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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

Table Rock 2.0 Tournament Recap / Classic Countdown / Heavy Hitters

The fishing-friendly waters of Table Rock welcomed back NSKA for Table Rock 2.0 for 2021 and it was a wild ride.

As many NSKA tournament anglers know, this was the sixth event that involved rain or thunderstorms this year…and this one was a doozy. As Forrest Gump said, “We been through every kind of rain there is. Little bitty stingin’ rain and big ol’ fat rain, rain that flew in sideways. And sometimes rain even seemed to come straight up from underneath.”

On Saturday a dead calm sunny morning turned into stormaggeddon in the afternoon. In fishing one thing is true, when the weather changes the fishing changes and it was going to help someone catch ’em late.

Tournament Results

As 53 anglers took to the water expectations for catching fish were high. Table Rock put out good numbers in the May event (1.0) and there was some optimism it would be a bit easer than Beaver Lake. Overall a very strong 73% of anglers turned in a limit and with 338 fish caught for a 6.5 average per angler the Rock was on fire again.

Levi Schneider took 1st place in his first NSKA event with 88.00″ on the day (after a 1″ deduction!), followed by Jason Kincy with 84.00″ squeaking by Josh King in a tie-breaker who finished 3rd with 84.00″ on the day. Levi also won Big Bass with a 20.00″ Table Rock tank.

The Table Rock top ten:

  1. Levi Schneider
  2. Jason Kincy
  3. Josh King
  4. Tyler Zengerle
  5. Ryan Paskiewicz
  6. Josh Landreth
  7. Jason Adams
  8. Dwain Batey
  9. Justin Writght
  10. Jason Coleman

Check out the full results on TourneyX.

Please hit subscribe on YouTube if you like the recaps, will keep me going!

Angler Roundtable

Top finishers of the event break down the day in the roundtable discussion. A lot of fish were caught that day by Levi, Jason, Josh and Tyler.

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

Levi – After having a horrible practice at the Kings River I looked elsewhere. I found a random ramp just north of Emerald Beach that looked really good with a mix or brush piles, docks, and main lake bluff walls with rock. With multiple main lake points, secondary points, and a couple of coves so I had plenty of options no matter where the fish went.

Jason – Put in at Beavertown because I’d pre-fished a couple of spots on Table Rock and just couldn’t get things going so tried something different for the tournament. Rock Creek and Big M was where I wanted to fish because they are so good.

Josh – I wanted to go to the same spot I did in the first Table Rock tournament, but with the water being down 4’ I didn’t think it would be as good. I got on the internet, looked at some maps and found a spot that wasn’t too far of a drive and had several main points. I ended up fishing Owl Creek arm.

Tyler – I chose to fish at Shell Knob because I figured most of the crowd would be at the Kings River ramp or around Big M area. After doing map study, I noticed that there weren’t a lot of bluff walls, but rather shallower water which best suits my fishing style. I chose to fish behind the island (Lost Hill) and that’s where almost all my fish came from.

Key baits or techniques used to catch keepers?

Levi – I caught ’em early with a Rapala X Rap in a gaudy orange chartreuse color although those fish flopped off the board before I could snap a picture of them. After that all of my fish came of a CJs custom 1/2 oz PB&J football jig with either a green and purple Strike King Rage Craw or a Googan baits Krackin craw.

Jason – I got to power fish all day…pleased to say I didn’t touch a spinning rod one time! Heddon zara spook, War Eagle buzzbait, ZMan chatterbait, Booyah Covert spinnerbait and Slowtown football jig were all contributors.

Josh – I started with a buzzbait and landed one keeper pretty early. I switched to a wacky worm and turned out a small limit. I then put on a 1/2oz football jig, caught several and culled up four fish.

Tyler – All of the fish in my final five came off of a Jewel Finesse jig in PB&J with a Gambler Lures craw in orange/green pumpkin for the trailer. I did catch a few on a shaky head and Ned rig, but nothing of significant size.

Anything notable about catching your biggest fish?

Levi – My biggest fish came off the same main lake point I caught my 5th fish of the day to fill my limit. After I fished the cove by the point with little luck I decided to back out to the point mainly cause the clouds had came back and that’s when I had noticed my biggest bites would happen and sure enough after a few casts and a couple of hops the 20” largie ate my jig and if you saw my picture of him he was a little messed up.

Jason – I’d found a specific pattern by about 10:00 and was running it, catching a fish almost every time I’d find a certain thing. My 19.25″ kicker was cool because I saw it flash a second before it thwanked my bait and the fight was on. Sadly, shortly after this I lost my chance to catch Levi when another biggie pulled off after doing the exact same thing.

Josh – Absolutely, it was in the last five minutes of the game. It was literally going to be my last cast and I was almost back to my vehicle. I’ve never worked so fast and so hard at reeling, catching, unhooking and photographing a fish as I did for that one. I was very nervous it wouldn’t upload before 3:00pm.

Tyler – My biggest catch was 18.50”. I caught him going back through the same stretch of water I already fished about 45 minutes before the hurricane came through. I threw between some chunk rock and wood and pulled him out. He went airborne, and as soon as I had him in the net, the jig popped out. One second later, she probably wouldn’t have been in my final five.

What is one tip on getting good photos you can give new anglers?

Levi – A couple of things are recommend are take your measuring board with you anytime you go fishing and practice taking picture with every single fish you catch. Also if you’re a visual learner like I am, I mostly learned how to from watching many Greg Blanchard videos which is why when I started tournament fishing it was like second nature. Also measure in the lowest part of your kayak to reduce the chance of your fish from flopping out of the kayak.

