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NSKA

2021 NSKA Beaver North Recap / Heavy Hitters / AOY

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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 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!

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

bass fishing

Fall Bass Fishing – Video

Fall bass fishing can be a blast, here’s a little video put together with some footage from last October. Fish were feeding up on a flat and we caught one giant and some other solid keepers.

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

Fall bass fishing - kayakfishingfocus.com
Fall bass fishing can be some of the most fun all year! Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

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

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

NSKA Beaver Lake South Recap – Dinkfest / Heavy Hitters / AOY Race Update

Beaver Lake in the spring earlier this year was a barrel of laughs for anglers who found lots of fish, including big fish, all over the lake and easy to catch. Well the laughter is on hold for now as Beaver Lake in the summer heat is an entirely different proposition.

The only two Beaver Lake South tournaments in the past few years prior to this one yielded winning totals of 70.25″ and 75″ which were indications of what was in store for the 61 anglers who took to the water on a scorching Saturday in July. Fighting the fish, the heat and the jet skis made for a grinder of a day.

Beaver Lake native species: Southern Fishus Interruptus

Tournament Results

Overall, the quantity of fish caught wasn’t that bad considering the conditions. The caliber of anglers in NSKA has certainly improved, accounting for more fish in the yak. A very good 54% of anglers (down from 75% in June) turned in a limit, with an awesome 95% turning in at least one keeper. The challenge of course was catching fish of good size.

Of the 274 fish caught and submitted, only 16 bass were 16″ or above. Sixteen! Out of 274! Thirteen of 61 anglers accounted for the 16″ and above club (J Brewer (2), J Phillips (2), R Paskiewicz (2), J Kincy (2), H Wofford, J Wofford, K Long, D Kelley, R Roberts, D Esry, P Vongpraphanh, D Mathews, and V Vang). The “Beaver Lake Specials” of 13s and 14s were the trend of the day.

Justin Brewer found the right formula to win with four OK keepers and a good kicker adding up to 76″ which is right in line with summer on Beaver Lake. Hope Wofford just barely missed out on the win by placing 2nd on a tiebreaker – she also had 76″ on the day. Justin Phillips finished 3rd with 74.5″ of bass.

Big Bass was won by John Wofford with a 19.25″ largemouth, and Justin Brewer edged out Hope Wofford again in a tiebreaker with an 18.50″ bass for 2nd Big Bass. (Tough breaks for Hope!)

Wofford’s 19.25″ Big Bass.

Angler Roundtable

Here’s how the top anglers on the day did their damage. Justin Brewer, Hope Wofford and Justin Phillips share their path to success on that hot day.

Where did you go on Beaver and why?

Justin B – I went in trying to find cooler water so I chose to fish way up the War Eagle.

Hope – To be completely honest, I don’t get a ton of say in where we choose to go. I let John make that decision and roll with it. I did tell him I didn’t want to get beat up by the wind and pleasure boaters so we opted for Twin Bridges.

Justin P – I ended up going to Blue Springs. I had pre-fished a handful of spots and it seemed my more consistent bites came from that area.

Overall what strategy did you have for the day and did it play out like you thought?

Justin B – My main goal was to get on a good early bite and maybe find a cull through out the day. It did not work that way. I didn’t find a limit until 9-10 and my key fish fish didn’t come until noon.

Hope – My strategy was simply to beat my last tourney score and catch a limit earlier than last time. I wanted to try and fish my strengths, but also to try out a few baits I tend to leave alone. I definitely stuck to my strategy and it worked.

Justin P – My strategy was fairly simple; start shallow with some top water and shallower crankbaits first thing in the morning and then move out to deeper water with sharper drop-offs as the sun climbed in the sky. Going into it, once the sun got up I felt like I could catch them on a jig and a deep diving crankbait in that 15′-19′ range as I had in practice.

What were the key baits for you for the day?

