HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — All year, Lake Hamilton has been consistently kicking out lunker largemouth. Local Kevin Brown has been waiting for the bite to fade, but the Ouachita River impoundment has simply continued to produce lots of numbers as well as bass in the 8-pound range, including on the biggest stage at the BFL All-American in late May.
So, Brown figures the bite will continue to be strong when the Arkie Division of the Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine wraps up its season with a two-day Super Tournament on Hamilton Sept. 20-21.
This year, BFL anglers benefit from an expanded slate of Regionals, which minimizes travel costs and provides more opportunities to qualify for the $120,000 BFL All-American while fishing familiar, closer-to-home waters. Click here to find out more.
What to expect
Even though Hamilton is only about 7,200 acres, it offers no shortage of options for anglers. From shallow grass and wood to current below the Blakely Mountain Dam to a strong offshore bite, Brown said anglers can catch bass “from dam to dam.”
That said, a clear recipe has emerged for catching the bigger largemouth that swim in Hamilton. Brown expects fishing offshore in 12 to 20 feet of water to be the dominant pattern.
“It’ll be predominantly won offshore with the forward-facing technology and the big fish that’s on the grass lines and brushpiles,” Brown predicted. “I think there will be a lot of fish caught shallow; I just don’t think it can win. I think you’ll have a few guys make the cut, but it’ll mostly be offshore.”
Exactly where anglers fish offshore and what they target will be the big question marks. Winner Matteo Turano and the other top performers at the All-American keyed on isolated cover. While that could still produce, Brown said fish should be starting to come together in bigger schools as they chase baitfish.
“There’s a lot of schooling fish going on right now, so you can catch tons,” he said. “Some of that may taper down with the cooler weather, but it also may be a key factor. I think there will just be large, large groups of bass, big schools that people will chase all day.”
Regardless of how an angler does it, the key to victory will be generating a few big bites. Limits shouldn’t be hard to come by, but fooling one or two of the 6- to 8-pound kickers that live in the lake will be vital to gaining some separation from the pack.
Baits to bring
Brown thinks topwaters could play a significant role in this event, whether it be a big walking topwater offshore or buzzbaits, ploppers and frogs around the bank. Aside from that, he expects to see a lot of anglers wielding spinning rods with forward-facing sonar staples like jighead minnows and drop-shots.
What will it take?
Brown said it typically takes about 10 pounds to make the cut and fish on Day 2, but he expects the winner to amass more than 30 pounds across the two days.