Stockton Lake, Missouri – July 19, 2025

A razor-thin battle played out across Stockton Lake last Saturday, with just 7.5 inches separating 19th place from 2nd—a true dogfight in the middle of the standings. But Chad Davison rose above the chaos, edging the field by a solid 5-inch margin to claim his second career MoYak Elite Series win. Known for his remarkable consistency and a long list of runner-up finishes, Davison reminded everyone that he’s just as capable of closing the deal as he is of hovering near the top.

Fishing under sweltering conditions that started at 76°F at launch and climbed to a scorching 99°F by takeout, Davison found a pattern that held up across the day. Davison’s win is significant not just for the trophy but also for its implications on the Angler of the Year race.

AOY Shakeup:
With only two Elite events remaining, the AOY standings have tightened. Richie McMichael maintains a narrow lead at 1,729.00 points, with Micah Funderburgh (1,717.25) and Troy Enke (1,695.50) hot on his heels. Davison’s win pushes him to fourth overall with 1,676.25, keeping him firmly in the AOY conversation.

Other Highlights:

• Jared Fosnow landed the only fish over 21″ (21.25″), earning a spot in the Twenty+ Club.
• Chris Robbs took home the Trash Pot with a 23″ catfish, good for $140.
• Darian Beedle earned the Smallest Bass Award with a 7.75″ squeaker.
• Eric Easter claimed the Smallest Limit Award at 56.25″.
• Troy Enke just missed the payout line, earning the First Out-of-the-Money Award, while Johnathan Dominguez landed squarely in the center of the action, taking the Middle of the Pack Award.

Looking Ahead:
As the Elite Series heads into its final stretch, the AOY race is far from settled. Davison’s performance proves that experience and consistency are still among the most valuable tools in the kayak angler’s arsenal. With temps rising and pressure mounting, the next event promises even more fireworks.

Team Series Update:
On the team side, “Everhart’s A-Team” went back-to-back by blowing away the field with 108.5″ again, edging out back-to-back 2nd place finishers “Something to Prove” by over 7  inches and earning $280.

Next stop: Bull Shoals in August, where the water is 26 feet high at the time of this writing.

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #5 Stockton presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Chad Davison – 87.5″
Jared Fosnow – 82.5″
Chris Robbs – 82″
Tyler Cokley – 82″
Spencer O’Neal – 81.75″
Adam Denningman – 81.25″
Troy Enke – 80.5″
Marcus Sherman – 80″
Richy Laughery – 79.5″
Micah Funderburgh – 78.5″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

How did you approach tournament day—did you have a specific game plan in mind?

• Chad: My main focus was trying to keep in a good frame of mind. I do best when I am relaxed and have fun fishing. I found myself getting agitated in practice and realized that was a problem. I didn’t prefish the area I launched for the tournament, so I wanted to keep an open mind and bounce around until I found something. I really had no idea if or how I would catch them.
• Jared: With the heat, I knew I wanted to be in my best area to start the day to capitalize on the topwater bite.
• Chris: Gameplan was to fish a summertime pattern. With it being 90+ degrees and clear skies, I figured I would have a small topwater window, then I’d have to slow down and hit them with the finesse. Luckily, the plan came together. Caught a few early on topwater, and I quickly slowed down and started picking up some quality bites.
• Tyler: The Plan was to throw my glidebait all day!
• Spencer: Had a decent pre-fish, so I went into Saturday working off what I found the day before early. After that, I fished new water and had to improvise when the sun got high.

Were you able to get any prefishing in beforehand?

• Chad: I did prefish two different areas and didn’t really do great in either one of them. The main thing I gained from practice is that it seemed like the fish were feeding up on baitfish, and there were groups suspended and roaming. I never figured out how to consistently catch them in practice, but I did notice that a lot.
• Jared: I fished about 4 hours on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The bite got a little worse each day as they were cutting back on releasing water through the dam each day by several hours.
• Chris: No prefishing.
• Tyler: Nope, I left the house at 1 am, drove down, fished, then drove home.
• Spencer: I was able to prefish the day before and caught a few solid ones in the last few bushes with water still. Lake was dropping fast so it was really easy to tell what sections of bushes would hold fish.

How did this event compare to your past results on Stockton?

• Chad: I have had several good finishes there in the past, including winning the Winter Series there this Winter. This was my 1st regular-season win there.
• Jared: It was really similar to the win I had 3 years ago. Same weather and water conditions.
• Chris: Stockton has been good to me, I have cashed checks 4 out of the 6 tournaments I have fished there, but a 1st place has continued to elude me.
• Tyler: Great!! Stockon has been that one lake that kicks my butt!
• Spencer: Last year I got 2nd so not quite as good but I can’t really complain.

What lures, rigs, or techniques ended up producing best for you during the tournament?

• Chad: Out of my best 5: One of Council Bluff Crankbaits Plopper, Two on a hair jig, One on a jerkbait, and One on a Spook.
  I never caught a fish on or even used a hair jig, jerkbait, or spook in spook in practice, so it pays to keep an open mind and fish with your instincts.
• Jared: The first hour I threw the Heddon Super Spook in Pink/Chrome. Then switched to a Neko rigged Green Pumpkin Senko with a 1/16oz KayakJak button head. I dye about a 1/4” of the top in chart Spike It and soak them in Strike Force scent. I tried several other baits, but these two baits accounted for all of the 20+ fish I caught.
• Chris: Buzz bait, Council Bluff Crankbait, Baitcave Customs soft plastics – Texas and Neko-rigged.
• Tyler: I caught 2 little 13” smallmouth on a 10” worm….then the rest of the day was the butcher glide by chum glides.
• Spencer: Best baits for me were a Croc-O-Gator buzzbait in the morning and a 6th Sense squarebill in the afternoon.

How far did you end up paddling, motoring, or pedaling to find fish?

• Chad: I did not travel very far – it was the mouth of the cove I launched. Once I found the fish, I worked the same 100-yard area all day.
• Jared: I stayed within 3/4 of a mile of the ramp I used, which was located mid-lake. I fished main lake bluffs all day and did not venture into the creeks or coves. Once it was shallow enough to have bushes in the water, I moved on to the next bluff end and started where the bushes came to an end.
• Chris: Not far from the launch at all. I targeted points and channel banks.
• Tyler: I’d have to map it out, but I covered an insane amount of water. Crossing the main lake 2 times as well.
• Spencer: Went about 6 miles from my ramp on Saturday to explore some new sections if the lake I’ve never fished before.

With the heat being what it was, how did you stay cool and keep your energy up throughout the day?

• Chad: Honestly, once I started catching fish, I got in a zone and never let up. I realized at about 1:30p p.m. that I hadn’t even drunk my coffee, let alone anything else. I rehydrated at weigh-in with 4×4 Brewing 🙂
• Jared: Lots of water and wearing lightweight SPF-rated pants, a long-sleeved shirt, gloves, and a mask.
• Chris: Lots of water and sunscreen.
• Tyler: It was windy where I was. Just has plenty of cold water, and I never really got hot.
• Spencer: Honestly, I probably don’t take care of myself like I should when it’s that hot out on tournament day. I’m more focused on getting culls than cooling off most of the time.

Did you have any close calls, missed bites, or memorable catches that stood out?

• Chad: I was fortunate to never lose a fish. I had a couple of hits that were likely good fish that didn’t hook up. There were several catches on Saturday that were memorable for me. The 19.75 on the hair jig was pretty cool. I recently started having success with that bait. It is such an amazing feeling when you are stroking the jig and you pull up and there is a fish on there. One of the 18’s I caught swam right by my kayak chasing bait. I looked down and saw it swim by as plain as day while I was jerking my jerkbait. I saw it swimming that way, and a few seconds later, it loaded up. The last fish I caught was another 18 with about 30 minutes left, I had a 13.75″. I really felt like I needed to cull. I threw the spook out there and was working it, and saw a fish come up and swirl on it several times, and finally crushed it!
• Jared: The blow-up of that 21.25” right at daybreak was pretty cool. I fished pretty clean and only lost one fish on the spook, and it wouldn’t have helped me catch Chad 🙂
• Chris: I had 2 missed opportunities. Had a BIG go full airborne over a limb after my buzz bait, she came down on top of it, but did not get the hook. I had another solid upgrade shake-off at the side of the boat. The 19.5″ that I caught was pretty cool. I saw a mark on my graph around a baitball. I positioned myself to cast to it, and as soon as my bait hit the bottom, she thumped it.
• Tyler: Yes, I hooked 3 fish that were all around 20” and lost them!
• Spencer: My biggest bite of the day was on the buzzbait. Accidentally sent it a little too close to the bush, and by the time I got it out and the bait hit the water about 10ft from the kayak when it ate.