Justin B – I ended up finding a short section of the river that was super dirty with less than a foot of visibility and that small section is what held my fish. I rounded out my limit swimming a Booyah swim jig with YUM Baits chunk trailer. When that bite died off I tried something a little different and tied on a Booyah Flex II chartreuse squarebill and that’s what got me my bigger bites.

Hope – I played my strengths and stuck with a spinnerbait (which I used to despise) and Texas rig. I also landed my first fish on a squarebill. To say I hate treble hooks is an understatement, but I saw a spot where I knew the squarebill would work and it paid off.

Justin P – In the morning it was calm and with the low light conditions I caught my first small keeper on a whopper plopper. However I was having to fish it in a slow method utilizing short pulls. I felt like I was burning too much time so I put it up and got out a DT6 and started covering water. I caught my next 4 keepers utilizing it and pitching a jig. At this point it was just before mid morning. I had a 16″ and the rest small keepers. I decided to start transitioning to steeper banks and testing the deeper waters looking to cull. I finished my starting stretch and moved out to the “river” section focusing on the bluffs. With the wind picking up I was able to keep culling utilizing a chatterbait and a jig.

In the summer it is key to beat the heat, do you have any advice or steps you take to stay cool?

Justin B – I carry a gallon Yeti jug with me so I have plenty of ice cold water and I also where a long sleeve hooded shirt to keep as much sun off as me as possible. Periodically I’ll wet my hat and the sleeves of my shirt. That helps provide just a little more coolness throughout the heat of the day.

Hope – I always have my gallon jug of water. I added a bottle of Gatorade for the extra heat as well as a cooling towel. Feet are in the water as much as possible! Thankfully the breeze kept it very bearable until around noon.

Justin P – The Arkansas summer heat can be brutal. When the weather heats up I usually combat it by drinking something on my way to the ramp and freezing bottles of water, (my all time favorite) Diet Mountain Dew and storing them in the hatch. Then as the day goes on, and the temperatures climb, the drinks melt. By the time I’m ready for my next beverage it still has a little ice in it and serves as a cold refresher.

Heavy Hitters Update

With one regular season tournament to go, the Heavy Hitters crown looks like it will come down to either me or John Wofford. I’m sitting with 95″ for the best five, with John in second at 89″ followed by Ryan Paskiewicz with 88.75″, Michael Burgess with 87.75″ and Justin Phillips and Roy Roberts with 87″.

My Heavy Hitter for this event. Yellow socks may be the key.

John has the biggest opportunity because he can replace an 11.75″, needing only a 17.75″ to tie me and an 18″ to win. That is unless I can replace a 17.75 with something larger. Going to be a close one!

Angler of the Year and Classic Race

With one event to go things are taking shape to identify the final contenders for AOY and also the top 25 who will make the end of season Classic. Justin Brewer and John Wofford both helped themselves in the AOY race, with Justin making the strongest move. It still isn’t settled though with 4 or 5 anglers still in the mix with one event and then the Classic to go.

Many of the anglers in the top 25 who are planning on making the Classic better not get too comfortable. There are several anglers outside of the list who either only have four scores to date or have one horrific score they can drop. If those already in the top 25 don’t put up a good score, some of them may finish out of the Classic when the dust settles.

With a month off, there’s plenty of time to rest up for the regular season finale on Beaver Lake North. See everyone on the water!

Tournaments

Hobie BOS Tournament of Champions Recap

Lake Ouachita in Arkansas was the site of the Hobie BOS – Tournament of Champions and it presented a great challenge on a beautiful lake. The stacked field is arguably the most concentrated group of top kayak anglers ever assembled for a major event.

This is the fifth Tournament of Champions in a row that I have qualified for and was by far my worst performance. Although I caught some fish in practice, my primary mistake for the weekend was to try and find fish the way I wanted to catch them and not the way they wanted to be caught. Lesson learned. On Friday afternoon I had a black cat cross the road in front of me just east of Story, AR…I should have known what was coming.

