Beeswax Creek 2024

A-Jay reply :

While watching the day 1 Classic coverage Friday Night with T Sanders and M Zona, they brought in Timmy Horton for some Classic in sight and he had some interest points. One in particular that I hadn't heard or considered before.

He said that ALL the fish caught during the many many tournaments held on these lakes are released right there in Beeswax Creek. This is a standard procedure and it's been going on for years.

So do you guys think this comes into play when choosing where to fish ?

After being released, does a good portion of the bass make that area their new home?

If there is ample food and the environment there is suitable, wouldn't this area have a higher concentration of fish than the rest of the lake, considering Bass are being removed from all over the lake and being relocated in this area on a fairly regular basis ?

I would seriously consider fishing for the "Retreads" (as Timmy Horton called them) at every tournament.

A-Jay

5bass reply :

It's probably quite common in the Elite Series. Those guys are under immense pressure to bring fish to the scales. I know on my home lake, some guys never go further than a 1/4 mile from the most prominent tournament/launch areas and they usually do quite well.

A-Jay reply :

Makes sense to me.

A-Jay

Paul Roberts reply :

There have been some studies on what happens to T released fish. Some return home. Some become wanderers. Others stay put for a time (don't remember how long the studies ran for -months anyway).

One things for certain, that area has a high bass density.

For me, it takes a little wind outta my sails.

cart7t reply :

While some of those fish do stay around, remember, an area will only hold as many fish as the food source will supply.

While some fish do stay around, studies have found that most wind up moving to other area's of the lake including the same place they were caught from.

David P reply :

I remember they did a study during one tournament shown on ESPN where they caught and tagged a few fish. They turned out to go BACK to where they were caught. I'm sure this doesn't happen with all fish, but it does happen.

Over here, some tournaments get a release boat. They fill the boat up with all the fish from the tournament, t hen drive around the river and release them at different spots.

Paul Roberts reply :

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While some of those fish do stay around, remember, an area will only hold as many fish as the food source will supply.

Yeah, that's a good point. Of course, during winter this may be less important.

When was the last T out of Beeswax, prior to the Classic?

5bass reply :

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I remember they did a study during one tournament shown on ESPN where they caught and tagged a few fish. They turned out to go BACK to where they were caught. I'm sure this doesn't happen with all fish, but it does happen.
Over here, some tournaments get a release boat. They fill the boat up with all the fish from the tournament, t hen drive around the river and release them at different spots.

This should be done at any tournament, no matter how big or small. I know thats not possible but even a small 4hr tournament with 40 boats can put 200 bass back in one cove.

I do however remember catching a bass from under a dock on a Sunday, weighing him in and catching the fish again under the same dock on Tuesday night. He traveled a LONG way in 2 days.

powerman970 reply :

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While some of those fish do stay around, remember, an area will only hold as many fish as the food source will supply.

Yeah, that's a good point. Of course, during winter this may be less important.

When was the last T out of Beeswax, prior to the Classic?

Nearly every weekend...Sometimes more than one. Tons of tournaments on Lay and most launch from Beeswax. I'll be there myself next month and again in June and both are going to be large tournaments then we have the Mark's Outdoors tournament which will be several hundred boats.

A-Jay reply :

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For me, it takes a little wind outta my sails.

Me too. Is it a coincidence that the winning bags came from the spot where they release fish to ?

I'm going to be watching where the competitors fish this season and ask BR member who might know where the fish are released on that body of water. Someone will know. Either way, this is not discussed openly as part of any one's "Tournament Strategy".

One man's opinion, these waters should be off limits during a contest with includes the anglers at the highest level. They already fish the best lakes, at the best times and now we are bring the fish to them, and in the Super Bowl of Bass Fishing ? I'm hoping they change the rule where if a release boat is not regularly utilized on that body of water, a large portion of that area is Off Limits during the tournament.

A-Jay

IwillChooseFreeWill reply :

yeah like the news story said:

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(KVD) mined a large spawning flat in the back of Beeswax Creek for three days and delivered three limits that cumulatively weighed 51 pounds, 6 ounces

So he stayed close to the release area for the win...

burleytog reply :

Always smart to spend some time fishing around the ramp.