Looking ahead, do you plan to fish the Bull Shoals and Mark Twain events to close out the season?

• Chad: Absolutely! I have only missed one Moyak event since I joined in 2021 and that was due to having COVID.
• Jared: I will fish both events to finish the season. Hope to keep the points high enough to make the championship at Pomme, make the Taney 20, and fish for the MOYAK team at the 2026 AAKC.
• Chris: Planning on Bull Shoals but probably going to miss MT.
• Tyler: Yes
• Spencer: I’ll be fishing both Bull Shoals and Mark Twain.

Did you add any new gear this season—kayak upgrades, electronics, rods—that’s helped your game?

• Chad: Nothing in particular.
• Jared: I am back in an OldTown 136 AutoPilot for this season. One big change was switching to Halo rods over the winter. Hands down, the best change I have made in my fishing career.
• Chris: Nope
• Tyler: Yes, I have the same setup as last season for the most part! Big changes soon!
• Spencer: No noteworthy equipment.

Anyone you want to give a shout-out to—sponsors, family, fellow anglers?

• Chad: I had a great time camping with my buddy Jared Fosnow. Trey Dawson was at my ramp tournament morning and just being around him helps lift my mood. He lost his net mid-day and I loaned him my spare. Russell Bergeron was at my ramp and I actually loaned him a Ketch board. I saw Russell mid-morning with several big inflatable float tubes on his kayak. I realized they had floated out in the lake from a swim area and he was collecting them and taking them back. He probably doesn’t realize anyone saw him, but I thought that was cool he took the time to do that.
  As always, thanks to all my sponsors: Old Town Fishing, Crock-O-Gator, H2 Bait Design, Dungarees Clothing, Cashion Rods, Council Bluff Crankbaits, Max It Out LEDS, CMX Lures USA, Everharts Outdoor Store.
• Jared: Halo Rods
  Crock-O-Gator
  H2 Bait Design
  Everharts Outdoors
  Glover Lures and Replicas
  Elite Billiards and Alehouse
  American Baitworks
• Chris: Everharts Outdoors, Baitcave Customs, Council Bluff Crankbaits, and Buff trucks for helping me keep up with all the gear I need to do this. My wife for helping make sure I make my tournaments. And shout out to the Everharts pro staff Jared Fosnow and Chad Davison, for making this a 1, 2, 3 finish for the crew.
• Tyler: The wife, EcoFishingShop, and chum glides.
• Spencer: I want to thank Eco Fishing Shop for the support in the last few years.

What’s one lesson you learned from this event that you’ll carry into your next tournament?

• Chad: Don’t be afraid to start over somewhere new in the tournament if you don’t feel good about what you found in practice.
• Jared: Quit telling fellow prostaff buddies about secret baits like the Stinky Pinky Zara Spook 🙂
• Chris: Don’t be afraid to fish slowly. I am a power fisherman at heart and struggle to slow down sometimes.
• Tyler: Keep grinding until the end! I culled from 79.75” up to 82” in the last 20-30 mins.
• Spencer: My biggest lesson learned from this event is how important exploring new areas can be for a pre-fish.

Was there a moment during the day when you knew you had a solid limit—or started to feel like you were in contention?

• Chad: Once I caught my 3rd fish, which was a 19.75, around 7:30 am, and with what I was seeing in fish activity, I started to get excited. At that point, I pretty well committed to what I was doing the rest of the day.
• Jared: I knew the big fish had a chance of winning, but had to grind all day to catch enough to pass Chris right before the board went dark.
• Chris: I had upper 70s pretty early in the day, so I figured I would at least have a solid finish, but when I culled a 13 for a 19, I felt pretty confident I would be in the checkline.
• Tyler: Yes, when I culled my last fish at around 2 pm.
• Spencer: When I caught 2 16+in fish to cull in the last hour or so.

What advice would you give someone fishing Stockton for the first time from a kayak?

• Chad: Pay very close attention to the forecast, especially the wind.
• Jared: Keep a good eye on the weather beforehand and pick a place that you can safely fish. The first hour is very important during the summer so always be in your best area and be efficient early in the day.
• Chris: Find an area of the lake that fits your strengths, whether that’s clear water or dirty water, deep or shallow, rock or wood, Stockton has it all.
• Tyler: Bring some ChumGlides!
• Spencer: Keep an open mind.

Did anything about the lake or conditions surprise you this time around?

• Chad: I was amazed how much bait fish activity I was seeing particularly in the upper ends of the lake. There is so much bait. And I also saw large groups of small 4″-8″ largemouth bass. Seems like the lake is very healthy.
• Jared: No real surprise other than slowing the water generation through the dam each day. I thought they would continue to draw the water down, with it still being a few feet high.
• Chris: The Lake was a little higher than normal for this time of year, but other than that, pretty typical.
• Tyler: Just how windy my area was at first launch!
• Spencer: Not particularly, everything was pretty standard for Stockton.

Derby Stats

• Anglers: 62
• Fish caught: 335 (FPA – 5.40)
• Total limits: 43 (69%)
• Margin of victory: 5″
• Twenty+ Club: Jared Fosnow – 21.25″
• Trash Pot: Chris Robbs – 23″ Cat ($140)
• Smallest Bass Award: Darian Beedle – 7.75″
• Smallest Limit Award: Eric Easter – 56.25″
• First Out-of-the-Money Award: Troy Enke
• Middle of the Pack Award: Johnathan Dominguez
• Air temp at launch: 76°F
• Air temp at takeout: 99°F

Warsaw, Missouri – June 21, 2025

Scorching heat and relentless wind greeted 80 anglers at Truman Lake for Stop #4 of the MoYak Elite Series, where rising water levels and muddy backwaters added an extra layer of difficulty. With practice proving tough across the board, many knew they’d be grinding for every bite on tournament day.

Oshey Armstrong rose to the challenge, winning his first MoYak event with 84.75″, just one inch ahead of Chad Davison. Armstrong also landed the event’s Big Bass at 19″, earning a well-deserved $1,500 payday.

Despite challenging conditions, 50 anglers managed full limits, and 30 broke the 70″ mark — no small feat on a stingy lake that saw just 371 fish entered for a 4.64 fish-per-angler average. Notably, there were no entries in the Twenty+ Club, a rare occurrence for a MoYak event.

“The high water and heat threw us a curveball, but our anglers adapted. Truman made you work for every inch today,” said MoYak Director Joshua Boothe.

Top Ten Finishers:

• Oshey Armstrong – 84.75″
• Chad Davison – 83.75″
• Jason Shifflett – 80.25″
• Steve Van Tassel – 79.75″
• Chris Gilbert – 79.5″
• Robert Swearngin – 79″
• Richy Laughery – 78″
• Richie McMichael – 77.25″
• Blake Weilant – 75.5″
• Joe Nafziger – 75.5″

Team Series Update:
On the team side, “Everhart’s A-Team” pulled off a big win with 96.75″ combined from each angler’s three best fish, edging out “Something to Prove” by 3 inches and earning $360.

AOY Standings Shift
With consistent finishes from McMichael, Swearngin, and Shifflett — and now a win from Armstrong — the Angler of the Year race continues to tighten. Armstrong’s jump up the board sneaks him firmly in AOY contention and a coveted spot in the Taney 20. Click here to see the latest standings.

Next stop: Stockton Lake in July, where the water is already 7 feet high and anglers are hoping for some redemption after a brutal day on Truman.

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #4 Truman presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Oshey Armstrong – 84.75″
Chad Davison – 83.75″
Jason Shifflett – 80.25″
Steve Van Tassel – 79.75″
Chris Gilbert – 85.5″
Robert Swearngin – 79″
Richy Laughery – 78″
Richie McMichael – 77.25″
Blake Weilant – 75.5″
Joe Nafziger – 75.5″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

What was your strategy going into the day?