One of the better Lake Ouachita Largemouth Bass I caught during the week and like many was healthy and chunky, feeding up. This one came on a Cotton Cordell 1/2 oz spoon. Source: kayakfishingfocus.com

Lake Ouachita is a massive and beautiful lake. Being from the Ozarks I felt right at home with the clear, deep water and rocky shorelines. The water was down about 9 feet a week prior to the event but rose a couple of feet during the week after some heavy rains on Thursday, although most of the cover was still out of the water on the bank.  Although very accessible by boat, moving your yak from one side to the other easily took more than an hour of drive time. Moving spots or covering different areas in pre-fishing involved serious windshield time.

Hobie TOC Shootout

A total of four spots in the TOC were up for grabs as 40 anglers took to the water on shootout Friday. Fishing conditions weren’t ideal…rains from Thursday were moving out and a cold front was moving in, however, there was some wind and some cloud cover early. Of the 40 entrants in the event, 32 (80%) submitted a keeper while only 14 (35%) turned in a limit. The four slots were filled out by Jim Harding (83.25″), Justin Patrick (80.25″), NSKA’s Caroline Hibbs (78.75″) and Mel Ashe (76.25″).

Tournament of Champions

2019 Hobie BOS – Tournament of Champions winner Jody Queen. Source: Hobie BOS FB

With a complete field of 50 set for championship weekend, the post-front conditions were in full effect. Freezing temps to start the day along with sunny blue-bird skies met the anglers on both days. While this made it tough on the field, there were some anglers who were able to generate the right size bites. On Saturday, anglers tried to adjust to changing patterns to put together a good total – resulting in 25 (50%) turning in a limit, much lower than I expected with this stacked field. Jody Queen led day one totals with 85″ while Justin Patrick of Memphis, TN caught a 23.5″ Largemouth for big bass of the weekend. On Sunday, day two, the bite seemed to be even a bit tougher on anglers with almost zero wind until the last few hours. On this day 23 (46%) of anglers turned in limits with Jody Queen once again turning in the top total with 84″ in length. Jody Queen dominated the event from start to finish taking first place with 169″ for the two day total.

This 23.5″ tank caught by Justin Patrick of Memphis, TN, was the Big Bass for the 2019 Hobie TOC. Source: Justin Patrick

Top Angler Recaps

Some of the top finishers for the 2019 Hobie TOC share their experiences and how they did it in this roundtable discussion and recap. Jody Queen (1st), Cody Milton (3rd) and NSKA’s own Cole Sikes (9th) spill the tournament tea.

What general part of the lake did you choose to fish on tournament days and why?

Jody – The southwest part of the lake, it is the South Fork of the Ouachita River arm.

Cody – I chose to fish the Iron Fork area. I decided to fish that area because it offered the best deeper bite with a close shallow option as well. And the water color was stained in that area for a good mile or two. I also felt like it wasn’t going to get as much attention as other parts of the lake with stained water. It wasn’t the best area of the lake by any means but it had a lot less pressure and still held a good amount of fish across the water column. I’m a big believer that you don’t have to fish the best area of a lake to do well as long as you find an area with lots of options close by.

Cole – I ended up choosing to fish mid-lake and out on the main lake. With the weather changing each day, I felt as if the main lake would be more consistent throughout the event and the water temp was overall warmer and shouldn’t fluctuate as much as the dirtier water.

The weather changed dramatically from mid-week to the weekend, how did that affect your approach?

Jody – Actually, the weather almost through me a curve. Because of the cold front, I made the decision to pre-fish brush piles on the main lake points and creek mouths in 18 to 25 feet of water. I did find fish on these areas but on the day of the Shootout tournament I couldn’t hardly find a bite on this pattern. I decided to make a move to the head of a creek that was close and that’s where I found the pattern that would carry me through to the win at the TOC. The pattern was actually pretty simple. I threw a Z-Man Jackhammer in Green Pumpkin (3/8 oz) with a Z-Man Razor Shad in a “The Deal” color for the trailer. I slowed the retrieve way down and bumped it off brush, sticks, stumps and anything that was on the bottom anywhere from 2 to 7 feet of water. Mainly in an area on a large flat, located between two large creek channels.

