Tag Archives: Tournaments

NSKA

2023 NSKA NWA Beaver Lake South Recap / AOY / Heavy Hitters

You can almost set the weather forecast by the NSKA NWA event calendar. Have a tournament coming up on a Saturday? It’s going to rain supernatural proportions on Thursday and Friday. This March tournament on south Beaver Lake, presented by Black Creek Electric, was no exception. With several inches of rain in the 48 hours before lines in. Combine this dirtied water with temps still in the very low 50s (if that in some spots) and it was a recipe for tough day on Beaver.

After several tournaments where our favorite stingy fishery has really shown out with big limits (89.25, 88.75, 84.25, 88, 88, 87, 86.25 89.25 for example in the past year), Beaver Lake humbled some folks on this post-front day in March.

This chart shows the precipitous rise in water level leading up tot he event, leading to unusually high water for March..

A low 3.95 fish per angler rate fell well below 5.95 from this tournament last year. Less than half the field (48%) turned in a limit, a fairly low number in recent history. Of the 48 registered anglers, 40 turned in at least one bass.

Josh Landreth took first place with 80.75″ on the day, followed by Sam McClish with 80.75″ (second on tie-breaker), with James Haeberle taking third with 76.50″.

“Big” Bass for this event was an 18″ monster, caught by Josh Landreth. This is the first event with no 20″ bass in the past 17 regular season NSKA NWA tournaments. (2022 Classic also had no 20s). On this day though, Josh caught a biggun’!

Big Bass?? Was on this day on the Dead Sea!

Complete Top Ten for Beaver Lake South:

  1. Josh Landreth 80.75
  2. Sam McClish 80.75
  3. James Haeberle 76.50
  4. Maurilio Gutierrez 74
  5. Tyler Zengerle 72.25
  6. Jimmy Chokbengboun 72.25
  7. Jacob Simmons 71.25
  8. Kyle Long 69.50
  9. Jason Adams 69.25
  10. Tony Sorluangsana 67.75

Angler Roundtable

Let’s all gather around the campfire to hear from the top anglers on the day. Josh Landreth, Sam McClish and James Haeberle share how they made it happen on a tough day at the Dead Sea.

What part of Beaver Lake did you fish and why?

Josh – I went to Natural Walk. I wanted to get away from the crowd and had decent success in a previous Beaver South tourney there in flooded conditions. I knew I wanted to go against the grain and take a chance in the muddy water, and felt like I knew the structure better there than other options.

Sam – I chose to go to Hickory Creek. The spinnerbait bite has been really solid for the last couple weeks. Plus I love dirty water.

James – I fished at Monte Ne. I know of a few spots the fish like to stage on before going back to spawn this time of year and hoping to find some cleaner water after the rain we had.

What were the baits used to catch your fish?

Josh – I caught several right off the bat on a chartreuse/white Strike King Spinnerbait with 1 big gold willow blade and 1 Colorado. Just fishing shallow near wood. Three of my keepers were on that bait. The key bait was the methiolate floating worm though. The two biggest fish I caught were on the floating worm. Casts had to be extremely tight to cover with both baits.

Sam – My first limit of fish came off a Booyah Covert spinnerbait with two Colorado blades. I started my day fishing shallow in and around all the flooded brush. I went an hour or so with out a bite so I knew I had to make a change. I switched to a Tru Faith custom bait coleslaw spinner bait with a big white willow blade and a small yellow Colorado blade. I also changed my strategy. I did a quick Google map check and found a big long point. I went to the original shore line (still only sitting in 12’ of water but about 70 yards off the bank) my very first cast slow rolling the blade across it i caught a 16″ bass and couldn’t believe it. I went on to catch 20+ fish on this one spot in about 45 minutes. At one point catching seven fish on seven consecutive casts. I upgraded every fish on this spot.

James – I was using a War Eagle 1/2 ounce double willow spinnerbait and slow rolling it around a flooded brush on channel swing points and pockets. After the spinnerbait bite was over, I moved out away from the bank and fished a chatterbait slowly along the bottom and finished off my limit with a 16″ bass.

Talk about how you caught your biggest bass on the day – what happened?

Josh – My big fish came at 8:24am to complete my limit that already had a 17″ and two over 15″. I tossed the floating worm out along the edge of some flooded bushes. Fished it like a fluke, basically. I saw the fish come out of the bushes and nail it! The floating worm bite is one of my favorites and it was a pretty awesome take! I thought the fish was probably 15-16″ when I saw it take the bait. I was fishing it on a medium action spinning rod with 8 lb mono. She took me for a ride for a few seconds and was lucky to keep her out of the bushes. I was surprised she was 18″. I knew that fish nearly guaranteed me a top 10 and gave me a chance to win. I never dreamed she would be the Big Bass though!

Sam – Eventually the bite died so kept moving and catching a ton more fish but nothing that would upgrade me until 2:00pm. Then, I decided to go back to the honey hole. As soon as I pulled up on the spot fish were pushing shad everywhere. I threw out a 3” Keitech and before I could even engage my reel a 16.5″ bass had it swallowed. That was my second 16.5″ on the day and by far the most meaningful fish of the day since it upgraded my length total to 80.75″ putting me in first place (for a very short time).

James – My biggest bass from the tournament was 17″ and came from pitching my spinnerbait up in the brush and bringing it out slow. I only had a few feet of line out when it hit, so I just boat flipped it so it wouldn’t have a chance to get me hung up in the brush.

What lure or technique have you historically caught more bass on than any other?

Josh – I’m not super patient and like to be on the move. I fish a spinnerbait a lot and love to fish top water in the summer. At heart, I’m a river smallmouth fisherman. You can’t beat the smallmouth whopper plopper bite!

Sam – I have a handful of “go to” or “favorite” baits. I love throwing a swim jig probably the most. Second would be a spinnerbait or jig. But my confidence bait that has caught me more fish in a crunch than anything year round is a small single swim bait, either a 2.8 Spark Shad or Keitech. It’s such a fun little bait that catches fish of all sizes.

James – I always have a few baits ready to go all year long. Some sort of crankbait, a spinnerbait, a weightless fluke, jig, and a Texas rig. Different times of the year and conditions call for a different approach to the day. But I will always enjoy and is probably my favorite way to catch them is a fluke.

Josh Landreth kicking tail and taking names on Beaver Lake South.

AOY and Heavy Hitters Races

There are a variety of new-ish names in the top ten for Angler of the Year after two events. A few anglers are off to a hot start, but in particular Josh Landreth is on fire, leading both Heavy Hitters and AOY at this point of the season. If you’ve tanked in the first two events like I have, this is it, need to make the rest of them count. Lots of season to go, but history shows you are better off being at the top of this list early than not.

Angler of the Year Top 25

Heavy Hitters Top 25

Back to Beaver Lake for the next event, get it on the calendar or sign up today!

NSKA

2022 NSKA Table Rock 1.0 / Border Battle / AOY Race / Heavy Hitters Recap

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Three tournament events totaling more than 170 kayak anglers descended on Table Rock on a blustery April Saturday in an expected big fish spawn smash-fest. Think again friend, as fishing often doesn’t work out the way the book says. NSKA’s Table Rock 1.0 presented by Las Fajitas (I’ve eaten more Mexican food here than anywhere in NWA, it’s great) joined the fray along with the Moyak and All-American trail events to enjoy sustained 15-20 mph winds with gusts up to 35-40 on the water.

Yeah, if the wind would stop blowing That would be great - Office Space Lumbergh HD - quickmeme

Tournament Results

Several anglers from NSKA entered the Moyak and All-American events to double or even triple dip. And boy, did that pay off for some as some south of the border anglers went up and had themselves a good time. For the NSKA event, there actually were quite a few fish caught with a 5.45 Fish Per Angler (FPA), compared to 2.99 on Beaver North, 1.72 on Pumpback, and 5.95 on Beaver South. Wait…did Beaver South just out FPA Table Rock? It’s time for an All-American event Beaver Lake!

Ryan’s Big Bass winner. Source: TourneyX

Ryan Paskiewicz took his second win of the year with a big bag of 90.75″ and also won Big Bass with a 21.5″ lunker on a big swimbait. Danny Dutton put up a big 87.75″ for second and Craig Wood caught 85.50″ for third place.

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz 90.75
  2. Danny Dutton 87.75
  3. Craig Wood 85.50
  4. Kyle Long 84.50
  5. James Haeberle 83.75
  6. Robert Murphy 82.75
  7. Chris Longshore 82.00
  8. Jason Ray 81.50
  9. Dwain Batey 81.00
  10. Chad Davidson (tie) Jason Kincy 80.75

Overall the field of 73 anglers did well, with 66% catching a limit and all but a few catching at least one keeper. Full standings are available on TourneyX.

embrace the meme - Texas Fishing Forum

NSKA vs Moyak Border Battle

How did the above numbers compare to the Moyak total field? The FPA for the Moyak field was 4.48 and only 51% of the field turned in a limit. With some Moyak anglers in the NSKA event and vice versa, their numbers cancel out for the most part. Three of the top seven and six of the top twenty spots were filled by NSKA anglers, which made up on only 17 or so of the 153 anglers.

