Mark Twain Division off to a good Start!
45 Teams gathered at Robert Allen Ramp for the 154 Marine sponsored division kick-off event Sunday May 7th.
Conditions;
Water level 604.85 pool 606.00, Water temps Upper 50’s to mid-60’s depending on location Water color slightly stained to heavy stain depending on location.
Bass are reported to be in all 3 stages pre-spawn, spawn and post spawn.
Taking the top spot today was the newly formed team of Doug Buhr and Corey Kunkle. The 154 Marine sponsored team focused their day on the lower end of the lake looking for staging pre-spawn bass around the mouths of spawning pockets. The bait of choice was a square bill crankbait that they would parallel the bank trying to deflect the bait off rock, laydowns and shallow stumps. All their bites came in less than 4ft of water, with the team’s best 5 weighed 17.03 besting a stout and stacked field. In addition to the win the team took Top Skeeter Honors fishing out of Doug’s 2023 ZXR250.
Finishing in the runner-up position was the team of Charlie Kunkle and Keith Williams. This 154 marine sponsored team also chose the lower portion of Mark Twain Lake to do their damage. Their baits of choice was a hand tied jig and a spinnerbait. The team also focused on spawning pockets and secondary points with timber. At the end of the day it was a squeaker, as the team fell just shy of the ”W” weighing in 5 fish for 16.97 pounds.
Chad and Kurt Denningmann found themselves in the 3rd position today with a strong effort weighing in 16.91 pounds. Chad and Kurt fished the mid-lake area, also focusing on spawning pockets for what they thought were spawning fish (couldn’t see them though). The team’s bait of choice was a Kmann’s Baits K-Stick (senko style bait). The team enjoyed an all-day bite, but the better quality fish were caught in the afternoon. Included in their bag was the second Big Bass weighing 5.36 pounds.
Well to every dark cloud…. That was the philosophy for the team of Keith Hendrix and Greg Zumwalt. The team had their issues on the water and with only 2 keepers in the boat late in the day. They pulled up to secondary point and Keith fired one of his Mark Twain Lure company spinnerbaits down a laydown and Boom the fight was on! After a nice tussle the Napa Auto Parts Big Joe Bass was in the livewell, weighing 6.26 pounds!
Our next 154 Marine sponsored tournament is Sunday May 21st 6am take-off Robert Allen Ramp. Registration, entries and weigh-in at 154 Marine.
Host Lodging at Mark Twain Lake is Country Inn Resort. Joe Bass Members get 10% off room rates when you bring 2 can goods to be donated to local food banks. For reservations call 573-267-3800. New owners Angie and Shawn look forward to your stay.
Photos
Results
| Place | Team Members | Fish | B/F | TotWgt | Pts | Payout |
| 1 | Doug Buhr – Cory Kunkle | 5 | 4.83 | 17.03 | 220 | $3,240.00 |
| 2 | Charlie Kunkle – Keith Williams | 5 | 4.28 | 16.97 | 219 | $1,200.00 |
| 3 | Chad Denningmann – Kurt Denningmann | 5 | 5.36 | 16.91 | 218 | $880.00 |
| 4 | Steve Weber – Sam Phillips | 5 | 3.7 | 15.89 | 217 | $400.00 |
| 5 | Don McFetridge – Gary McFetridge | 5 | 5.06 | 15.39 | 216 | $340.00 |
| 6 | Ben Moss – Larry Moss | 5 | 3.83 | 15.05 | 215 | $280.00 |
| 7 | Travis Wilson – Caleb Shoemacker | 5 | 3.49 | 14.72 | 214 | $240.00 |
| 8 | Larry Rothwiel – *STeve Smith | 5 | 4.26 | 14.27 | 213 | $190.00 |
| 9 | Ryan Hopping – *fished alone | 4 | 4.4 | 14.22 | 212 | $180.00 |
| 10 | Gary Koenig – Robin Hessling | 5 | 4.58 | 13.84 | 211 | |
| 11 | David Kampschroeder – Dustin Kampschroeder | 5 | 12.9 | 210 | ||
| 12 | Alan Hoyt – John Summers | 4 | 4.98 | 12.87 | 209 | |
| 13 | Eric Power – Chris Power | 4 | 4.9 | 11.51 | 208 | |
| 14 | Keith Hendrix – Greg Zumwalt | 3 | 6.26 | 11.31 | 207 | $270.00 |
| 15 | Steve Chiaurro – Richard Dannegger | 5 | 11.22 | 206 | ||
| 16 | Mike Tucker – | 3 | 5.14 | 11.01 | 205 | |
| 17 | Jason Rehg – Rustin Ryan | 3 | 4.28 | 9.69 | 204 | |
| 18 | Brad Dooley – Gerry Salfen | 3 | 8.3 | 203 | ||
| 19 | Wayne Werle – Nick Werle | 4 | 8.1 | 202 | ||
| 20 | Lonnie Franklin – Bob Peneston | 4 | 8.09 | 201 | ||
| 21 | Phil J Zimmerman – Phil M Zimmerman | 3 | 3.02 | 8.04 | 200 | |
| 22 | Jake Morrison – Richard Morrison | 2 | 3.95 | 7.56 | 199 | |
| 23 | Bill Cantwell – John Koopman | 3 | 3.6 | 7.55 | 198 | |
| 24 | Dennis McFetridge – Karen McFetridge | 3 | 6.91 | 197 | ||
| 25 | Jeff Mooneyham – Gabe McAdams | 2 | 4.39 | 6.77 | 196 | |
| 26 | David Meyers – Steve Schaefer | 3 | 6.76 | 195 | ||
| 27 | Kyle Chapman – Ben Ridgeway | 3 | 6.69 | 194 | ||
| 28 | Brady Graves – Darryll Waller | 2 | 3.32 | 5.99 | 193 | |
| 29 | Ron Mellinger – Colton Mellinger | 2 | 4.07 | 192 | ||
| 30 | Gary Gedville – John Gedville | 2 | 4.05 | 191 | ||
| 31 | Bryan Loseman – Gary Martens | 1 | 3.78 | 3.78 | 190 | |
| 32 | Tom Herndon – Jason VanBeers | 1 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 189 | |
| 33 | Tom Jasper – Tanner Worley | 1 | 2.48 | 2.48 | 188 | |
| 34 | Josh Gebhardt – Ross Lord | 1 | 2.23 | 2.23 | 187 | |
| 35 | Justin Wright – *Hunter Wright | 1 | 2.2 | 2.2 | 186 | |
| 36 | Matt McCullough – Scott Arensmann | 1 | 2.04 | 2.04 | 185 | |
| 37 | Rick Beard – Rian White | 0 | 20 | |||
| Dustin Bieghler – Kyle Besgrove | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Matt Bryant – Andrew Bergfeld | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Gary Grzybinski – Mick Buchanan | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Preston Hartung – *Justin Anderson | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Scott Jackson – Todd Martens | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Donnie Palmatory – Logan Hughes | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Dominic Perotti – Nick Perotti | 0 | 20 | ||||
| Michael Wible – John Rucker | 0 | 20 |
*alternate