Cody –  If the weather hadn’t did what it did I would’ve been in a different part of the lake. For me the weather really killed the shallow water topwater and spinnerbait bite. But In turn it put a lot of bait fish right against bluff walls and made them easy to catch with an Alabama rig. So I opted for an area with better deep fishing and semi-good shallow fishing.

Cole – I was able to find some good schools of fish during practice out on main lake points. During the tournament, the fish were still there but I couldn’t get the schools to fire up and I think the weather had to be a contributing factor. I ended up having to really bounce around and junk fish to fill out a limit each day. I caught fish from 8 inches of water all the way to 40 feet.

During the week what baits or equipment were critical for your success?

Jody – I was using a 7’ 3” Muse Black rod from 13 Fishing with a fast tip equipped with a Lews Tournament MB with a 7.3:1 gear ratio, spooled with Berkeley vanish flourocarbon 14lb test. My most used tool however, was my Lowrance 7 TI2 unit. I used my sidescan to mark over 70 pieces of cover on that large flat and just ran from waypoint to waypoint for two days. It was instrumental in my win. I never caught more than two fish off any waypoint at any one time but found that by the time I made my circuitous route back to my starting point the cover had reloaded with another fish. It was a perfect setup for my style of fishing…just move, fish, and catch. I was very fortunate.

Cody – The Hog Farmer Harvester Rig was key for me in being able to catch a lot of fish quickly. Each day I caught a double that helped greatly. When the shallow fish finally set up right on the afternoon of day 2, my key fish all came on an Accent Fishing River Special spinnerbait and a bladed jig.

Cole – The most critical equipment for me during the tournament was my Garmin depth finder. I relied on it all weekend to find bait, fish and brush piles. In the mornings I would start on my schools and throwing moving shad baits such as YUM Flash Mob Jr. rigs, jerk baits, crankbaits, etc., but as the day would go on I would graph over points from 10-30 feet looking for brush piles. Once I found a brush pile I would spin around and throw a Slowtown jig in there and could almost always catch one fish out of it then I would have to move on to the next point.

What advice do you have for other kayak tournament anglers in how to improve their mental approach to big time events?

Jody – Try not to get spun out. When things aren’t going your way, try to take a breath and make adjustments. Have more than one confidence bait. The more baits you feel you can catch fish on it just increase your chances. Research the upcoming lake through videos, local blogs or podcasts…and by all means visit the local tackle stores. You can usually find a wealth of information there. I can’t stress this last one enough – Time on the water. Fish local clubs and partner organizations. I fish a lot of the KBF Challenges to stay in shape and know what’s going on with the fish in between the bigger tournaments you will learn a lot just by being on the water.

Cody – Stay in it! Continually keep putting yourself in the best place for whatever bite is trending. This time of year that can drastically change in a short amount of time. A lot of tournaments get lost in the first few hours but never won.

Cole – Decision-making and having a solid mental game are the biggest factors to being a successful tournament angler. One of the best ways to really improve your mental game is to practice fishing when the conditions are the most difficult. We all love to catch fish and want to be out there when they are biting the best, however you’ll learn the most when things are tough. Whether it’s fishing 45 degree water temperature and below in the winter or fishing post-frontal conditions, get out on the water and try to learn how to catch fish during these tough conditions. This will help you give you the mindset of never giving up and also you’ll learn how to catch fish when conditions are tough. You’re typically not going to learn as much when fish are active and feeding on about anything you throw in front of them.