• Oshey: I planned on fishing shallow flipping bushes and if that didn’t work out I was gonna fish offshore.
• Chad: Start with topwater to take advantage of the morning bite, then pitch plastics around bushes the rest of the day.
• Jason: To do better then Chad, lol.
• Steve: I always start out asking myself, “What would Chad do?” Then I go from there and wing it. We had about a dozen kayaks launch at the same location. My strategy was to wait until they took off, see where they went, and go a different direction. I decided to fish the wind all day.
• Robert: I planned on fishing only a couple of spots, looking for deeper, less pressured fish.

Were you able to prefish, and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

• Oshey: I was not able to pre-fish.
• Chad: Yes, I found an area that I felt like I could catch a decent limit in. Then I checked another area for a backup. I caught fish in both areas. I dialed in the bush bite and got confidence in the baits and color that was getting bites.
• Jason: Not really, I got up there around 1pm with the Ol’lady and kids n we got out there playing and swimming, I may a few cast and caught one on a swim jig.
• Steve: I pre-fished the weekend prior and didn’t do well; the water was dirty everywhere I went.
• Robert: Everything I heard was that fish were in the bushes the week before. I was able to get on the water on Friday. I spent about 10 minutes flipping when I saw the water was 80 degrees and decided to go offshore. I fished several places without a bite, then would hit an area that was loaded. I decided to stick to only 3 spots based on what I learned Friday.

What was your best finish at TRUMAN before this?

• Oshey: Not good.
• Chad: My first Mo-Yak win was at Truman during my first season in 2021. Truman Lake has been very good to me with quite a few checks.
• Jason: 2nd at the Classic
• Steve: 14th place
• Robert: 4th in Moyak in 2023 and had a 4th Place finish in KAMO in 2024.

What was the general tackle you used on game day?

• Oshey: Falcon Cara 7’ all around for Texas rig. With a 6” senko. And I used a 6th sense movement rod 7’3” mod action for my bladed jig.
• Chad: Crock-O-Gator Head Knocker, H2 Baits Punch Hawg, H2 Baits Zip Worm, Soft Jerk Bait
• Jason: Spinner bait in the morning and a jackhammer and 1/2oz swim jig the rest of the day
• Steve: Spinnerbait- bluegill.
• Robert: 6XD Crankbait and a homemade 3/4 jig.

How far did you travel to find your fish? General areas?

• Oshey: Launched from Sterrett Creek Marina and probably didn’t go more than 5 miles away.
• Chad: Did not travel very far from the ramp. I was fishing in the lower end of the lake.
• Jason: My kayak broke while we were out playing on Friday, so I used the Ol’lady’s yak in back of the cove, fish seemed scattered, so I was getting them here and there from the creek on out.
• Steve: I traveled about 200 yards on the Pomme arm. Caught all mine before 0900. Same 100-yard stretch.
• Robert: I traveled less than 2 miles at the furthest point from the ramp. I stayed in Little Tebo all day.

Did the weather/high water affect your water or choice of water? If so, how did you adjust?

• Oshey: The wind played a big part, for a while the wind had me crippled and couldn’t move anywhere and than I found a area that was blocking the main lake wind and helped me.
• Chad: Not really. I fished in an area I have had success in the past. I liked the water color with about 12″+ of visibility.
• Jason: The high water kept me outta the river feeds, so I picked a cove close to dam, been working for me this year so far.
• Steve: Looked for better water clarity, weather kept me from crossing the lake.
• Robert: Yes! I was much more comfortable with the heat for several days leading up to the tournament. I think it pushed a lot of fish out of the bushes. However, with the high water, I couldn’t fish my usual offshore spots on Truman, so I was looking for places that would normally have 2-5 feet of water on them.

Did you lose any fish or have a story about your biggest catch?

• Oshey: I did lose a few fish today both felt decent but didn’t see how big exactly. And when I caught my biggest fish I believed I just caught my 5th or just culled a 15” so when I caught my kicker I didn’t even think it was a bass at first until I saw her jump out of the water and that’s when I had to lock but yeah landing the fish is one thing. I knew I had to make sure my photos were perfect because I knew that was an important fish.
• Chad: My big one hit on top early, but I missed it. I came back and pitched the soft jerkbait in there and I caught it (I assume it was the same fish).
• Jason: I lost two that cost me first, being in the narrow old town yak vs my Hobie I had a 18 1/4 flop off my board as I was trying to get a pic n later in the day I easily had big bass on n lost it when it jumped right close to the yak… Chad showed up seconds later and said, “You still got an hour, keep pushing.”
• Steve: Didn’t lose anything that would have helped.
• Robert: I lost 2 on tournament day which cost me. One was probably 17″, which would have moved me up a few spots, and then another that was easily 20+ that I’m sure cost me the tournament.

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

• Oshey: On the drive there I saw a bunch of Deer, and I saw two Red foxes thought that was pretty cool.
• Chad: Lots of carp and big gar.
• Jason: A couple bald eagles.
• Steve: Nothing crazy this time around.
• Robert: I think the wildlife was hiding from the heat/wind. Nothing to report other than an exhausted box turtle I found in the middle of the lake. He rode in my yak for over an hour before getting dropped off on its new island home.

Tell us about your kayak and electronics setup.

• Oshey: I have a Hobie Outback 2023 model, just pedals and I run a Lawrence Elite 7
• Chad: Old Town Autopilot 136. I am going into my 5th year fishing in this kayak, and it is the one I started in Mo-Yak with. I have a 10″ Humminbird Helix with MegaLive. I left the MegaLive in the truck for this one.
• Jason: Fished the Oldtown 136, no electronics aside from the motor.
• Steve: I have a classic Ascend 128T with a TM and make-shift buoys (training wheels) for each side of my kayak. Sporting a Helix 7 on it.
• Robert: Nothing fancy, NuCanoe Unlimited with a MotorGuide Xi3, and a fairly basic 7″ Garmin with Side/Down Imaging.

Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs?

• Oshey: I do not have any sponsors.
• Chad: Old Town Fishing – Crock O Gator – Dungarees Clothing – Everharts Outdoors – H2 Bait Design – Max It Out LEDs – Cashion Rods – Council Bluff Crankbaits – CMX Lures USA
• Jason: I would like to give my shout out to Jason Anderson with ARC Services, he plays a huge part of me being able to do this… He was rushed to the hospital on Friday and is currently fighting for his life. My prayers go out for him and his family, and I’m taking care of the work and home front until you come home, brother!
• Steve: I try to thank the Lord Jesus for the fish I catch, big or small… generally on the smaller side, but thankful either way.
• Robert: As always, Ellis Battery in Ozark has taken great care of me. I run a 70 AH Continental lithium battery from them. Even with the wind pounding all day, I never had to switch to my backup!

Derby Stats

• Anglers: 80
• Fish caught: 371 (FPA – 4.64)
• Total limits: 50 (63%)
• Margin of victory: 1″
• Twenty+ Club: None!
• Trash Pot: Chris Woehl – 24″ Cat ($150)
• Smallest Bass Award: Kyle Savner – 8.5″
• Air temp at launch: 72°F
• Air temp at takeout: 95°F

Branson, Missouri – May 17, 2025
On a picture-perfect spring day in the Ozarks, 71 anglers launched onto the storied waters of Table Rock Lake for the third stop of the MoYak Elite Series. But this wasn’t just any tournament. This was the first-ever Ellie Bowman Memorial, honoring the memory of a special young girl who loved fishing with her father and whose spirit was felt across every cast and kayak.

In what may go down as one of the most competitive events in MoYak history, Jared Fosnow emerged victorious, edging out perennial contender Chad Davison by a razor-thin 1.5-inch margin. Fosnow, fresh off a $10,000 win earlier this month at Truman Reservoir during the All-American Kayak Classic, brought his A-game once again, proving his hot streak is no fluke.

The morning began with crisp 55-degree air, quickly warming into the low 80s under cloudless skies — a welcome change for a trail that’s become all too familiar with fishing through downpours and wind advisories.

