The FLW Tour maintains its yearly rendezvous with Arkansas' Beaver Lake this week for the Wal-Mart Open. And by all accounts, Beaver's fishing pretty much the same. Sure, the patterns are different compared to last year's early April event, but pros are still getting lots of bites with very few quality fish.
It took 22 pounds to make the Top 10 cut here last year (and just 16 1/2 pounds to make the Top 50), but also note that Craig Powers led the day-2 cut last year with 31-04, the result of back-to-back 15-pound-plus bags. His day-2 bag included a 6 1/2-pounder.
So big fish are available, but perhaps a little less so now, since the lake's pretty much on the all-out post-spawn bite.
The post-spawn scenario brings up a few interesting dynamics. But first, a little about the lake itself.
BassFan Lake Profile
> Lake name: Beaver
> Type of water: Highland reservoir
> Surface acres: 28,000+
> Primary structure/cover: River channels, creeks, rocks, points, some standing timber and laydowns
> Primary forage: Crawfish, shad, minnows
> Average depth: Around 50 feet, especially on the lower end
> Species: Largemouths, smallmouths, spotted bass
> Minimum length: 12 inches for spots, 15 inches for smallmouths and largemouths
> Reputation: Lots of small fish, often tough
> Weather: Was clear and calm earlier this week, but rain set in yesterday. Sunny conditions have returned, and are expected to last throughout the event, with light to moderate winds
> Water temp: high-70s to low-80s
> Water visibility/color: 8 to 10 feet on average/clear
> Water level: A foot above full power-pool, which is significant because shoreline cover and bushes are now in play
> Fish in: All depths
> Fish phase: Some spawning activity remains, but majority are post-spawn
> Primary patterns: Anything and everything, but topwaters early are key, and jigworms and dropshots factor heavily in the afternoons
> Winning weight: 22 pounds (final 2 days)
> Cut weight (Top 10): 23 pounds
> Check weight (Top 50): 15 pounds
> Fishing quality (1=poor, 5=great): 3 for Beaver
> Biggest factors: The morning topwater bite – it fades fast but is the key to a kicker
> Biggest decision: The dam end or up-lake? Also, when to stop looking for a kicker to focus on culling limit-fish
> Wildcard: The kicker – anyone can rock one good fish, but only a few will rock two or three
The Mornings
Beaver sets up right now with a familiar trend. The post-spawn fish aren't yet into their summer patterns, but are somewhat grouped up and feeding during the lowlight hours. So the big fish are fairly loose in the early mornings, and will chase topwaters.
Clark Wendlandt, who's won here twice, noted: "I think the topwater bite will play a big part – early morning is real important. It seems like it's a lot better early."
The 200-boat field does make boat draw somewhat of a factor, since the first boats out each morning will have a little more time to fish, but overall, the crowded locations will be a much bigger factor. So the first boats out should be the first boats to the community topwater holes.
Limit Fish
Limits are somewhat of a wildcard at Beaver. On the one hand, it's not too tough to catch a limit of 12-inch spots, but it'll only go a little more than 5 pounds. In other words, it's all but useless.
That forces anglers off the spotted bass in search of largemouths and smallmouths, and is also the reason lots of three- and four-bags come to the scales.
The difference can be if someone whacks a morning kicker or two, then fills out with spotted bass for a 10-pound-plus bag. Better yet, Top 10 success usually comes with a limit of largemouths or smallmouths to go with a kicker. Again, though, it's always a risk.
Ron Shuffield said: "I'm catching a lot of fish, but not very many keepers. It's a mix of small spotted bass still left on the beds, and a couple of decent largemouths, but as the sun gets up, the topwater (largemouth) bite dries up quick. My best day was 8 or 10 pounds, which is not great by any means."
Mark Rose finished 2nd here last year, but is fishing differently this time.
Mark Rose finished 2nd here last year and said: "I'm having an average practice. I'm not going to fish all over the lake like I did last year. They don't seem to be on the bottom real good, so I think schooling fish will be a big part of it, with lots of topwater stuff.