Top Ten Observations and Wrap-Up

The 2019 Hobie TOC was arguably my worst tournament performance in the past few years, but I had a great time. It was well-run, first class and I really enjoyed it. Want to say thanks to my fishing partner and roommate for the tournament, Cole Sikes (congrats on top 10!), we had a good time pre-fishing and hanging out. Also got to see some other friends that I don’t run into very often and met some new ones, which is part of the culture of our sport.  In conclusion, here are final takeaways:

  1. AJ McWhorter and Hobie ran a fantastic event, one of the best I’ve ever attended. This matched my experience at Lake Fork. They really have it together and I thank them for their leadership in the industry.
  2. Kayak fishing is becoming a more respected and recognized sport as evidenced by how many boat anglers and locals I talked to who knew about the TOC event or asked questions and talked about how they would like to try kayak angling. Growth over the next few years is going to be exponential.
  3. Mountain Harbor was a great HQ. Parking was a bit tight in spots but it was affordable, had decent lodging and friendly staff who put up with my multiple “I lost my key” visits to the office.
  4. If you want to get a cup of coffee or breakfast at a gas station before 6:00 a.m. on the weekend, good luck.
  5. The Shootout seemed to be a really cool event, and it was very exciting for me to root for my fellow NSKA friends throughout the day.
  6. Ouachita represents all that the Natural State has to offer. I saw deer, turkeys, a wild hog, eagles, foxes, beavers and of course the black cat…
  7. I believe iAngler is faster and simpler to upload fish than TourneyX, but doesn’t have as many features. One thing I really wish it did was allow you to look at all of the fish of all the anglers like TourneyX does. Maybe I don’t know how to use it?
  8. Geared in Hot Springs is a great tackle shop and they were awesome every time I’ve been there.
  9. BBQ is always a great post-tournament dinner.
  10. The 2019 Hobie BOS – Tournament of Champions was a great event. View all of the results on iAngler Tournament and read a good recap and interview with the Champion, Jody Queen on Bassmaster.com.

 

NSKA

NSKA NWA Recap – Bella Vista Night Ops

A hot stretch of days near the end of June led up to a rare summer night kayak fishing tournament on the beautiful Bella Vista lakes nestled in the Ozarks. Fifty-seven kayak anglers battled pre-4th of July water skiers, swimmers and fireworks to try and sift through the vast amount of dinks in Bella Vista in order to put together a decent limit.

The in-person captain’s meeting was held jointly at Ozark Kayak and Hook Line and Sinker in Bella Vista – highlighted by some tasty barbecue prepped by the TD for the event. Shout out to Taylor Frizzell for this first class touch! As the fifty seven anglers peeled out of the parking lot at relatively high speed, the race was on to get their spots on one of the seven Bella Vista lakes – Windsor, Loch Lomond, Norwood, Avalon, Ann, Brittany and Rayburn.

Tournament Results

As expected, the Bella Vista lakes gave up a lot of fish to the anglers, just not much size. Word had been that the bass boat tournaments have had low weights and finding a big one was very difficult. On this summer Saturday 84% of the field carded a keeper while a respectable 60% turned in a limit. Fish were caught, but Kyle Long destroyed the Big Bass contest by catching a 22.5″ Largemouth at Lake Norwood.

Kyle Long’s very lengthy but flat tummy Largemouth Bass. Took home the Big Bass prize for the Bella Vista event.

Danny Dutton was a part of a very large contingent (18+) anglers on Lake Ann and he turned it into a First Place finish with 78.25″ fueled by a 17.5″ kicker. Jeff Malott took second on Loch Lomond with 75.5″ and I was fortunate enough to take third with 75″ on the evening.

The top ten:

  1. Danny Dutton
  2.  Jeff Malott
  3.  Jason Kincy
  4.  Carson McBride
  5.  Justin Phillips
  6.  Baron Meek
  7.  Tyler Zengerle
  8.  Roy Roberts
  9.  Kyle Long (What?! You had a 22.5″ bass!? 9th place??)
  10.  Josh King

Dangerous Danny Dutton danced a dandy Senko to victory in the NSKA Bella Vista night tournament.

Bella Vista Night Ops Angler Recaps

The top three anglers from the event shared where they caught them and how. Here’s the recap from Danny Dutton,  Jeff Malott and Jason Kincy.

What lake did you go to and why?