Jason – Like Levi said, take your board and take photos when not in a tournament. Also like what Josh said about a routine and having everything in its place so you have to think less when in the moment. I’m very superstitious about this and have to put everything back exactly where it goes before starting to fish again, haha.

Josh – What is one tip on getting good photos you can give new anglers? I’m still learning myself and I still make several mistakes, but for me the key is having everything ready and always in the same place and doing the process the same way. Having that muscle memory helps when I have those rushed or excited moments.

Tyler – I recommend practicing at home. I went in the garage, sat in my kayak and moved my board around and figured out the best orientation that is most comfortable for me. After taking a few pics, I found a way that I don’t have to worry about my identifier being cutoff and that my whole board will fit in the picture. I’ve also reached out to other people with the same boat as me and looked at the way they did it. Yes, I know there are more variables when you’re out on the water, but having a plan in place before you hit the water is important. You can tweak some things when you’re actually measuring a fish. Snap a couple pics and always review them before submitting. It’s not fun getting an 18”+ fish DQ’d…I would know.

Classic Standings & AOY Race

Well the season is about over but there are a LOT of anglers in the hunt for a Classic berth. Right now I’d say there are 10-12 spots up for grabs depending on how everyone does in the final event on Beaver Lake. Lots of movement coming for sure.

In the AOY race, Dwain Batey has a chokehold on first that I believe nobody can overcome based on the numbers. (but I’m no mathematician) There is a slight chance for a few…Kyle Long and Tyler Zengerle in particular to catch up if they dominate the last event and the Classic and Dwain stumbles in the Classic. We will see what we see.

Take a moment to check out Dwain’s article about his day on Table Rock, and subscribe to his blog – it is a great read.

Heavy Hitters Not Over?

Was looking pretty early like Kyle Long had his own chokehold on Heavy Hitters, but like last year things tighten up down the stretch. Although he has a good lead, there are some threats to the crown in this last event.

If Kyle does not upgrade…Tyler, Ryan and Jason all have an outside shot at stealing it in the last event. Tyler would need a 21.75″ to win, Ryan needs a 21.75″ to win, and Jason needs a 21.50″ to win. These are not likely on Beaver Lake, but possible!

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!

Video

Beaver Lake Kayak Fishing Recap – Video

This is a recap of how I caught my keepers in the end of season NSKA NWA Classic in September. See every bait and hear how they were used to catch some bass on Beaver Lake in September.

Video

Kayak Fishing on Lake Fork – Video

Kayak Fishing on Lake Fork is some of the most fun I’ve had on the water. It can be an intimidating place until you get used to it and get your bearings. There are many options for kayak anglers to launch from and to get almost anywhere you want on the lake. This video is from 2017 when I was there for the Tournament of Champions in November. In all, I’ve been kayak fishing on Lake Fork for five tournaments, with my best finish as 6th in the Hobie BOS Lake Fork in 2019.

HEY! If you like reading this blog, go subscribe to my YouTube Channel! I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

Hope you enjoy the video!

Check out more content by visiting the Kayak Fishing Focus main site.

Kayak fishing on Lake Fork in Texas! kayakfishingfocus.com
Catching bass at Lake Fork in Texas! Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

NSKA

NSKA 2020 Beaver North Recap / AOY Race / Classic Field Set

The Dead Sea in August on the last weekend before school starts is not the friendliest environment for kayak fishing tournament. A lot was on the line as we came down to the wire on the AOY race, Heavy Hitters and finding out which top 25 would make the year end Classic.

Fifty-five anglers took on the warm water, tough bite and wake boat anarchy conditions of Beaver Lake for the season finale for NSKA. Personally I love, love, love, a tournament on Beaver Lake in August when conditions are tough as nails. It’s a great test for anglers to be creative and open their bag of tricks to find a good bite. Combine the summer pattern with the race to catch some fish before the wake boats and jet skis hit the water and you have an exciting challenge.

Yes, I know you are in a boat. Thanks for zooming close to me so I could see it. No, I don’t really want to wave back at you. I’ve seen one before.

Tournament Results

Traditionally an event on Beaver Lake in August and September will give you a winning total in the mid-high 70s and a Big Bass of around 19″. Those trends held true this time around. Overall, it was a difficult day with a pretty low 42% of anglers turning in a limit and only 82% submitting at least one keeper.

Anglers at the top were bunched up with Devon Esry taking the win with 77″ followed by Justin Brewer with 76″ for second place and luckily I took third with 75.75″ in total. Dallas Prouty took the Big Bass prize with a 19.75″ Beaver Lake tank.

Here were the top 10 finishers:

  1. Devon Esry
  2. Justin Brewer
  3. Jason Kincy
  4. Kevin Tadda
  5. Jon Swann
  6. Dwain Batey
  7. Jason Coleman
  8. Jason Fields
  9. Billy Bowden
  10. Cole Sikes
Beaver Lake Smallmouth from the Beaver North Road Runner caught on a Yum Baits plastic. – Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

Angler Roundtable Recaps

One of the great things about fishing is how many different ways you can catch fish on a given day and be successful. In this tournament roundtable, Devon Esry, Justin Brewer, and Kevin Tadda join me in sharing how they caught ’em and finished in the money.

What part of North Beaver did you go and why?

Devon – I went to Ventris and worked my way to Coose and back. Of all of the places I pre-fished, Ventris was the only area that provided a consistent pattern with more bites.

Justin – I chose the Prairie Creek area. I’m not a big fan of clear water so I chose the most southern part of the lake that I could find.

Jason – Torn between a couple of areas, I chose to put in at the campground at Lost Bridge and fished Indian Creek. Having pre-fished a couple of other spots I really felt like the clear water was the best chance to ensure a limit.