Overall, Moyak squeaked out the Border Battle by 1.25. NSKA placed 1st, 5th and 7th while Moyak took 2nd, 3rd and 4th – and they won the battle: 260.25 to 259.00. Congratulations to MoYak, they have a lot of great anglers. Are we going to see Moyak in a rematch next year on Beaver Lake?

All in all, NSKA competitors acquitted themselves very well by comparison – great work! You should be proud and brought the hammer to the ‘Rock.

Recap of my 80.75″ on TR, including a specific pattern found.

Angler Roundtable

Time again for the traditional post-tournament roundtable, where the winners spill the beans. Ryan, Danny and Craig share how their day went. Listen and learn…

What part of Table Rock did you go to and why?

Ryan – I launched at Big Indian. I was able to pre-fish it and had a little success. I knew I had one good fish locked on a bed that I could catch and decided to start there. The wind made it much harder but I eventually landed my PB Meanmouth at 17.75”. It was clearer than I would have liked but it ended up perfect with the wind.

Danny – I went to Shell Knob area. I had no idea where to go and was not going to be able to pre fish. Andrew Newsome picked the area by researching Google Earth.

Craig – I went to Holiday Island area just because I enjoy the area and have done well over the years.

Did the intense winds affect you or how did you deal with them successfully?

Ryan – The wind definitely made it annoying at times. My XI3 has pinpoint gps and it makes it much easier to deal with wind like that.

Danny – The wind was brutal. I tried to fish with the wind when I could. I would also get into little pockets or behind docks to get a break. Caught all my fish in shallow water.

Craig – The wind did make it more frustrating but overall it may have helped me by pushing fish to the shore and cover so I could flip a jig easily.

Talk about your biggest fish catch, how did that happen?

Ryan – I have an infatuation with big swimbaits and have been trying to learn and gain confidence. I know they’ll eat them on the rock so I planned to at least throw it a little. I only had two fish at 9:30 am and was grinding mentally. I committed to throwing the glide for two points and a pocket to see if I could find a big bite and gain some momentum. I was about 5 casts in and I threw my glide up to the point coming out of the pocket. My glide got hammered. So thankful I was able to get her in the boat!

Danny – Biggest fish was early I threw a spinnerbait, parallel to the bank close to some brush. 18.25”.

Craig – Biggest catch was an 18″er that hit my jig on some shelf rock about 10am and it was a battle to get the pic and not get blown off my spot.

What is your preferred brand of line and why?

Ryan – I run a few different lines. PowerPro braid, Big game for mono and usually either Seagur Invizx/Abrazx or Sunline or sniper for Fluoro.

Danny – I use braided line with Seaguar flouro leader on my my spinning rods. I use Seaguar Invisx on my bait casters. Invisx seems to cast better for me and have had not anything break it.

Craig – I have switched from P-line tactical to P-line blue label this year just for testing purposes and have been impressed with it, very little abrasion and zero line breakage. Plus I think it’s slightly more supple than the Tactical.

AOY Race Update

We are halfway through the season and the AOY race is nowhere close to being decided. This is likely to go down to the wire, with lots of anglers still in it. In fact, if you drop each angler’s lowest score, there are seven anglers within 15 points of the leader. Lots of fishing to go. For the top 25 Classic berths, almost nobody is out of contention yet if they have a good final four events. So far this year we’ve had 78 different anglers enter events.

Heavy Hitters Race

The quest for the Heavy Hitters title is sort of like the AOY race. There are some leaders, but a lot of angers still in contention. There are four anglers less than five inches behind. Right now looks like Ryan’s to lose since he has an easy drop (16.25) but you can’t count out anyone within 7-8 inches.

Hope everyone gets in some fun fishing in the next month before we return to Table Rock.

Check out some content you may have missed:

NSKA

2022 NSKA Pumpback Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race

I saw one of our anglers compare fishing on Pumpback (Chimney Rock Lake) to fishing on the moon – with craters and rock as the main terrain. Historically Pumpback is a smash-fest where 80 inches might get you into the top 12. On a day like we had on Pumpback, Craig was right, it was like the moon. Not much to be found for 62 registered anglers on a sunny March day with light winds.

Tournament Results

I believe this is the second most difficult tournament in NSKA history, with the numbers to back it up. In 2019 on ‘Snake’ Fort Smith there were only 68 fish caught by 67 anglers and the winner, Cole Sikes, only had four fish. Now…on that day it was chocolate milk, very cold water and cold day. You could argue that a nice March day on fish-factory Pumpback Lake with water 50+ degrees should have been a LOT better – but it wasn’t.

A paltry 107 fish from 62 anglers resulted in a 1.72 fish per angler score – compared to 2.99 FPA from the tough opener on Beaver Lake. Five limits out of 62 is incredibly low (7.6%), but oddly 66% (41) of the field caught a fish, which is a solid number. That early bite I think helped out a lot of anglers get at least one. From a size perspective, it was a strong 15.64″ average, compared to 14.42″ in the opener on Beaver Lake.

Looking at the fish volume based on time, the VAST majority of fish were caught in the first couple of hours, then a steady drop-off the rest of the day. If you look at big bass each hour though, there was a 19+ submitted almost every hour, so the big ones were eating throughout. Tough fishing, resulting in only three anglers culling a bass to upgrade.

Four 20s were caught, including two 20.25″ which tied Vince Minnick and Jacob Simmons, with Jacob winning the prize by going to second largest bass.

The Top Ten from Pumpback:

  1. Levi Schneider
  2. Jamie Shumate
  3. John Evans
  4. Sam McClish
  5. Roy Roberts
  6. Jason Kincy
  7. Andrew Newsom
  8. Terrill Standifer
  9. Devon Esry
  10. James Haeberle
Newbie Jacob Simmons won Big Bass over Vince Minnick (tie) with a 20.25″ largemouth. Congrats! Source: TourneyX

Angler Roundtable

Our top finishers from Pumpback sat down to give a bit of the juice on how they caught ’em on a tough day. Let’s hear from Levi, James and John.

What was your strategy going into the day, and did it work?

Levi – My only strategy really was to fish this one flat I had found on Navionics, but since the lake was so low I knew that wasn’t going to happen so I just went out there and just decided to cover water and fish points and different areas that caught me eye and looked like fish may hold to. Also, whenever I checked the water temp in my graph and saw it going up the further I went back into coves I decided to go to the very back of one that produced 4 of 5 keepers and even lost a giant Smallie that might’ve gone for big bass but hey – with treble hook baits you’re bound to lose fish.

Jamie – Going into the day I didn’t have much of a strategy. With the lake being the size that it was and how many anglers there where I knew I would be fishing behind guys so I just started beating the banks.

John – No real plan, it had been a few years since I fished Pumpback, I just focused on the back of the coves.

Any key baits or techniques that helped you catch your fish?

Levi – My only key bait was Berkley Stunna +1 that I didn’t intend on throwing at first but I saw an Alex Rudd Instagram post of a huge Smallie he caught with the Stunna +1 so I decided to tie it on and sure enough – it produced every single fish I caught.

Jamie – I started out throwing the normal spring time baits – crankbaits, square bills and jerk baits but gave up with in an hour. I tied on the A-rig and within the first 10 minutes I had a 16.25″ smallmouth and an 18″ black bass. I had my limit by 10:00 and when I added it all up and saw what I had I thought ‘dang this is great!’ Everyone I talked to said it was tough…I went from around 10:30 till around 1:15 without a bite. I caught 3 at the end of the day with the last one coming at 2:45 and I upgraded a .25 inch. Congratulations to Levi on the win.

John – It was a mix of crankbaits, shaky heads, and jigs. Didn’t find a set pattern they preferred, they were scattered around for me.

What is your favorite lure to throw in the spring?

Levi – Without a doubt my favorite spring time bait is a finesse jig. It just seems to get a ton of bites and quite a few big ones as well. My PB came off a finesse jig in the middle of April so I’m ready to go whack ’em this April with it.

Jamie – Fishing a crank bait is probably my favorite spring time bait when the bite is on it can be a fun day. I’m still fairly new to kayak fishing and I want to say that this is the best group of guys and gals to fish with everyone is always helpful and fun to be around.

John – I don’t think I have a favorite, but I throw several options to see what they might like.

Recap of my day on Pumpback, good for 6th place. Check it out if you want.

Trash Pot Winner

Chris Needham smoked two drum of the same length (21.75) on a jerkbait to take the big Trash Pot prize!

Needham’s pile of trash that took the prize.

Heavy Hitters

Now we’re getting into it with Heavy Hitters and AOY, and a fantastic championship belt was unveiled at the event, courtesy of Justin Wright and Steadfast Plumbing. That thing is awesome! Here’s a look at the leaders, but there is a looong way to go this season. Anyone with 18s and above is in good shape early, with the top three looking strong!

