By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Anglers who narrowly miss out on winning Angler of the Year (AOY) titles can usually point to one or two lost fish that carried that competitor's title hopes with them as they swam away. For Keith Combs, such ill-fated bites came on back-to-back days in this year's Bassmaster Elite Series opener at Lake Seminole.
The Texan's 69th-place finish in that derby was easily his worst in any of the eight points events. In fact, it was more than twice as bad as his next-poorest showing (34th at the Delaware River).
He went on to finish 6th in the AOY race – 36 points behind winner Greg Hackney. That was one slot lower than the previous year and marked his third placement among the Top 15 in his 4 years on the circuit.
He's not the type to dwell on those two lost 4-pounders (both of which were on beds) from Seminole, but by no means has he forgotten about them. The first would've bumped his day-1 bag from about 14 pounds to 17 and the second would've given him a solid limit on a day when he had to settle for weighing just four fish.
He figures that combined, they'd have been worth at least 35 points – maybe 40.
"I'm sure Hackney and everybody else (who was in AOY contention) lost some, too, but those two really stick out for me," he said. "I was looking at both of them and after I lost them, I never could get them to bite again.
"I can recall every detail about how they came off, but that's in the past," he said. "Now I'm just focused on what I need to do next year to try and win it."
Nice Recovery
The 38-year-old Combs bounced back nicely from his slip-up at Seminole, logging an 8th the following week at the St. Johns River. He followed that with a pair of Top-25s at Table Rock and Toledo Bend and then won his second straight Toyota Texas Bass Classic (and third overall) in May.
Just a week after that triumph at Lake Fork, he posted his best Elite finish of the campaign (5th at Dardanelle) to put himself squarely in the AOY picture. He was solid – but unspectacular – the rest of the way and joined other hopefuls in watching the red-hot Hackney walk away with the crown.
"The Angler of the Year is what I think about the most every day, whether I'm fishing or not," he said. "It's all about what I need to do to put myself in that spot. I want that title so bad.
"I definitely don't want to overthink things. You always hear guys talking about how they're going to do this or change that to prepare for next season, but a lot of times, whether a season was great or sub-par, it isn't always about doing things right or wrong. Sometimes you get all the breaks and sometimes you just miss them."
Ready to Swing
Combs likes the look of next year's Elite Series schedule because it appears that seven of the nine events should be the slugfest-type derbies in which he specializes. The only exceptions would be the brutally tough Sabine River in his home state and the Chesapeake Bay, which is a superb fishery but may not be at its best when the circuit arrives in mid-August.
"I'm excited about most of it – we're going to a lot of good fisheries at good times of the year," he said. "I've never been to the West Coast, but I know Havasu is fishing good and I know the potential of the (California) Delta. If I can survive the Sabine, I should be fine."
He finished a respectable 32nd at the Sabine in the Elite Series' maiden visit in 2013, but says there's a very fine line between a solid showing and a complete bomb at such a scattered venue that presents a myriad of variables.
"It's only about an hour and a half drive for me and I practiced there a bunch before the last tournament. I learned a lot about that place and I don't think things have changed too much since.
"I made a really long run last time and I'll have to rethink that strategy. I thought I could catch them fast, but the water temperature had dropped considerably since practice and the water was just mud, which didn't make any sense. All the water from those rice fields there runs off into the Sabine and it can trash a creek or canal system at any given time. It can happen so fast that you won't know what hit you."
Two months after the return visit, following the western swing, he'll be back in the Lone Star State for the TTBC, where he'll be a prohibitive favorite.
"That's the funnest tournament of the year because everybody just goes out to try to win. You can say that about the Classic, but there's a lot of pressure involved with the Classic and guys don't want to fall on their face. At the TTBC it's about laying it all out there and seeing how big you can catch them.
"At a place like Fork, the sky's the limit. The weights might not be as big as last year because we're going there a little bit later, but they'll be huge. It's that kind of place."