"There'll be a little bit of sight-fishing going on," he added. "Some fish will be caught deep, some real shallow – there are fish being caught just about every way you can catch them."
Pressure Gauge
One of the biggest factors at every Beaver event is fishing pressure, and there's even more this year. A 300-plus-boat local tournament launched here last weekend. Add the 200-plus Tour boats practicing, plus other local pressure, along with ultra-clear water, and the pressure gauge is through the roof.
That means a lot of the pros are catching retreads, and the bigger fish are ultra-spooky.
Two-time Beaver winner Andre Moore noted: "The fishing was good right before (the local tournament) – they were biting pretty good – but ever since, it seems like the bite has gone. I think most of it's the pressure, and the fishing's pretty dead after 9:00."
One way to combat the pressure is with finesse, and that should play huge. Accurate casting is also important, especially for fish that have set up in the flooded shoreline bushes.
Top 10 To Watch
With the above in mind and more, here's BassFan's recommendation on the Top 10 to watch at this event. In no particular order, they are:
1. Clark Wendlandt – He's a Beaver killer to the core. Yes, he's struggled big-time in his last two events this season, but you can't overlook him here.
2. Craig Powers – These conditions are perfect for Powers – his dead-eye casting accuracy can make a huge difference in pressured, clear water. He finished 3rd here last year.
3. Michael Bennett – Bennett leads the FLW Tour Angler of the Year race, and any hopes he has for the title likely hinge on this event. He's fished here twice and missed a check both times, but if he can survive this one, he'll head north with a lot of momentum.
4. Jay Yelas – He admitted his practice has been tough, but he's coming off two consecutive Top 10s. Watch for him to launch a quality quest, where he'll maybe make the cut with three or four fish a day.
5. Shinichi Fukae – He won here last year, and there's probably nobody better under an ultra-tough finesse bite. He's ranked 9th in the BassFan World Rankings presented by Tru-Tungsten right now.
6. Darrel Robertson – The old dog has moved all the way up to 27th in the world, and he's positioned at 3rd in the points. Also notable is that he finished 5th here last year, and 2nd the year before that.
7. Larry Nixon – He's hot-hot-hot. He won the Norman FLW Tour, and finished 2nd by a hair at last week's Dardanelle FLW Series. Notable for Nixon is that he's right on the bubble for a Forrest Wood Cup berth (he's 35th in the points) and needs to move up here.
FLW Tour points leader Michael Bennett needs a strong finish this week to maintain the edge.
8. Luke Clausen – He's finished outside the Top 50 just once in 10 events over the past 12 months, and he's 9th in the points. Exceptional on a tough finesse bite.
9. Andre Moore – He's another Beaver killer, but this is a different time of year, so he'll be interesting to watch. Has he spotted any subtle bedfish?
10. Scott Suggs – The homestater is quietly fishing very well. He has yet to climb back into the Top 25 in the world (he's currently ranked 66th), but does sit at 4th in the Tour points.
Launch/Weigh-In Info
Anglers launch daily at 6:30 a.m. from Prairie Creek Marina (1 Prairie Creek Marina Dr. in Rogers, Ark.) The Thursday and Friday weigh-ins will be held at the same location starting at 3:00 p.m. The Saturday and Sunday weigh-ins will be held at the John Q. Hammons Center (3303 Pinnacle Hills Pkwy., in Rogers) starting at 4 p.m.
Weather Forecast
Here's the forecast for the tournament days. For more weather news, including radar and satellite imagery, visit OutdoorsFanWeather.com.
> Thurs, May 17 – Sunny – 75°/47°
- Wind: From the N at 11 mph
> Fri, May 18 – Mostly Sunny – 75°/50°
- Wind: From the SE at 5 mph
> Sat, May 19 – Sunny – 78°/54°
- Wind: From the S at 7 mph
> Sun, May 20 – Sunny – 81°/59°
- Wind: From the S at 9 mph
Notable
> BassFan Big Stick Jay Yelas has filed his practice report. To read it, click here.
> BassFan recently published an analysis of Forrest Wood Cup qualification. To read more about what's on the line at this event, click here.