5bass reply :

I dont agree with fishing around marinas and known tournament launches. There's people on both sides of the argument. I have a very good friend in my club. He rarely leaves the launch area(s) and routinely weighs in limits. Personally, I think it takes away from the 'game' and even infringes on the sportsmanship aspect a little bit.

That said, the bottom line is catching fish. If the tournament directors leave the area open to fishing....what can you say? Granted, they still have to get the fish to bite and get them in the boat but if you've got a higher concentration of bass in this one area, they are easier to find and your chances are instantly better than someone leaving the area. I get it...but I dont agree with it.

TimJ reply :

what if this was just a large spawning flat? the changing (for the better) weather may have been bringing in a bunch of bass at once. anyone know if this is a historical large spawning area?

personally, as long as there is no rule against it, I don't have a problem with someone fishing release areas. I did it once in a tournament but didn't know it until after the event...just thought they were really good docks! probably many more fish around than we even knew.

jiggerpole reply :

Alot more tournaments are held out of Lacoosa, Paradise Point, Okomo and several others than Beeswax. So why do you not here about these places??? Kevin had the whole place to himself the first day and then on day two at least six other competitors joined him. I think this is wrong. What I do like is that Kevin out fished the other competitors that were trying to wiggle him out of this location right under there noses. He is the man!!!

5bass reply :

I'm not sure what the deal was about it being a flat or what not, I was just speaking of tournament areas in general.

Was Kriet not in Beeswax all 3 days? I thought Faircloth was too but I dont know, I wasnt there.

shootermcbob reply :

Just read on espn that the fish are not released at Beeswax creek, they are taken far from the launch site and released into the main river channel.

jiggerpole reply :

Mark Zona was saying that KVD had alot of company / spectators but mentioned that no other competitor was their. So I assume he had it to himself the first day. I wish I could have been there.

Paul Roberts reply :

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Mark Zona was saying that KVD had alot of company / spectators but mentioned that no other competitor was their. So I assume he had it to himself the first day. I wish I could have been there.

As I understood it BC was one popular spot from Day 1. He was "alone" in that other anglers gave him a wide berth.

Thanks Shooter. Hope that's so.

The way the spot appeared to replenish, it sounded like a spawning area and fish were moving in from the main lake. Unless it's an amazing chunk of habitat, I doubt resident fish would produce those kinds of numbers for that several anglers. But if there was a recent tourney, and they were released there, who knows. I'd like to think that it was a large spawning flat and fish were moving into it. He just sat there yo-yoing his lipless for three days.

5bass reply :

Yes, BASS takes the fish to various areas and releases them. Beeswax is a very popular torunament launch site from what everyone is saying....so if it's believed that bass stay in an area for extended periods, Beeswax could've had a high concentration of fish there from previous weeks tournaments.

bmadd reply :

The way I understood it is that KVD had the back of that creek all by himself. Faircloth, Kriet, and some others fished out closer to the main river more.

Taylor Fishin 4 life reply :

i think the fish were mainly there because of the warmer water which in result had more grass myself

bmadd reply :

I saw that too Taylor, there were numerous reports that Beeswax Creek had the warmest water temperatures and also less color than other creeks. Apparently a healthy collection of coontail grass as well.

Lund Explorer reply :

Ehgads A-Jay, south of the 45th Parallel this practice goes on all the time. Not only with tournament fisherman but with the locals as well. I don't know how many times I've seen a Sunday morning where a half dozen rowboats aren't sitting in front of a weigh-in site.

The other practice on some of the lakes/rivers I've fished is seeding. The Grand River is famous for a few of the locals that will fish the entire week before a big tournament where they will release everything they catch on a sunken tree or dock. A pair of fisherman catching up to 70+ legal bass all over the place and dropping them in one concentrated spot to me is cheating, but the tournament directors don't seem to think so. And I got to see just how irate these guys can get when I happened to stumble on one of these spots completely by accident one day. It seems that rule #1 for these guys is to make sure they draw a really low blast off number.

But really, the best reason to employ some kind of spread out release of T-Fish are the meat fishermen that pound these release sites just after a tournament. 100% C&R doesn't work if a bunch of these displaced bass end up swimming in hot grease a day or two later. One club I used to fish with got a DNR permit (yeah you did need one sometimes) for a couple of anglers to load their boats up with an over-limit of fish to release back in various spots after the weigh-in.