AOY Race

It’s also very early in the Angler of the Year race for NSKA NWA. Some fresh names at the top for now, can they hang on? Anything 90+ is a good score that could factor in for the winning total. Andrew, James and Terrill are starting out hot! It’s a long road to win, lots of time for anglers to move up.

Back to the friendly confines of South Beaver Lake on April 9 for the next event – presented by Capps Mens Cuts. Know someone that kayak fishes? Invite them to come out and enter. The Dead Sea will be coming alive for spawn, you won’t want to miss it!

NSKA

2022 NSKA Beaver Lake North Recap / Trash Fish Story / Heavy Hitters

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The new year and new season for NWA NSKA is finally here and the first event is in the books. As usual the Dead Sea caused problems for most who were looking for a limit, while at the same time we saw some anglers drop the hammer on the pre-spawn bass. Beaver Lake North, presented by Slow Town Custom Lures, was a great success.

Some changes came to NSKA this year with a membership feature which qualifies anglers for AOY and Heavy Hitters as well as other perks. As such, we’ll keep a close eye on those races, while at the same time we welcome anyone to fish an event regardless of their experience in competitive kayak fishing. Welcome everyone who is new or has been around for a while!

James Haeberle’s Big Bass from the tournament. Source: TourneyX

Beaver North 2022 Recap

Overall, Beaver Lake was a bit stingy this time around but once again allowed a big number at the top. That’s why I love Beaver Lake. It’s not easy, but you can still find some good ones! Looking at the numbers, only a paltry 25% (17 of 67) of the field turned in a five fish limit. This is the lowest limit percentage in a couple of years on Beaver, so if you didn’t catch five…don’t worry about it – it was hard fishing. The FPA (Fish Per Angler) was very low at 2.99, compared to 4.02 in August 2021 on Beaver Lake. Watch for more on FPA and tourney history in a future post.

Ryan Paskiewicz took the top spot with a very strong 87.75″ followed by James Haeberle with 84.50″ and then Cole Sikes with 82.50″ on the day. In a bit of an odd turn of events, there were four 20s caught in this event and James Haeberle took the Big Bass prize with a 21″ tank.

The Top Ten finishers were:

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz
  2. James Haeberle
  3. Cole Sikes
  4. Andrew Newsome
  5. Justin Brewer
  6. David Byrd
  7. Terrill Standifer
  8. Aaron Hinton
  9. Jacob Webber
  10. Kyle Long

Angler Roundtable

What makes kayak fishing way more awesome than boat tournaments is the willingness of top anglers to help others and share a bit more info on how they caught’em. Ryan, James and Cole joined me in a roundtable look back at how it went down:

Roughly what part of the lake did you go to and why?

Ryan – I went to Rambo sort of on a whim. Was going to fish Coose but the wind would have been more than i wanted to deal with, so I decided to try something I hadn’t fished much but has a reputation of producing solid limits.

James – I launched at Ventris because I know that area well and that the wind would be blowing in that direction, keeping the bait moving.

Cole – I chose to go to Big Clifty because I found a pocket that had thousands of shad in it. My fear going into the tournament was that the shad might move out or someone else might have found the same thing. Luckily, the shad were still there and I had it all to myself all day. I was able to catch the bulk of my limit by 7:30 and then my fish must have gotten full off of shad and my bite got tough. Ended up making a move mid-day and made a couple small culls.

Any key techniques or baits you used?

Ryan – I love jig fishing and caught my kicker first thing on one. I came around the corner and it was a flat leading to a point with wind right into it. I picked up a jerkbait but I realized I hate jerkbait fishing in a kayak. Because of this, I then decided to chuck a spinnerbait around the flat and landed three fish pretty quickly. I stuck with that almost exclusively, minus specific jig targets from time to time. The key was rolling it slow on bottom. It’s great to have this start, in the last two years I’ve either zeroed or finished WAY towards the bottom in the first tournament. In those two years I’ve ended up finishing 3rd or 4th in AOY race.

James – I told myself that if I don’t get a bite on an A-Rig in the first hour I was going to put it up and move on. At 5 minutes till 8:00 I got my first bite and 10 minutes later I caught the biggest fish I ever submitted in a tournament. So I locked it in my hand and fished it all day.

Cole – My primary bait was an Alabama Rig. I was just slow rolling it just beneath the shad balls. I could see on my graph that most of the fish were positioned underneath them. I also picked off a fish on a spoon and crankbait as well.

Advice for those who didn’t do well in tourney one for the rest of the season?

Ryan – My advice is out the head down and continue to fish hard regardless of the outcome. Put in the work, fish with confidence and you’ll be fine.

James – In the past I have always stressed about everything in tournaments and always made mistakes that would cost me. My advice is to have fun and don’t stress the outcome. Just go fishing and enjoy the day. Let the cards fall where they may. Learn all you can every tournament and keep building on that knowledge. It won’t take long and you will start seeing a huge improvements.

Cole – We have all been there and have struggled at tournaments, my recommendation is to keep your head up and keep grinding. Whether your preseason goal was to win AOY, qualifying for the Classic, finishing in the money, or finishing in the top ten, there are still many opportunities ahead to reach your goal.

Here’s my video from Beaver North. If you watch it, please give the gift of hitting subscribe.

Trash Fish Pot Winner

New to NSKA events this year is the Trash Fish Pot which rewards the angler who catches the largest non-scorable fish species. We got off to a huge start here when Robert Murphy caught a 32lb striper that was an absolute monster. Robert shared some of his story and how a boater helped weigh it and snag the photo.

“After catching the fish and taking some pictures myself I was about to release it and saw a boat slow-trolling in the little pocket with boat docks in it. So, I asked if they would take a picture for me. With no hesitation they reeled in there lines took a picture and weighed it,” Robert explained. “We tried to let it go but it wouldn’t go back down so they said if you don’t want it we will take it or take it to our dock and ill bring you ice and a cooler to keep it good till you get off the water.”

Robert Murphy’s whale. Source: Mr. Murphy
Murphy’s go-to giant striper bait. Source: Mr. Murphy

How did the bite feel? “When it hit. It hit next to the boat and all I saw was a big flash and line stripping out of the reel. At first I thought please be a bass, but after about 3 seconds of line pulling out with extreme speed I thought oh, that’s a striper. After 10 seconds I was thinking, dang that’s a BIG striper! After about 15 seconds I realized I was in for a ride.”

It took Robert 20-30 minutes to get that striper in because he was using 10lb test line. He hooked it on his hand painted jerkbait and had it hooked well, it wasn’t getting off. What a great first Trash Pot story!

Heavy Hitters Update

This is the third year for the Heavy Hitters title, the recognition that goes to the angler who catches the biggest five fish from various tournaments throughout the year. The Heavy Hitters title is sponsored by Steadfast Plumbing this season – thankful for their support! It’s not too late to get involved in Heavy Hitters if you missed the first event, it’s best five events and all you need is an NSKA NWA membership.

Here is the current top ten, but we’re just getting started. Getting a 20+ on Beaver Lake is a huge advantage, so those anglers are off to a great start. The full list of Heavy Hitter rankings will be posted to the NSKA group facebook page.

Next up is Pumpback, presented by Nightengale Cabinets on March 26, hope to see everyone out there!

NSKA

2021 Classic Championship Recap / Angler of the Year

The top 25 anglers of the year in NSKA NWA faced a diabolical test in the end of season Classic Championship. Day one to day two stretched from one end of the NSKA region to the other and set up what would be an interesting and challenging event.

Lake Fort Smith, a.k.a. Snake Fort Smith, a.k.a. Dead Sea South, is always a fun time for anglers and presents a tremendous challenge. I’m not saying Lake Fort Smith can be tough, but Jacob Wheeler would keep driving past it on I-540 and won’t take the exit.

The mysterious Lake Fort Smith.

Day one had bluebird skies and little wind for most of the day, and it was a grinder! All except for Cole Sikes who took control on day one with 76.50″ – a huge lead over Sam McClish in 2nd with 67.75″ on the day. Sam did land what has to be a biological freak for that lake and took Big Bass for the event with a 20.75″ largemouth. As day one ended, the Classic was shaping up like last year’s event where the day one leader with a big lead would try to hold on day two.

Top 10 after day one:

  1. Cole Sikes
  2. Sam McClish
  3. Jacob Webber
  4. Tyler Zengerle
  5. Dwain Batey
  6. Jason Kincy
  7. Terrill Standifer
  8. Jason Cowell
  9. James Shumate
  10. Craig Wood

Day two was up on Table Rock, site of two previous events in 2021. Anglers could put in at Holiday Island or Eagle Rock. In stark contrast to day one, anglers really caught’em on the Rock. Jacob Webber made a big move on day two with 87.50″ followed by Craig Wood with 86.50″ on the day. Cole Sikes pulled a very respectable 80.25″ on day two – would it be enough?

Top 10 day two:

  1. Jacob Webber
  2. Craig Wood
  3. Devon Esry
  4. Dwain Batey
  5. Tyler Zengerle
  6. Jason Fields
  7. Terrill Standifer
  8. Kyle Long
  9. Cole Sikes
  10. Justin Brewer

2021 NSKA NWA Classic Champion

2021 Classic Champion – Cole Sikes.

Cole Sikes had the total needed to take the title with 156.75″ for the two days, followed by Jacob Webber with 153.25″ and Tyler Zengerle with a 147.25″ total.