Danny – I went to Lake Ann. Never been on the lake before, but I looked at an article that showed the electric shock results of all the lakes. Looked like Ann was trending in the right direction.

Jeff – I went to Loch Lomond, until a few hours on Wednesday I had never actually fished in Bella Vista. So after limited success pre-fishing one of the smaller lakes I decided to head to the largest lake where I could cover some water and hopefully figure something out.

Jason – Did some pre-fishing and although I don’t love Lake Ann it was the place where I seemed to find the most reliable bite, and had caught a 20+ out there the week before the tournament which gave me some confidence.

Did you catch em early or late or when?

Danny – I had a limit by a 6:00. But culled 4 of them between 9:00 and 10:45.

Jeff – I caught fish steadily until dark, but really had a flurry of “good” fish the hour right before dark.

Jason – Had a decent limit by 5:00 and then tried to upgrade here and there over the next few hours. The final 15″ I caught at 11:30 and gave me an extra 1/2 inch for the night.

What did you think of the evening format and lake options?

Danny – I don’t usually fish nights but it worked out well for me this time. Liked going to Bella Vista.

Jeff – The evening format was interesting, I am not a fan of night fishing but the weather and bugs cooperated for this one so it was all good.

Jason – Night fishing is a lot of fun and something good for a change. Really enjoyed being able to be home in the morning and having some time during the day before the tourney. Bella Vista has beautiful lakes.

What did you catch em on?

Danny – I caught them on Senko in a variety of colors.

Jeff – I have always heard Bella Vista is full of 10-12 inch fish. So in a effort to avoid those I threw a 10″ worm and 1/2 oz jig almost all evening. By the end of the night my best five were all caught on the worm.

Jason – Most of my fish were on a beaver style bait rigged on an Owner 4/0 creature hook, flipped and dragged around the bank. The last few fish were on a Z-Man chatterbait with a YUM Christie Craw trailer.

How many rods do you carry on tourney day and how many are spinning vs baitcaster?

Danny – I had seven rods. Two bait casters and five spinning rods. I’m not very skilled with bait casters. But working on it.
Jeff – I usually carry eight to eleven rods on tourney day, but for this one I had nine total. Two spinning and seven baitcasting. I made a least a cast with all of them but settled in on the two mentioned above after a couple hours.
Jason – I can max out with 10 rods but carried eight on tournament night, including three spinning rods. I hate stopping to tie on baits so try to carry a rod for each bait I think will be important.
Next NWA NSKA event is a quick turnaround with a Road Runner on July 13. Watch for a preview article coming soon as the plastic armada prepares to across Northwest Arkansas.
Fish It Forward Results
A local Bella Vista tournament circuit also held an event concurrently with the NSKA night tournament. The Fish it Forward tournament featured 27 kayak anglers who also had access to all lakes. Justin Phillips took 1st place with 74.75″ followed by Baron Meek with 74.50″ and Tyler Zengerle with 73″ on the evening. The next tournament is July 27th in Bella Vista, check the FIF Facebook page for more info and sign up on TourneyX.
NSKA

Fishapalooza on the Dead Sea – Beaver Lake Recap

Kayak anglers had high hopes on 4/20 when they hit the water on Beaver Lake for the Natural State Kayak Anglers (NSKA) and Hobie Bass Open Series (BOS). The NSKA field consisted of a record total of 87 anglers, while there were 35 entered in the Hobie BOS event. As predicted based on a combination of a nice warming trend, well-timed moon phase and reports of fish being caught all over the lake – Beaver Lake was uncharacteristically generous. There were 525 fish submitted, or just over 6 average  per angler.

Beaver Lake NSKA Results

Not only was there a record number of anglers for an NSKA tournament, but the performance of these anglers set new highs for a Beaver Lake event. A whopping 95% of all anglers turned in at least one keeper for the day, and a very high (for the Dead Sea) 66% of anglers submitted a limit. This is compared to the last Beaver Lake tournament where only 41% turned in a limit.

