Table Rock Lake Coverage Day 1
Full coverage of the 2016 Costa FLW Series Championship
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2:20 p.m. – Goats?
Andy Morgan isn't in this tournament, but the Greatest of All Time sent his GOAT body double….
2:15 p.m. – Clouds and wind might help the late flights
Weigh-in is set to begin at 3 p.m. here at Table Rock State Park, but due to the field size (192 boats – a Costa FLW Series Championship record) many anglers won't check in for two or three more hours. The late-flight anglers might have an advantage in the final hours as overcast skies have taken over at Table Rock, and the breeze is starting to pick up just a tick.
Any kind of surface disturbance should help the bite. Not to mention, the weights are probably going to be close, so any extra time is a major bonus. Tomorrow, the temperature is forecast to drop, which should help everyone.
1 p.m. – Tucker, Kendrick working on good limits
Kirkwood, Mo., pro Mark Tucker is one of the local favorites here at Table Rock. He's got a limit for about 13 pounds so far, which should put him in good position to make the cut if he can keep it up tomorrow.
Tactics continue to vary widely, from fishing docks and throwing topwater to slinging umbrella rigs or dragging jigs. Sunshine is sneaking through partly cloudy skies to light up the weigh-in area at Table Rock State Park. It should be a beautiful weigh-in here in a couple of hours.
11:30 a.m. – Jay Kendrick is the unofficial leader
Alabama pro Jay Kendrick is cookin' now. He just landed two keepers, including a 4-pounder, and has a decent limit now that should go into the low teens. He's happy with that weight already but still has a lot of time to improve.
11:00 a.m. – All species in play
So far, it seems like more spots and smallmouths have been recorded by the field, but the multi-species bite seems to be on across the board. Canadian ace Chris Johnston, who won the 2016 Walmart FLW Tour Rookie of the Year title, has caught three keepers – a spot, a largemouth and a smallmouth. What a multi-species hammer!
10:30 a.m. – Weird weather and challenging fishing
Maybe the problem at Table Rock right now is the inconsistency of the weather. It's raining in one corner of the lake, windy in another and slick calm in a third. It's a sprawling lake, and there's a bit of a weather system moving through at the moment, which is causing the variable conditions. Right now the fish don't seem to be responding too well. Most anglers are staying on the move and trying to cover water, but do so thoroughly.
9:35 a.m. – James Watson is making a charge
Local favorite James Watson is on the move here on his home lake. Watson has three keepers in the boat already. He says none are big, but three is a good start compared to most of the updates we've received so far.
9:25 a.m. – Tournament photos are rolling in
Check out the day one OTW gallery by clicking here.
We'll continue to update throughout the day.
9 a.m. – Classic fall patterns across Table Rock
In addition to topwater, other baits in play on day one are crankbaits, drop-shots and umbrella rigs. It's typical of fall in the Ozarks.
Andrew Slegona is the unofficial early leader, but so far we've only heard from a smattering of pros, so it's hard to say for sure if he's the true leader. He has about 6 pounds.
8:30 a.m. – Topwater action is off to a steady start
No giants to report yet, but the topwater action is off to a good start, which was expected. The early morning hours are critical for the surface bite in Table Rock's clear water.
So far Jason Lambert, Greg Bohannan and Andrew Slegona are on the board with small keepers.
The anglers have spread out far and wide. About 20 boats ran up the James, which is expected to be a key area this week.
8 a.m. – Summer lingers at the championship
Table Rock Lake is one of the Mid-South region’s premier fishing destinations in the fall. Thus, back in 2015, when Costa FLW Series anglers from across the country saw that Table Rock would host the 2016 FLW Series Championship in early November, the response was a resounding, “Heck, yeah.”
Problem is, now that November is upon us and the championship is underway, fall hasn’t really showed up yet. Unseasonably high temperatures have delayed the cooldown needed to push transitioning bass to the banks where they become easy targets for topwater fishing and other power-fishing approaches. And Table Rock, instead of fishing like the premier autumn destination that it is, has been fishing somewhat stingy as of late.
Don’t mistake that statement for meaning that the fishing is no good. It’s good. It’s just not quite “Table Rock in the fall good.” Perhaps that’ll change in the coming days, as temperatures drop in the wake of a cold front. These Ozark bass seem to really turn on when the temperature drops, especially if the front brings wind and rain, which is in the forecast for this afternoon.
This morning, more than 192 boaters and co-anglers from as far away as South Korea and China backed their boats into “the Rock,” setting a Costa FLW Series Championship record for the largest field size. They’re competing for 11 slots at the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup at Wheeler Lake.
While some anglers have grumbled about the bite, others have hinted that there are big bags out there to be had. And these early hours of the day will be critical for catching kickers with a Whopper Plopper or buzzbait and getting this tournament started off right.
As always during major FLW tournaments, you can follow along live via the FLW On-the-Water Twitter feed by clicking here and scrolling to the bottom of the page.
Tournament details
Format: All boaters and co-anglers will compete for the first two days. The top 10 boaters and co-anglers based on cumulative weight after two days of competition will advance to the third and final round, with the winner in each division determined by the heaviest cumulative three-day weight.
Takeoff Time: 7:30 a.m. CT
Takeoff Location: Table Rock State Park Marina, 380 State Park Marina Road
Weigh-In Time: 3 p.m. CT on days one and two; 4 p.m. CT on day three
Weigh-In Location: Table Rock State Park Marina on days one and two; Branson Landing,
100 Branson Landing, Branson, MO, on day three
Practice Coverage
Conditions – Five-Day Forecast
Temperature at takeoff: 63 degrees
Forecast high: 73 degrees
Sky: partly cloudy and clearing
Precipitation: 20 percent chance of showers in the afternoon
Wind: calm