Catch rates consistent
The last Beaver Lake bass has been weighed and another Walmart FLW Tour bass tournament is in the books.
Over the four-day event, FLW anglers caught 2,419 black bass. Nearly all were released back into Beaver Lake alive. The FLW live release rate is about 99 percent. FLW stands for Fishing League Worldwide.
Catch rates were consistent each day, according to numbers provided by FLW. A total of 166 pro-division anglers and 166 co-anglers caught 1,110 bass the first day Thursday and 1,151 the second day. The top 20 pro division fishermen caught 98 bass on Saturday and the top 10 caught 50 on Sunday.
All were released in the Prairie Creek area. So are hundreds of bass from other tournaments. Does that result in a larger concentration of bass in the Prairie Creek area? Yes, said Mark Oliver, the recently retired fisheries chief with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. No wonder the area is a favorite of anglers.
Go big for
largemouths
A jig and pig was the hot lure for FLW anglers on Sunday. That is, a bass jig with a soft-plastic crawfish or something similar on the hook.
The saying, “Big baits, big fish” applies to JT Kenney of Palm Bay, Fla., who used a big jig and pig Sunday.
“I think these fish are feeding on really big crawfish. I went to a great big jig and a great big chunk. Some of them smacked it so hard,” he said.
Shallow water tactic
Jeff Sprague of Point, Texas, also fished a jig, but caught bass on a square-bill crank bait as well. Square-billed baits run shallow.
“I was keying on shallow ledges,” Sprague said. He noted that when the tournament started on Thursday the water temperature was around 57 degrees. It was 63 on Sunday. Sprague said the warmer temperature has a lot of bass in spawning mode.
Bass boat menu
While bass fed on crawfish, eighth-place angler Chris Whitson of Louisville, Tenn., dined on peanut butter sandwiches. Lots of them.
“I’ve eaten 23 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches this week,” he said. “They taste just like filet mignon when you get to be here on Sunday.”
Fish the conditions
Andy Morgan of Dayton, Tenn., has had some excellent FLW tournaments at Beaver Lake, including sixth-place this year. He’s good friends with Keith Brashers of Rogers, a top local bass fishermen at Beaver and owner of War Eagle Custom Lures in Rogers.
Morgan said Sunday he’s learned tons about fishing Beaver Lake from Brashers.
“Keith works hard and he doesn’t get to practice. He goes out and fishes the conditions and comes in the top three in just about every tournament,” Morgan said.
Will Fish For Kids
Several FLW anglers have one more tournament at Beaver Lake and that’s today. It’s the “Will Fish For Kids” charity tournament to benefit Arkansas Children’s Hospital. Area residents make a donation to fish the tournament with an FLW pro. About 70 pros take part in the event.
Donations to the tournament have already topped six figures, an FLW spokesman said.
Next up:
Pickwick Lake
The next stop on the Walmart FLW Tour is May 5-8 at Pickwick Lake at Florence, Ala. The lake is part of the Tennessee River system.
Pickwick Lake has a lot of grass and shallow ledges, said Greg Bohannan, an FLW pro from Bentonville.
The tour then visits Kentucky Lake, Lake Champlain and Wheeler Lake in Alabama for the FLW championship tournament.