COOKSON, Okla. — Rus Snyders used his shallow water prowess to perfection on Day 1 of the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Lake Tenkiller presented By Native Watercraft, catching a limit measuring 92.5 inches to take the Day 1 lead at the eastern Oklahoma impoundment.
Nebraska native Kristine Fischer is second with a limit measuring 90.5 inches followed by Ryan Nye in third with 88.5 inches, Lance Burris in fourth with 87.25 and Stony Floyd in fifth with 86.5 inches.
Heavy rains have seemingly been a constant in Oklahoma this spring, and practice for this event was no different. By Wednesday, the water had risen 8 feet above the full pool. Since then, however, the water has fallen very quickly, making a pattern more difficult to replicate.
Even still, 65 anglers in the 137-boat field achieved limits on Day 1, with 39 of those measuring over 80 inches.
Synders fished Lake Tenkiller for the first time last March during the 2024 Kayak Series Championship, where he finished 88th, one of his worst events in the last five years. This time around, Snyders said he feels more comfortable.
“I really struggled in that one,” he said. “We are here at a different time of year, and having a little bit better of a shallow bite suits my style. I put a lot of practice in for this one just to try and get some redemption on the lake.”
When the water was higher and dirtier, Snyders found an area where he caught both smallmouth and largemouth and was convinced that’s where he would be fishing the first day of the tournament. He returned on the final day of official practice to find the water much cleaner than he was hoping.
“I had a really good practice, actually,” Snyders said. “I thought I was committed to that area. But conditions were changing, and the water was dropping about 2 feet per day. Friday was really calm and sunny, and I tried to expand, and I went back and checked some stuff, and the bass had all moved. So, I decided to wing it in a different part of the lake.”
With conditions not to his liking, Snyders decided to launch in a different area of the lake with 2 to 3 feet of visibility, and his last-second decision paid off.
Two small areas produced the majority of his fish on Saturday, which consisted of all largemouth. He tossed four different baits around rocky banks in less than 10 feet of water. Between those two areas, Snyders tried to generate a smallmouth bite, but the brown fish would not cooperate.
He opened the morning by landing a 21.25, which turned out to be the Big Bass of the Day.
“I was very surprised,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting it at all. It was fat, too. I caught a 21-inch smallmouth in practice and a couple 20-inch largemouth, but they were all kind of skinny. This one was super healthy.”
From there, he was able to fill out a limit by midmorning and made a couple of culls before finishing out his bag at 11:30.
“I only caught largemouth,” he said. “I fished clean today, but I am a little worried about tomorrow. I caught all of my fish in two small areas. I fished them very thoroughly, so I don’t know what I’ll do tomorrow. I think I’ll start there, but there is a good chance I’ll pack up and go somewhere else tomorrow.”
The full field of anglers will launch from any approved public launch and begin fishing at 5:30 a.m. CT. Fishing will conclude at 1:30 p.m. CT with the awards ceremony to follow at 4:30 p.m. CT. The awards ceremony will be livestreamed on the Bassmaster YouTube channel. The Top 5 anglers at the conclusion of Day 2 will earn a spot in the 2026 National Championship and all anglers are earning points towards the Dakota Lithium Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year race.
The Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series presented by Native Watercraft is scored by TourneyX.
Full results from the Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at Lake Tenkiller presented by Native Watercraft are scored by TourneyX and can be found here.
The Oklahoma Ozarks Tourism Association is hosting the tournament.