in a green pumpkin/purple swirl, Texas-rigged.

What is one price of advice you would give anglers for better tournament fishing?

Chris – I would say a positive attitude is key for me. When I missed that 20″ I was upset for a second but said a quick prayer just thanking God for the ability just to be able to fish which quickly changed my priorities and I remembered why I was out there. Put it behind me pretty quickly.

Craig – I pre-fish and try to find fish ahead of the tournament. Try to remember that the bite will be slow at times but at any moment it could pick up and be ready for that moment.

Dwain – Work on your mental game, you’ve got to be able to keep your mind right even when you’re struggling.

Tyler – Absolutely never give up. Just when it seems like you’ve done all you can do, things can flip on a dime. I used the leaderboard as a motivation to keep grinding. As I would get passed, I stayed positive and pushed myself to fish harder and make accurate casts to my targets. A positive mental attitude goes a heck of a long way.

Angler of the Year Race

Now that we have five events in, the race continues to shape up. A lot of anglers are still in it, and scores are tight at the top. If the Classic were today, this would be your top 25… But it’s not today, a lot will change with more events to come!

Heavy Hitters

Here is the current top 10 for Heavy Hitters. There will still be a lot of movement as competitors only have to retain their top five fish. Ryan looks like he’s got a solid lead with a small one to drop. Big fish are going to be harder and harder to catch now, I’d rather be in first than trying to play catch-up!

See everyone at Tenkiller next!