Paul Roberts reply :

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I saw that too Taylor, there were numerous reports that Beeswax Creek had the warmest water temperatures and also less color than other creeks. Apparently a healthy collection of coontail grass as well.

That's a nice combination.

A-Jay reply :

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Ehgads A-Jay, south of the 45th Parallel this practice goes on all the time. Not only with tournament fisherman but with the locals as well. I don't know how many times I've seen a Sunday morning where a half dozen rowboats aren't sitting in front of a weigh-in site.
The other practice on some of the lakes/rivers I've fished is seeding. The Grand River is famous for a few of the locals that will fish the entire week before a big tournament where they will release everything they catch on a sunken tree or dock. A pair of fisherman catching up to 70+ legal bass all over the place and dropping them in one concentrated spot to me is cheating, but the tournament directors don't seem to think so. And I got to see just how irate these guys can get when I happened to stumble on one of these spots completely by accident one day. It seems that rule #1 for these guys is to make sure they draw a really low blast off number.

But really, the best reason to employ some kind of spread out release of T-Fish are the meat fishermen that pound these release sites just after a tournament. 100% C&R doesn't work if a bunch of these displaced bass end up swimming in hot grease a day or two later. One club I used to fish with got a DNR permit (yeah you did need one sometimes) for a couple of anglers to load their boats up with an over-limit of fish to release back in various spots after the weigh-in.

Lund Explorer, - I hear you, - you made some good points and I do not want to make a big deal out of this.

I have the highest respect for tournament fisherman's ability to travel to vastly different locations and still locate and catch quality bass day in and day out. I really like KVD and even picked him to win in the BR contest. There's no doubt that he still had to make all the right decisions regarding where how and when to fish to win. The other anglers in the same area did not have the same success KVD had. I wish that Timmy Horton had not even mentioned the information regarding where the previous 10 years worth of tournament bass were released, whether it's true or not.

As for the idea that the practice of tournament fishing in the immediate area where tournament caught bass are released, goes on all the time does not change my opinion that the practice undermines the spirit of the competition and good sportsmanship. As for rec fisherman going to the release site and loading up, well that might be the same as taking fish off beds. We can debate this from a couple of different perspectives, and we may not ever agree and that's OK.

A-Jay

J Francho reply :

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The other practice on some of the lakes/rivers I've fished is seeding.

If you're good enough to catch enough fish to do this, why bother? Doesn't make any sense.

Pitchinkid reply :

As Scott pointed out, its up to the Tournament Director to set limits around or near the launch or weigh in site. If there are no such limits set, i see no reason not to fish in the area. Especially if you draw a low number for blast off.

brushhoggin reply :

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I remember they did a study during one tournament shown on ESPN where they caught and tagged a few fish. They turned out to go BACK to where they were caught. I'm sure this doesn't happen with all fish, but it does happen.
Over here, some tournaments get a release boat. They fill the boat up with all the fish from the tournament, t hen drive around the river and release them at different spots.

This should be done at any tournament, no matter how big or small. I know thats not possible but even a small 4hr tournament with 40 boats can put 200 bass back in one cove.

I do however remember catching a bass from under a dock on a Sunday, weighing him in and catching the fish again under the same dock on Tuesday night. He traveled a LONG way in 2 days.

i wonder how they do that. is it similar to pacific salmon who swim 2000 miles in the ocean to the rivers and streams using an innate compass?

Paul Roberts reply :

Here's the piece from ESPN. Scroll down to Where Do The Fish Go?

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?page=b_classic_10_Notebook4

Lund Explorer reply :

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Ehgads A-Jay, south of the 45th Parallel this practice goes on all the time. Not only with tournament fisherman but with the locals as well. I don't know how many times I've seen a Sunday morning where a half dozen rowboats aren't sitting in front of a weigh-in site.
The other practice on some of the lakes/rivers I've fished is seeding. The Grand River is famous for a few of the locals that will fish the entire week before a big tournament where they will release everything they catch on a sunken tree or dock. A pair of fisherman catching up to 70+ legal bass all over the place and dropping them in one concentrated spot to me is cheating, but the tournament directors don't seem to think so. And I got to see just how irate these guys can get when I happened to stumble on one of these spots completely by accident one day. It seems that rule #1 for these guys is to make sure they draw a really low blast off number.