Kevin – I had pre-fished Van Winkle and did not do very well there, so I went to one of my favorite spots, Lost Bridge North. I have not done very well there in the past, but there are fish there usually and it is out of the way of most of the boat traffic, which is what i was mostly looking for. Last tournament I went to Ventris and ended up fighting more waves and boats than fish. 


What were some of the key baits or techniques you focused on or worked for you?

Devon – I started the morning with a black buzzbait and went straight to my shaky head once the topwater bite turned off.

Justin – I started the day on a Spook hoping for a topwater bite that has been non-existant all year for me with no success. I then went searching for a day pattern. Found some success with throwing a Yum Baits finesse worm on a shaky head and a Texas-rigged Yum Baits Spine craw on any wood or brush I could find.

Jason – Going into the day I expected to throw some topwater early and then move deeper later on. Early on I threw several things including a Heddon Spook, War Eagle buzzbait, popper and a wake bait. After the sun got high and moved out deeper I focused on drop shot and carolina rig.

Kevin – First thing in the morning i tried a Whopper Plopper because I had never thrown one before and wanted to see if I could get a topwater bite started. I quickly realized that wasn’t working but there were fish around me attacking the surface. I tied on a Heddon Spook Jr. to give a smaller profile and a little less noise and that was the key. I targeted the first point I came to and on about the second cast I caught my 17″ bass. While i was taking pictures of that one, a few more were hitting the surface by the trees behind me. Once starting with the Spook, it was the only thing I threw until about noon. I would throw it at a school blowing up, and catch one, I would cast again and it would throw it, then i would keep going as fast as I could reset and ended up getting four before 9 a.m. I let that area calm down a bit, and went into the first cove where I threw into some timber at the very end not really expecting anything to be there and another 16″ nailed it as soon as it hit the water. I had a limit for the first time ever with lots of time left in a tournament.

What was your key fish and the circumstances around that?

Devon – I feel like my key fish was the first fish I got after I had a limit. I was able to cull my smallest and focus on areas that seemed to be producing bigger fish. The fish started getting in the muddy water from all the pleasure boats. It was a struggle up to this point to cull the smaller fish.

Justin – My key fish was an 18.75″ Smallmouth. It was my key fish because leading up to that point I’d had a pretty tough morning. Catching that fish turned my day around, mainly by building up confidence in a bait but also having an 18.75″ fish in your limit on Beaver is a great bonus.

Jason – Hard to choose between a couple of them. My first catch was a 17.25″ largemouth and that made me feel like I’d be able to contend for the day which was great motivation to focus and fish hard. But the 17.5″ smallie I caught late morning really put me into a good total and topped off the limit. This was also my PB smallmouth so that was fun.

Kevin – After leaving the cove I went back to the first point and kept throwing the Spook and pretty much paddled in circles with the bass blowing up the surface all around me until about noon. Once that bite slowed down, I went to my swimbait after seeing all the luck that John Wofford has had on those. The water was extremely clear about 5-7 feet down and i could see several big ones following it to the boat. A couple even lightly took it and when i set the hook i watched it slip away from them. I slowed down my retrieve and the next one was hooked.  it was a 16.5″ and kicked off another round of hits and misses all the way up to 2:30. I was able to cull my smallest fish and had a couple others that were even bigger that I should have gotten in the boat. All in all though it was the best day I have ever had on the water and I didn’t want to leave but i was exhausted. 

What’s one technique or bait you learned or executed better this year that has been important to your success?

Devon – The topwater bite has been the most challenging, but also the most rewarding this year. The Whopper Plopper and buzzbait produced some decent fish and helped me reach a limit more quickly when they were on. Knowing when to put it down is something I’m still learning.

Justin – My main technique I learned and executed better this year was mind and emotion control. Years before I have been bad at keeping my composure and keeping an open mind. If I didn’t I have limit or at least a couple of fish during the early hours of a morning I would get frustrated and my mind would start running 100 mph trying to figure out what to do. But come to find out if you keep calm and fish the conditions with what you know to fish, the bites will come. Some days they won’t but those are days everyone has from time to time.

Jason – Going into the year I really wanted to focus more on fishing and skipping a jig and that’s been a big help this year. Sometimes a jig seems to be the only thing they will bite.

Kevin – My go to is a shaky head with a Zoom worm, most of the time i can catch fish with it but they are usually not the size I need to compete. In the last few tournaments, I have saved it for the last resort and worked on throwing more deep lures like lipless cranks and swim jigs targeting structure and rocks further away from shore. This season I learned that I needed to cover more water and not just throw against the shore where I think there always should be fish shallow, but to be more tactical to find a faster pattern. Getting away from my comfort zone with the deeper baits helped me cover more water and catch bigger fish. 

AOY Race and Classic Qualifiers

As the regular season comes to a close, the AOY race has become pretty clear. With a good finish in the Classic, Justin Brewer may have it wrapped up. However, Dwain Batey is close on his heels and could steal it if Justin falters. If they both stumble significantly in the classic, then there is a list of anglers including Wofford, Coleman, Roberts, Paskiewicz, Needham, Zengerle and Sikes who could maybe pull it off with a Classic win. Reminder, the Classic is worth 200 points, so each spot is worth more than normal.

The Classic field overall has been set with 394 points this year to make the cut. There were some anglers who just barely missed that mark and didn’t make the cut. Rumor has it the Classic locations have been selected and will be announced soon. Good luck to all of the competitors!

Heavy Hitters Final

When the year began there is no way I would have expected it to end up this way as a group of NSKA competitors entered in a side-pot big bass competition. I was lucky enough to hold off a last-minute push from John Wofford.