Unlike the grind at Pomme de Terre, Table Rock showed out. A whopping 55 anglers recorded five-fish limits, and if you didn’t break the 80-inch mark, you weren’t even sniffing the top 20. In total, 425 fish hit the leaderboard for a stout FPA (fish-per-angler) of 5.99.

“It was a day for Ellie,” said MoYak director Joshua Boothe. “The weather was perfect. The fish were biting. But most importantly, we were all reminded why we do this — for family, for community, and for the love of the sport.”

Fosnow Eyes AOY
Fosnow’s win marks his second top-ten in three events and catapults him into the top 5 in the Angler of the Year standings, currently led by Richie McMichael, who’s quietly stacking up points with consistent finishes.

Team Series Shakeup: “Something to Prove” Makes a Statement
On the team side, “Something to Prove” — Spencer O’Neal and Micah Funderburgh — lived up to their name, taking the win and jumping to the top of the Team Series AOY standings. The “Burrito Banditos” were in position to hold their lead until co-captain Troy Enke forgot to submit fish for the team tally — a rare misstep that proved costly.

Big Bass, Trash Fish, and a Tiny Titan
Eric Easter landed the Big Bass of the day — a chunky 20.5-inch largemouth caught during the early morning bite. He shared Twenty+ honors with Micah Funderburgh (20″) and Richy Laughery (20.5″), while Funderburgh also pocketed the Trash Pot with a carp pushing over 30 inches. On the opposite end of the scale, Michael Sandlin claimed the Smallest Bass Award with a 7.25-inch squeaker.

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #3 Ellie Bowman Memorial on Table Rock presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Jared Fosnow – 89.25″
Chad Davison – 87.75″
Evan Washburn – 87.75″
Jason Shifflett – 85.75″
Chris Gilbert – 85.5″
Micah Funderburgh – 85.25″
Spencer O’Neal – 85.25″
Lance Irwin – 85″
Trey Dawson – 85″
Patrick Bowman – 84.5″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

What was your strategy going into the day?

• Jared: Try to get in on an early shad spawn bite, then work some secondary points with a shaky head and look for suspended fish on the live sonar.
• Chad: I knew there was a shad spawn deal, but I hadn’t really found it in practice. I started in a different area than I practiced, hoping I’d find it. I kept an open mind and let things develop.
• Evan: I was hoping to fish shallow and catch topwater fish early with the shad spawn going on, but I never caught a topwater fish.
• Jason: I knew the shad spawn was close, so my plan was to cover water and get them on a chatterbait.
• Chris: No report.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

• Jared: I prefished about 5 hours both Thursday and Friday. I found fish doing a bit of everything. I focused on tournament day on what produced the best quality — large rock slabs with small shade pockets.
• Chad: Yes, I prefished Friday and had a good day around 90″. I found several areas with fish and chose one that ended up having a solid population. There was even a brief shad spawn bite.
• Evan: I didn’t prefish and hadn’t been on Table Rock since early April.
• Jason: I didn’t get to prefish, but was familiar with the area and decided to just have fun and go for points.
• Chris: No report.

What was your best finish at Table Rock before this?

• Jared: 4th place twice — in the 2020 BASS Nation qualifier and the 2021 Missouri State Championship.
• Chad: I believe 3rd a couple of years ago in a MoYak event.
• Evan: 8th out of 152 in 2022 and 6th out of 87 in 2020.
• Jason: 1st place in the 2022 MoYak State Championship.
• Chris: No report.

What was the general tackle you used on game day?

• Jared: H2 Big Easy worm on a Crock-O-Gator shaky head, Senko Neko-rigged with a 1/8 oz KayakJak button head, and half a Senko on a Ned rig. All in green pumpkin blue with chartreuse-dipped tips.
• Chad: Council Bluff Crankbaits Firefly jerkbait for most of my fish, and a big smallie on a Crock-O-Gator Swamp Bug.
• Evan: Spinnerbait, chatterbait, and squarebill.
• Jason: Started with a chatterbait but got short strikes, switched to a jighead with a 3” Keitech, and slow-rolled it. Upgraded later with a Rock Crawler in 8–10 feet.
• Chris: No report.

How far did you travel to find your fish? General areas?

• Jared: I covered a couple of miles to fish large rock slabs that created shade.
• Chad: About 10 minutes from the ramp, fished the Kimberling City to Campbell Point section.
• Evan: Spinnerbait, chatterbait, and squarebill.
• Jason: One of the arms north of the dam. I circled the same area all day.
• Chris: No report.

Did the weather affect your water or choice of water?

• Jared: Not much, but I was glad for the wind, which helped keep fish shallow.
• Chad: I avoided the dam area due to concern over clear water and no wind.
• Evan: With full sun and no shade, fish stayed low. I gave up on topwater and focused on bottom contact.
• Jason: Spring-to-spawn transition and fluctuating water levels steered me toward more stable areas closer to the dam.
• Chris: No report.

Did you lose any fish or have a story about your biggest catch?

• Jared: Fished clean all day. The big smallmouth I caught was full of eggs and needed time to revive.
• Chad: Lost some early on, but nothing that would have made a difference. The biggest fish was a 19″ largemouth in 18″ of water, mid-morning, zero wind.
• Evan: Lost two fish that didn’t matter. My biggest came in the final hour — same bait as the second-biggest, caught in the first hour.
• Jason: No big losses. Caught a few decent fish but no kicker.
• Chris: No report.

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

• Jared: Snakes. Lots of snakes. And a few deer.
• Chad: Not really.
• Evan: Several snakes, turtles, and one otter.
• Jason: Just deer.
• Chris: No report.

Tell us about your kayak and electronics setup.

• Jared: 2025 Old Town 136 AutoPilot with three 60Ah lithiums. Humminbird Helix for mapping, currently testing Lowrance FFS, switching to Garmin 12″ or 16″.
• Chad: If you follow the Yakoff, you know all about it.
• Evan: Bonafide SS127 with trolling motor. No electronics currently.
• Jason: Hobie PA14 360 with two Lowrance FS9s, no motor. Great yak, but I go through a 360 Drive once or twice a year.
• Chris: No report.

Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs?

• Jared: Halo Rods, H2 Bait Design, Crock O Gator, American Bait Works, Glover Lures and Replicas, Elite Billiards & Alehouse, Everharts Outdoors, Gamakatsu. Big thanks to Strike Force Fishing scents — not a sponsor, but huge in my last two wins and $11K in earnings.
• Chad: Sponsors: Old Town Fishing, Dungarees Clothing, Crock-O-Gator, Everharts Outdoors, H2 Bait Design, Council Bluff Crankbaits, Max It Out LEDs, Cashion Rods. Thanks to the Bowmans, Performance Food Service, and everyone who made the awards meal and memorial possible.
• Evan: No sponsors. Thanks to Josh Boothe for running another great tournament.
• Jason: No sponsors, but thanks to my close friends and especially my wife — they make my success possible both on and off the water.
• Chris: No report.

Final Thoughts

As the MoYak season rolls on, the memory of Ellie Bowman will no doubt continue to ride along with every angler. Her name is now part of the legacy of the trail — and if this inaugural event is any indication, her tournament will be one of the most beloved on the calendar for years to come.

Derby Stats

• Anglers: 71
• Fish caught: 425 (FPA – 5.99)
• Total limits: 55 (77%)
• Margin of victory: 1.5″
• Twenty+ Club: Micah Funderburgh (20″), Eric Easter (20.5″), Richy Laughery (20.5″)
• Trash Pot: Micah Funderburgh – 30+” Carp ($125)
• Smallest Bass Award: Michael Sandlin – 7.25″
• Air temp at launch: 55°F
• Air temp at takeout: 82°F

Hermitage, Missouri – April 6, 2025

If there’s one thing predictable about spring in the Ozarks, it’s that nothing is predictable—especially at Pomme de Terre. Anglers in the MoYak Fishing Series’ second Elite event of the season were met with brutal conditions and a stingy bite, but that didn’t stop Chris Robbs from rising to the top yet again.

Heavy rains leading up to tournament day caused the lake to swell rapidly, with water levels rising by the hour as anglers launched into a soaking cold front. Air temps hovered around 45 degrees, a steady rain fell for most of the day, and winds kicked up to nearly 20 mph by late morning—making paddle and pedal drives feel more like survival gear than fishing equipment. By evening, some parts of the region even saw snow.

