FLW Tour report

‘Critters’ offer up good tips

ROGERS - Mark Rose of West Memphis had a tough time catching fish on Beaver Lake during the FLW Tour event until Friday, when he heard turkeys gobble on the hillsides.

“As soon as I heard that, I knew those fish might be a little shallower than what I was thinking,” he said.

Turkeys gobble to attract mates. That means it’s breeding season, Rose said, and they reproduce about the same time that bass reproduce. He said he had to move shallow to the places where bass reproduce.

“A lot of critters act the same: Bucks rutting, turkeys gobbling, fish spawning,” Rose said. “A lot of the same instincts take over, and it takes your outdoor instincts to figure out things like that. It didn’t dawn on me until mid-day, when I started putting the pieces together.”

Rose finished the second day in 10th place with a two-day combined weight of 24 pounds, 14 ounces.

Smallmouth strategy

Of the 10 bass that Eric Olliverson of Lampe, Mo., weighed in during the first two days, eight were smallmouth bass.

Olliverson said that is by design.

“When the tournament schedule came out last November, I told my wife I’m going to be the first to win this tournament with smallmouths,” Olliverson said.

Olliverson finished the first round in fourth place, but he fell to 13th at the end of the second round with a two-day total weight of 24-1.

Next subject

Ray Scheide of Dover exited the tournament after finishing the second round in 78th place.

He invited the audience to come see him at his sponsor’s booth today at the FLW Outdoor Expo at the John Q. Hammons Center in Rogers.

“We’ll talk fishing, and I’ll tell you how to catch fish fish on other lakes besides this one,” Scheide said.

Experience helps

Larry Nixon of Bee Branch missed the cut by finishing the second round in 25th place.

He said he caught his best fish at about 2:45 p.m. in a spot that other anglers had pounded all day.

He knew fish were there, but they were sluggish.

“I watched that spot all day, and I saw at least seven other boats fish it,” Nixon said. “I went in there this evening and said, ‘I’m going to fish it anyway. I know there’s fish there.’ ”

He said he caught them because the temperature down deep is a lot colder than at the surface, where it’s about 56 degrees. It’s still winter down where the fish are, Nixon said, and to catch them you have to fish slowly.

“Experience does help in recognizing some things like that,” Nixon said.

Sports, Pages 28 on 04/12/2014

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