Mark Twain Division off to a Breezy Start!
43 Teams showed up at Robert Allen Ramp to brave the elements and conditions in search of a 5 fish limit. Conditions were not what the anglers were hoping for as water temps were still in the low 50’s on the main and only mid 50’s in the back of the creeks and as for water clarity, 1 foot of visibility was considered clear. But the biggest issue for the anglers was the wind. After a front moved through mid-day on Saturday, the wind blew out of the West Northwest at 15 to 25 with gusts over 35mph all Saturday night and ALL DAY SUNDAY! This in turn reduced the amount of fishable water.
Taking the top Spot today was the team of Keith Hendrix and Greg Zumwalt.
Keith and Greg concentrated their efforts in one large creek arm in the mid-lake area, focusing on the steeper banks and channel swings as they figured that was where the fish would be holding with the colder water temps. The team found success fishing Mark Twain Lake Lure Company spinnerbaits and bladed jigs in Chartreuse and White using a medium to slow roll retrieve, depending on water depth. The team did catch a key late day fish at the mouth of a spawning pocket.
Keith and Greg had 8 keepers on the day with their best 5 weighing 18.03 pounds. Keith, also took the Highest finishing Skeeter incentive fishing out of his 2021 ZXR20.
Keith and Greg are sponsored by, 154 Marine, Mark Twain Lake Lure Company, Hobbie Hut, JC Auto and Truck Parts, Dyna Gro Seed, Gene Larew and Jack’s Harbor Marine.
Finishing in the runner up spot today was the team of Larry Rothweil and Phil Williams. In the morning Larry and Phil pointed their Ranger boat to the east and “Rode the Waves” down to the dam area to start the day, fishing secondary points and pockets, working their way back toward Robert Allen Ramp throughout the day. The team boated several keepers on a crankbait finishing just .16 pounds shy of the top spot weighing in 17.87 pounds.
Rounding out the top 3 was the team of Charlie Kunkle and Keith Williams. Unlike the top 2 teams, the moving bait bite was not working for them and by mid-morning had only a few shorts to show for it. So the team stayed in their mid-lake area but switched to fishing jigs around steeper banks with wood and chunk rock. The adjustment resulted in 5 bass weighing 17.42 pounds.
Bill Cantwell and John Koopman had the Ozark Chevrolet Big Joe Bass of the tournament weighing 6.24 pounds. Bill said the Big Girl was fooled by a wiggle wart suspended off a rocky bank w timber. Bill and John are sponsored by Ranger, Mercury, Pro’s Choice Marine, Dobyn’s Rods and Bill’s Diesel Performance.
Our next Mark Twain Division tournament is May 15th. Pre-registration and weigh-in at 154 Marine. Take-off 6am Robert Allen Ramp.
Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout |
| 1 | Keith Hendrix – Greg Zumwalt | 5 | 6.17 | 18.03 | 220 | $2,370.00 |
| 2 | Larry Rothwiel – Phil Williams | 5 | 4.74 | 17.87 | 219 | $1,090.00 |
| 3 | Charlie Kunkle – Keith Williams | 5 | 4.76 | 17.42 | 218 | $730.00 |
| 4 | Jason Coan – Frank Sinn | 5 | 4.72 | 17.25 | 217 | $450.00 |
| 5 | David Kampschroeder – Dustin Kampschroeder | 5 | 5.21 | 17.01 | 216 | $350.00 |
| 6 | Dennis McFetridge – Scott McFetridge | 5 | 4.46 | 16.27 | 215 | $250.00 |
| 7 | Jay Garrison – Tony Freeman | 5 | 16.25 | 214 | $200.00 | |
| 8 | Doug Buhr – Ryan Schweissguth | 4 | 4.73 | 12.94 | 213 | $180.00 |
| 9 | Don McFetridge – Gary McFetridge | 4 | 11.57 | 212 | ||
| 10 | Jeff Mooneyham – Gabe McAdams | 3 | 11.29 | 211 | ||
| 11 | Alan Hoyt – John Summers | 3 | 5.26 | 10.72 | 210 | |
| 12 | Ron Mellinger – Colton Mellinger | 3 | 5.18 | 10.36 | 209 | |
| 13 | Preston Hartung – George Harrington | 3 | 4.74 | 10.35 | 208 | |
| 14 | Mark Tucker – | 3 | 10.29 | 207 | ||
| 15 | Bill Cantwell – John Koopman | 2 | 6.24 | 10.24 | 206 | $260.00 |
| 16 | Donnie Seabaugh – Bill Kayser | 3 | 9.74 | 205 | ||
| 17 | Chad Denningmann – Kurt Denningmann | 3 | 8.63 | 204 | ||
| 18 | Rick Beard – Rian White | 3 | 8.02 | 203 | ||
| 19 | Josh Gebhardt – Ross Lord | 2 | 5.35 | 7.73 | 202 | |
| 20 | Steve Weber – Sam Phillips | 2 | 4.61 | 7.69 | 201 | |
| 21 | Lonnie Franklin – Bob Peneston | 3 | 7.11 | 200 | ||
| 22 | Jim Lomax – *Mike Smith | 2 | 7.1 | 199 | ||
| 23 | Chris Janda – J. Rowdy Yates | 2 | 6.72 | 198 | ||
| 24 | Brady Graves – Darryll Waller | 1 | 6.21 | 6.21 | 197 | $170.00 |
| 25 | Phil J Zimmerman – Phil M Zimmerman | 2 | 6.19 | 196 | ||
| 26 | Cristopher King – *Justin Cain | 2 | 5.56 | 195 | ||
| 27 | Mike Hamilton Jr – Chance Scott | 2 | 5.37 | 194 | ||
| 28 | Eric Power – Chris Power | 2 | 5.33 | 193 | ||
| 29 | Steve Chiaurro – Richard Dannegger | 2 | 5.19 | 192 | ||
| 30 | Gary Koenig – *Todd Hessleing | 2 | 4.89 | 191 | ||
| 31 | Mack Tucker Jr. – Jay Tucker | 2 | 4.77 | 190 | ||
| 32 | Brad Dooley – Terry Jones | 1 | 4.65 | 4.65 | 189 | |
| 33 | Jason Kiser – | 1 | 3.84 | 3.84 | 188 | |
| 34 | Dominic Perotti – Nick Perotti | 1 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 187 | |
| 35 | Tom Herndon – Jason VanBeers | 1 | 3.16 | 3.16 | 186 | |
| 36 | Kenneth Mitchell – Roger Hammond | 1 | 3.09 | 3.09 | 185 | |
| 37 | Paul Harvey – Paul Harvey Jr. | 1 | 2.84 | 2.84 | 184 | |
| 38 | Scott Jackson – Jim Brewer | 0 | 20 | |||
| Cory Kunkle – Brad Morley | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Logan Miller – Jason Bristow | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Stacey Moss – Ben Moss | 0 | 20 | ||||
| *fished aalone – Travis Wilson | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Nick Werle – *Dave Tiernan | 0 | 20 |
*alternate