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Your Guide to
Tournament Fishing, by a First Year Tournament Angler
TOURNAMENT TRAIL CHAMPIONSHIP
Part Two
By
Jerry Corbett
THE JIMMY HOUSTON OUTDOORS TOURNAMENT TRAIL OKLAHOMA CHAMPIONSHIP
September 27th and 28th, 2003 at Lake Tenkiller
 The evening
hours after the day one weigh-in were used to discuss and plan how
to attack the second day of fishing. We knew that we could catch
small fish and likely finish close to the money, but our decision
came down to an all or nothing attitude. We didn’t fish all year
long not to give our best shot at the Ranger. We had one area that
was giving us decent size fish, but the action was pretty slow, so
we didn’t spend a lot of time there on day one. Our reasoning came
down to starting there and then spending a larger portion of the
morning waiting on the good bite. Unfortunately, when we started
going through our tackle and getting everything adjusted for Sunday
we realized that our bait that was getting us the biggest bite was
in very short supply, so luckily for me, my partner stepped to the
plate and said he would hit the road toward the bait shop.
 Three
o’clock A.M. on the second day seemed just a little earlier than the
first day. After spending all day on the water Saturday and having
to deal with the wind apparently wore me down. As we headed out we
started noticing the thick pockets of fog that were settling in on
northeastern Oklahoma. We swung by the Jimmy Houston Outdoors Store
for more ice and to double check the standings and then we were back
off to launch ramp. Upon arriving at the Elk Creek recreation area
we quickly realized that the fog had definitely set in on the lake.
As we motored over to the Cherokee landing side we discovered it was
difficult to see many boats in front of us, even with the lights on
with the dense fog. Luckily our Lowrance GPS unit came in handy and
helped guide us in the right direction.
Obviously, the fog was going to be there for a while and Mr. Carl
Woods the tournament director announced that the take-off was going
to be delayed due to the fog. No angler likes sitting around waiting
for the chance to wet a line, but fortunately for us the staff at
Jimmy Houston Outdoors take safety as a top priority and didn’t want
to risk anything. As it turned out the wind started to pick up just
a touch and with the rising sun the delay lasted around thirty
minutes. As soon as Mr. Woods declared the area safe, the countdown
to our boat number began. One of the difficult obstacles facing the
anglers on Lake Tenkiller this weekend was extremely low water
level, with the lake at least seven foot below normal. This not only
caused problems with catching fish, but with safe navigation in
certain areas. Anglers were reminded numerous times not to cut the
corners while running to prevent any unexpected stump or sandbar to
derail your fishing weekend.
 As we
arrived at our first fishing hole we broke out the fishing equipment
and went to work. Luckily not long after our arrival a decent size
Kentucky bass found its way into our livewell. We were still pretty
happy about that when another fish hit and it seemed like a pretty
good one, as my partner played it back to the boat I stood by with
the dip net. He got it up to the boat and I swung the net under the
bass and in the boat it came, a “smallie”. Now we had another
problem, the smallmouth was close to the 16” mark but close is all
we could get. We decided to go ahead and put her in the livewell
cause earlier this year we had an experience of a few fish being
real close on our board and making it on the official board. We
maintained a good attitude about it though, saying that we would
“cull” the fish later with a better one. After a few more passes
with the action slowing down we finally had another bite and shortly
another small bass in the livewell. We decided that there were fish
holding in this area without a doubt and we were going to try and
play the patience game. It paid off one more time with another small
bass which made four in our livewell, but with that one smallmouth
we knew we needed some more good fish.
 After many
more passes through our prime fishing location and a few bites and
near hookups the action began to slow even more, but patience was
our game and we were playing it well, to my surprise. But
unfortunately for us, the wind kicked back up and giving us one more
reason to try another pattern we made the decision to try a few
different spots. By this time it was already afternoon and we were
sure the pattern was going to be a little slower. One thing was for
certain, we weren’t catching the numbers of fish on Sunday as we did
the day before. Did the weather change the fishing? Was it our call
to come looking for bigger fish? What about the fishing pressure?
All we knew for sure was that we needed some huge leaps and bounds
if we was going to have a chance.
As we looked for calmer waters we couldn’t come up with a solid back
up plan on our second day of fishing. On the first day we had 4
different areas to catch fish with 3 different techniques and then
all the sudden we were stuck with trying to decipher what to do now.
One of the biggest hurdles in competitive bass fishing is when the
conditions change and when the fish that were in one area on one day
are gone the next day, then what? Putting together one good stringer
of fish is hard enough, but putting together consistent good
stringers raises the skill level to a higher echelon.
 As it
turns out we were only able to scratch out one more fish for the
day, another Kentucky bass caught in open water. We caught only five
fish on day two and all five were in our livewell heading back to
the weigh-in. The big nagging question that remained was whether or
not our smallie was going to make it into our bag of fish or not. We
secured our gear and cranked the 225 Optimax up and headed back to
the check boat. As we neared Cherokee landing we noticed the boat in
the distance with the white flag, the check in boat, as we came down
off a pad and motored towards the flag we began to realize that our
fishing day and weekend was coming to a close. We knew in our minds
that our decision to go for broke didn’t pay off for us today, but
the lessons learned during any fishing trip is worth their weight in
gold the next time you head out for some competitive fishing.
At the weigh-in we double-checked the smallie on our board just to
see if the fish added any length while riding around in our
livewell, and to our surprise it didn’t. So we decided to go ahead
and bring it to the “bump board”, an official Jimmy Houston Outdoor
board that gives anglers a courtesy bump, and make one last check
before bringing the fish to the scales. When we got to the bump
board we tried to stretch the fish every which way, but it was
obvious that she wasn’t going to make it, so we reluctantly turned
her over before heading on to the scales. With only four small
swimmers in our bag we knew that not only was the chance for a boat
way out the window, but our opportunity to finish somewhere in the
money was probably gone also. When the scales rang up we had a
little over three pounds for four fish and our two day total was
just over ten pounds.
 There are
always what-ifs in tournament fishing, but you can’t dwell on them
to long, just put them in the back of your mind and learn from your
experiences. What if that smallmouth would have measured? Our weight
would have been over the twelve-pound range and we more likely than
not, would have finished in the money. It wasn’t our goal for the
day, but something to show would have been nice. Looking back do we
regret our decision to play the waiting game? Yes and no, because
the grass is not always greener on the other side, but on this
particular day it apparently was. We learned to always keep an eye
on the conditions and the changes that the bass may make and what
kind of game plan is needed in order to compete. You must always
have a few other patterns or areas to fall back on and if not,
things will be tough. Wind also played a pretty big factor both
days, with the wind on Sunday gusting even stronger than the
previous day. Wind is a blessing in disguise sometimes but other
times it can devastate a hotspot, and both days the wind affected
our fishing styles. But its just part of the exciting game of
tournament bass fishing, being able to put the right pattern
together for the right conditions.
Lake Tenkiller, located in the Cookson Hills of eastern Oklahoma,
lined with miles of scenic steep bluffs and forested hills can be
considered as one of the prettiest lakes in the state, and without
any doubt one of the most unique. It was a great place to wrap up an
exciting year of fishing with the Jimmy Houston Outdoor Team
Tournament Trail.
Take it easy, and good fishing!
Jerry Corbett
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