Top 5 Heavy Hitters and total inches for best five:

  1. Jason Kincy – 95″
  2. John Wofford – 93.25″
  3. Ryan Paskiewicz – 90.75″
  4. Kyle Long – 88.25″
  5. Justin Phillips – 88″
  6. Michael Burgess – 87.75″
  7. Roy Roberts – 87″
  8. Cole Sikes – 86.75″
  9. Tyler Zengerle – 86.5″
  10. Jeriamy Vann – 84.25″
Three of the 2020 Heavy Hitters winning fish, it will take more than 95″ to win next year! – Source: kayakfishingfocus.com
NSKA

2019 NWA NSKA Classic Recap and AOY Race

The first ever Natural State Kayak Anglers NWA end of season Classic was held over two days on beautiful Beaver Lake in the Ozarks. The Classic was going to crown an event winner, but also would go a long way in deciding the NSKA Angler of the Year. Day one was launched out of the Hickory Creek area and day two would be out of Prairie Creek. The top 25 anglers from the regular season were ready to battle it out.

Day One – Hickory Creek

On the first day there were 24 participants who took the water on a very tough post-front, high skies bluebird day with little wind. Beaver wasn’t going to make it easy. Of the 24 anglers, all but one (96%) turned in at least one keeper, while a strong 17 (70%) turned in a limit. Big Bass for the day was a Beaver Lake beast at 20.50″ and after day one the leaders were Jeriamy Vann with 75.25″ and Ryan Paskiewicz with 75″ followed by Devon Esry, Jason Cowell and Justin Brewer with 70″ each.

Kyle Long’s 20.50″ Big Bass led the way in the NSKA Classic.

Day Two – Hickory Creek

The second day of the event was more of the same with little to no wind, clear skies and lots of sun and heat. The anglers would have a big challenge to find quality bass. On day two 23 (95%) of the 24 participants turned in a keeper and only 13 (54%) of the anglers turned in a limit. The numbers, including Big Bass for the day by Jason Kincy and Jacob Hudson both at 18.57″ showed that it was a tougher grind than day one. Top performers on day two were Andrew Newsom with 79″ followed by Cole Sikes with 76.5″ and Jeriamy Vann with a 74″ total.

Final Standings

Jeriamy Vann took first place with a two day total of 149.25″ followed by Andrew Newsom in second place with 147″ and Cole Sikes third with 145.25″.  Kyle Long’s day one 20.50″ bass was the largest of the tournament.

The top ten finishers:

  1. Jeriamy Vann
  2. Andrew Newsom
  3. Cole Sikes
  4. Ryan Paskiewicz
  5. Dwain Batey
  6. Tyler Zengerle
  7. Jason Kincy
  8. Jason Cowell
  9. Jonathan Brewer
  10. Justin Phillips

Jeriamy Vann wins the 2019 NSKA NWA Classic on Beaver Lake.

Angler Of the Year

Cole Sikes wins the 2019 NSKA NWA Angler Of the Year title.

The NSKA Angler of the Year race came down to the final event, with Dwain Batey and Cole Sikes in a dead heat in points. Cole’s higher finish in the Classic propelled him to his second AOY in a row – an impressive achievement.

Angler Recaps

The top finishers in the Classic provided their insights as to how they did it and their final thoughts on the season. Jeriamy Vann, Andrew Newsom, Cole Sikes and Ryan Paskiewicz shared their thoughts in the roundtable.

How do you compare or contrast Hickory Creek and Prairie Creek? Did you approach them differently?

Jeriamy – First off I want to thank my Heavenly Father, Jesus Christ. I love him and everything good in my life flows through him.  I’ve never had much luck at Hickory Creek so to be honest I tried to fish as far away from there as I could. For some reason it’s always been a tough area on Beaver Lake for me. Prairie Creek I’ve always enjoyed and one difference I think is access to a bigger portion of the of the main lake.

Andrew – I try and fish my strengths no matter the area of the lake I’m fishing. I just try and find an area I’m comfortable with and go for it. At Hickory Creek, I was able to stick with my game plan pretty much the whole day. I know the area well, so I knew where I was going all day long. At Prairie Creek, you have a lot more boat traffic. Bass boats fishing the same area kind of dictated where I was able to go. My game plan changed multiple times so I was hopping from spot to spot all day.

Cole – In my opinion, Hickory Creek and Prairie Creek fish quite a bit different even though they are only 12 miles apart. The great thing about Beaver Lake is that you can target different species depending on which part of the lake you’re fishing. Hickory Creek bass population is primarily Largemouth and Spotted bass and the water clarity usually has a little more color than Prairie Creek. Usually you’ll be able to target Largemouth up shallow and can catch a few spots around bluffs. The wild card for Prairie Creek are the Smallmouth, an angler could win a tournament by just catching Smallmouth in that area. Typically, an angler will need to fish out deeper around Prairie Creek once the sun gets up. Knowing this, I did approach them differently. While fishing Hickory Creek, I stayed up shallow all day trying to find the better quality Largemouth. While fishing Prairie Creek, I fished shallow for the first few hours until the sun got up and started targeting Smallmouth and spots out deeper.

Ryan – I actually ended up pedaling to War Eagle marina area to start and didn’t fish much if any in the Hickory area. With that being said, it fished vastly different for me. My approach on day one was to move from main lake/river channel swings and transitions to the next, covering a lot of high percentage areas. Prairie provided more water clarity and obviously fished a bit different. My initial plan was to hit a couple key main lake points. Unfortunately this didn’t produce and I then began targeting smaller main lake pockets with docks These produced some fish early but as the day went on I couldn’t get bit. Not having a lot of known areas i was left scrambling a bit as the day went on. Boat traffic and wake was another key difference and factor in comparing the two areas.

