On a place like Lake Texoma where 20- to 30-pound bags are possible, it seems weird to get hyped about limits in the mid-teens. Just ask any of the top pros after Day 1 of the Toyota Series presented by A.R.E. Southwestern Division event and they’ll be the first to tell you how thankful they are for just a limit, let alone a 15-pound limit.
Evan Barnes was the lone pro to crack the 16-pound mark and holds the lead, but only 2-11 separates him from 10th. A lot could change as the tournament progresses and warm, sunny conditions come into play, so there’s no comfort for anyone on the leaderboard yet.
Here’s a look at what the rest of the top pros think after Day 1 of the tournament, which is presented by Abu Garcia and hosted by Discover Durant.
2. Tommy Dickerson – Orange, Texas – 15-15 (5)
One of the few anglers in the field with a Toyota Series win on Texoma, Tommy Dickerson doesn’t have a lot of experience on this pond, but it’s treated him well over the years and he’s more than pleased to have what he weighed after a rough practice.
“I had three or four days of practice and never caught five fish the whole time,” says Dickerson. “I was very blessed today. I’ve only been to Texoma three times. The first time I got one day of practice and won the tournament. I came back and fished a team tournament with Chris McCall and we got third and now this week is my third time here.
“Oklahoma lakes kinda set up for me because I am a shallow-water guy, so it’s always worked out for me over here.”
With a lot of anglers focusing their efforts on the cleaner water in Texoma at the moment, Dickerson tried to make it work, but wound up keying on water with more color to it.
“I couldn’t find ‘em in the cleaner water, and I tried for a couple days,” says the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro. “I always try to find the dirtiest water possible and that’s what I found. I caught eight keepers today and lost one big one. I kinda figured out a little something today, there’s a little pattern going on. I did a little of it during practice and went back to those places today and caught fish and then ran to some similar stuff and got bites.”
Today saw rainy, cloudy conditions for most of the day, however, tomorrow will be the polar opposite. While adjustments will need to be made by the field, Dickerson thinks that could help him.
“With the bait I’m throwing it should work better on a high-pressure day,” he says. “I caught three fish this afternoon on it, and I’m hoping it’ll work all day tomorrow.”
3. Justin Patti – Peoria, Ariz. – 15-12 (5)
Limited experience on Texoma seems be the ticket this week, so it’s no surprise that Arizona pro Justin Patti is off on the right foot this week in his first tournament on Texoma ever.
“All the research I did prior to coming here I had to throw out the window,” Patti says. “I ran all over the lake and kept putting in at different ramps and couldn’t figure them out in practice. On the last day of practice I found one little spot, shook off three or four fish in that area and that’s where I started.
“It was a mixed bag of fish and things panned out. I caught some spots early and then went looking for largemouth and caught two good ones. And I weighed in a smallie.”
It’s been no secret all week the lake is fishing tough, but Patti thought it’d still be more of slugfest based on his research. But, he’s also accustomed to tough bites.
“My goal was to get 15 pounds a day to try and just get a check,” he says. “I didn’t realize this fishery is fishing a lot harder. We grind it out like this on a lot of lakes in Arizona, so I’m kind of used to it.”
With one little area to work with, Patti plans to keep tight to it and see what happens.
4. Mitchell Webb – Skiatook, Okla. – 15-4 (5)
After a terrible practice, Mitchell Webb is more than pleased to be sitting where he is in the standings. In fact, practice was so bad, he genuinely felt like he wouldn’t catch a bass today.
So, Webb essentially scrapped anything he learned in practice and went fishing some history to turn things around.
“Practice was so bad I about went back home to work one day,” laughs Webb. “I just made the decision to fish some big fish holes that I know. Places I’ve seen in the past or areas that look right on a map that should hold big fish and it was one of those deals where I hit enough spots and only I got six bites all day. It was a lot better on paper for sure.
“I just hit high-percentage spots, whether it was shallow or deep. Spots where fish should be or should be going to.”
Despite weighing a decent limit, Webb still isn’t sure he learned much that will help him going forward.
“The most efficient thing I learned today was where not to go and what not to do tomorrow,” he says. “There was a couple things I tired that never really worked. So, I’m just going to stay on rhythm with hitting high-percentage spots, moving and burning some fuel.”
5. Blake Schroeder – Whitehouse, Texas – 15-3 (5)
Blake Schroeder is also leaning on a bit of history to keep his hat in the ring for the top spot and he’s also not burning a lot of gas in the process.
“I made a long run yesterday and found some fish, but today I decided to just hunker down,” says Schroeder. “I think I burned 12 or 15 gallons of gas today. I just caught one here and one there.
“It’s going to be hard to do again tomorrow, but I think with the water temperature warming up I may have a few coming to me.”
Schroeder is confident in his primary areas and is one of the few top pros with another pattern in his back pocket, though he’d really prefer not to run it since the quality of fish is substantially lower.
“I think tomorrow I’m just going to hunker down and see,” he says. “If I make the final day, I may make a run. But first things first come tomorrow.”