But really, the best reason to employ some kind of spread out release of T-Fish are the meat fishermen that pound these release sites just after a tournament. 100% C&R doesn't work if a bunch of these displaced bass end up swimming in hot grease a day or two later. One club I used to fish with got a DNR permit (yeah you did need one sometimes) for a couple of anglers to load their boats up with an over-limit of fish to release back in various spots after the weigh-in.

Lund Explorer, - I hear you, - you made some good points and I do not want to make a big deal out of this.

I have the highest respect for tournament fisherman's ability to travel to vastly different locations and still locate and catch quality bass day in and day out. I really like KVD and even picked him to win in the BR contest. There's no doubt that he still had to make all the right decisions regarding where how and when to fish to win. The other anglers in the same area did not have the same success KVD had. I wish that Timmy Horton had not even mentioned the information regarding where the previous 10 years worth of tournament bass were released, whether it's true or not.

As for the idea that the practice of tournament fishing in the immediate area where tournament caught bass are released, goes on all the time does not change my opinion that the practice undermines the spirit of the competition and good sportsmanship. As for rec fisherman going to the release site and loading up, well that might be the same as taking fish off beds. We can debate this from a couple of different perspectives, and we may not ever agree and that's OK.

A-Jay

Note to myself..... Don't type until you've had your coffee.

Just so everyone knows, I don't think any of the classic fishermen did anything wrong. My point was that it is a practice that everyone does around here as well.

I do have an issue with seeding, but I know that didn't go on in Beeswax Creek, and didn't mean that it did. I think that was just the grumpy old tax man coming out in me.

I hope you'll all understand that.

Georgia Jeff reply :

I don't think this has a huge factor. Afterall Beeswax creek didn't play a major role in the 2007 classic that was on Lay Lake, did it?

The pros will find the fish where ever they are. This year it just happened to be this creek.

Needemp reply :

I think Boyd Duckets explanation was more applicable than Hortons. Like Paul Roberts said, all those T released fish from the year prior moved for the winter. But what Boyd said was key. He said that for whatever reason Beeswax Creek turned on before any other creek in that lake. I think Russ Lane proved that on day 3. When he left Beeswax, he found areas where they turned on. But the first 2 days, they were inactive around most of Lay Lake.

BigEbass reply :

Its all speculation likely - would need to see more studies to show this is a really big difference in the entire fishery of such a lake as lay lake - likely could have caught them in other creeks too....But I am speculating too

ksbasser reply :

He got a low launch number, went straight to the best spot he knew of, worked the heck out of it and caught a bunch of fish. He had forecast months earlier that under the bridge would be the best. He still checked all of the lake in practice but confirmed his forecast. Let me get this straight. There were no off limits areas. There was a check for $500,000 on the line but many people feel that he should not have fished in the best area he knew of. I don't care if that area has more fish from transplants. That info is common knowledge. Other anglers had intentions of trying that same area, KVD got there first and stayed there.

Paul Roberts reply :

Several things stood out:

-With the impending spawn, the shallows held a lot of fish. The shorelines had the ONLY chance of warming, and there were periods of sun during the tournament. The protected areas (creeks and coves) were the place to be for fish density and activity. The pic that Senko77 posted in his pre-fishing day with Rojas said everything to me: channel in protected cove, under bright skies. What I;m guessing his spot lacked (he did catch some fish there) was good cover and likely, sheer amount of spawning substrate to draw large numbers of fish -although the photo was too narrow to know.

-Much of the lake was roiled, the back of BC had the best clarity.

-Live coontail beds. KVD said he side-scanned the whole lake looking specifically for live beds -which would also indicate protection from current and excessively cold temps -stability. KVD said his area was "chocked full of bass" and was full of shad too.

KVD had it all. And he had it to himself.

farmpond1 reply :

I wonder if anyone asked KVD where he planned to fish and he replied "None of your beeswax."

Paul Roberts reply :

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I wonder if anyone asked KVD where he planned to fish and he replied "None of your beeswax."

;D Freudian slip?

bmadd reply :

Just read another quote from KVD where he said the back of Beeswax creek had two feeder creeks, stumps, coontail grass, shellbed depressions on the edges of the creeks and flats coming off each creek. That's a lot of detailed structure and cover that will attract a large quantity of fish.

He also said that he had found a few other creeks that had the coontail grass, but none with as much as Beeswax. Another interesting note he mentioned, was that Todd Faircloth's spot was his #1 spot in the 2007 Classic.