What were the primary baits that led you to victory?

Jeriamy – I caught all my fish on a jig and craw. Surprise, surprise.
It’s kinda what I do. 😁

Andrew – All my keepers both days came on a Slow Town jig. I threw a few other baits, but the jig bite was what seemed to be working.

Cole – By no surprise, every single fish I caught this weekend was on a football jig by Slowtown Custom Lures. The great thing about a football jig is the versatility, I used the exact same bait and caught fish in 6 inches to 35 feet of water during this tournament.

Ryan – No victory here but a solid finish, lol. I used a  3/8 oz round ball jig with a Rage Menace and ½ oz football jig with a Rage Craw.

What were the key fish you caught and what were the circumstances?

Jeriamy – Probably the key fish for me were my last two culls on day one. I had a long dry spell without a bite so I decided to change everything up in my approach and it worked out.

Andrew – At Hickory Creek, I caught my biggest bass of the day around 1:30 pm. I had not had a bite for a few hours and found myself in an area that had been heavily fished by fellow kayakers all day. Catching a good one that late in the day really gave me a lot of confidence going into day 2.

Cole – On day one at Hickory Creek, I was able to catch one quality Largemouth of 18.5 inches skipping my jig under a boat dock. That fish was the only reason I had somewhat of a decent day on day one. Prairie Creek was a grind for the most part, I had a small limit majority of the day but at 1:30 I was able to cull over 10 inches on an offshore spot where bass were loaded up. I was such in the zone, I forgot about all of the ski boats whizzing only 30 yards away from me.

Ryan – I caught a day 1 kicker around 1:30 that went 17”. On day 2, I couldn’t find the right size and fell short because of it. I was able to scrape together a limit but it just wasn’t enough against the sticks ahead of me.

First year of the Classic, what did you think?

Jeriamy – I loved the classic idea from the start. You have to earn your way there and when you get there you know you’re fishing against the best 25 anglers in our club for the year. It was a great challenge indeed. We have hammers.

Andrew – My goal all season was to make the Classic. When I realized I had enough AOY points to get in, I was super excited. The entire tournament was a blast and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to be in it.

Cole –  I thought the Classic was a lot of fun, it gives the anglers all year something to work towards even if they are out of the Angler Of the Year race. I think it would be cool if we rotated different spots each year on Beaver so it’s not Hickory and Prairie Creek each time.

Ryan – Man, this was awesome. After a really disappointing season on the whole, I was able to qualify and gain some confidence on Beaver Lake and in general. The format is great and requires you to adjust, adapt and also have different plans for each day. You get to test your skills against the best that year, as well as, test yourself against a grinder of a lake. I can’t think of anything I would change.

Season is over, what’s your best memory from it?

Jeriamy – I gotta say holding that classic trophy at the end was pretty dang sweet, but I did enjoy this year overall.  I feel like I got to know some good people a little better and to me that’s really cool.
What a great fishing family !

Andrew – This was my first full season and meeting so many awesome people along the way made for my best memories.

Cole – This is a tough one, overall I had an amazing season and had lots of great memories. There are two tournaments that stuck out to me the most and I didn’t win either one. The first one would be the road runner. I chose to fish War Eagle Creek and was able to catch a huge Smallmouth and Largemouth that was good enough for 2nd place. The reason this memory was so great was because this exact creek is where I really learned to fish, it is where my family would go almost every weekend in the summer and it’s a special place to me. The second memory was that last hour of the Classic. Fishing that offshore spot in the last hour to cull over 10 inches was an adrenaline rush, grinding all day and finally pull up to the right spot in the last hour to win Angler Of the Year was an amazing experience.

Ryan – Lots of good memories but participating in the State Championship was number 1. Spending 4 days with a great group of guys fishing and hanging out was awesome. I learned a ton on that trip and can’t wait to do it again.

 

 

NSKA

NSKA NWA Beaver Town Recap

Orlando Bloom on the bridge on the Beaver bridge…probably dreaming about a giant Table Rock bass.

The region where the tailwaters from Beaver Dam merge into Table Rock Lake is one of the most scenic spots in Northwest Arkansas. The waters from Beaver Town to Holiday Island provided a lot of diversity for anglers as they took on the final regular season event of 2019. The most striking feature of the area is the yellow bridge in Beaver, Arkansas, which was the backdrop in some key scenes for Orlando Bloom in the pretty terrible movie called Elizabethtown from 2005. Hopefully director Cameron Crowe and Orlando hit the water while they were on set.

This year’s regular season finale had a lot of drama as the top AOY contenders entered crunch time and had to catch’em. Additional drama was in the air as the rest of the field tried to solidify their spot in the top 25 for the NSKA Classic coming up in September. The final 25 isn’t out yet, but based on some initial calculations there were risers and fallers based on this event.

Beaver Town Results

It was a hot, hot day in the Ozarks but the fish cooperated with a few of the anglers while they frustrated others. Overall, 39% of anglers turned in a limit while a very strong 84% turned in at least one keeper. Once again some familiar names finished at or near the top. Cole Sikes took first place with 83.75″, Dwain Batey took second with 77″ and Jeriamy Vann third with 73.25″. Sikes also took home the Big Bass prize with a 19.5″ kicker.

Top Ten Finishers:

  1. Cole Sikes
  2. Dwain Batey
  3. Jeriamy Vann
  4.  Chad Warford
  5.  Craig Wood
  6.  Michael Sandlin
  7.  Kyle Long
  8.  Tyler Zengerle
  9.  John Wofford
  10.  Jonathan Brewer

Big Bass from Beaver Town in 2019 was caught by Cole Sikes.

