Brunson wins Post Spawn at Bull Shoals

Posted by on May 9, 2016

By: Alex Garoutte, Kickapoo High School Angler

BULL SHOALS LAKE- Warm spring weather greeted anglers for the third tournament of the Solo Pro series at Leadhill, Arkansas. Post spawn conditions proved to be a challenge as the fishermen moved from an early spring pattern to a post spawn pattern. A huge thank you to Sugarloaf inn for providing rooms for the anglers.

            First place winner Paul Brunson weighed in a five fish limit of 15.53 lbs. Brunson stated, “You couldn’t move very fast and you really had to work the banks over.” Fishing mainly around the Leadhill area, he looked for steeper banks using a jig as well as a shakey head with a Zoom green pumpkin worm. In his opinion when asked if the bass were post spawn he stated, “ I fished deeper than everyone else ( 10-15 feet) so I figured the bass are just starting the post spawn pattern.”

           Josh Busby brought a five fish limit to the scales that weighed 15.43 lbs which was good for second place. He stated, “that the bite was really good, catching up to thirty keepers.” While Paul Brunson was fishing deep, Busby went shallow (about 2 feet) and flipped bushes with creature baits. He fished way up the river looking for the, “biggest bushes with the biggest shade, especially once the sun came up.” During the first part of the morning he was able to catch a few on a Zara Spook, two of which were keepers. All though Josh saw a few bass still on the beds he also believes the bass are beginning their post spawn pattern.

           Greg Blair took 3rd place with a weight of 15.17 lbs. By 7:30 in the morning he had his five fish limit on a topwater, mainly hitting the last bush off of main lake points. The rest of the day was spent culling fish; all but one with a half ounce jig and a brush hog flipping bushes and laydowns.

Also congratulations to Dan Morton for winning big bass weighing in at 4.46 lbs.

Congratulations to the top three anglers for the third tournament of the Solo Pro Series. Join us at the next tournament at Pomme de Terre lake. Also a Special Thank you to the sponsors of the Solo Pro: Lew’s, Sportsmans Factory Outlet, Pro Guide Batteries, Battery Outfitters, Ewing Signal Construction, Tackle Box Caddie, A&R Hood Cleaning, Float Trip Pickles, Pur Kleen, Dave’s Custom Baits, Champion Marine Repair, Transport Graphics, Marine Repair Center, Commerce Terrace Web Services, Purcell Tire and Service Center, and MoBassFishin.com.