TBF Championship Midday Update Day 1

Will fishing improve with the weather?

Fishing patterns usually emerge by the last day of practice or the first day of tournament competition, but it still seemed to be catch-as-catch-can for most of the 94 anglers competing on the opening morning of the 2016 The Bass Federation National Championship on Table Rock Lake.

Though the weather has improved – with higher air temperatures and sunshine temporarily interrupted now and then by passing clouds – the fishing hasn’t, at least not yet for many of the anglers fishing Table Rock’s upper reaches in the White and James rivers and their coves. Secondary points and flats with a mix of gravel and chunk rock are getting a lot of attention.

By midday, one boater had a couple of 3-pound-class largemouths in the livewell while another boater, David Tsao of New Hampshire, said he had a 16-inch smallmouth. Wayne Black of Florida had two largemouths that he caught cranking, while others relied on shaky heads, swimbaits and single grubs with varying success. Their results were typical; no anglers surveyed reported limits.

“We’ve been seeing largemouths and smallmouths here and there along the banks, but they just act disinterested for the most part,” says John Carpenter of New Jersey, a boater. “They’re not locked in yet. I caught a female of about 3 pounds first thing. She was on a bed, and I kept casting to her. She just ignored it. Then I cast to another bed about 6 or 7 feet away that didn’t have anything on it that I could see. She raced over from where she was and nailed it – go figure.”

Despite the general lack of action, fishing is expected to get better as the weather continues to warm. If the sun stays out long enough to give sight-fishermen the light they need to spot their quarry better, some big sacks could come in this afternoon. The weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. lakeside at Port of Kimberling Resort & Marina.