Tournament of Bajo del Lago Texoma May 2011
If you are a sports fanatic with an appreciation for the outdoors and haven’t experienced a “lift off” in a major bass tournament, you are missing out on an exciting, high-speed event.
After a safety / well check and the playing of the National Anthem, 200 fishermen eagerly waited for their number to be called right inside the Highport Marina buoys. With the sun rising in the east, the amplified number of ships echoed off the rocky shores of the harbor as the outboard motors came to life. Going over 70 miles per hour across a windy Lake Texoma as 100 boats compete for the best places to drop a line is truly a thrilling and exciting experience.
With water temperatures in the upper 60s and 70s and a May full moon on the horizon, a new wave of spawning bass moved into the shallow waters. Those fishermen who fished in the southern part of Texoma who took advantage of these fish, proved to be above the rest of the field.
Kellogg’s Rice Crispy Pro Jim Tutt of Longview won the three-day event with 13 bass weighing 44 pounds. Mr. Tutt targeted the bed fish and used a green pumpkin Zoom Trick worm on a 1/8 ounce shaking head to catch most of his fish. The key was to use a lightweight line (8 pounds of fluorocarbon) and anchor in the secondary pockets with its two twin power poles.
Second place went to Todd Castledine of Nacogdoches, who caught a total of 40 pounds, 8 ounces in three days. Castledine used a watermelon Zoom Super Fluke on rocks and a blue Kicker Craw with Texas rig while fishing on site to catch his bass.
Third place finisher, Gary Vining of Morgan, Louisiana, caught 40 pounds, 2 ounces of fish; all in a Berkley Power Worm assembled in Texas.
Gordonville’s Don McFarlin was the best local angler, finishing fourth with a three-day total of 15 bass weighing 33 pounds, 11 ounces. McFarlin revealed to have caught his fish limits in spinnerbaits and a rigged Berkley Power worm in Texas. He also revealed that the key to his ending was slowing down and working his heavily pressurized water thoroughly.
Ft. Worth angler Darren Scott won the co-anglers division with 11 wolves weighing 21 pounds 15 ounces. Mr. Scott struggled on day 3 breaking a 3 to 4 pound fish that was running under the boat. However, he later bounced back when he caught his final goalkeeper literally on his last pitch of the tournament. All of Scott’s basses were captured in an Academy H2O square-spike crankbait.
Personally, fishing this tournament as a co-angler was a rewarding experience. Even though I only caught two bass and didn’t make the cut for the last day, I did meet some great fishermen and saw how they broke up Lake Texoma. My pro from Day 2 was Jeremy Guidry from Opelousas, LA, who was fourth after a 14-pound limit on day one, including a 6-pound largemouth that he caught from a bed. Guidry’s pattern was to target the boat docks early with spinnerbaits and swimbaits and then move to the spawning pockets when the sun came up.
We both had problems on day 2 as he caught 2 wolves and I managed one. There were a lot of shad spawning in the Styrofoam under most of the docks, but the wolves weren’t there yet. All three fish were caught under the aisles in 2-4 feet of water. As the fish complete spawning this week, the boathouse pattern should strengthen during May and June.