Missouri pro James Watson can definitely relate to one of the late Yogi Berra’s great quotes after winning the Table Rock Lake Bassmaster Central Open.
It was definitely “déjà vu all over again” for Watson, who used a topwater pattern to win a Professional Anglers Association (PAA) tournament on his home waters in September 2013. He relied on basically the same pattern to capture the Open with a 3-day total of 46-04.
Despite a slow start, he caught his heaviest limit of the event on Saturday (16-1).
“I was struggling to get a bite before noon,” he said. “It was the slowest morning I’ve had, but I just kept winging it. I followed the wind and looked for the right kind of rock and just kept plugging away.”
He utilized two topwater lures – a Luck-E-Strike Frantic Frog (a toad-style bait) and the River2Sea Whopper Plopper – to catch most of his fish.
“I was running as much bank as I could and trying not to run the same bank twice,” he said. “I would try to find the biggest rock I could.”
Watson’s victory secured a berth for him in the 2016 Bassmaster at Grand Lake in Oklahoma March 4-6. He also earned a top prize of a Skeeter/Yamaha valued at $45,000 and $7,918 in cash.
Jacob Wheeler caught the largest limit (17-09) of the tournament Saturday to move into 2nd place with 42-12. Wheeler also relied on a topwater pattern as he ran both steep and flat banks.
“The second day I figured out they wanted an (Accent) Game Changer buzzbait and a (Rapala) Skitter Walk with a shaved-off side that made it translucent,” he said.
Full details of Watson's winning pattern will be published this week.
Below are the final totals for the Top-12 finishers:
1. James Watson: 46-04
2. Jacob Wheeler: 42-12
3. Rick Clunn: 40-15
4. Joseph Brantley: 38-05
5. Justin Margraves: 35-08
6. Brett Preuett: 34-15
7. Josh Bertrand: 33-08
8. Shane Long: 32-07
9. James Elam: 30-00
10. Jay Brainard: 29-10
11. Luke Clausen: 26-05
12. Sam Canoe: 25-04
