Keith Combs FLW angler at Lake Texoma
Hawkeye’s Post-Tournament Bass East Fishing Log
Tournament Trail: Bassmaster Central Open
Angler: Del Rio, Texas’s Keith Combs
Date: Oct.30 – Nov1
Del Rio, Texas’s Professional Bass Angler Keith Combs, managed to collect a 12th place finish on Lake Texoma . Combs compares his Tournament Performance to his Pre-Tournament Predictions for Bass East.
Q. Do you feel your practice and preparation for this event went as planned?
A. No , I never found much during practice . I went looking for new stuff and stayed away from what I normally fish.
Q. Playing the “Monday Morning Quarterback”, what changes if any would you make, after your 12th place finish
A. The last 1 & 2 . Looking back I should have just gone fishing. day I had gone through all my fish. I had to go back and fish the stuff I had been fishing on days
Q. You originally predicted crankbaits , shakey heads andspinnerbaits would be the baits to catch bass feeding on shad in the creek mouths was this true?
A. I think most guys did catch the fish shallow cranking. There were some fish caught casting and pitching to shallow cover .
Q. Your forecast of 11-12 lbs a day was right on the money, and 37lbs to win was pretty close ,Did Weather conditions play a major role in these results at the scales?
A. Wow , I really thought 37lbs would be enough to win . Terry Butcher just blew the field away with his 46.8lbs . The weather played a big part on day 3 the lake was slick(no wind) and a lot of the guys needed the wind to help position the fish.
Q. What final notes will you make in your ‘Fishing Log’ under Texoma Nov. 2008 in preparation for the next time you compete there?
A. I would not do anything different. I would spend more time looking for isolated cover, .
Q. What’s next on the Bass Fishing agenda for Keith Combs?
A. Next up is Falcon Lake the lake is very high and I don’t fish it a lot , so we’ll just have to see!
Pre-Tournament Bass East Predictions
Q. What does this Lake have for Structure and Cover?
A. Texoma is a big lake it has alot of sand banks & drops . The main cover is boat docks and man made brush piles .
Q. What will be the Tournaments Prevalent Patterns?
A. I think the main pattern will be secondary creek mouths with shallow running crank baits and shaky heads. The fish will be feeding on shad.
Q. Considering Seasonal Patterns, which Techniques will be utilized?
A. Shallow cranking should be the best wat to catch them . Some guys will catch them flipping docks
Q. Which Type of Baits will most of the bass be caught on?
A. I think most of the fish will be caught on shad pattern shallow crankbaits . I’ll have my Power Tackle cranking rods ready to go!
Q. What do you look for during your Practice Days?
A. I spent most of my practice time riding ,looking for isolated cover , chunk rock and concentrations of fish moving into the creeks .
Q.With everything taken into perspective how much weight will you be looking for each day at the scales, and what will it take to win this event?
A. I think 11-12 pounds and will be good but you should see a few 17 pound plus bags . 37 pounds should be about what it takes to win.