Final Top Ten

  1. Cole Sikes
  2. Jacob Webber
  3. Tyler Zengerle
  4. Dwain Batey
  5. Terrill Standifer
  6. Jason Kincy
  7. Craig Wood
  8. James Shumate
  9. Jason Cowell
  10. Josh Landreth

Angler Roundtable

The grueling two day tournament was challenging and fun. Cole Sikes, Jacob Webber, Tyler Zengerle and I share some of our experiences from the event in this season-ending roundtable discussion:

Overall, how did you attack Lake Fort Smith and what baits were key in your day?

Cole – I knew Lake Fort Smith was going to be tough so I wanted to make sure to get a limit. I knew my best chance of catching a limit would be fishing on the south end where there are more spotted bass. I started on a community hole and caught two keepers and then I moved to steeper banks to fill out my limit. I had a limit in the first hour and it was a huge relief. For the most part I junk fished and caught fish on 5 different baits (popper, jig, deep diving crank bait, spinnerbait and drop shot) but my most consistent bite was fishing a popper on the steeper banks really slow. I ended up catching almost three-limits worth of fish but most were 11” spotted bass.

Jacob – In practice, I tried fishing the north end and the south end. I did much better on the south end as far as numbers go. I threw some big baits in practice in the direction of the dam and had some quality fish show themselves. The plan was to fish a stretch and try to get a small limit early, then head to the dam end and try to catch a couple of those bigger fish. It was pretty much a junk fishing day, but the ones that mattered came on a fluke, pencil popper, and buzz bait.

Tyler – Going into day one, I knew most people would go left from the ramp, towards the creek. To avoid the larger crowd, I made the decision to go straight across from the ramp and fish to the buoys and back, as I fished this section several years ago. My key baits for the day were a wacky worm, a Jewel PeeWee Football Jig, and a shaky head.

Jason – I wasn’t very confident going into the day, pre-fishing was pretty terrible and really struggled. So going into the day I was just going to try to get a limit and stay in the mix. Having turned into a power fishing angler mostly, I put that stuff away for the most part and focused on using a drop shot on some key areas to secure a limit. After that I tried to find a kicker but had no luck. Had to leave early to get up to the Hill for the big game, turned into a fantastic day!

Where did you put in at Table Rock, how did you approach it and what were your key baits on the day?

Cole – I had no idea what to expect on Table Rock so I fished history. I have done well in the past launching at Holiday Island and going down river towards Eagle Rock so that’s what I did. I started my morning by covering a lot of water throwing a buzz bait and whopper plopper. After about an hour of not having much luck, I picked my trusted jig and starting catching a few on bluffs and points. I struggled on day two and couldn’t really figure them out but I was able to grind enough and put together a decent limit. Thank goodness I had a good lead after day one because the guys caught them on day two!

Jacob – I put in at Eagle Rock and went towards Rock Creek. I caught a few good fish right away on a whopper plopper and never got another bite on it the rest of the day. I switched to the chatter bait and every spot I pulled up to they were smashing it.

Tyler – I put in at Holiday Island and went to my normal section that I fish anytime I go there. At first, I attempted to throw a buzzbait and spook with no luck. I eventually got out a fluke and caught my first fish 30 minutes into the tournament. After a few more casts, I put the fluke away. I knew a jig worked well in that area, so I started throwing a Jewel PB&J finesse jig (what I used when I placed 4th during our TR 2.0 tourney). That’s when I really started catching fish. I had a limit by 7:30am and caught 82.75” by 9:00am. I decided to leave early at 1:00pm because I knew I was really competing for 2nd-5th place, since Cole had a commanding 12” lead to start day two.

Jason – Really have not had as much luck historically at Holiday Island so I chose to go to Eagle Rock even though I’d never fished there. Kyle, Ryan and I just pedaled to a creek we’d never fished and started working it over. Eventually started catching a few on a plopper and got things going. Later on I was able to catch a few on a jig and then when the wind picked up was able to catch a few on a spinnerbait. Little disappointed in the day because lots of people wrecked’em so I clearly missed out on the juice.

Of the two day event, talk about the key fish that put you in the money.

Cole – My key fish was the 19.75″ kicker I caught day one on Lake Fort Smith. I knew when I caught that fish I was going to have a chance to win the Classic because how tough the lake was fishing. I caught that fish on a transition spot on the bluff where it went from a vertical bluff to little small rocky point. I threw my popper right up on the bank and popped it a few times and she sucked it under.

Jacob – I think my key fish came on day one. I started out on a small stretch where I thought I was going to get a fast limit and ended up not getting a bite. I was about to switch everything up and go to a new area, but ended up catching my biggest of the day right before moving. That fish made me stick to the game plan and put together an alright limit.

Tyler – The fish that really gave me a chance to be in the money was the 14.75” bass I caught at 2:15pm on Lake Fort Smith. That put me at being one of the four people with limits over 60” and gave me a 5.75” cushion ahead of 5th place.

Jason – I didn’t finish in the money, but that very first drop shot fish I caught on Lake Fort Smith was a confidence booster and I milked an area for about two hours catching several shorts but eventually getting my limit. What a relief.

Did you do anything or think about anything differently for a two day event?

Cole – Like I mentioned above, I knew Lake Fort Smith was going to be the x-factor in determining the classic winner so that’s what I focused 100% on. I did quite a bite of map studying prior to the tournament expecting to be fishing offshore. I prefished and was able to get some confidence in catching a limit but knew it was going to take a kicker to have a chance to win. Other than that I treated the tournament like any other tournament. Hit high-percentage spots even if it meant covering miles of water.

Jacob – Nothing different. I just spent a little more time pre-fishing.

Tyler – I took this tournament one day at a time. I didn’t really treat it much differently than single day tournaments. I went into each day with the same baits tied on and used the ones that I was most confident in. One thing that I normally don’t do is leave early, but I was really craving Whataburger.

Jason – Like Cole said, I had no doubt this would be won or lost on Lake Fort Smith so it was the only place I pre-fished. Kudos to Cole, we both arrived at our starting spot around the same time and we agreed to share the water and it worked out well for us.

What’s your PB Largemouth, Smallie and Spot?

Cole -My personal best Largemouth was a 23.50” on Lake Elmdale in my second kayak tournament ever back in 2017. The largest Smallmouth I have caught was a 20” on Beaver and my largest spotted bass was 18” on beaver as well.

Jacob – PB largemouth was a 6.5lb in a tournament in Bella Vista. No idea for Smallie and Spot.

Tyler – My PB largemouth is a 22.25” from Lincoln. Smallmouth is 18.50, I believe, from Pumpback this year, and my biggest spot is 16.25” caught this year on a section of the Illinois River.

Jason – My personal best Largemouth was a 24″ giant from this year on Possum Kingdom, largest Smallmouth is only 17.50″ from Beaver Lake and largest Spot is 17.25″ on Beaver Lake. Really have a goal this winter into next year to get a 20″ Smallie.

Angler of the Year

The 2021 Angler of the Year race really wasn’t much in doubt halfway through the season. Dwain Batey was a consistent performer all season. Dwain is an exceptional angler and one of the things that makes him so good is he can adapt to any condition and any type of water. His versatility helped him excel all season long to take the crown.

Dwain is not only a great angler, he is a friend and a very giving person. He is always willing to help anyone and has made me a better angler as we’ve talked fishing and I’ve observed how he does things. He’s always willing to teach you a technique – because he knows he’ll still do it better! Really happy for Dwain.

2021 NSKA NWA Angler of the Year – Dwain Batey!

Your 2021 AOY Top Ten:

  1. Dwain Batey
  2. Cole Sikes
  3. Tyler Zengerle
  4. Ryan Paskiewicz
  5. Justin Brewer
  6. Jason Kincy
  7. Kyle Long
  8. Jacob Webber
  9. Devon Esry
  10. Craig Wood

Jacob Webber also took home the Rookie of the Year award and Kyle Long was the 2021 Heavy Hitter Champion. Congratulations to them!

Congratulations to all

Thank you to all anglers who participated in the events, yakpots or just some fun fishing. Hope to see you on the water next year and will be rooting for everyone to catch their personal best!

Next up is the Arkansas State Championship – it’s a fun two-day event and hope many of you can make it.

NSKA

2021 Beaver Lake Recap / Heavy Hitters Champ / AOY Race

The NSKA NWA regular season finale was the Ace of Blades Beaver Lake Roadrunner in the annual crucible – August on Beaver Lake! This year has seen some bigger than usual winning totals in the various events for NSKA, but the 80″ mark hadn’t been broken yet in August on the Dead Sea. Would it happen this time around?

Pretty much sums up my day on Beaver – a flop.

Tournament Results

A pretty good turnout of 59 anglers took to the water on the heels of a major change in the weather. Super hot and sunny for a couple of week, the day before lines in brought 3-4 inches of rain and thunderstorms to NW Arkansas. A cloudy tournament day on the heels of the storm definitely changed up the fishing.

