If you want to have some archery fun right now, you can shoot carp with bowfishing equipment until your arms fall off at Beaver Lake.
Common carp are spawning in the upper part of the lake south of the Arkansas 12 Bridge in every cove, pocket and tributary. You'll find them making a huge ruckus as they frolic in shallow water. If you're quiet, you can get close enough for some easy shooting on the surface.
These are huge fish, and they are well worth the trip. Bob Morin, my pro bass fishing partner on the second day of the Fishing League Worldwide bass tournament on Beaver Lake on Friday, observed that some of the carp were "big enough to ride."
Yellow carp spawn on Beaver Lake about this time every year, and they prefer to spawn around heavy surface cover. When they broach, they stay on the surface for a few seconds, giving an archer ample time to draw and shoot.
You'd better have heavy tackle though, because if you stick a carp, all of the wood and other junk on the surface will abuse your line.
You might take along some bass fishing tackle, too. One of the pros that made the top 10 at the FLW event (Scott Canterbury, if I remember correctly) said he caught bass all week flipping around broaching carp. It seems counter intuitive, he said, but he caught some of his biggest bass around carp.
Besides Beaver Lake, I suspect you can find carp spawning at every major lake in the state right now. If I were a bowfisherman, I would try my luck at Lake Dardanelle in the back of Mud Creek.
What do you do with a bowshot carp? Pressure cooking will dissolve the fine bones into powder, and it makes a very good fish chowder.
Big Bass Bonanza
Arkansas bass anglers are looking forward to the nation's largest amateur bass tournament June 23-25 when the 29th annual Arkansas Big Bass Bonanza takes place on the Arkansas River.
The entire length of the Arkansas River and its tributaries within our state's boundaries will be eligible water for the tournament, and the river will be divided into five pools.
The angler that weighs in the heaviest bass during the three-day event will win $50,000, which will include a $10,000 bonus for catching the biggest bass in his pool.
In addition, the anglers that weigh the heaviest bass in the other four pools will each win $10,000, as well.
Also, hourly cash prizes will be awarded to the anglers catching the three heaviest bass per hour in each pool. The amount of the hourly prizes depends on the number of anglers that enter the tournament, but the prizes can be substantial. Because they are more attainable, most anglers fish for the hourly prizes and consider the grand prizes to be a bonus.
The grand-prize winner in the 2016 event weighed 7.25 pounds and was caught by Herbert Holman of Delaware, Ark. The 2015 grand-prize winner weighed 7.15 pounds and was caught by Robinette Fox of Hot Springs. The grand-prize winners from 2010-14 weighed less than 7 pounds.
Steve Scherrey of Conway is the only two-time Big Bass Bonanza winner. He won in 2000 and 2014 with bass that weighed 6.76 pounds and 6.98 pounds, respectively.
Weigh-in sites for each pool will be at Clear Creek Park for the Fort Smith area, Lake Dardanelle State Park, the North Little Rock Marina and Boat Dock, Pine Bluff Regional Park and Pendleton Bridge near Dumas.
Entry fee is $80 per day, and $90 per day for entries received after June 9.
Checks will be distributed at an awards ceremony at the North Little Rock Marina (Verizon Ramp) on June 25 from 4-5:30 p.m. Participants will be treated to a meal catered by Whole Hog BBQ.
For more information or to obtain registration forms, contact the Arkansas Hospitality Association at (501) 376-2323 or 1-800-472-5022, or by email at aha@arhospitality.org. Information is also available online at arkansasbigbass.com.
Bassmaster Elites
This has been a big year for major bass tournaments in Arkansas, but the most prestigious will take place June 2-5 when the Bassmaster Elite Series visits Lake Dardanelle. The field will include the biggest names in bass fishing, including Kevin VanDam, Mike Iaconelli and Gerald Swindle.
We'll have more information about weigh-ins and takeoffs when the event gets closer, but plan to attend if you want to find out how the top pros solve Dardanelle's bass fishing puzzle.
Sports on 05/04/2017