But through all of that, Robbs showed once more why he’s the man to beat at Pomme. With gritty persistence and strategic adjustments, he claimed his second Elite Series win on the lake, following up on his October 2022 victory where he edged out Lance Burris with 81.5” to 80”.

This time around, the lake was even less generous. Just 12 out of 69 anglers managed to catch a five-fish limit, and a surprising 21 anglers didn’t record a single fish. Only 148 total fish were submitted—a stark reminder that Pomme, especially when angry, makes no promises.

The win also gave Robbs and teammate Chad Davison the Team Series title for the weekend, with their six longest fish measuring 96.75”. As the Everharts A-Team, they were one of the few duos able to put together consistent bites when others were simply trying to stay dry and upright.

Meanwhile, Robert Swearngin and Richie McMichael each posted their second straight top-ten finish of the season. The strong showing was enough for Swearngin to overtake McMichael for the Angler of the Year lead—setting the stage for a tightly contested race as the season progresses.

The event also marked a breakout performance for two of MoYak’s newest names: Marcus Sherman and Tyler Alexander, both rookies, who broke into the top ten with performances that showed poise beyond their experience.

On the Team Series side, the Burrito Banditos kept their momentum rolling with a third-place finish, holding on to their Team AOY lead over Something To Prove in what’s shaping up to be a season-long duel.

Pomme de Terre was cold, wet, windy, and wild—but for the anglers who adapted, adjusted, and outlasted, it was a day to remember. For Chris Robbs, it was one more chapter in a legacy he’s writing on this unpredictable lake, one cast at a time.

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #2 Pomme de Terre presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Chris Robbs – 78.5″
Tyler Cokley – 73.25″
Troy Nydegger – 71.75″
PJ Coley – 71.25″
Richie McMichael – 70″
Robert Swearngin – 68.75″
Tyler Alexander (R) – 68″
Marcus Sherman (R) – 66.5″
Blake Weilant – 64″
Pat Lassek – 63.25″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

What was your strategy going into the day?

Chris – The plan was to target areas I thought pre spawn fish would be utilizing and to power fish! I felt the time of year and weather conditions were going to make for a perfect day to keep a moving bait glued to my hand.

Tyler – Just go fish for 5 bites.

Troy – TBH, I didn’t have much of a strategy going in since I didn’t get a chance to prefish. I wasn’t sure what the water looked like and expected it to be much more stained than what is was with all the rain we had. The are I was in was pretty clean. I focused on deeper (8-10 ft) structure and brush piles because I felt the dropping water temps would pull them back a bit.

PJ – Before the rains my plan was to go up the river and try and beat the bank in the warmer waters I had found the weekend before but seeing how bad the rivers were I went more main lake and fished brush piles around docks knowing how bad the weather was going to be felt it was the only option to halfway stay out of the wind and be able to fish productively

Richie – My strategy was to target points, rocky banks and flooded brush with spinnerbaits and crankbaits.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

Chris – No prefishing

Tyler – No pre fishing

Troy – No prefishing

PJ – I was able to go down the weekend before and did decent beating the bank up the river on a wigglewart but after the rains come tournament day there was no way I’d be able to get up there and fish with how fast, high and dirty the water was so come tournament day I just had to wing it

Richie – Did not prefish due to the weather.

What was your best finish at Pomme before this?

Chris – 1st place. This is my second win on Pomme.

Tyler – I’ve only fished it one time in a tournament and finished 17th

Troy – The only other time I had fished Pomme was the MOYAK stop #6 last year and I finished 6th in that one.

PJ – Honestly have no idea pomme has always been a lake that has had my number so feels good to get that monkey off my back and have a good finish

Richie – 3rd is my highest Pomme finish.

What was the general tackle you used on game day?

Chris – Spinnerbait and crankbait.

Tyler – Ozark flash spinnerbait/ shakey head with crocogator beaver bug

Troy – All of my fish were caught on either a jig or a ned rig.

PJ – At the start I tried cranking and throwing a spinnerbait but started taking a finesse approach as the weather set in and caught all but one throwing a neko rig with a black and blue senko

Richie – Crankbaits.

How far did you have to travel to find your fish? If you are willing, please give the general area(s) of the lake you fished.

Chris – Not far at all. Started within site of where I launched. Targeted the pre spawn areas, transitions around main lake points and the point itself, and the channel banks leading into the creeks/pockets.

Tyler – I just bounced around between couple areas but never went very far from truck

Troy – I think it’s called the Decker Branch area. There was a lot of traffic in there, both kayaks and bass boats.

PJ – Only went about a mile or two fishing the northwest side of the lake

Richie – Started fishing very close to the ramp. Fished the southeast side of the lake.

Chris – Yes, I chose the mid lake area. I felt  with all the rain, that area of the lake wouldn’t be blown out as much as the river might of been, but still stained up enough to where I could power fish the way I wanted to.

Tyler – I picked an area that had cleaner water but had a creek close enough I could run to dirty water if I needed.

Troy – Not really.

PJ – Leading up I was set where I wanted to go but the rains made it way to muddy and current was way to fast so I chose to go find cleaner water and at the beginning of the day water clarity was what I wanted but as the day went on started getting murky and dirty but didn’t seem to affect how I was fishing

Richie – My spot I usually launch at was out of play due to all the rain so I picked a spot that looked good and just went fishing.

Did you lose any fish that would have made a difference or do you have a story to tell about your biggest bass of the day?

Chris – 6 bites, 6 fish in the boat. Fishing clean is key to winning or cashing checks with the group of anglers in this club. My big fish came early in the day on the spinnerbait and she jumped two or three times right next to the boat before I was able to reach her with the net. When I went to lift her into the boat the spinnerbait fell out of her mouth….

Tyler – Nope I landed every bite I got and I never caught a big fish.

Troy – No. I only caught six bass all day, and the last one was a 12 incher that didn’t help.

PJ – About a hour in I hooked into one fishing a brush pile that I knew was the one you need but just before getting to the kayak and within shot of seeing it, it shook loose other then that one I’m happy to say I fished pretty clean and the bites i did get made it into the yak

Richie – No lost fish. Had 5 bites all day and luckily landed them all.

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

Chris – Heard the turkeys gobbling and bald eagles flying.

Tyler – Lots of bald eagles and loons

Troy – A couple of bald eagles in the morning and I caught a turtle half way through the day. That was fun.

PJ – Saw a pretty big river otter that popped up under a boat slip and scared me pretty good when I was trying to get out the rain and warm my hands up

Richie – Nothing memorable, nothing wanted to be out in that weather.

Are you planning to fish the Ellie Bowman Memorial on Table Rock in May?

Chris – Yes! Maybe it will be warm enough for a topwater bite by then?

Tyler – absolutely

Troy – I am going to try. It depends on how my schedule works out.

PJ – Yes as of now I plan on fishing it

Richie – Absolutely, I plan on fishing the Ellie Bowman Memorial on Table Rock.

Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs you’d like to give?

Chris – Big thanks to my wife for supporting my fishing obsession and taking care of our little man on tournament days. Thanks to all my sponsors for their support. I like to support local business and I’m fortunate to have local companies that support my fishing.

• Everharts Outdoors
• Council Bluff Crankbaits
• Baitcave Customs
• Buff Truck Outfitters

Tyler – Eco Fishing Shop

Troy – No sponsors, but I’d like to thank Joshua Boothe, Johnathan Dominguez, yourself and anyone else who helps put on the MOYAK series. They are always well run events and a lot of fun (weather aside!)

PJ – Ecofishing Shop, Jackiewiczs swim baits, Motionfishing, wootungsten, Aquaflage  all play a huge part with there support and amazing products they offer and of course all my friends and family at home with out there support and love none of it would be possible

Richie – Thanks to Mo-Yak for putting on another great tournament with beer and food at the awards.