John Wofford made his return to NWA for this event and went back to central Arkansas with the 1st place trophy by catching 80.50″ on the day. Justin Brewer finished 2nd with 78″ and Dwain Batey took 3rd with 77.25″. The top ten dropped off quickly after the leaders:

  1. John Wofford 80.50″
  2. Justin Brewer 78″
  3. Dwain Batey 77.25″
  4. Cole Sikes 77″
  5. Abraham Garcia 77″
  6. Christa Hibbs 74″
  7. Jacob Webber 73.75″
  8. James Haeberle 72.25″
  9. James Shumate 72″
  10. Ryan Paskiewicz 71.75″

Aly Corp won Big Bass with a 20.25″ Beaver Lake beast.

Angler Roundtable

The top three anglers wrapped up the tourney in this roundtable discussion of how they did it and what happened on the water. Join John Wofford, Justin Brewer and Dwain Batey as they spill the tea:

Where did you go and why?

John – I went to Twin Bridges because I was told fishing was really tough and that is where I feel most comfortable and can fish my strengths. Knowing Beaver in the summer I knew they’d be out suspended or tight in cover so I fished every bit of cover I could get a bait into.

Justin – I chose to put in way up the War Eagle again like in last years’ July Beaver tournament. I chose there because I know there is resident fish in the area and being a more condensed area of water If I keep my head down and fish hard I’ll be able to pick up a few good bites and hopefully more if all goes well.

Dwain – I hadn’t pre-fished but heard it was really tough, thought I would go way up north and try something high-risk with the potential for a high reward.

Any particular baits or patterns that really worked for you?

John – And Xcite baits stick worm with a golden Colorado blade in the tail and my old faithful Xcite baits Xb-1 squarebill in chartreuse black back.

Justin – A Booyah Boss Pop was what did the trick for me. I tried other baits but couldn’t get anything going. The bites were few and far between but if I could trigger one to bite it was a solid fish. No real pattern on the type of structure and cover. A few were just random fish in open water.

Dwain – I was throwing a Skirmish Baits Pendragon topwater all day. I only got a few bites, but I had the opportunity to win the event.

How’d you catch your biggest fish? What’s the story?

John – I was going down a bank picking apart spots when I looked up and saw a tree in the middle-ish of the river and thought to myself there has to be a fish in there. So I bombed a cast with my worm right in the tree and as soon as I pulled it over the first branch she smacked it and wrapped me around a limb, at this point I was questioning whether I had a fish on because it was wrapped up and really stuck. I started pedaling over while keeping my line tight and all of a sudden she popped back around the limb and the fight was on. She went for 18” and then two casts after that I hooked into a 17.5” Smallie, YES a Smallmouth in the White River!

Justin – My biggest which was only 16.75 came real early. I was still throwing a Buzzbait at that time and had one blow up on it but miss it. That’s when I picked up the Boss Pop fired back in the area and two pops later hooked up. I’m assuming it was the same fish but I guess it could have been a different one. That’s also what lead me to start throwing the Boss Pop.

Dwain – My biggest fish was on the Pendragon on my 3rd cast of the morning. I had a hunch about a particular point, and pulled in there instead of my original thoughts for a starting spot, good call on that one.

What’s one useful thing you carry in your yak that most people probably don’t have?

John – I always carry a gallon RTIC jug every time I hit the water. Staying hydrated especially on those hot days is key to staying out there till the last minute is up.

Justin – I don’t carry it all the time but it’s needed when I do and that is a stake out pole. Especially way up a river fish shallow areas it’s great to be able to stake out around a big lay down or log jam and it all apart with out having to keep repositioning or worry about floating too close.

Dwain – I don’t really have anything that stands out as something others wouldn’t have gear wise. I mean I’ve got some really cool storage options from Bass Mafia, like the new Two Bud Bag and Ice Box storage containers, but everyone knows how cool Bass Mafia storage options are. Maybe there are people who don’t think about having a hone to sharpen their hooks? I use the Eagle Claw Deluxe Hook hone to make sure that I keep my hooks sharp despite all the rocks we have trying to dull them constantly. Another one might be the Eagle Claw Wacky Rig Tool for putting O-rings on stick baits?

Heavy Hitters Champ

Pretty much leading the way wire to wire, Kyle Long smashed the big ones this year to become the second annual Heavy Hitter’s Champion. Kyle got a lead early in the season and hung on to take the title with a 95.5″ total (compared to my mark of 95″ in 2020). We took a minute to ask Kyle his secrets for being the Heavy Hitter of the year.

No description available.

What’s the key to catching big fish?

There’s a whole lot of luck involved. But I guess there’s something to throwing the right thing in the right place. This year, two of my Heavy Hitter’s fish came on a fluke, one on a spinnerbait, one on a shaky head and one on a jig. I also caught a few more on a jig and spinnerbait that could have been in my final five fish bag had I not caught one even bigger in that same event. And most of them were in super predictable spots…points, channel swings, the last bush in a line of bushes…that kinda stuff.

Some lose big fish when they hook them, what’s the secret to getting a big bass into the yak?

I use as big a line as I can get away with and I get them in the net as fast as I can. If that fish is still in the water it is on his home turf. It has the upper hand. That playing them stuff is for the birds. Get them dudes in the net as fast as you possibly can. And get a net with a handle that can reach out there and get em. One caveat…if I’m using treble hooked baits I’m a little more careful, but I still try and get them in the net as fast as possible.

Congratulations Kyle Long! We’ll be back next season with a new Heavy Hitters race.

AOY Race Update & Classic Field

The regular season and the Top 25 anglers who will make the Classic are set. Was a close race with several good anglers just barely missing the cut. First year rookies Jacob Webber and Josh Landreth made the championship, along with several other first-time qualifiers. Should be a great battle on Lake Fort Smith and Beavertown/Holiday Island. Time to defend the title!

In addition to the Top 25, the AOY race is winding down with some drama, but not much remaining. Really have not done the math, but maybe if there’s a complete collapse from Dwain and good finishes from Justin or Ryan or others then maybe there’s a chance. Really not sure, but most likely Dwain is in the driver’s seat as he has been all season long.

RankAnglerEvent 8ClassicBest 6 plus Classic
1Dwain Batey98 588
2Justin Brewer99 555
3Ryan Paskiewicz91 551
4Tyler Zengerle88 549
5Cole Sikes97 548
6Kyle Long73 542
7Devon Esry80 529
8Roy Roberts0 527
9Jason Kincy78 527
10Josh King70 519
11Josh Howard89 518
12Craig Wood90 515
13Jacob Webber ®94 509
14Clay Johnson66 496
15Justin Phillips64 495
16Justin Wright69 495
17Josh Landreth ®71 495
18James Shumate92 487
19Terrill Standifer87 487
20Jason Adams59 486
21Jason Fields72 486
22Taylor Frizzell75 484
23Jason Cowell79 464
24Sam McClish53 462
25Zeke Stevens58 462
Your Top 25 for NSKA 2021.

NSKA

2021 NSKA Beaver North Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY

1 Comment

Beaver Lake has been pretty respectable in recent events, giving up lots of bass and a few limits. As summertime comes around it really starts to test anglers in finding decent fish. Leading up to this event pre-fishing was pretty tough, but someone usually finds a way. Shout out to Las Fajitas for sponsoring this event. I’ve eaten there for years and every time it’s the same thing – beef fajita tacos. yum.

Tournament Results

Summertime, vacations and such kept the total number of anglers a bit down on this one, with 43 hitting the water. Out of the 43, a solid 70% turned in a limit, although many of them were in the small category. It seemed that Prairie Creek was the place to be on this one, many of the top 10 caught their fish at PC. Kyle Long took the win with 88.50″ followed by Clay Johnson with 82.75″. Anytime you break 80 in the summer on Beaver is a very good day! Dwain Batey took third with 78.50″ and then the curve dropped down to where 74.25″ put you at 10th place. Check out TourneyX for the rest of the standings.

Dwain Batey caught a solid 20″ largemouth for Big Bass on this event.

Big Bass by Dwain Batey on Beaver Lake North. Source: TourneyX

Angler Roundtable

The top three bass catching dudes of the event shared how they did it in this roundtable. Kyle Long, Clay Johnson and Dwain Batey break it down:

Where did you go and why?

Kyle – I went to Prairie Creek. I pre-fished a couple other places with no real luck so I decided, why not go to the place that’s likely to be the most stained and that “should” have the best population of quality fish in the lake. I was nervous though because I’ve also blanked in there this time of year so I had a backup spot prepared.

Clay – I put in at Prairie Creek. Prairie Creek is not as clear as other parts of the lake and I have more confidence in dirtier water. I knew I could go there and throw a jig all day and get a limit and possibly a good limit.

Dwain – I chose Prairie Creek because it’s my favorite area up North, I only caught a small limit in my bracket match and lost fishing there, and that was all of the pre-fishing I had. I just felt like going in blind that area was my best shot.

