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An extreme fall weather change had occurred the week prior to the tournament with strong winds and cool temperatures. Although blue skies prevailed during the tournament, the fish were still very active and a long bag line proved the quality of the Table Rock Lake Fishery even under tough conditions.
Running a shallow pattern, the team of Greg Wood and Wes Endicott were able to drop a limit on the scales for 16.63 lbs. Greg was able to prefish two days prior to the event for a few hours and found the extended cloud cover had moved the fish up into relatively thin water. This clued the team into what the fish would be doing when the sky turned bluebird during the tournament.
Wes and Greg stayed shallow the entire day, concentrating their efforts in the three to 15 foot zone and found the fish would bite on a variety of baits. Greg drilled four pound fish first thing in the morning on a 1/2 oz. white Dale Seller's spinnerbait burned past a cedar tree.
They the drug a football jig to catch a couple of fish and also pitched a 3/8 oz. brown roundhead jig to docks to round out a quality limit. One fish did find a spoon to be enticing as well.
The team focused on the lower end of the lake from Kimberling City to the mouth of Long creek. The most productive docks were located near deep water but were situated over pea gravel.
Their victory earned the team a 1st Place prize of $4,500. The team also soaked up most of the incentive money as well to bolster their total winnings to $8,125.
The incentives won included $2,500 Tracker Trophy, $1,000 from Mercury Marine, $100 from CarStar and $25 from Solar Bat Sunglasses.
Wes Endicott is sponsored by ProCraft Boats, Mercury Marine, Action Optics, Basszone.com, MotorGuide and Red River Tackle Company. Greg Wood's sponsors include Basso & Mier Law Firm, Champion Boats, Hughes Custom Baits and Mercury Marine.
2nd Place...Kelly and Kyle Power of Cape Fair, MO
A 15.37 lb. limit put the father and son team of Kelly and Kyle Power in position to challenge for the win. The worked bluff banks with big broken rock and standing timber in the mid-James River arm to hook up with nine keepers throughout the day.
Clouds and wind from the previous week had moved the fish up shallow near deep water. Kelly lamented the full moon likely had the fish feeding mostly at night, which didn't play into the hands of a daytime event. He felt the moon phase and higher than normal water temperatures for the season, kept weights down from what Table Rock Lake could normally produce.
These James River Arm experts took advantage of an early bite by moving to banks which were enveloped in fog early in the morning. They were able to generate strikes waking a 1/2 oz. white/chartreuse War Eagle spinnerbait parallel to the shoreline but had to cover a lot of water.
Wes Endicott —Joplin, MO
Greg Wood —Branson, MO
Lake level: 911.33', stable, 915 normal pool.
Air Temp: 41-62º Clear, NE Wind @ 0-10 mph.
Water Temp: 64-66º
Water Color: Clear on main lake, Stained rivers
Found fish shallow around cedar trees early and boat docks throughout the day.
Keyed on docks near deep water over pea gravel on the lower lake.
Caught keepers on several baits including a spinnerbait, spoon, jigs and a drop-shot.
Once the fog burned off, Kelly and Kyle's bite went away but a slight ripple from a light breeze helped the activity pick up again in the afternoon. A few key fish, including the largest one in their sack caught by Kyle, came by pitching a 7/16 oz. PB&J Jewel Bait company Eakins jig.
They pocketed $2,500 for 2nd Place. Kelly is sponsored by Nitro Boats, Mercury Marine, Jewel Bait Company, Davis-Barr Chevrolet/Pontiac, Falcon Rods, Pinpoint, MotorGuide, Pro Guide Batteries and War Eagle Custom Baits.
3rd Place...Tim Sherrill and Scott Boaz of Harrison, AR
A football jig enticed a bronze medal for Tim Sherrill and Scott Boaz. The team worked bluff end points in the dam area with a Jewel 3/4 oz. jig to sack 15.04 lbs. Productive jig colors included the ever popular PB&J and brown/purple patterns. Twin-tail grubs in browns and green colors finished out the look of their jigs.
The change in weather pattern and windy days had broken up the thermocline on the main lake. This caused the baitfish and bass to spread out to all depths. The seven keeper bass boated by Tim and Scott, were scattered from the first ledge drop in a few feet of water all the way out to 50 feet. The team positioned the boat over deep water so they could diligently work a long cast through the productive zones.
Tim and Scott earned $1,500 for their efforts and working until the last minute allowed them to cull up on their last cast of the day.
Tim is sponsored by Bull Shoals Boat Dock while Scott is sponsored by Bass Cat Boats, Mercury Marine and Bull Shoals Boat Dock.
