It’s gonna’ be a long week but a good week.
The CatMasters Lake Texoma, presented by SeaArk Boats, kicks into gear this week. More than 200 teams are either already there, on the road, or thinking about getting on the road for the main event that will be this weekend, January 24 and 25. I am sure most are thinking about what they will do with $40,000 if they win, but what else are they thinking about?
I asked 5 teams what the topic of discussion was in the vehicle as they traveled to Texoma.
Daniel Kennedy was making the trip to Texas from Illinois with Nick Goodall. He responded by saying he was excited to get out of Illinois and head back to Texas because he hadn’t been back since he left the service. Beyond that, the pair had three primary interests.
“We talked about where to start fishing and about getting bait. Also, what kind of food are we gonna’ grill out,” joked Daniel.
Chris and Kyli Baldwin made the trek from Oklahoma to fish Texoma. They are familiar with the lake, so they won’t have the same unfamiliarity as some other anglers.
“The main thing for us is where are we going to fish,” said Kyli. “We know the lake pretty well so we already have spots picked out to try. We made a detour to a different lake to catch some bait as we heard bait is hard to find down there. The second thing is how are we going to fit two 100 pounders in the live well! Lol.”
In a Suburban from Iowa, Noah Meeks and Mike Salazar have a boat loaded with catfish gear heading for the Catmasters at Texoma. Noah had a one-word answer to my question—“Bait.”
John Hoverson and Julie Hoverson left their home in Smithville, MO in 9-degree weather to make their way to Texoma where it is expected to be in the mid to upper 50s.
“We had almost a year of researching and studying this lake,” reported John. “It will be beneficial since we have never been there. We looked over our notes and maps several times on the way down,” continued John. “We wanted to ensure that we knew the potential areas to get shad, boat ramps we wanted to use, etc.”
“Our first priority is to get bait after we check into our cabin,” continued John. “After that, we will focus on our 3 different areas of the lake we have identified as potential areas that we want to fish. During this week we will be doing more scanning than fishing.”
Terry and Lisa Gail Haraway made the trip to Texoma from Alabama. Bait is one of the main things on their mind too.
“We are talking about what will these catfish be biting in Texas,” reported Lisa. “We are so used to skipjack. We keep reminding one another that we are going to make memories, have fun, and fish hard. We are also questioning whether we will drag or anchor.”
“Our motto is, it’s gonna’ be a long week but a good week,” continued Lisa. “Win or lose, we always laugh and have a great time. We are putting in at the boat ramp now. We are talking to some Texas anglers just now coming in and they said these catfish bellies are full. It is a tough bite. They caught 1 catfish this morning. This lake is a lot wider than we are used to. So, it’s all about the wind here and how we are gonna’ fish tournament day.”
These are just 5 of the developing stories that will come from the Catmasters at Texoma tournament this week. Stay tuned as the week goes on.
Safe travels, tight lines, and good luck to all the teams.
Fish with passion.
