The only thing that is consistent in Arkansas this time of year is inconsistency. Hot Springs native Beau Browning has experienced that his entire life fishing Lake Ouachita and practice for the St. Croix Bassmaster Open presented by SEVIIN has been no different.
“It’s kind of a mix between winter fishing and straight prespawn,” Browning said. “I think it will change again by the end of the tournament. The guys who do well will be flying by the seat of their pants or someone who has experience here.”
The second Open of the 2024 season began this morning under calm and warming conditions. While only 22 years old, Browning has more experience on Lake Ouachita than the majority of the Elite Qualifier contestants.
The last few weeks in his home state have been a roller coaster weather wise, moving from an arctic freeze to warmer than average temperatures with major rain events and storms in between. Water temperatures are hovering around 50 degrees.
That has the bass pretty confused, Browning said.
“The fish are all over the place right now. They don’t have a lot of bait they relate to. They aren’t related to structure right now,” he explained. “They are confused. There are lots of roamers and floaters. We have such weird conditions right now. The bass don’t like it when it is inconsistent. They like when you have consistent weather patterns for an extended period of time. When you get warm rains, cold rains and then sunny days all in a row, they get jacked up.”
After heavy storms moved through over the weekend, anglers enjoyed several days of warming temperatures and sunny conditions to end the practice period. Browning believes this gave anglers an opportunity to really explore and see the potential of the lake and several anglers have shown off quality bass on their social media channels.
But at the same time, Browning didn’t find a pattern he is confident can produce a win.
“Guys were able to see what lives here. But I wasn’t impressed with what I saw coming into this tournament. With four and a half days of practice, I really felt by the end of it I would have an idea of what I could do to make a run at it. Honestly, I haven’t seen anything that stood out, which surprised me.”
Fellow University of Montevallo angler Easton Fothergill has found success in several different weather conditions.
“In practice, the nasty weather days have been the best days, numbers wise,” College Classic Bracket champion Easton Fothergill said. “Today was a nice day and I had a decent day. It is just a matter of running around and landing on them. They move so much. They act like herring fish.”
The clear water suits the 2023 College Classic Bracket champion. After finishing Okeechobee in seventh place, Fothergill anticipated a potentially tough bite at Ouachita. But a stingy bite is when Fothergill feels he has an advantage.
“Coming into this week, I knew this was a clear water fishery and that it might fit my strong suits,” he said. “That is transpiring this week. I have caught them being super finessy, like 6 and 8 pound test. I’m using some crazy stuff this week. Little tiny stuff. The bass are really hard to find and really hard to get to bite, but I like that.”
Without a way to consistently pattern the bass, Browning has adjusted his mindset. He enters this tournament in eighth place in EQ points and understands how valuable stacking good finishes will be in the long run.
“I have to go into this one with the mindset of, how can I get the most points possible?” he said. “Yes I have a little bit of an advantage because I know this place so well, but at the end of the day I’m fishing for points. I can’t gamble and try and do something to win and ruin my whole season in the second tournament of the year.”
Big bags will no doubt be possible this week, but Browning thinks repeating Day 1 success will be incredibly difficult. To cash a check, he thinks it will take around 12 pounds per day while it will take around 30 pounds to make the final day.
Anglers to Watch
Randall Tharp: When we saw Tharp win his first blue trophy, it was in this region of the country. Expect Tharp to maximize on any jig bite that may materialize on Lake Ouachita and keep the positive momentum rolling. He also finished second in a Forrest Wood Cup here in 2011.
Jacob Bigelow: Catching an 11-pounder, albeit several months ago, means you have to be doing something right doesn’t it? Either way, Bigelow will be looking to rebound from a disappointing Okeechobee showing.
Emil Wagner: There aren’t too many anglers in the world carrying the type of momentum Wagner has right now. Carolina anglers have proven they can find success anywhere and he has certainly been impressive to start the 2024 season.
Cody Meyer: In his time at FLW, Meyer fished several Forrest Wood Cups at Lake Ouachita, including a 7th place finish in 2011. While those events were in the late summer, familiarity will be incredibly helpful this week.
Kyoya Fujita: Did someone say deep, clean water? Fujita will no doubt be able to put his light line techniques and forward-facing sonar to work on Lake Ouachita. Don’t be surprised if Fujita is fishing on Saturday.
