The race is on in bass fishing

J.B. Webb: The race is on in bass fishing
After a dismal winter of fishing compared to what we were used to, Texoma is getting friendlier to fishermen. Last Saturday Media Bass had their second tournament on Texoma. The weights went up from February, which wasn't bad, to pretty awesome for March. Forty-nine paid entries hit the lake Saturday. Thirty of them caught limits. It took 20.16 pounds to win. A dang good Texoma fisherman who had been pretty quiet lately, Gene Robinson, and his partner, James Morgan, took first and also had big bass at 6.95 pounds. Nine places were paid and the last pair to get a check were Red Rutherford and Joe Copeland with 13.55 pounds. All in all 191 fish were caught weighing 479 pounds -- a 2.51-pound average.

Getting away from bass fishing for a while, there is something coming up for you crappie jerkers. Bobby Platt's sixth annual Big Mineral Crappie Gig is on tap for Saturday, March 27. I'll have more details on it next week but I wanted to give you perch-jerker's a little lead time. This could be the biggest event yet with a semi-commitment from CAT Crappie Anglers of Texas, who may be bringing as many as 30 to 50 fishermen. There will be something for everyone -- even bank fishermen and especially kids. Academy and Gander Mountain have entry forms. As I said you can get forms at the above places and if you want to know more details or have questions you can call Bobby at 817-253-0739, Big Mineral Camp (903-523-4287) or Jan Golden at 214-739-6998 before next Friday's edition comes out.

Last Friday saw a couple of friends and me go fishing. For a change I got to ride and fish, not drive, as we were in their boat. We headed north and it was a good choice. There was a slew of bass boats in the coves and creeks on the Oklahoma side. My chauffeur and partner were fishing an upcoming tournament and just wanted to locate some fish. Everyplace we wanted to go had a boat or two in it. I like fishing with these guys -- if we catch one fish they are ready to go and leave the area for the next day. At our second stop a chunky bass hit my Booyah spinner bait. I put the fish back and we left. At our next stop the guy in the back using a spinner bait pulled another chunk out of the cold water. Both of those fish we caught were full of eggs. We looked at some more places similar to what we were catching fish in and they got a feeling about where they wanted to start. It was a long way from where we were fishing back to the west. They brought me back to Highport about 11 and went fishing after I got on the dock. I haven't talked to them but looking at the results, I saw where they caught three fish in the tournament. Well everyone can't win and some didn't catch a fish.

The water is warming up we were getting 46-49 degree water temps by 11 a.m. The fish for the most part seem to be holding off the bank in shallow to semi-deep water waiting. A lot of the boats we saw fishing Friday were off the banks a good, long cast away. The smaller males should start cruising the banks in the warmer water looking for a place to nest. It's still early for serious things to start but it's on their minds.

The Bud light USA tournament trail Denton division is having their second Texoma Tournament starting at 7:15 a.m. Saturday morning. It will weigh in at the Sherman Gander Mountain from 3-4 p.m. Gander Mountain has entry forms and details. If it's like last month's rules you must come by the store Friday evening to sign up or check in. For more details or questions Call Bryan Davis at 469-955-7808.