Story by Hunter Baughman | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
Stop #6 at Lake Murray is over and we are back in Arkansas. It took until the last event of 2024, but I finally had a good tournament. Long time coming!
We touched on it last week, but my practice was tough. It continued to be tough until the end. My three days of practice produced three, four, and seven bites, respectively. Those bites were all over the board, too. Small swimbait on suspended fish, dropshot in grass, crankbait on windblown riprap, shaky head on forward-facing fish on points and on docks, and a couple of jig fish on boat ramps.
I was very concerned about getting five bites a day and getting all five of those bites in the boat. I was also concerned that there would be a group of guys using the major cold front on Day 1 to catch big bags of fish then ride a couple mediocre days to make checks. I was hoping I could be one of those guys.
Before I even left home for this tournament, I made up my mind I would strictly do whatever it took to fish for the biggest fish I could find. This is something I’ve struggled with in the past. Mentally it is much easier to fish the “safe” pattern versus the “winning” pattern.
Seems like on all the herring lakes the biggest fish live closest to the dam. Unfortunately, they are also the hardest fish in the lake to catch. That’s where I spent most of my time. On the last day of practice, I ran up the river to a bridge with wind blowing on it. I had two quality bites with a crankbait and thought I might have a chance to catch a few there during Day 1 with the front blowing though. I also looked at the map and found another bridge that had the same set up. I didn’t go fish it but made a mental note that it was there.
As you know by now, Day 1 was cancelled due to unsafe conditions. I was slightly relieved that the option of riding that weather to big bags was probably eliminated. It became a two-day tournament, and those cold post frontal days would be much more of a grind.
On Day 2, I opted to go ahead and start on the bridge fish anyways. I knew once the sun got up the bite would be really tough. I was hoping the first hour would still be dark enough there would be a left over “frontal bite.” My boat number was called, and I went to the bridge. Immediately I noticed the water had dirtied up just a little and had current. This is good. Dirtier water and current can sometimes keep them biting even after a front. It’s a bite I’m very familiar with around Arkansas. I caught a 2 3/4-pound fish off the bridge then went running new water in the area. I pulled up on a point with current hitting it and caught several shorts and a couple of small keepers on a shaky head; then one just shy of 4 pounds on a crankbait.
The day was going well. It was 10 o’clock and I had already had more bites than my entire practice plus I had four fish in the box. Then I remembered the other bridge I had seen on the map. I ran up to it and put a 3 pounder in the boat. A limit before lunchtime really took the pressure off. About noon I headed to the lake to look for big bites. In hindsight, I wish I had stayed in the current the rest of the day because there were big changes coming for Day 2 up that river.
I roll down into a creek on the lake and start throwing a shaky head at fish on LiveScope. They were interested but wouldn’t bite. I come up to a dock and could see fish on one of the dock poles with my graph. I throw, they follow but no bite. Next dock, repeat of the last.
We hadn’t had much sun all of practice and on Day 2 it was bluebird skies. The conditions had put the fish under the docks. It seemed nearly every dock had fish on them, but it was hard to make them bite. About 1:30 I made the adjustment to a dropshot. Good move. Before my check in time, I was able to catch four dock fish including a 3 pounder and another just shy of 4 pounds. This culled me up to 16 pounds and put me in 16th place. I was happy with my day and knew for the first time all year I was going into the last day with a decent margin above that much needed check line.
On Day 3 I decided to start back up the river. Fog was bad as I started up the river and I only made it halfway before I had to pull in a creek and wait it out. Managed one small keeper while I was in there. Then when I finally make it upriver, I quickly notice the water had muddied and dropped several degrees. Not good. I probably spent too much time trying to make that cranking bite happen. All I could muster was a small keeper and a short on a shaky head.
At 11 o’clock I pulled the plug on the river bite and headed down the lake to fish docks. I wasn’t panicking but I could feel doubt start to sneak in my head. Luckily, when I began running docks, I started getting bit fairly quickly. That calmed the nerves, and I was able to make good decisions running new water looking for the right docks. I scraped up a limit worth of bites including one almost 5 pounds. I still had a very small keeper in the limit with 15 minutes left to check in. I was trolling wide open between docks and happen to notice a couple fish on my graph up shallow on a point. I throw and one immediately eats, and I get it in the boat. It weighs 3 1/2 pounds and gives me a 2 pound upgrade. Time to head to weigh in! I ended up weighing 15-12 for a total of 31-12 and an 11th place finish.
I’m thankful for a good finish to end the year and boost my confidence. Unfortunately, I missed qualifying for the championship. Looking back, I made really good decisions throughout the week and fished very freely—something I need to do more often.
This week I plan to pull the wrap off the boat and get it ready to sell. I’ll clean up all my equipment and start doing inventory for what is needed next year. And hopefully I’ll get back in the deer woods a little bit too.
Check in next week and I’ll let you know how it’s all going.
Hunter Baughman – Angler Profile