Weather changed that week and got cooler and rainy. How does changing weather impact how you fish?

Kyle – Honestly I don’t pay that much attention to what the weather has been doing if it’s in the middle of a season. Early spring and late fall trends I’ll watch it close, but I really pay the most attention on what it’s doing that specific day. If there’s weather in the area, I’ll watch it close and go somewhere that I like to fish close to the launch and I always make sure I’m not in a dangerous wind. The best part about iffy weather though is it holds back the wake boats which means you can fish areas later in the morning that are generally not fishable then. Short answer…I pay a ton of attention to it on the actual day of competition and adjust accordingly.

Clay – I figured the weather change would push them to deeper water. I was sitting in 40ft of water throwing up on the bank and slowly working a jig back to me. I lost several fish but was fortunate to be able to get some good fish to the boat!

Dwain – I really didn’t change for that, the water was high already, so I had an idea of what I would do no matter what the conditions were.

What were your key baits for the day?

Kyle – Shaky head. Caught a few on a couple other baits but four of my five in my final bag were on the shaky head.

Clay – My key bait was a 1/2 ounce football jig.

Dwain – I threw a Taylor Man’s Finesse Jig, a Fluke, and a Taylor Man’s Swing Head with a Yum Spine Craw.

What do you do mentally or physically when you haven’t gotten a bite in a couple of hours during a tournament to adjust?

Kyle – I like to start dissecting what I’ve been doing and why it hasn’t been working. Usually at a macro level and work my way down. My first question is usually…Is it what I’m doing, or is it where I’m at? Then I start fine tuning those questions. If it’s what I’m doing, I probably go to depth/bank type first, types of cover or structure second, then maybe lure third in order of how to change my approach. That said, I change baits often if I haven’t caught anything recently, but a full on reset after hours of nothing will cause me to get out the confidence baits and keep them in my hand and figure out where to throw them to get bit. But if I feel like it’s where I’m at, I’m not afraid to pull the plug on an area and move. Sometimes during the drive it’s like a reset and I can clear my head and start over. But I never give up.

Clay – Last year in the tournaments I would always get discouraged and basically give up if I haven’t gotten a bite in 2 or more hours. I learned a lot from that not to ever give up! You never know when that next cast could be a good one!

Dwain – I had several hours multiple times where I didn’t get a bite, starting off with early that morning, I didn’t get a topwater bite, and it took me a while to find my first fish. Then I had a long stretch after that where I couldn’t find the second fish. I just keep covering water and looking for a good stretch, changing baits some, but still junk fishing, throwing several things as I come to different kinds of banks or cover that requires each bait I have tied on.

Video recap of my day on Beaver North – Not at Prairie Creek, sadly.

AOY Race

Six events in the books and the AOY race is clearing up a bit. There are still some contenders for the top spot with zeroes who can make up ground. Dwain is going to be very hard to catch for the overall AOY, and the top 25 is still going to change a lot before the end. Here’s the Top 25 as of today:

Heavy Hitters Update

The Heavy Hitters race continued in the same direction it has all year with Kyle Long maintaining his lead. As I know from last year though, he’s in a tough spot now where it is hard to cull, while others will gain ground each event. Still think this could be a semi-close finish.

Using the best five, he has 96.5″ total, followed by Tyler Zengerle, Terrill Standifer, Ryan Paskiewicz and Devon Esry.

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Next Up: Table Rock 2.0

NSKA

2021 NSKA Pumpback Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race

On a steamy Saturday in early June, the NSKA crew crossed the border into Oklahoma to take on Pumpback (a.k.a. Chimney Rock Lake) for the second year in a row. Pumpback is an interesting place and really seems to be an engineering marvel. Whatever it is, the fish are big and feisty on this lake! Shout out to Ginger Rice & Noodle Bar for sponsoring the event!

Caught this 21 which went 6.9lbs the week before the event. Of course. Source: Kayakfishingfocus.com

Pumpback Results

Of all the places NSKA fishes tournaments, I believe the most unpredictable results and chance for anyone to land a giant is highest at Pumpback. It was great to see some varied names on the leaderboard for this one. Overall, it was a feast or famine day with a skimpy 204 fish caught by the 50 anglers. Of the 50 anglers registered, only 24 (48%) turned in a limit, while seven (14%) didn’t turn in a keeper. Those are pretty tough numbers overall compared to most May/June events. I’ve wondered if the fact they really didn’t drop the water much plus the weather made it tougher than usual.

Ryan Paskiewicz didn’t have any trouble finding the fish, finishing first with 89.25″ in total. Josh King cranked his way late in the day to a 86.25″ total for second, followed by Kyle Long also with 86.25″ (those tiebreakers are heart breakers…). Justin Phillips took fourth with 85.50″ on the day.

Here were your top 10 anglers from Pumpback:

  1. Ryan Paskiewicz 89.25″
  2. Josh King 86.25″
  3. Kyle Long 86.25″
  4. Justin Phillips 85.50″
  5. Clay Johnson 84.50″
  6. Dwain Batey 84.50″
  7. Devon Esry 84.25″
  8. Jacob Webber 83.75″ (I always think, Jacob Wheeler!?!)
  9. Nathan Henthorn 83.50″
  10. Josh Howard 83.00″

Big Bass was won by Justin Brewer with a 20.75″ Smallmouth bass caught on a popper.

Justin Brewer’s 20.75″ Smallmouth took big bass on Pumpback. Source: TourneyX

One note, we had a little post-event judging discussion on a couple of photos. Advice to everyone involved…watch your photos. Take time with them. Taking the picture and submitting is a part of the sport. Staying well within the guidelines avoids any possible deductions or questions around a submission!

Angler Roundtable

The top anglers for the event share how they did it in this roundtable conversation. Ryan, Josh, Kyle and Justin break it down:

What was your overall plan for the day and did it work out as planned?

Ryan – My initial plan was to head to the back of the long arm where I missed a really big fish in practice, but as I started my commute that morning I wasn’t paying attention to my map and went around the wrong point and ended up headed to a totally different part of the lake. LOL! At that point I just committed to the area for an hour or more and when it only produced two small fish I changed my plan and left. I headed to a stretch where I had caught a few in pre-fishing. I love throwing a jig but it was evident that was not going to be the deal. After cranking and trying a few other things, I made myself commit to throwing a fluke for 2 long stretches of bank. I didn’t have a ton of confidence in the fluke personally but noticed the shad spawn was happening and it made sense to throw it. After 30-40 casts I connected with a 17-incher. This made it easier to stick with. A few casts later I hooked a 20.25-incher. From then on I mostly targeted the middle 1/3 of coves and had success.

Josh – Going into Pumpback I only had two other appearances and they didn’t turn out very well. (Dec 2020 29” and Jun 2020 65”). My plan was to fish a different area than the last time, which had been the same areas and to throw what I know and like for this time of year. That plan failed miserably. The first two hours I didn’t catch a fish. Hooked into three, but they all spit the hook. Feeling discouraged I decided to have a little fun and troll for a striper, since I was crossing the main lake to another area. It worked. I hooked into a nice hybrid and he took me for a ride. First striper/hybrid in a kayak. So I was excited…now back to the bass. I finally landed my first bass at 8:45. It took until 12:59 to get a limit. It was a decent limit of 78.00″. It wasn’t a top 10, but I was happy! Ten minutes later I caught my PB Smallie on a crankbait and jumped to 83.75”. Now I felt it was a top 10 limit and started to develop a pattern so I started grinding and found two more culls.

Kyle – My plan was to throw a fluke early and often and the go back over the areas where I caught some with a shaky head or a jig as the water started falling. But best I could tell, the water never really started falling that much and I was able to get bit on the fluke all day. I tried other stuff plenty but couldn’t get bit on anything else.

Justin – My plan was pretty simple.  Get away from everyone and head to the backs and work out from there.  The execution was a bit more complex.  I was betting the farm I’d get a good topwater bite but I wasn’t sure what might trigger the best reaction, so I tied on a multitude of topwater baits.  With all the different rods laying out I remember thinking, “Good grief.  I haven’t made a cast yet and it already looks like I’m lost.”  For the afternoon I was going to try to gauge the mood of the fish and attempt to figure it out from there. 

Key baits you caught them on and anything noteworthy?

Ryan – The weightless fluke as mentioned. I picked up some ultra cheap Walmart flukes and later went and bought a few more packs! I fished them pretty slow and most strikes came on the fluke sinking down about two feet. In the afternoon I think the fish pulled off and I should have fished it further out a bit more.

Josh – I found that fishing deep points with a Crankbait and steep windblown banks with a weightless wacky senko was the pattern for me.

Kyle – As I said the fluke was the only bait I caught fish on but I did notice that around 9:00 my bite kinda died. Around 11:00 I was just kinda watching my fluke as I was fishing it out deeper and slower and got bit. Then I tried the slower deeper retrieve again and got bit again. From then on I caught plenty by switching up my retrieve by fishing it further out and letting it fall deeper.

