Table Rock in review

A look back at the successful patterns, techniques at the recent FLW Tour event in Missouri

Just prior to the FLW Tour Major on Table Rock, the common starting point for most anglers was shallow. However, the prevalent notion that the event would be won sight-fishing didn’t prove true. Instead, the majority of the top-10 anglers found large limits of pre-spawn females in a 5-mile stretch of Long Creek that had the most stained water.

Although the tournament was won by Brent Long pitching a jig, the rest of the anglers fishing in the area were throwing moving baits and bringing in big weights as well. The key bait for most was a shallow running crankbait that anglers bounced off wood and rock to trigger reaction strikes from the big bass that were feeding up before going onto the bed.

Very similar to the first two FLW Tour stops, anglers had to wait out their fish and be at the right place at the right time. Day-two leader Kyle Welcher, who dropped over 24 pounds on the scales on day two, had only three small keepers at 11 a.m. that day. However, he stuck to his guns and banked on another large school of fish moving into the area where he caught 19 pounds, 12 ounces on day 1. When the afternoon bite picked up, he rallied to bring in 24 pounds, 8 ounces.

There were a few interesting curveballs thrown to the anglers by Mother Nature during the event. Abnormally warm temperatures sustained themselves throughout the tournament with lows around 60 degrees and highs in the upper 80s. During the first two rounds of competition, the bite came late in the day as the water warmed. But on the final two days, the bite came early for a lot of the anglers and was over after that initial flurry. Brent Long caught his 22-pound bag on day three almost immediately and boated his 6-pound, day-four kicker on one of his first few casts.

Another interesting variable, that had as much to do with the sight-fishing bite fizzling out as anything, was the falling water. A lot of rain in the area raised the lake level quickly and, as the spawning bass settled in on their beds, the lake began to fall. Several anglers reported seeing big bass sitting in water in the 4- to 8-foot range, with their beds in less than a foot of water or even on dry land. These fish were nearly impossible to catch even when blind casting to them.

There was also very little wind throughout the event with the majority coming on the final day. This lack of wind nearly eliminated the umbrella rig bite that anglers thought might steal the show. However, some anglers did capitalize on the umbrella-rig bite, including Spencer Shuffield, who relied on it heavily en route to a second-place finish. Shuffield showed just what the rig could do with a little wind, bringing in 22-13 on the final day. This was not only the biggest bag on the final day, but the second biggest of the entire week.

Had the wind blown, things might have gone differently. Had the water level stabilized, things may have gone differently. Had the timing of the best feeding period stayed consistent, things might have gone differently. But they didn’t. As is the case with most multi-day marathons like this, the angler who stays one step ahead of the changing variables will usually finish a few ounces ahead of the competition. Congrats to Bent Long on the win and all the others that cracked the cod at Table Rock.