Prespawn bass will dominate action at Wal-Mart Open
High hopes of an early spawn at Beaver Lake are dashed; prespawn patterns likely to prevail
ROGERS, Ark. – Sight-fishermen beware. Although initial signs looked positive, it now appears that spawning bass on Beaver Lake during the beginning of April will be a long shot – a real long shot. Yet, some Wal-Mart FLW Tour pros continue to hope and pray for such a miracle.
At first, it looked like a possibility that the spawn would materialize. Several weeks ago, spring suddenly unfolded across the country. And as FLW Tour pros arrived in Rogers, Ark., to start practice for the annual Wal-Mart Open, they were greeted by blooming red buds and pear trees.
Early on, weather forecasters were calling mild conditions during the tournament, with highs in the 60s and lows around 50 degrees. For those that like to troll around Beaver Lake’s ultraclear waters looking for bedding bass to tease, there was a glimmer of hope.
But those sight-fishers can roll up their tube jigs and put them under the deck because there will hardly be any bass on beds at Beaver Lake this time around.
A pesky cold front that blew through the Ozarks on Sunday dashed any remaining hopes that bass would flood the beds so early in April. The front, which featured nasty morning thunderstorms, has promised to return temperatures to more seasonable levels this week with lows in the 30s and highs nearing 60 degrees during the tournament. Water temperatures are likely to remain in the 50- to 55-degree range during the event, 10 degrees shy of where they need to be to bring bass to the bank.
“The sight-fishermen can hope all they want, but it’s not going to happen,” said pro Randy Blaukat of Lamar, Mo. “I’ve fished Beaver Lake all my life and the absolute earliest I’ve ever seen them spawn here is about April 10th.”
As a result, the 2004 Wal-Mart Open is shaping up to be an almost exact duplicate of the 2003 Wal-Mart Open, when fishing midrange crankbaits like the Storm Wiggle Wart along rocky shorelines for prespawn bass proved to be the dominant pattern.
“It’s going to be a classic prespawn tournament,” said perennial Wal-Mart Open favorite Clark Wendlandt of Cedar Park, Texas. “The water temperatures are in the mid-50s and the lake is low – a little lower than last year – so there’s not much bank cover in the water. The fish will relate to points before moving back into the bays and pockets to spawn.”
Besides fishing crankbaits that run 5 to 10 feet deep, pros will also target Beaver Lake bass with suspending jerkbaits, deepwater finesse jigs, finesse worms and Carolina rigs.
Look for the upriver portion of Beaver to produce some nice catches this year. Word is that pros have been swarming the upper reaches of the White River, War Eagle Creek and Hickory Creek in search of stained, warmer water where keeper largemouth are likely to be found.
Strategy decisions of whether or not to fish for largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass at Beaver Lake is always a conundrum for pros at the Wal-Mart Open each year. The legal length requirement for largemouth and smallmouth bass is 15 inches, while the length limit for spotted bass is 12 inches.
Two or three keeper largemouth or smallmouth can outweigh an entire limit of 12-inch spotted bass, which are usually a little more dependable than largemouth or smallmouth.
“This lake always boils down to a strategy call,” said 7UP pro Shad Schenck of Waynetown, Ind. “The fact that 50th place pays $10,000 in this event can make it an even harder decision. Chances are, if you can catch five spotted bass each day, you’ll earn $10,000. But if you want to win, you’ll need the weight of largemouth or smallmouth. So you start devising strategies that are the best of both worlds – like putting together a spotted bass pattern with a largemouth pattern. The ideal situation is to weigh in mixed bags to get to the finals and then commit totally to the bigger species for the win.”
Last year it took 13 pounds, 1 ounce to reach 50th place after two days and land inside the $10,000 mark. However, a 19-pound, 1-ounce sack was the weight of the top-10 cut after two days.
Cut weights should be similar this year. And, as Schenck pointed out, weighing in 10 spotted bass (a limit each day of the opening round of the competition) that weighs 13 pounds for the 50th place mark is quite possible. But to reach the 19- to 20-pound mark, a few hefty largemouth or smallmouth are going to have to figure into the equation.
Lake facts and history
With 449 miles of shoreline, Beaver Lake was formed in 1960 when the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed Beaver Dam on the White River in a joint effort to control flooding and harness a source of hydroelectric power. An extremely clear lake, Beaver Lake intermingles with a variety of major water sources including the Indian, North Clifty, Clifty, Prairie and War Eagle creeks. Overall, Beaver Lake meanders more than 70 miles through the Ozark Mountains, covering more than 28,000 acres. Beaver Lake also has an average depth of 60 feet and a maximum depth of 204 feet – near Beaver Dam.
Catch the action
The full field competes in the two-day opening round for one of 10 slots in Friday’s competition based on their two-day accumulated weight. Weights are cleared for day three, and co-angler competition concludes following Friday’s weigh-in. The 10 pros continue competition Saturday, with the winner determined by the heaviest two-day weight.
Prairie Creek Marina in Rogers will host takeoffs Wednesday and Thursday at 7 a.m. Central time, Friday morning at 8 and Saturday morning at 6:30. Wednesday and Thursday’s weigh-ins will also be held at the marina beginning at 3 p.m. Friday and Saturday’s weigh-ins will be held at the Wal-Mart store located at 2110 W. Walnut in Rogers beginning at 5 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
The community is encouraged to attend the Family Fun Zone Friday and Saturday outside the weigh-in tent in the Wal-Mart parking lot. The Family Fun Zone features interactive displays, product samples and games for the entire family to enjoy. The Fun Zone will open Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 11 a.m.
Country star Blake Shelton will be on hand Friday to perform a free concert at Wal-Mart following the semifinal-round weigh-in. Shelton, who first made his mark in 2001 with the No. 1 smash “Austin,” will perform that and other hits including “Ol’ Red” and “The Baby.”
Coverage of the Wal-Mart Open will be broadcast to 65 million subscribers of the Outdoor Life Network on the “FLW Outdoors” television program. A tournament preview show featuring bass-fishing legend Hank Parker will air April 18 at 1 p.m. Eastern time and April 22 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Fishing fans can watch the tournament weigh-in with hosts Carlton Wing, Taylor Carr and Charlie Evans April 25 at 1 p.m. and April 29 at 5 p.m. Eastern time. Tournament veteran Larry Nixon will host a tournament wrap-up show May 2 at 1 p.m. Eastern time, and that show will re-air May 6 at 5 p.m. Eastern time.
You can also catch all the weigh-in action at FLWOutdoors.com with FLW Live. The first weigh-in will be broadcast Wednesday, March 31, at 3 p.m. Central time and will continue throughout all four days’ weigh-ins.
Previous FLW Beaver Lake winners
2003 – Dan Morehead, Paducah, Ky.
2002 – Andre Moore, Scottsdale, Ariz.
2001 – Clark Wendlandt, Cedar Park, Texas
2000 – Rick Clunn, Ava, Mo.
1999 – Clark Wendlandt, Cedar Park, Texas
1998 – Gerald Swindle, Hayden, Ala.
FLW Outdoors editors Gary Mortenson and Jeff Schroeder contributed to this report.
Links:
Pundits’ Picks
Destination: Beaver Lake
Pre-tournament press release
FLW Live