Beautiful, 7.34 pound Table Rock Lake bass caught by Jeremy Mabry with another bass from his 3 bag limit.
Earlier this year when asked, “Why fishermen should plan a fishing trip to Table Rock Lake this spring,” Jim Thompson, a successful local businessman who has been fishing Table Rock Lake for over 25 years said, “Because there is nothing like it anywhere. Table Rock Lake is one of the premier bass fisheries in the United States and the spring is a prime time to catch bass in large numbers and size.” He pointed out that in addition to the Largemouth and Kentucky Bass, Table Rock is also an excellent Smallmouth fishery.
Thompson is also the owner of the Central Pro-Am Association (CPAA), one of the regions premier bass fishing tournament organizations. On May 1 and 2, the fishermen competing in CPAA’s Table Rock Lake Pro-Am and Team Tournaments illustrated just how accurate Thompson was and why Table Rock Lake is such a great bass fishery.
Over the two days of tournaments, 523 “keeper” bass, weighing a combined weight of 1,385 pounds and averaging 2.7 pounds each were weighed in. At the weigh-ins, fisherman after fisherman said how great the fishing was.
Thompson points out that the fish weighed in were just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the total number of fish caught during the two days. He said that only fish 15 inches or longer could be kept and weighed in and that fisherman had to catch and cull quite a number of fish to get to the fish they actually weighed in.
Local fisherman, Tim Sainato from Walnut Shade, who took 2nd in the Pro-Am Tournament and won the Team Tournament with his partner, Steven Redford from Branson, weighed in a five fish limit each day. He said that on both days he had caught in excess of 30 “keepers” which he constantly culled to stay within the five fish limit and estimates his total fish count for each day to be in excess of 40 fish. He said that he positioned the boat in about 14 feet of water, threw a 4 inch Bass Pro XPS Grub into the bank and “retrieved it slowly as fast as he could” emphasizing that “Slow was good.”
Sainato and Redford won the CPAA Team Tournament and the $3,600 first place prize with a five fish limit weighing 18.03 pounds. Interestingly and somewhat unusual, their winning “bag” (limit) was composed entirely of Smallmouth Bass. Second place and a prize of $2,000 went to the husband and wife team of James and Donna Gilzow from Bella Vista AR with a five fish limit weighing 16.05 pounds.
On the Pro-Am Side, Dave Donham of Highlandville, Mo, won first place in the Pro Division and $3,500.00 with a five fish bag weighing 16.62 pounds. In the Non Boater Division Jeremy Mabry of Fayetteville, AR won the first place prize of $1,750.00 with a maximum three fish bag weighing 14.00 pounds. Mabry also won the Big Fish Prize of $350.00 in the Non Boater Division with a bass weighing 7.34, which was the biggest bass caught in the tournament.
“What a living testimony as to just how great a bass fishery Table Rock Lake is,” said Paul Miller, General Manager of the Branson Tourism Center, an avid bass fisherman who was at both weigh-ins. “When that is combined with Branson’s shows, attractions, shopping and everything else that Branson has to offer, Table Rock Lake offers a quality unique bass fishing experience not available anywhere else in the world.”