Table Rock Lake Bass Fishing League 17 May 14

[Mike Cork]

JONES WINS WALMART BASS FISHING OZARK DIVISION EVENT ON TABLE ROCK LAKE

Larson wins co-angler title

KIMBERLING CITY, Mo. (May 19, 2014) – Matthew Jones of Spokane, Mo., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 15 pounds, 11 ounces Saturday to win the third Walmart Bass Fishing League Ozark Division tournament of 2014 on Table Rock Lake. For his victory, Jones earned $3,247.

      "I caught all of my fish off of beds," said Jones, who had two previous top-10 finishes on Table Rock Lake in FLW competition before earning his victory. "After takeoff I made a 15 minute run to the dam area. I went there during my pre-fish on Friday and had found quite a few bass on beds. I'm glad I looked on Friday, because the conditions were cloudy on Saturday and you couldn't see them anymore. That probably helped me, though, because I knew where they were but they couldn't see me."

      Jones said that he caught just seven keepers throughout the day and all came by throwing a green-pumpkin-colored Zoom Critter Craw.

      "My batteries ended up being pretty crucial for me," Jones said. "I needed to cover a lot of water and I was using my trolling motor pretty hard and heavy. Battery Outfitters took care of me and made sure that I had the power I needed to fish all day long.

      "Table Rock is my home lake, and I usually get to fish on it twice a week," Jones went on to say. "When I would fish in tournaments five or six years ago I used to avoid bed-fishing because I was not very good. I have been really working hard at improving over the last two or three years, though, and I feel like it is now one of my strengths."

     Rounding out the top 10 pros were:

            2nd:   Paul Brunson, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 14-6, $1,623
            3rd:   B.J. Davis, Mountain Home, Ark., five bass, 14-2, $1,082
            4th:   Rick Johnston, Webb City, Mo., five bass, 13-13, $758 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
            5th:   J.D. Marlar, Chester, Ark., five bass, 13-5, $649
            6th:   Craig Dort, Rogersville, Mo., five bass, 12-14, $595
            7th:   David Short, Washington, Mo., five bass, 12-10, $541
            8th:   Ronnie Dobbs, Shell Knob, Mo., five bass, 12-2, $460
            8th:   Larry Stoafer, Leavenworth, Kan., five bass, 12-2, $460 + $300 Evinrude Bonus
            10th: Marty Bohlke Jr., Nixa, Mo., five bass, 11-15, $379

     Complete results can be found at FLWOutdoors.com.

     Dewey Larson of Fayetteville, Ark., weighed a five-bass limit totaling 11 pounds, 2 ounces Saturday to win $1,623 in the co-angler division.

     Rounding out the top 10 co-anglers were:

            2nd:   James Tucker, Pacific, Mo., five bass, 11-1, $812
            3rd:   Kevin Manion, Park Hills, Mo., five bass, 10-8, $541
            4th:   Wes Proctor, Manhattan, Kan., five bass, 10-0, $379
            5th:   Sam Bremmerkamp, Joplin, Mo., five bass, 9-15, $325
            6th:   Chris Klenke, Labadie, Mo., five bass, 9-10, $298
            7th:   Jay Myers, Hillsboro, Mo., five bass, 9-7, $271
            8th:   Craig Hulsey, Park Hills, Mo., five bass, 9-6, $244
            9th:   Donnie Agnew, Farmington, Mo., five bass, 9-5, $202
            9th:   Roger Edwards, Tuscumbia, Mo., five bass, 9-5, $202

     The top 40 boaters and 40 co-anglers based on point standings will qualify for the Oct. 16-18 Regional Championship on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Jasper, Texas. Boaters will compete for a top award of a Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard and a Chevy Silverado, while co-anglers will fish for a new Ranger Z518C with a 200-horsepower Evinrude or Mercury outboard.

     The BFL is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 120 tournaments throughout the season, five in each division. The top 40 boaters and co-anglers from each division qualify for a regional tournament and compete to finish in the top six, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the Walmart BFL All-American presented by Chevy. Top winners in the BFL can move up to the Rayovac FLW Series or even the Walmart FLW Tour.

[merc1997]

those weights support what i have said all spring, and that is the bass for the most part have not spawned yet.  we have not seen any big bass weighed in all spring.  that 15 lbs. was typical for what is being weighed in in all the tournaments so far this spring.

there are many that are professing that the spawn is over, but i have not caught one spawned out bass, and i am night fishing, and that alone increases the chances of getting some big ones, which i have been catching a few of them, and none of them were skinny or had a blemish on them.  i am sure that there has been some bass spawn, but not the majority, and certainly not the bigger bass.

bo

[Wizard]

I've seen this before on the Rock. One year we looked for the spawn and it didn't happen. The females reaborbed their eggs. That was in the 1980's. Starting to get late in the year. LOZ bass have spawned and they are usually a couple of weeks behind Table Rock.

[merc1997]

one thing to remember is that nearly every big bass that i have caught has been very close to 20 feet deep.  the water is still pretty darn cold at 20 ft.  we have not have a big flushing rain with the exception of a couple of places, and this is usually the trigger to bring those deep bass up.  bass lake wide got very deep this year due to the very cold long winter.  i hope that we got a good spawn, and most bass just spawned to deep for most to find.  needless to say, this has been a very unusual spring, hot and cold, not any stable weather.  i think bass have that internal instinct to survive, and conditions have not been steady enough to suite their needs and conditions to spawn.  i suppose time will tell if i am right or not.  i never get out and look for beds because it is always too late in the day for me to look.  i just turn on the black light and go fishing.

bo