Derby Stats
Anglers 69
Fish caught – 148 (FPA – 2.14)
Total limits – 29 (17%)
Margin of victory – 5.25″
Twenty+ Club – Chris Robbs (20.25″), Doug Wright (20.25″)
Trash Pot – Richie McMichael – 23″ Carp ($125)
Smallest Bass Award – Dane Lewis 8″
Air temp at launch – 42
Air temp at takeout – 45

Osage Beach, Missouri – The 2025 EcoFishing Shop Stop #1 on Lake of the Ozarks greeted 81 MoYakkers suffering from cabin fever to a lake that had been rocked the week prior with 50+ mph winds, forest fires, and a tough mid-March bite. After a windy start to the morning, we had a brief window of decent spring weather before getting snow the night after the derby. After the smoke cleared (literally), with 84″, Ozark’s Troy Enke emerged victorious with a one-inch lead over his fellow EcoFishing Shop team member, Aaron Gardner.

The Burrito Banditos (Richie McMichael 51.75″ and Troy Enke 54″) took top honors on the team side with 105.75″ of Lake of the Ozarks bass. In 2025 each team member contributes their longest three fish to the six bass team total. The Reel Food Guys (Michael Buvid 51″ and Patrick Bowman 45.75″) notched 2nd place honors with 96.75″.

The big bass contest was very tight as six anglers caught 20+” fish and Tyy narrowly beat Michael Buvid with the 20.5″ tiebreaker by catching his before Michael’s (another new rule this year).

Here are your top ten for the 2025 MoYak Stop #1 Lake of the Ozarks presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Troy Enke – 84″
Aaron Gardner – 83″
Robert Swearngin – 81.75″
Russell Bergeron – 81.25″
Richie McMichael – 81″
Rylan Sommer – 80.5″
Zachary Woolverton – 80.25″
Jared Fosnow – 79.5″
Chris Woehl – 77.5″
Mike Tichenor – 77″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

What was your strategy going into the day?

Troy – I hadn’t been on LOZ since the Winter Series event in December so I wanted to junk fish my way until I found something that worked.

Aaron – The bite had been super tough around the whole lake so my best chance of finding some fish was finding the warmest water possible.

Robert – I had planned on fishing main lake points and bluff ends.  The water temp tanked 6 degrees on me overnight on the place I was planning on spending most of my time on.  I couldn’t hardly ever get on the points I wanted to fish though.  Every time I would get close, a bass boat would run in and cut me off.

Russell – no report

Richie – The bite was tough the last several weeks so my plan was just to get a limit. I like throwing crankbaits in the spring and have done well at LOZ in the past cranking. My strategy was to target wind-blown points and rocky banks.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

Troy – I had originally planned to take Friday off to prefish but the Hobie doesn’t do well in 50mph winds.

Aaron – No prefishing. Just watched conditions unfold leading up to tourney day and made a gutsy decision.

Robert – I was able to get in about 4 hours of prefishing on Friday.  The wind caused me to have to get off the water around noon.  Places I caught fish on Friday, I couldn’t get bit on Saturday and areas I never had a bite on Friday were my most productive areas on tournament day.

Russell – no report

Richie – The plan was to prefish Friday but decided not to because of the high winds. Should have checked out the ramp I decided on because it was closed in the morning and had to scramble to find another launch close to the area I wanted to fish.

What was your best finish at LOZ before this?

Troy – I got 2nd in the October 2023 contest and our team won that event.

Aaron – This was my best finish so far on LoZ in the main MoYak series. I did win a Sunday series last year on here.

Robert – 1st Place in the 2023/2024 Moyak Winter Series.

Russell – no report

Richie – My best finish was 3rd in 2020.

What was the general tackle you used on game day?

Troy – Frittside 5 in Red Craw, 1/2oz Accent River Special spinnerbait (Charteuse & White), Jackhammer (White with white 4″ Rage Menace).

Aaron – Majority of my fish came on Berkley dime 4 in Special Red Craw, paired with my FX XAS 6’6” Medium rod. 8lb CXX P-Line. I also caught a couple on the BaitCave 4” Flat worm in MVP.

Robert – Old beat up wiggle wart on a Megabass Ororchi Diablo Rod.  My 18.25 came on a homemade jig, but that was the only bite on the jig all day.

Russell – no report

Richie – Frittside 5 crankbaits in multiple colors.

How far did you have to travel to find your fish? If you are willing, please give the general area(s) of the lake you fished.

Troy – I fished the Glaize and went upriver from the ramp about 3 miles and did a circle back.

Aaron –  I had to travel a ways due to limited ramps. I put in the big Niangua and traveled as far as I could above HaHaTonka.

Robert – I fished the Glaize arm of the lake and didn’t travel too far.  In fact, I never caught a fish out of sight of the boat ramp.

Russell – no report

Richie – I started fishing only a few minutes from the ramp. I fished the southeast part of the lake.

Troy – I tried to stay under 6ft and caught most everything by bouncing the Frittside along the rocks all day. The water was perfectly stained the way I like it for a chatterbait or jerk bait but I couldn’t get anything going on either except for one ~15″ on the chatterbait.

Aaron – I was unsure my depth going into the day but after about the first 20 minutes of fishing, I found I needed only bout 3-5 feet of water depth. Clarity was about a foot. Water temp started at 56.1 and had 57.8 by the end of the day.

Robert – Water had a good stain to it, 1 1/2 to 2 ft of clarity, where I really like it.  All of my fish came in 4 to 10 foot of water.  Water temp started off in the mid 50s on Friday, but dropped after the storms Friday night to 47-50 on Saturday.

Russell – no report

Richie – I was concentrating on 2 to 10ft. The fish were getting shallower throughout the day. Water temps were low to mid 50’s.

Did you lose any fish that would have made a difference or do you have a story to tell about your biggest bass of the day?

Troy – I fished clean. I pulled into a small pocket around 10am to get out of the wind. There was a laydown in the back and I thought it looked like a spinnerbait needed to be pitched back there. After the first few turns of the reel handle, the line got heavy and she headed for deeper water.  It took several seconds for me to see her and I actually thought I had my usual trash fish but she came up and made my heart start pounding!  I few seconds and the worst net job ever and the 20 was on the board!

Aaron – So I did lose another small mouth that may have bumped me up more but probably not enough to catch Troy.  My big fish I think was out to give me a stroke. Starting about 1430 I had another strong wave of bites. Then about 1515 it stopped. I was a few casts away from calling it done. There was this seam I kept throwing to and had a big rock about half way back to the yak that if I hit it just right, I would get hit. At 1520 give or take I smacked that rock and she about pulled the road out of my hand. I thought I snagged a gar because they had been moving in but luckily it wasn’t. She came flying out of the water and sent me into panic mode because I knew I had only a few minutes to get the picture snapped. Thankfully she choked it and I able to hoarse her in a little faster than usual.

Robert – I fished pretty clean, only lost one that may have moved me to 2nd place.  No big bass stories to tell, but I did take a run at the trash pot.  Late in the day, I hooked something on a wart that at first I thought was BassQuatch.  However, I quickly realized that it wasn’t a bass as it dragged me about 100 yards out into the middle of the lake and spooled me.  No clue what it was, but it cost me an expensive wart and about 200 yards of FC Sniper Sunline.

Russell – no report

Richie – I tried to flip a fish around 15-16″ at the end of day which would have been an inch or two cull but wasn’t hooked good and came off. Had a few other opportunities but couldn’t keep them hooked.

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

Troy – Lots of feathered friends and one very well-fed otter.

Aaron – About 11:00 I had a big ol otter surface about 10 feet in front of me.

Robert – Lots of squirrels, ducks, and the Canadian Air Force (geese)

Russell – no report

Richie – A few bald eagles flying around.

What are your tournament fishing plans for 2025?

Troy – I think I have a tournament every weekend for the rest of the season, lol. I plan to fish as many MoYak events as possible, ECO BB 250, AAKC on Truman in May, some AAKS and any other local events that might help me prepare for any of those.  I enjoy jumping into NSKA events from time to time and I’ll try Oklahoma and Kansas if the timing is right.

Aaron – I plan on fishing the whole MoYak elite series, the river series, hopefully get a couple Sunday series in and the occasional BrockPots on Wednesdays.

Robert – I think I will make all of the Moyak Elite Series events except for Mark Twain.  I’m really looking forward to Truman in June, that can be some of my favorite fishing that time of year.  The All American Classic on Truman should be a great event I plan on attending as well.