Beaver Town Angler Recaps

So how did the top finishers catch ’em on tournament day? The top four finishers – Cole Sikes, Dwain Batey, Jeriamy Vann and Chad Warford spill the tea on how they conquered this picturesque fishery. As the anglers did their interviews, one shared some words I felt were appropriate for the amazing natural setting and the blessings we all have to participate in this sport.

“Thank you Jesus
For your beautiful creation
And your sacrifice
‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’”

What was your overall strategy going into the Beavertown tournament?

Cole – More or less my strategy for the tournament was the same as the year before. Try to cover water early with topwater early to catch a limit, then switch to a jig and try to upgrade throughout the day. I didn’t pre-fish before the tournament but was able to figure out a pattern around 10:00 to catch some quality and for the remainder of the day I just ran that pattern.

Dwain – I had never been to Beaver Town before, So I peeked at Navionics on the computer, didn’t see anything special, just decided to go to the closest ramp, and fish it like I would any river this time of year.

Jeriamy – My overall strategy was to try to capitalize on the early bite and get a limit…and stay really focused on trying to cull before lines out. I focused on shade and ambush points mostly.

Chad – Since I had never been to Beaver Town and didn’t get a chance to pre-fish, the first part of my strategy was to pray…a lot as I needed at least a top 15 finish to secure my spot in the upcoming Classic. With that, the pressure was on. I haven’t fished rivers much for bass but overall, find structure on a shady bank and start there. Also, in doing my homework, I knew there would be good water movement at just after 11:00 as that is when the generation cycle for the day was set to start. Knowing that, I also keyed in on ambush spots. At least initially that was the plan.

What time of day did you catch your largest fish and what on?

Cole – I caught my biggest fish just after noon next to a boat dock with a Slowtown Custom jig.

Dwain – My largest fish at 17.75” was around 9 am. It was already hot and I had already put up the topwater and started using the chicken rig at that point.

Jeriamy – My largest fish was my last fish between trying to take a picture and trying to get service I barely got it in on time. I caught that one on a jig.

Chad – My big fish were scattered throughout the day up until about 1:30. Not knowing the river and where to fish, I simply headed up-river towards the dam. The fishing was slow at first with a few small ones but as the morning progressed, the bigger they got. My primary baits were the Strike King KVD 7” Super Finesse Worm on a Shaky Head Jig (multiple colors) and their new Thunder Cricket, mostly bluegill color. I had to be on the fast track to learning the water and I can’t stress enough to always watch and adapt to the changing conditions, and on that river, they changed a lot for the short time we were there. From which way the river flowed (stumped me in the morning it was moving uphill), to where the shade and limited wind was, the water temperature change, the slight rise in the river to how fast it was flowing and when. Lots of variables to consider but I quickly put the puzzle together and ended up catching my biggest fish in some very specific conditions.

Looking back on the season, what was your favorite event and why?

Cole – My favorite event of the year was the Road Runner. I decided to float War Eagle with the mindset of just trying to get a top ten finish. I knew I would catch fish but I was shocked to catch 89.25 inches with a mix bag of Largemouth, Smallmouth and Spots.

Dwain –  Probably Beaver Lake North, not only was it a win, but I got to catch some great fish on a swimbait, and that’s always really fun, especially on a lake like Beaver where it’s rare.

Jeriamy – My favorite tournament every year is the Road Runner. I like that format and I like how everyone is spread out. I would like to see the River Road Runner come back for 2020.

Chad – My favorite tournament this year (I can already hear the groans) was Lake Ft. Smith. I am always up for a good challenge and that lake seems to be the most challenging for NSKA anglers each year…except for a select few (Cole/Christa).

With the classic coming up, what are your thoughts on it and how you approach a two day cumulative tournament?

Cole – I’m excited to fish the classic, I think it will be a fun way to end the year. My approach for a two-day cumulative tournament will not change, I will treat each day as if they are just another tournament and I’ll go out there and just try to catch fish and have fun!

Dwain – I really like having it in two different areas and being two days, it will really give us a nice challenge. Multi day events are good because someone who just wanders into some fish can win a single day event, but catching fish two days in a row in two different areas is going to really give us a good idea of who was able to adapt to the different areas, and conditions. I think it will really be a fun event because of this format, and I’m looking forward to it.

Jeriamy – I really think it’s cool to have the top 25 for the season battle it out for the NSKA classic trophy. Even if you can’t win AOY you still have a shot at winning “The Classic”.  Two day tournaments are tough, and I think the most important thing is to get a limit the first day then you have a chance of winning because anything can happen. I want to thank Jeff Malott for everything he’s done for our club. I know he is looking forward to fishing more events next year and his shoes will be hard to fill.

Chad – For the upcoming NSKA Classic, I am thrilled with the new format to help determine the ultimate NSKA AOY for 2019! One lake, different launch each day, 25 of the very best for the year grinding to be the last one standing. This new format gives everyone something to compete for all season to earn one of those coveted 25 spots. I will stay with my same approach I take to each tournament with one exception, it’s a marathon and not a sprint like the others. That may change the approach slightly but going against the very best of the best NSKA anglers, the grind must be 100% focus, 100% of the time to have any chance against these great anglers!

 

NSKA

NSKA NWA Roadrunner Recap – City Lake Dominates

There are times when things don’t go as expected, and there are times when things go exactly as you think they will. This was one of those times. In the NSKA Roadrunner Preview, the historical data implied that Siloam City Lake would be a major player in the standings – and man did that come through in the final standings. Of the seven anglers reported to have gone to Siloam City Lake, four finished in the overall top six for the day and five finished in the top 10.

