Interview with James Marion
By Jerry Corbett

James Marion of Tulsa, Okla., topped 161 Co-angler Division competitors with a five-bass catch weighing 16 pounds, 9 ounces during the BFL Ozark Division's May 10 tournament on Table Rock Lake.

Interview:

OBF- How long have you been tournament fishing?  

James- I have been fishing for about 10 years.

OBF- How many years have you been fishing the BFL as a co-angler? 

James- I have been fishing the BFL for 3 yrs.

OBF- Do you have any plans of switching over to the angler side?

James- I have had thoughts about switching, but to be competitive in other states it would take additional travel and practice time. Right now I'm satisfied with being a co-angler.

OBF- What is the biggest factor to take into consideration when you are going to a new lake? 

James- Water color and knowing all the different types of structure.

OBF- Being a co-angler in the BFL tourneys do you do much prefishing? 

James- Yes, in my home state I prefish all of the tournaments. In the out of state tournaments, I don't have the time to travel and prefish.

OBF- How much time did you spend prefishing for the BFL?  

James- I prefish 3-5 days over a 2 week period prior to each tournament.

OBF- When you are prefishing, do you stick fish?  Do you actually set the hook on them?

James- Yes, I stick fish up to about 3 or 4 days prior to a tournament. After that, I shake them off.

OBF- What is your preferred style of fishing?  

James- That's a big question. I prefer flippin and C' Riggin but the way fishing is constantly changing with weather, lake levels and other conditions beyond your control, you have to be able to fish all methods.

OBF- What is your favorite lake in Oklahoma?

James- I have 2 or 3 favorite lakes but if I had to pick one lake that I have had the most success at, I would say Grand Lake.

OBF- In this event you won with more weight than the angler side weighed in, how did you do it? 

James- Well, it was a very simple method. The weather was very unstable with tornado watch out for the first three hours of the tournament. We had very strong winds. We threw topwater baits all day.

OBF- What was the biggest thing that you learned from this event? 

James- With the high winds and possible storms around you, you had to stay focused on fishing and not worry about the weather.

OBF- How much help did your angler contribute to your success? 

James- My angler helped me a lot.

OBF- What was your main lure choice for the event? 

James- I threw one bait all day. It was a Cotton Cordell Red-Fin.

OBF- What type of water and conditions did you catch your fish in? 

James- Like I said earlier, with the strong winds we fished main lake points with very clear water and rough conditions. 

OBF- What is your past experience on Table Rock Lake? 

James- This was my first trip to Table Rock.

OBF- What are your tournament fishing plans for the future? 

James- For the near future, I will be fishing BFL tournaments and some local jackpots.

OBF- How many different divisions of the BFL do you compete in? 

James- This year I am fishing three different divisions.

OBF- How do you find time in your schedule to prepare and compete with such a brutal schedule? 

James- It's a full time job keeping up with all the different lakes and the types of tackle you have to prepare with.

OBF- What kind of advice would you share with someone that might be interested in competing in the BFL format? 

James- If your talking about competing as a co-angler, I would say do as much prefishing as your able to do. Listen to your boater and fish what he leaves you.

OBF- Are you looking forward to the two-day super tournament that’s going to be back on Table Rock? 

James- Yes, but this will be totally different conditions this time of the year. Things have changed a lot since May, as you know the points are one and half times more than the regular tournaments, so you have to be able to catch some fish to qualify for the regional.

We here at OklahomaBassFishing.com would like to personally thank James Marion for taking the time to answer some questions regarding the BFL tournament trail, the BFL event on Table Rock Lake and some questions about bass fishing here in Oklahoma. Thanks Again!