Before last week’s Elite Series event played out at Bull Shoals Lake and Lake Norfork in northern Arkansas, the general consensus was that Bull Shoals, the bigger of the two lakes, harbored the best quality fish. Catching numbers at either lake wasn’t a problem, but anglers were convinced the bigger fish were swimming to the west at Bull Shoals. That assumption was based largely on many anglers’ lack of experience at Norfork and having two Elite Series events at Bull Shoals since 2012.
While winner Randall Tharp caught at least 30 pounds at each lake, Norfork was where he won it as he amassed 31-10 in 2 days there.
The biggest stringers of the tournament came out of Bull Shoals with Skeet Reese catching 19-02 on day 3 and Tommy Biffle bagging 18-07 on day 2, but Matt Herren’s 2-day total at Lake Norfork (31-15) was greater than anybody else’s 2-day total at either lake and that’s after incurring a 4-ounce penalty on the final day for having a dead fish in his bag.
Each lake produced a 6-01 big fish with Herren (Norfork) and Davy Hite (Bull Shoals) sharing that title.
Here’s a rundown of the top 6 2-day totals at both lakes:
Bull Shoals
1. Jacob Powroznik: 31-12
2. Skeet Reese: 31-09
3 (tie). Tommy Biffle: 31-07
3 (tie). Brandon Palaniuk: 31-07
5. Mike McClelland: 31-02
6. Brian Snowden: 30-09
Norfork
1. Matt Herren: 31-15
2. Randall Tharp: 31-10
3. Chris Zaldain: 29-12
4. Bill Lowen: 28-05
5. Skeet Reese: 27-15
6. Steve Kennedy: 27-04
