Wal-Mart Open kicks off in the Ozarks
Beaver Lake bass spawning, Arkansas sun shining
ROGERS, Ark. – It was a cool, clear morning in the Ozark highlands as 350 anglers set out onto Beaver Lake for day one of competition in the FLW Tour’s Wal-Mart Open. With mild, sunny weather in the forecast and temperatures approaching the 75-degree mark by afternoon, anglers welcomed the start of the tour’s first real warm-weather tournament of the year.
At takeoff at Prairie Creek Park outside of Rogers, many competitors prepared for a day of bed fishing. A bunch of Beaver Lake’s bass population is in spawning mode, causing many anglers to turn their attention to the shallows.
“A lot of guys are going to be sight-fishing,” said former FLW pro winner Steve Daniel of Clewiston, Fla.
Daniel added that, while the field is bound to bring in lots of largemouth and spotted bass at weigh-in today, people shouldn’t be surprised to see a few smallmouths brought to the scale as well. He has caught a number of smallies in practice since the weather cleared after last week’s cloudy conditions in northwest Arkansas. He indicated that, while many fish are spawning, anglers might have to reduce their expectations regarding fish size because of the sunny weather.
“There’ll actually probably be a lot of smaller bites,” he said.
Today’s weigh-in is scheduled to take place at 3 p.m. at Prairie Creek Park located just east of Rogers off of Highway 12.
Vital statistics
Sunrise: 6:30 a.m.
Temperature at takeoff: 43 degrees
Expected high temperature: 76 degrees
Water temperature: 58 degrees
Wind: From the Southeast at 7 mph
Relative humidity: 71 percent
Day’s outlook: A mix of sun and clouds