Justin – Once I got to my starting area I worked through every single topwater bait to no avail until lastly I picked up a homemade buzzbait.  I immediately caught 2 including one that was 19.25”.  I kept it in my hand the rest of the morning which gave me a limit by 8:30 a.m. while also pulling in another over 19”.  As fate often dictates I lost the buzzbait and tied on another one of the same color that was store bought.  Either the fish liked my homemade one a lot better or this bite was waning.  The only interest this buzzbait was generating were total misses (I’ve since made more buzzbaits including backups).  At this point I tried working a jerkbait off points.  No dice.  Then I tried throwing a 3XD crankbait and I caught one that didn’t cull.  This fish clued me into thinking they may not be actively chasing anymore because he barely caught the rear treble hook.  So, I tied on a green pumpkin stick bait and culled twice giving me my daily total. 

Most annoying trash fish at Pumpback, hybrids, drum, or catfish?

Ryan – I caught one hybrid and I did think it was a tank Smallie for a minute. I don’t really find them annoying all that much. Those suckers fight and I enjoy that despite the moment when you realize it won’t help…

Josh – Luckily no trash fish were accidentally caught. I was a bit nervous that my Smallie was a drum at first by the way it acted.

Kyle – I have actually never caught a trash fish on Pumpback. I’m not sorry about that.

Justin – The most annoying fish is, without doubt, a hybrid.  They fool me into thinking I’ve got a black bass on.  Then the disappointment is real once I get them to the yak.

What’s your PB bass, where did you catch it and on what lure?

Ryan – I have 2 22.75”. One on Lake Atkins and one on the asterisk lake, Swepco. Both caught on a Carolina rig. My personal best Smallie is 19.5” with a jig on Beaver Lake. I want to break into that 20” Smallie club really bad.

Josh – I have a hard time with PB. I haven’t weighed many and my longest is like 20.75”. But I think my PB by weight was around a six pounder caught on a private pond with a chatterbait. Last year. Still searching for that 20” and up in a tourney. My longest, a 20.75″ came during practice on Lake Ouachita for the State Championship. Cranking a squarebill right up against the bank.

Kyle – My PB is shrouded in controversy, lol. I caught a 24.25”on a jig on Lake Fork back during the original Tournament of Champions but it was a “mouth open” tourney. However, I do have a pic of that fish touching 25” but for some reason I submitted it at 24.25” with the mouth slightly open. This cost me big bass and a power pole. The only other fish I’ve ever caught that could rival it was an 8-13 I caught behind my house on Swepco and I only got the weight…not the length. So I’m gonna stick with 24.25” since that was what was accepted in that event for length and 8-13 for weight.

Justin – My PB was caught at Lake Windsor in Bella Vista.  It was a spring day with muddy water.  I was throwing a fire-tiger jerkbait in 4’ of water.  She came out, choked it and jumped.  A guy who was watching from his docks starts screaming, “That’s a 10 pounder!  That’s a 10 pounder!”.  Once I got her in we weighed it on the guys dock.  Sadly it wasn’t 10 pounds but it was a beauty of an 8 pounder.                

AOY Race Update

Well, well, the AOY race is taking shape, sorta. Honestly it is a mess and we can’t tell much right now. We have some really good anglers that have a zero which they will drop later on. We have some really good anglers with a low score they will drop later on. We have some who have some medium scores who will struggle to stay in the race. As of today, the Top 25 looks like this. YOU DO NOT WANT TO MISS THE CLASSIC. Keep grinding, tons of people are still in contention to qualify. Word on the street is this year is going to be next level in regard to trophies and swag bags for the Top 25!

As of today, the Top 25 looks like this:

Right now looking at the board, lots of anglers can compete for AOY but it appears that Dwain, Devon, Michael and Roy are in the best spots. Brewer is a dark horse to watch with two 98s.

Heavy Hitters Update

Heavy Hitters is also looking like an interesting race. Kyle Long is maintaining his lead but Devon and Terrill did good things on Pumpback to improve their position.

This time of the season it is important to look at DROPS instead of biggest fish. Who can improve things the most with big fish in the last three events?

Don’t sleep on Paskiewicz or Zengerle. They could steal it at the end.

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NSKA

2021 Beaver South Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race

Water levels in May on Beaver Lake have been following a familiar pattern in 2021, carrying on a year over year over year tradition. High water along with a week of rain for the four straight time prior to an NSKA event made for daily changing water conditions. If you look at the past three years on Beaver Lake in May, you should prepare to fish in high water – which is a good thing on the Dead Sea.

Beaver Lake in May means water levels between 1,126 and 1,129. Source: uslakes.info

The past two tournaments I’ve had to work really hard to understand what’s going on with the lakes. After a terrible start to the year I needed to ensure a decent finish. This meant a lot of driving around of Beaver Lake the week prior to the event, and the weekend prior I hit two of my go-to areas on Beaver Lake South with horrifically bad pre-fishing results. This told me I needed to do something else…that the river area felt like it was dead for the most part and the action would be down lake toward the Hwy 12 bridge. The results I think showed this to be mostly true at the top.

Beaver Lake South Tournament Results

We had a really strong field for this one, including some top anglers who came in from NSKA Central and RVKA. Love the fact they came up! May is a great month to fish Beaver Lake because of the elevated water levels, still some spawning or fry guarders present, and with some color in the water – it gives an angler a better chance of getting them shallow. Of the 53, a really strong 70% turned in a limit for the day, and I suspect that everyone who got on the water turned in at least one keeper.

I was fortunate to catch enough to take the win with 87.75″, followed by Christa Hibbs with 84.25″, and then Justin Brewer with 82.75″ for third place. Big Bass was a good battle, where Christa and Justin both caught a 21.75″ and Christa won the tiebreaker to take the prize. (Justin beat me in a tiebreaker for third place on Table Rock, so he’ll be OK. Ha!)

Here is your top ten from Beaver Lake South:

  1. Jason Kincy – 87.75
  2. Christa Hibbs – 84.25 (RVKA)
  3. Justin Brewer – 82.75
  4. Jeriamy Vann – 81.00
  5. Chris Jones – 79.75 (RVKA)
  6. Garrett Morgan – 76.00 (NSKA Central)
  7. Josh Goforth – 75.75
  8. Roy Roberts – 75.50
  9. Michael Burgess – 75.25
  10. Jeff Malott – 75.00
Christa Hibbs’ 21.75″ Big Bass had a gigantic head and a skinny body! Source: TourneyX

Angler Roundtable

So how’d the top finishers for the event do it and what are their thoughts on Beaver Lake? I joined Christa Hibbs, Justin Brewer and Jeriamy Vann in this recap discussion. Here’s the scoop:

What part of the lake did you fish and why?

Jason – After doing a lot of looking around, I decided that dirty water was going to be the key to a chance to win. Monte Ne gets really dirty when it rains hard in Rogers, and I’ve fished it quite a bit because it is the closest part of the lake to my house. Took a chance and it paid off.

Christa – I fished the Horseshoe Bend area for the event. I decided on this area because in the past it’s always fished well for me and held good fish each time I’ve fished it.

Justin – I put in at the War Eagle Marina and fished pockets on the main channel swing. That was my pattern at Table Rock so I tried to duplicate it at Beaver. Only difference was that I didn’t get the dirty water I was hoping for.

Jeriamy – I went just south of the HWY 12 bridge Saturday. Really wanted to fish a stretch that I had never fished before and this area looked really nice on the maps that I had studied all week.

Describe how you caught your biggest bass of the day, and what on?

Jason – After catching several keepers early on a spinnerbait, the bite started to slow as the rain cleared off. Wanted to keep throwing a moving bait so chose a white chatterbait. On a long cast that landed right next to a bush, it immediately got heavy and could tell that she was wrapped up in a bush so I just tried to keep some pressure on and she eventually came out. Second 20″ fish that morning, only the second time that’s happened to me in a tournament. Was very lucky.

Christa – My biggest bass of the day was the 21.75 that came around 7 am. I’d missed a bunch of fish just swatting at the buzzbait that morning, so I decided to put a trailer hook on. Three casts later, that big one hit it. Once in the net I noticed it was only hooked by that trailer hook. I luckily adjusted just at the right time.

Justin – My biggest bass came on a wacky rigged Yum Dinger. I pretty much kept it in my hand all day with the hope that eventually I would come across a big female or some decent males still on beds. It took me all day but I eventually found the big female and then a bonus male with her.

Jeriamy – I caught a 19.25″ which was my biggest of the day on a Santone Rattling Jig Black, Blue and Purple with a (CRAWL) trailer. I eased up real quiet to some floating debris and submerged trees in the back of a pocket and had just enough room to make a pitch across to the bank and work the bait along big root ball. I twitched the jig a few times and she came out from under the wood and crushed it.

Was seeing 20 / 20 on tournament Saturday. Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

Beaver Lake showed out a bit on Saturday, what are your thoughts on the lake as a fishery?