Paul Roberts reply :

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Just read another quote from KVD where he said the back of Beeswax creek had two feeder creeks, stumps, coontail grass, shellbed depressions on the edges of the creeks and flats coming off each creek. That's a lot of detailed structure and cover that will attract a large quantity of fish.
He also said that he had found a few other creeks that had the coontail grass, but none with as much as Beeswax. Another interesting note he mentioned, was that Todd Faircloth's spot was his #1 spot in the 2007 Classic.

Yeah, I think I read that too. All the elements were there. And so was KVD.

Interesting about 2007. Similar scenario I read, but the weather warmed up and his fish spread out. This year it stayed cold and thus the location remained "chocked full of bass". Nothing new under the sun -except the sun LOL. We can only control so much of what happens -actually very little. It's not a static playing field -like a poker table. What's interesting is that the fish are reacting to conditions too, not just the anglers. Winning such a closely contested event like a Classic requires experience, homework, concentration, and some luck.

shootermcbob reply :

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I wonder if anyone asked KVD where he planned to fish and he replied "None of your beeswax."

That's funny. Made me laugh out loud. ;D

chris090981 reply :

I remember catching a Largemouth 2 years ago on a private lake in Mi. where my friend lives .. I had caught the fish roughly 1/2 mile away .. The fish was weighed and measured ! And also the fish had a chunk of it's skin missing near it's tail .. 2 weeks later my friend and i were fishing the canal where we had released it at his house and he caught that same bass within 100 ft. of where it was released .. The bass was the same length and weighed an oz. less ! I'm 99.9% sure it was the same fish because of the scar on it ! I examined the scar quite well and it looked like a pike took a chunk out or possibly a boat prop !

farmpond1 reply :

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I wonder if anyone asked KVD where he planned to fish and he replied "None of your beeswax."

That's funny. Made me laugh out loud. ;D

That's why I won't do two shows on the same night!

sometreble reply :

I live on lay lake, and beeswax has always been well stocked.Most of the tournaments at lay are out of paridise point, it is were the 07' classic was held, and I know the released fish stay in there, you can go there on a monday morning after a big tournament weekend, and put together 20 lbs from the weeds feet from were they were released.

Matt Fly reply :

Its made to sound like Beeswax creek gets 90% of all tournaments and thats not close. and.....

Some tournaments do have live release boat(s) working, some don't.

Most ramps have cement and some kind of support on the side of the ramp to prevent washing out, which is made of chunk rock alot of times. Ramps normally have algae growth on them, that alone draws bait and makes them good to fish whether you had tournaments or not to "stock the area".

2007 classic wasn't won in Beeswax creek.

2007 had grass all over the lake, but since then, rains have washed most grass out. Beeswax had more than other areas as pointed out at this time of the year.

And as seen in the last classic on the Red River, alot elected to stay out of the locks, why? to maximize fishing time.

Ya think KVD didn't think of less travel in the morning cold, he got max fishing time, and didn't get frost bite getting to his waters. Pretty dam smart considering he was on fish and knew how to get them to bite.

Too many tournaments won in the Elite series away from the ramps or stocked areas.

KVD is a 3 time classic winner cause he's that smart.

bmadd reply :

It wasn't won there in 2007, but KVD finished a close 2nd out of Beeswax that year.

Another interesting point, if you go to Bassmaster.com and read the interview with Russ Lane, the creek he caught most of his fish out of on Day 3 is the creek he says is the best in the lake. Conditions just didn't get right until that last day. I think that adds to the fact about the warmer temps and clearer water in Beeswax really made a big difference.

chris090981 reply :

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He got a low launch number, went straight to the best spot he knew of, worked the heck out of it and caught a bunch of fish. He had forecast months earlier that under the bridge would be the best. He still checked all of the lake in practice but confirmed his forecast. Let me get this straight. There were no off limits areas. There was a check for $500,000 on the line but many people feel that he should not have fished in the best area he knew of. I don't care if that area has more fish from transplants. That info is common knowledge. Other anglers had intentions of trying that same area, KVD got there first and stayed there.

Why was it just himself and Kriet 1st thing Fri. morning then ? He knows what he's doing .. The guys intelligent ! If kvd were to place 50th with no fish , He'd still be the best angler in the world !

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