Local angler Declan McDonald continued his hot streak and took first place with 84.5″, followed by David Cruz from Kansas with 84.25″, and local Jon Swann took third place with an 83.25″ total.  David Cruz also was the winner of the Hobie BOS event, go here for those final standings.

This 21.75″ tank caught by Justin Phillips on a crankbait took Big Bass in the NSKA Beaver Lake event.

 

Justin Phillips won the YUM Big Bass with a thick 21.75″ behemoth caught on a red crankbait. Cher Vue won a Bending Branches Angler Pro for the largest Smallmouth/Spotted bass. Below is the top ten for the event, but visit the TourneyX page for full final standings.

Top Ten Finishers

  1. Declan McDonald
  2.  David Cruz
  3.  Jon Swann
  4.  Billy Bowden
  5.  Cher Vue
  6.  Danny Dutton
  7.  Tyler Zengerle
  8.  Justin Brewer
  9.  Dwain Batey
  10.  Cole Sikes

Top five NSKA Beaver Lake finishers, right to left: David Cruz (2nd), Billy Bowden (4th), Declan McDonald (1st), Jon Swan (3rd), Cher Vue (5th)

Top Angler Recaps for Beaver Lake

The top three finishers, Declan McDonald, David Cruz and Jon Swann share where and how they found the fish. Great info here shared by some great anglers.

Where did you go on the lake and why did you choose that location?

Declan – I went up north near the Rambo area, I went there mostly because it’s a really fun place to fish and does have the potential for a nice bag.

David – Coming to the event I knew I wasn’t going to have much time to pre-fish, so I focused on good ol’ map study and experience. A bit of research and I learned that Horseshoe was one of three major areas in the south end of the lake. I looked for channel swings near small coves and arms with south facing banks, rocks, and points, and so for that reason I chose the area directly east from the Horseshoe Bend State Park ramp. (note – directly east is the Blackburn Creek area)

Jon – I went up in the river to muddy water as that is what I’m more comfortable and used to fishing. I felt like the fish were either spawning or about to spawn and figured that muddy water would warm up quicker than the main lake.

What was your overall strategy coming into the tournament?

Declan – My strategy was to just go get and limit and have a good time.

David – Coming into the tournament my strategy was to target pre-spawn staging areas near spawning coves and pockets, and move towards the back of the coves as the day progressed.

Jon – Overall strategy was to go out and have fun. Seriously. I haven’t bass fished on Beaver in 15 years so had to figure it out on the water.

What baits or techniques did you catch your fish on?

Declan –  I threw a Ned rig pretty much all day, I was in super clear water and wasn’t having much luck shallow so I went deep enough I couldn’t see the bottom and that’s where I started to catch some more quality fish.

David – I started with a Hermsen Custom Lures crankbait (8-10’). I caught my first fish and no more after that due to the lack of wind. I switched to a 1/4oz Stryker Jig in Green Pumpkin with a little brown accent, paired with a Strike King Rage Craw in Watermelon Red, throwing it parallel to the bank at 8-10’ of water on rocky points near spawning pockets, slowly dragging it across the hard bottom.

Jon – Caught fish on square-bill early but jig was the bait of the day.

Any advice for anglers new to tournament kayak fishing?

Declan – My advice would be to get out on the water as much as you can, nothing beats time on the water when it comes to learning, get used to taking pictures with fish on the board and getting them in your boat.

David – Time on the water is the most important aspect of tournament fishing, followed by understanding seasonal patterns and movements and learning how to read a topo map. Get out there and fish, take notes of time of the year and locations where fish were being caught, baits, as well as weather conditions at the time. Locating fish during tournament hours gets a little easier once we understand seasonal patterns paired with experience by way of time on the water.

Jon – Fishing is just like anything else, practice and challenge yourself to try new techniques. Most of all have fun.

Next NSKA Event

Back to Beaver Lake on May 4 for the Beaver Lake North NSKA tournament. Should be a great one with emphasis on the clear water.