Jason – My grandfather, dad and his brothers fished Beaver Lake from when it was formed, and took me there when I was a kid so I will always have soft spot for this lake because of that. It’s a tough place at times but I really like the challenge of a changing lake rather than when people can just hit their honey holes. I joke about it being the Dead Sea, but it’s all in fun, you can catch’em there! For NWA it is our premier fishery and a beautiful place that we are lucky to have nearby.

Christa – I’ve always enjoyed fishing Beaver Lake. It may not always kick out the 20+ inch fish like a lot of other lakes, but I’ve had some awesome fun fishing days out there. In this tournament it produced some nice ones. I think with the heat of the summer not quite here yet, the higher water level, and cloud cover we had on tournament day helped keep those big ones out roaming and more vulnerable. Congratulations to all the top finishers!

Justin – I know many people call it the Dead Sea but other than a couple of trips I’ve always enjoyed the lake. Especially if I can find some dirtier water it’s always put up good limits for me.

Jeriamy – I’m pretty biased about Beaver lake. It’s my favorite with Lake Ouachita being a close second. I was a little surprised at the number of fish caught Saturday, but then I realized that I shouldn’t be with all the sticks in this NSKA group.

Video recap of my day on Beaver Lake, including baits my best five were caught on:

Heavy Hitters Standings

The Heavy Hitters pool is starting to take shape as we’re now four events in. As a reminder, anglers take their top fish from five events, so there’s a long way to go. This week was a real plus for me and Jeriamy getting some big ones on the board to make up some ground. Kyle Long still leads and is in a good spot, with Roy Roberts and Josh Howard on his tail. Again, don’t sleep on those with 20s on the board like James Haeberle, Tyler Zengerle and Cole Sikes. They are still in great shape.

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NSKA Classic / AOY Race

The top 25 finishers in AOY will make the end of season Classic Championship. It’s too early to tell much, but let’s take a look at who’s “in” as of today. Keep in mind it’s the top six events with two drops, so a lot is going to change. Everyone has a chance to get in at this point. For overall AOY – Dwain, Michael and Roy are still in the best position, but any angler with two scores above 95 is likely still a threat to close the gap.

Next Up – Pumpback

We’ll do a preview for Pumpback next week – it’s a really weird and cool little lake (More formally known as Chimney Rock Lake). If you haven’t been there, be sure to mark your calendar for June 5 to experience this pool of giant smallmouth and largemouth bass.

NSKA

NSKA Table Rock Recap / Heavy Hitters Update

The latest battle on the water for NSKA NWA took place on a section of Table Rock Lake, from the Shell Knob area up into the Kings and White River arms. It was a great opportunity for anglers to try out some new water and to catch a lot of fish on a great fishery.

Bass on Table Rock were biting for the NSKA gang.

A week and a half before the event there was significant rain and flooding which were going to affect the water for tournament day. Although Table Rock was a complete muddy mess a week out, when Beaver Lake and Table Rock both were running water through their respective dams, it really flushed a lot of the mud and debris down lake. This resulted in evolving conditions leading up to the event, meaning anglers had to find the water they were most comfortable with.

Table Rock Tournament Results

There were 53 anglers entered in the event and they accounted for a lot of fish caught. A strong 87% of anglers turned in a limit, about 20% higher than the average event. Timing worked out well for the event with bass in all phases of spawn in the lake, meaning there were many good fish to be had.

Michael Burgess won Big Bass with this 20″ Largemouth

Dwain Batey took 1st place with 89.75″, Michael Burgess was second with 88.25″ and Justin Brewer third with 85.50″ on the day. Brewer beat me out on a tiebreaker putting me in 4th on the day, also with an 85.50″ total. Big Bass was also won by Michael Burgess with a 20″ largemouth.

Here are the top 10 finishers:

  1. Dwain Batey 89.75″
  2. Michael Burgess 88.25″
  3. Justin Brewer 85.50″
  4. Jason Kincy 85.50″
  5. Carson McBride 85.00″
  6. Kyle Long 84.50″
  7. Devon Esry 84.00″
  8. Justin Phillips 84.00″
  9. Josh Landreth 82.75″
  10. Jason Coleman 82.25″

The complete tournament results are available on TourneyX.

Video recap and highlights from my day on Table Rock with 85.5″

Table Rock Angler Recaps

Here are some thoughts and insight from the top five anglers from the NSKA NWA Table Rock event. Dwain Batey, Michael Burgess, Justin Brewer, myself and Carson McBride share how things went down on the water and some other thoughts.

In general what area did you go and why?

Dwain – I fished the Kings River hoping it would have more color in the water than the White River did.

Michael – I fished on the white river side. I didn’t have time to practice so I just went to the same area as my previous tournament for MOYAK.

Justin – I chose to put in at Viola. I figured that section would still be the dirties water and dirty water is my strength.

Jason – Fished a creek arm around the Big M section of the White River area. Had fished there previously in the Moyak event and the water looked like the color I wanted to fish.

Carson – I fished the Kings River arm, mainly because I wanted to get as far away from Beaver Town as I could because I don’t like fishing that area

Overall what was the key bite for your day’s success, any specific baits you want to call out?

Dwain – I found fish in debris mats which had shad spawning on them. I used a Big Bite Baits BFE with a Trokar TK130 flipping hook and a 3/8 oz weight Texas rigged to punch into those mats.

Michael – My day started off slow with no bites in my first 1.5 hrs. I connected my first fish on a jig in the bushes but it was a small one. I continued to try to repeat the pattern but only came up with three small fish. I switched to the other side which was shallower and picked up a spinner bait. Within 10 casts I had caught three, one being a 18″ fish. It dialed me into what I needed to throw and where to fish.

Justin – I started early with a spinnerbait and flipping a big creature bait to catch my small limit. I threw a wacky rigged dinger and got bit twice which keyed me in to my main pattern of flipping a Texas rigged black and blue Yum Dinger with the smallest weight I could get away with and still penetrate the and the trash on the bank.

Jason – Unlike a lot of others, seems like my fish came on more variety of baits. Early on caught them on a War Eagle buzzbait and late morning got my 18″ and a 17″ on a Booyah Covert spinnerbait. As the day wore on still caught several on the spinnerbait but did some late culls on skipping a football jig with a YUM Spine Craw at bushes and sawdust areas.

Carson – My key bait was a half ounce flipping jig with a Rage Menace trailer, I was flipping it around isolated buck brush and bushes and punching through the debris mats, and any time I came to a spot where someone’s yard was flooded, a white spinnerbait with gold willow leaf blades always produced a bite.

First NSKA on Table Rock, how did you feel about it and do you like events outside of Arkansas, why?

Dwain – I always like to fish new bodies of water, or be forced into fishing areas of familiar lakes that I’ve never been to, so I always like when we have diversity of venues.

Michael – I enjoyed fishing Table Rock, it’s a fantastic fishery with some big fish. I’m not much of a fan fishing small lakes, it just seems to easy and I want a challenge.

Justin – I feel like I have done pretty good at Table Rock events in the past so I was excited about this event. I like venturing out to different states and different waters. It helps you as an angler to travel and figure out different bodies of water.

Jason – I’d never fished Table Rock before the Moyak tournament a couple of weeks ago and now have fished it a few times. It’s a great lake and clearly has a better fish population than what we encounter on Beaver Lake. Hope we go back next year.

Carson – I liked having and NSKA event on table rock I just wish we could’ve went all over the entire lake.

If you could only have one rod / reel / line setup to fish with, what would it be and why?

Dwain – I would have to go with a 7′ 2” medium heavy baitcaster with an 8.3:1 reel, I am not brand loyal just anything that will get the job done. I picked this because it would cover a variety of different baits/techniques.

Michael – My main set up I would take would be my jig set up with 15# Invizx line. I personally love fishing a jig but I can also easily switch to a Texas rig or any bottom bumping bait.

Justin – I would have to go with a baitcast setup. 7:5:1 reel and 7’ medium heavy rod and 15 pound fluorocarbon line. That will cover with just about anything. Jig, cranking, spinnerbait and even a wacky rig.

Jason – My most flexible setup is a medium heavy jig / Texas rig rod with a Shimano Curado 7:4:1 reel with 12 lb floro. With this I can fish a jig, Texas rig, spinnerbait, fluke, or about any single hook style bait.

Carson – If I could only have one rod reel setup to fish with it would be a 7 foot 3 heavy fast with a jackhammer chatterbait, that’s about my all time favorite setup to throw when I can get away with it

Heavy Hitters Update

Three weeks into Heavy Hitters and Kyle Long is in the driver’s seat for now, with Josh Howard, Cole Sikes and Brian Lookadoo right behind him.

With five events left, everyone is still in it since it is the best five fish total. Things are going to tighten up and shake up quite a bit. Keep your eye on Tyler Zengerle and James Haeberle who both have a 20 in their list, they will close the gap quickly in coming events.

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Next Up – Beaver Lake South, May 22

The next tournament for NSKA will be the Ozark Kayak Beaver Lake South event, which depending on the water level could be a smash-fest or a dink-fest. Get signed up now on TourneyX for this battle royale on the Dead Sea. The highlight of the day will be the post-tourney weigh-in at Las Fajitas in Lowell. See you there!