Tournament Results

Of the 63 anglers in the event, 52% (33) caught a limit and a very strong 83% turned in a keeper on this blistering hot day in Arkansas. NSKA members brought it on the fish catching front with 287 fish submitted for a robust 4.53 FPA average.

Bo Sarratt repeated as the Road Runner champ by carding a strong 91.25″ at Siloam City Lake, followed by Cole Sikes with 89.25″ on the War Eagle river, and Dwain Batey took third at Siloam City Lake with 86.75″ on the day.

Lincoln Lake dominated Big Bass honors, but was stingy otherwise. Rance Richardson took big bass with a 22″ giant and Clay Johnson was second Big Bass with 21.75″ – unfortunately Lincoln was only giving up dinks otherwise which prevented these guys from the money.

Rance Richardson’s 22 inch bass from Lincoln won Big Bass and knocked flip flops off.

Top ten finishers:

  1. Bo Sarratt
  2.  Cole Sikes
  3.  Dwain Batey
  4.  Justin Brewer
  5.  Carson McBride
  6.  Danny Dutton
  7.  Andrew Newsome
  8.  Josh King
  9.  Tyler Zengerle
  10.  Rance Richardson
Angler Recaps

Top finishers Bo Sarratt, Cole Sikes and Dwain Batey share their secrets in how they caught the big limits in the recap roundtable.

Where did you go and why?

Bo – I went to Siloam city lake because it’s got the big fish and I usually have a pretty good handle on how to figure them out there.

Cole – The week prior to the tournament I was considering fishing Lincoln, Elmdale or Beaver. I was able to get out for a few hours and prefish Beaver and Elmdale and they were a bust. Then there was Lincoln, I heard that the bite was tough but had been getting better. The forecasted weather for Saturday was hot, calm and sunny which from my experience is usually a tough bite on lakes. Also, I thought there would be lots of fishing pressure on Lincoln so I made an audible and decide to go float War Eagle and stay cool, catch lots of fish and hope to get lucky and catch upper 70 or low 80s to sneak into top ten.

Dwain – I hadn’t been able to fish a lot leading up to the event, so my choice was Siloam Springs City Lake, just because I felt like I could catch them there with no practice.

How did you catch them?

Bo – I spent about 3 hours offshore because I didn’t want to fish behind the guys there, but after not catching anything I went shallow. I knew the full moon was just a day or two away so I went to pitching and throwing perch imitation baits knowing there should be a perch spawn happening and it worked out.

Cole –  My primary bait was a River2Sea black Whopper Plopper. The best areas were at the upper ends of the holes in the current and the holes that had a little more depth were best. I was able to catch a quick solid limit of low 80s by 8:30. Later in the day I ran into some holes that were better for Largemouth. The holes were calm and shallow so I switch to my Slowtown Custom jig and started flipping laydowns and skipping into shade pockets. Around 12:30 I caught my 20.75 kicker on some roots on the bank that helped put me towards the top.

Dwain –  I wasn’t on any real pattern so I just junk fished. I caught the first fish an hour into the event on a Fluke in less than a foot of water. After another long dry spell I found one on a shaky head offshore. Then I managed to catch several, including two that made the big show, on a Chicken Rig, before finally catching my last and largest fish on a Skirmish Baits squarebill offshore.

What was your first kayak tournament event and how did you do?

Bo – I believe my first kayak tournament was at Swepco back in probably 2016. I didn’t do any good that day!

Cole – My first kayak tourney was on Swepco in 2017. It was very overwhelming and I didn’t know what to expect. I pulled up to the ramp and the parking lot was completely full and I didn’t know anyone. Even considered on turning around and heading home but I got up crazy early and was already there so just stuck with it. We had a shotgun start and I headed across the lake as my starting spot. My kayak was pretty new to me and didn’t know it well but I had my pole in poorly designed slot on my kayak and I pulled my bungee to access my rod and it fell straight into the water. Was a terrible way to start my first tournament. Soon after that I caught an 18.5 inch fish, I hadn’t had any practice with taking pictures of fish on my Hawg Trough. I struggled to get a picture and finally got it done but just like every rookie, I had the mouth open and had a 1 inch deduction. I only ended up with 4 keepers and finished 30th of 61 anglers. All in all, I’m glad I didn’t turn around and go back home, I learned a lot and made some great friends on that day.

Dwain – What was the first kayak tourney you entered and how did it go? When I first got my kayak I fished some of the Angler Combat online events just to get a handle on taking photos and the whole process. My first would have been in November 2015, I finished 12th out of 54 anglers nationwide. If i’m not mistaken though, those were land, boat or kayak.

Three Year Rolling Rankings

Looking back over the past three years I broke down the most successful anglers in NWA NSKA events and the standings have moved just a bit after the Road Runner.  We will keep adjusting these totals through the end of 2019.

The top ten anglers from 2017 – 2019:

  1. Cole Sikes (30)
  2. Dwain Batey (23)
  3. Roy Roberts (19)
  4. Jason Kincy (16)
  5. Carson McBride (15)
  6. Declan Mcdonald (15)
  7. Jeriamy Vann (12)
  8. Christa Hibbs (11)
  9. Baron Meek (11)
  10. Bo Sarratt (10)

NEXT TOURNAMENT – BEAVERTOWN ON SATURDAY AUGUST 17

 

 

 

NSKA

NSKA Beaver Lake South – Tournament Recap

Sixty-three kayak anglers took to the water among frigid temperatures in the first event of the 2019 season for the Natural State Kayak Anglers. The Dead Sea is a pretty tough body of water to fish out of a kayak, but when you’ve had a few days of freezing temperatures and dirty water conditions, it can set up for an exceptionally challenging day of fishing.