Russell – no report

Richie – I plan on fishing most of Mo-Yak, A couple Bassmaster and an All-American or two in 2025.

Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs you’d like to give?

Troy – EcoFishingShop

Aaron –Huge thanks for all my sponsors.

• EcoFishingShop
• BaitCaveCustoms
• FX Rods
• Woo Tungsten
• YoloTek
• QuickBaits

I wouldn’t be able to excel without their help along the way. Also a big thank you to Josh Boothe.

Robert – Ellis Battery in Ozark kept me powered up all day!  Although I didn’t go far, the way I was fishing, I kept the trolling motor going non stop.  The wind was rough the first few hours of the day. Despite all of that, I never had to switch to my backup batteries.  If you need any kind of battery, I highly recommend getting ahold of Steve at Ellis Battery located behind Lamberts in Ozark, Mo.

Russell – no report

Richie – Mo-Yak for running a great tournament series and Kistler Rods. Kistler makes excellent rods and reels that help put fish in the boat.

Derby Stats
Anglers 81
Fish caught – 274 (FPA – 3.38)
Total limits – 29 (36%)
Margin of victory – 1″
Twenty+ Club – Tyy Ward (20.5″), Michael Buvid (20.5″), Troy Enke (20″), Zachary Woolverton (20″), Darian Beedle (20″), Jesse Payne (20″)
Trash Pot – Sam Young – 23″ Blue Cat ($180)
Smallest Bass Award – Eric Easter 9″
Air temp at launch – 49
Air temp at takeout – 72

Poplar Bluff, Missouri – The EcoFishing Shop Stop #5 of the Trail Series welcomed 50 MoYakkers as we teamed up with Drew Gregory and the Kayak Adventure Series for a road runner event in the Bootheel region. Anglers had the freedom to choose from various lakes, creeks, rivers, conservation areas, and national wildlife refuges, making this tournament truly unique.

The Chum Boys not only dominated the team competition but also claimed the top two individual spots, replicating their success at Table Rock. This time, Tyler Cokley secured 1st place with 92.75″, while his partner, Johnathan Dominguez, closely followed in 2nd place with 92.25″. Their achievement is notable not just for their recent consistent performance but also because they fished entirely different types of water to surpass the 90″ mark.

Speaking of consistency, Chad Davison recorded his fourth consecutive top-ten finish, taking a commanding lead in the Angler of the Year (AOY) race. With two events left, the competition remains fierce, and several anglers are still in the running as we head into the fall.

Here are your top ten for the 2024 MoYak Stop #5 Poplar Bluff presented by Eco Fishing Shop.

Tyler Cokley – 92.75″
Johnathan Dominguez – 92.25″
Mike Keafer – 82.25″
Chad Fleer – 79.75″
Chad Davison – 79.25″
Stony Floyd – 78″
Hunter Maddox – 75.5″
Trevor Motzkus– 75″
Robert Swearngin – 73.75″
Ryan Reed – 72.25″

Let’s take a closer look at the top five finishers and hear how they solved the puzzle in their own words:

What was your strategy going into the day?

Tyler – Day one of KAS was more of a pre-fishing / seeing if the fish were there or further up the river.

Johnathan – I fished all week, having little success. This was a last minute hail mary. I knew from Friday there were good fish in there. I was just hoping for a couple bites!

Mike – I had two different spots I was planning to fish.  Fish the first one for 3 to 4hrs and depending on how that turned out move to the second for the rest of the day.

Chad F. – Cover a lot of water throwing topwater and concentrate on where the bigger fish would be staged

Chad D. – I had found a creek in practice on Wapp that I got a lot of bites, so my plan was to start in there and try to get a limit.   I felt like if they were running water on the main river channel, there could be some bigger fish, so the plan was to run that later.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

Tyler – No prefishing except for looking further up the river during the KAS evening portion.

Johnathan – Prefishing helped me eliminate water but I never got those warm fuzzy feelings like I did at Table Rock. The refuge did offer plenty of opportunities with plenty of water in the area that I could audible if needed.

Mike – Wasn’t really able to prefish, so I used day one of the KAS to narrow down an idea for Saturday.

Chad F. – Yes / located where the fish were feeding

Chad D. – Yes, I practiced Wed night and Thursday.   It was very helpful to get out and get some confidence in baits/areas.  Seemed like most bites were on wood, and caught them on various moving baits.

How do you prepare for road runner events? How do you like or dislike them compared to single-venue events?

Tyler – This was a very interesting event due to all the different bodies of water. I stuck to what I know and love, rivers. It takes a lot more homework and knowledge to win an event like this instead of a single venue which I like.

Johnathan – I felt like it was throwing darts at a map and hoping they stuck. At one point it was overwhelming all the water that was available. I liked it. I think it helps anglers play to their strong suits. It’s hard to find lakes that offer what a Road Runner style offers.

Mike – The same as other events. Prefish if you can, other than that you pick a spot and go fishing. I liked the diversity of fishing different bodies of water.

Chad F. – First Road Runner tournament for me, yes I liked the fact that there’s so many options on where to fish.

Chad D. – I do not like road runner events.   I prefer everyone to be on the same body of water.   I basically decided to fish Wapp before I arrived and stuck with that.

What was the general tackle you used on game day?

Tyler – All bigger baits looking for those above average bites like I typically do. Big wakebait and swimbaits

Johnathan – Z-Man Chatter bait. I fished Pomme a couple weeks ago and received a professional lesson from Troy Enke. The second day I changed colors and that helped with better bites.

Mike – Black buzz bait.

Chad F. – Council Bluff Crankbaits 110 Longear Plopper

Chad D. – Key baits in the tournament were a spinnerbait and several different shallow crankbaits.

How far did you have to travel to find your fish? If you are willing, please give the general area(s) of the lake you fished.

Tyler – I floated 9 miles on day one and about 15 miles on Saturday all my fish but one came Saturday morning in the first few miles of the river.

Johnathan – I believe my drive was about an hour from Poplar Bluff. May Pond. Literally a pond in the wildlife refuge.

Mike – It was 40 to 50min from where I was staying at to get to the wildlife refuge.

Chad F. – Floated roughly 12miles of river

Chad D. – I stayed within a couple miles of my launch.   I was fishing the upper 1/3 of Wappapello.

Tyler – It really helped the river bite, it had the perfect stain and the rivers stabilized just in time for an amazing bite Saturday.

Johnathan – Seemed like everyone was worried about the rain. I knew the rain would not affect me since I was not looking for a river to fish.

Mike – The storms from the hurricane caused me to switch from my original fishing plans on the Current River to the refuge.

Chad F. – No

Chad D. – No, the weather did not affect what I did.

Did you lose any fish that would have made a difference or do you have a story to tell about your biggest bass of the day?

Tyler – I had 4 other bites that were similar to my big fish of the day, could have been a 100” day.

Johnathan – I think I lost one fish on a wacky worm. I never saw the fish either so it was probably a ten pounder!!

Mike – I didn’t want to take the chance of losing my big bass. So I went to beach my yak to get the photo I needed and in doing so almost put a hole in it, cause I didn’t see the cypress knees hidden in the grass.

Chad F. – Yes lost a big smallmouth on a glide that would have made a difference. But landed a 20” beauty on the plopper!

Chad D. – I was fortunate to not lose any fish that would have helped me.   I did not expect to catch a big one in the area that I started.   I got a lot of bites there, but nothing real big in practice.   It was a surprise when one of the first fish of the morning was a 20″ stud!

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

Tyler – Couple of bald eagles!

Johnathan – No

Mike – No

Chad F. – Eagles and Deer

Chad D. – I saw a family of otters which is always cool to see.   Also an armadillo running down the bank.   And I can’t forget the stray dog in the campground by Wappapello dam where I was staying.   He ended up coming home with me and I named him Wapp.

What is your favorite rod and reel setup and what techniques do you have the most success with while using it?

Tyler – Shimano tranx 300 paired with my leviathan 8’ mh rod throwing my butcher glidebait.

Johnathan – I have really liked the 13 Fishing Rods and Reels they have been releasing. I used the newish GMan rod and reel for this event. The cranking version allows for good hook sets and keeping them pinned.

Mike – 6ft 10 med heavy Duckett rod with an 8:1 Duckett reel fishing a buzz bait.

