The first Oklahoma Bass Federation state qualifying tournament was held on Lake Texoma, March 22 and 23. Although the usually wind torn lake was anything but windy. The water temperature was almost ideal but with the ever changing weather conditions the fish were not as accommodating. Many of the anglers were hoping for at least a simple bite and hopefully a keeper fish on the other end of the line. It has been 43 years since our first State Tournament which was held on Texoma and this was the lowest catch per angler on record.
Day 1
Although the conditions were tough Mike Zachary, last years State Champion, brought in a limit weighing 25.38 pounds with a 8.92 lunker. The only other limit on day one was Brandon Moss with a second place finish at 15.24. Brandon was followed by Kyle Tudor with 3 fish weighing 13.13. Josh Landry make a good choice during the pairings meeting by agreeing to go as a non-boater so fellow club member, Brandon Moss, could take his boat. Fishing with Mike Zachary, the result was a 2 fish creel, however, one was 9.38 to take big bass honors for Day one and a fourth place finish with 12.77. There were 11 more anglers that boated 2 fish and those results are in the Day 1 summary.
Day 2
The second day saw the creeks starting to clear somewhat but the fishing remained extremely tough. There were two heavy stringers with only one limit. Josh Landry showed that his first day with Mike was not because he could not find and catch them on his own. Josh not only repeated with the big bass of the day with a 7.4 pound lunker but added 3 more fish to weigh in a 4 fish creel tipping the scale at 19.13 pounds. The only limit for the day was from National TBF qualifier Johnny Babb. Johnny’s catch was 18.65. Rodney Richards was third with 4 fish weighing 7.44 followed by our other National TBF qualifier Dean Matts with 3 fish weighing 6.86. Stewart Ryan and John Garcia were the only other anglers caught more than 2 fish. Stewart’s 4 fish weighed 6.75 and John’s 3 weighted 6.05. The remaining results are in the Day 2 summary.
The leaders by point total after the two day event were Josh Landry with 197 points followed by Mike Zachary with 193 and Brandon Moss at 191. Ron Boyd is sitting at fourth with 184 followed at 183 by the trio of Dean Matts, Rodney Richards, and Shane Blocker. Tied at eight is Kyle Tudor and roommate Brannon Whipple at 176 with tenth being garnered by Steve Carlon at 169. Brian Browning, Chuck Nelson and John Fuller were the only other two day catch anglers with 166, 160 and 158, respectively.
The average catch per day, for both days, was one fish per angler, however, the average weight per fish was around 3 pounds. Thirteen anglers caught fish both days with all other weighing in only one day. Therefore it is still open for anyone to make the 12 man Central Division Team by catching large stringers at Lake Eufaula April 11 and 12. The pairing meeting will be at Lakeview Motel at 6:30 pm on Friday, April 10. If anyone has boat/non-boater changers or you are not planning to attend the event give us a call at 580-761-8094. The final pairings will be based on information we have by 6 pm on Thursday, April 9.