NSKA Beaver Lake South Results

Many were predicting a slugfest on Beaver Lake for the opener based on some of the big numbers from last year. Although water temps were relatively similar year over year, this year the weather had been quite a bit different in the lead up to the tournament and the water was much more stained. The warming trend preceding the tournament in 2018 helped a strong 41% to turn in a limit, while this year the hard cold front allowed only 21% to card five keepers. The difficult day is best illustrated by whopping 51% of the field catching one or zero keepers this year, compared to 30% in 2018.  So, who did overcome the tough conditions to find fish?

Chris Needham's 19.75" Largemouth took Big Bass in the NSKA Beaver Lake South tournament.
Chris Needham’s 19.75″ Largemouth took Big Bass in the NSKA Beaver Lake South tournament.

Roy Roberts took first place with 70″, followed by Declan McDonald with 68.75″ and Cody Skelton in third with 68.50″. Big Bass was won by Chris Needham with a 19.75″ Beaver Lake fatty. The top ten is below and full standings are available on TourneyX.

The top ten finishers:

  1.  Roy Roberts
  2.  Declan McDonald
  3.  Cody Skelton
  4.  Billy Bowden
  5.  Andrew Newsome
  6.  Carson McBride
  7.  Jonathan Brewer
  8.  Christa Hibbs
  9.  Jason Kincy
  10.  Jason Adams
Top Angler Recaps

The top three anglers share how they caught them and how it went down on Beaver Lake.

Roy Roberts, Declan McDonald and Cody Skelton take 1st, 2nd and 3rd for NSKA Beaver Lake South.

What part of Beaver Lake did you go to and why?

Roy – I chose to fish in the War Eagle arm. I didn’t get a chance to practice so I made my decision based on my knowledge of the area and hoping to be less pressured from the Team Trail tournament going on. Water temperatures were in the 44-45 degree range, with pretty stained water, maybe 1 foot visibility.

Declan – I went to Beaver Shores mostly because I have a lot of confidence in the spot, but I also like the chunk rock and docks.

Cody – I went to Horseshoe Bend only because I rode with Lloyd Mize because I have never been on Beaver Lake a day in my life. I was going to put in and head to the marina but when we got there the gate was closed, so we headed to the next ramp there.

How did the hard cold front affect your strategy or how did you expect the fish to react?

Roy – I knew with the weather patterns and water conditions it was going to be a grind to get bites. I am more comfortable fishing clear water, but that wasn’t an option with the boundaries. I had a plan to mix it up using winter patterns and looking for staging/transition areas that would be holding groups of fish. My confidence baits under these conditions were to use a deep diving jerkbait with long pauses, slow roll an A-Rig in deep water, or use a stop and go retrieve with a Wiggle Wart on rocky banks.

Declan – The cold front really didn’t change my strategy, I just knew I needed to slow it down a bit more. I had a feeling I wouldn’t get bit on a moving bait so I went into the day fishing on the bottom and got bites so I stuck to it.

Cody – Changing ramps and with all of the big boats running around changed what I was going to do. So I just started fishing and I looked across the lake and saw a bluff wall and with the front moving in and 42 degree water I figured that was a good place to head.

How did you catch your fish? Any specific baits or method?

Roy – I fished the techniques mentioned above along with mixing in a jig, shaky head, and Ned rig for most of the day. I caught my first bass at around 1:15 on the Ned rig on some shallow rocks. At first I was just glad to get the skunk out of the boat. I got 4 more bites and landed 3 of them in the next few minutes to put me at 4 fish. I was surprised how shallow these fish were and I suspect they just pulled up for a minute to feed. As I was measuring my 4th fish, a 16” Kentucky, a boat came through my area and the wake muddied the shoreline. This shut the bite off and I started seeing fish suspended in deeper water on my graph. I let the area settle down for about 30 minutes and wound up being able to catch two more keepers to finish my day.

Declan –  I caught my fish using a Ned rig, I love the Ned rig this time of year. I went pre-fishing last Sunday and only caught two. So going into tournament day I was a little bit nervous. My first fish came in between two docks and that outlined the rest of my day. In fact, three of my keepers came in that same spot. I was keeping my bait close to the bottom and slowly dragging it while giving it small pops.

Cody – When I got there I started throwing a drop shot knowing it was going to be a grind. I fished slower than I ever have in my life. I fished seven hours of the day on a three hundred yard stretch. Every fish I caught was on a Strike King KVD perfect plastic green pumpkin drop shot .

Not knowing the leaderboard status, how did you feel about your limit heading to weigh in?

Roy – I knew from the other anglers I had talked to on the water it was a really tough day. I figured limits would be hard to come by, but I was not expecting to be in the top 5 when the dust settled. I was excited to keep my limit streak in NSKA tournaments alive and to have a decent finish to start the AOY race. The scoreboard being off is a game changer. I didn’t realize how much it effected the way I fished and my effort towards the end of the day. I think I would do my best to ignore the leaderboard in the future even if it was turned on. I also would like to thank my wife for putting up with my fishing obsession!

Declan – With the shut off leader board I thought I would be lucky to be top ten. It was definitely less stressful. Although I think if I saw what place I was in I would have fished harder to get upgrades, but I definitely like it.

Cody – As far as the leader board being off I really liked not knowing because several times I wanted to stop and go to the truck, but not knowing keep me fishing hard until the last minute. With 68.50 inches going to weigh in I was just hoping for a top ten, never thinking it would be a third place finish.

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