Chad F. – Heavy Rod w a DC reel topwater/Long casts

Chad D. – One of my favorites is my Cashion Kayak Series Crankbait Rod paired with my Council Bluffs Crankbaits custom painted Frittside crankbait.   That setup with 12# line on a Shimano Curado DC reel is a go to for me when the bite is tough.

Do you have any sponsor or personal shout-outs you’d like to give?

Tyler – Chum glides and eco fishing!

Johnathan – Eco Fishing Shop as you know is really starting to expand their footprint here in the Ozarks and I am honored to be a part of their team! Also again thank you Sara for being supportive.

Mike – Big Thank You to my sponsors for the support. Bonafide Fishing, Lowrance Fishing, YakAttack, OMTC, Amphibia Eyegear

Chad F. – Council Bluff Crankbaits

Chad D. – Thank you to all my sponsors:  Old Town Fishing, H2 Bait Design, Apex Tackle, Dungarees Carhartt, Everharts Outdoors, Council Bluff Crankbaits, Cashion Rods, Max It Out LEDs.   Thank you Troy, Josh, and Johnathan for all you do to make Moyak one of the best clubs out there!

Derby Stats
Anglers 50
Fish caught – 269 (FPA – 5.38)
Total limits – 32 (64%)
Margin of victory – .5″
Twenty+ Club – Tyler Cokley (20.25″), Mike Keafer (20″), Chad Fleer (20″), Chad Davison (20″), Jared Tourville (20″), Lance Burris (20″)
Trash Pot – Troy Enke – 20.75″ Drum
Smallest Bass Award – Daniel AuBuchon 6.25″
Air temp at launch – 75
Air temp at takeout – 92

A beautiful late summer Saturday greeted a 62 angler field on potato lake, errr, Pomme de Terre for the final regular season event of 2022.  The Angler of the Year race on the individual side was too close to call going in with several anglers knotted up at the top.  Although the team side had one more event to go (Mo State Championship) it, too, was going to come down to the wire.  Pomme gave us numbers this time but was lacking in quality. MoYak came away with an FPA (fish-per-angler) of 5.56 and 64% of the field submitted a limit of bass.

After the whistle blew, Columbia’s Chris Robbs came away with his first win with MoYak, beating perennial powerhouses Lance Burris and Dorman Hughey by 1.5″ and 3″ respectively.

On the team side, The Burrito Banditos (Yours Truly & Richie McMichael) beat out the CoMo Crushers with 156.50″. This set the stage for a shootout at the Missouri State Championship between the Banditos, the Crushers, Team Bonafide, and Shake & Bake.

Here are your top ten for the 2022 MoYak Stop #7 Pomme de Terre presented by Everhart’s Outdoors.

1. Chris Robbs – 81.5″
2. Lance Burris – 80″
3. Dorman Hughey – 78.5″
4. Richie McMichael – 78.5″
5. Troy Enke – 78″
6. Patrick Troutman – 75.75″
7. Anthony Brown – 74.5″
8. Justin Coon – 74″
9. Steve Earls – 73″
10. Chad Davison – 72.75″

Team Winners

1. Burrito Banditos (Richie McMichael & Troy Enke) 156.5″

Let’s see how the top FIVE figured it out;

What was your strategy going into the day.

Chris – My strategy was to stay around the bait fish and thoroughly fish every piece of cover I could seek out close to where the bait fish were holding.

Lance – With the cold front I planned on going into full prefish mode, cover water with 7 different rods as fast as possible to reveal a bite then slow down, some.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Start the day off with a buzzbait and plopper and get a couple decent keepers early to start of the morning then switch over to a spinnerbait/bladed jig and fill out a limit. If that didn’t work , I was gonna slow down and flip laydowns. Found the golden shiner bladed jig was working and used it most of the day.

Troy – I like to power fish shallow. I planned to fish top water all day.

Were you able to prefish and did you find anything that helped you on game day?

Chris – I was able to pre-fish. I really wanted to have a strong finish to the season to help reach my goal of making the top 10 in AOY, so I went down to the lake a couple weeks prior to the tournament for a couple days to do a little fishing and really just explore places on the lake that I was interested in fishing. I was also able to get on the water for a few hours on the day before the tournament to do the same thing and see how the bite may have changed in those couple of weeks. The biggest help was getting to eliminate places I fished, I really focused on trying to find places that suited my style of fishing and if it seemed to be holding bait or fish.

Lance – Had no time to prefish so I just fished history so I didn’t have to break down new structure.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Was not able to prefish

Troy – I checked the closest ramp to my house the Wednesday before the tournament.  I saw tons of baitfish action and fish were busting on top right at the ramp.  I threw a few casts with a buzzbait from the bank and caught a 15″. I knew I’d start there after that.

What was your best finish on Pomme before this?

Chris – 22nd

Lance – 4th

Dorman – No Report

Richie – 8th in 2020

Troy – 2nd in 2019

What was the general tackle you used?

Chris – Spinnerbait and Crankbaits

Lance – Chatterbait all day. Threw it on 40# braid using a 7’ MH Kistler Feel N Reel hybrid carbon/glass rod.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Zman and berkley bladed jigs.

Troy – Junk fishing 101 – Buzzbait, Plopper, Frittside, Spinnerbait, Shakey Head, Chatterbait

Chris – I had to travel about a mile to get to where I wanted to start fishing and I was fishing the upper end of the lake.

Lance – Only covered about 4-5 miles of shoreline on the south side of the lake.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Started in the river and went as far as I could paddle.

Troy – South end

What depth range were you looking for (what was your water temp/clarity)?

Chris – I was looking for fish up shallow, pretty sure everything I caught was between 1-6 ft of water. Water temp was in the mid 60s and had about 2ft visibility.

Lance – I don’t fish deep so I beat the banks with minimal clearity and temp ranged from 59-65.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – 1 to 4 feet. Water slightly stained and temp was in the upper 60’s.

Troy – Shallow – water had a good stain with upper 60’s.

Anything else special about the day? Big Bass Story?

Chris – I managed to land the 2nd place big bass! It came pretty early in the morning and was the fish that got me my limit so I was extremely happy about getting my 5th fish and the fact that it was a quality 18.75″ kicker. The fish was holding in a shallow lay down and I ran my spinnerbait right through the heart of it and BOOM, the big girl just sucked it right in!

Lance – Lake was the lowest I’ve ever fished it so dealing with bass boats where I was wasn’t a problem. As I pulled my chatterbait out of the water, biggest fish of the day came half way out and ripped one of the legs of my trailer off. Would have given me close to a 2″ cull.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Every day on the water is special.

Troy – I had to stop throwing the Frittside squarebill because I couldn’t stop catching white bass.

See any wildlife worth mentioning?

Chris – Saw deer and bald eagles, just a great day to be outdoors.

Lance – Saw an old eagle, it was bald.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – Pretty quiet day for wildlife but did get startled by a few bats that flew over me.

Troy – I was greeted by a wild Hughey at the ramp. We started together in the same cut across from the ramp.  A friendly wager on first bass ensued and was won by yours truly on my third cast.  I have since framed that dollar.

Lose any bigguns?

Chris – Yes, two…The first I am not sure of what it was but it broke me off quickly, I have a feeling it was a toothy critter but whatever it was it was not small! The second one was for sure a bass and it was with 10 minutes left in the tournament right at the boat….I made the mistake of forgetting to adjust my drag after switching baits on my rod and I thought for sure it was going to be what cost me the victory because we have too many good fishermen in this club to give anyone even a quarter inch.

Lance – The one that got away.

Dorman – No Report

Richie – No, saw a biggun swipe at my bait but did not hook up.

Troy – I had a 20+ erupt on my buzzbait after a long drought of no bites. I got three cranks of the reel handle on her and she was gone.  I had lots of short strikes and weird hookups that day.

Derby Stats
Anglers 62
Fish caught – 345
Total limits – 43 (64%)
Margin of victory – 1.5″
Smallest Bass Award – Josh Keatts 8.25″
Air temp at launch – 55
Air temp at takeout – 82
Water temps reported – Mid to High 80’s

Trash Fish Winner – Dave Neal wins $120 for this Tub-O-Goo