By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor


Jeff Reynolds couldn't really buy into what he was seeing when he started practicing for last week's Lake Texoma Southwestern FLW Series. The Calera, Okla. resident lives just five miles from one of the boat ramps on the lake and has fished hundreds of tournaments there during all seasons of the year, and he couldn't recall ever finding so many big fish in deep water with the calendar still under a September heading.

"I was seeing a lot of fish out there (on his electronics), but I couldn't make myself believe they were there," said the former Bassmaster Elite Series competitor. "It almost got me in trouble – living here and having so much experience on the lake, I know that the deep bite is never strong this time of year.

"I spent several days not even trying to catch those fish. I was just writing them off as stripers."

The action close to the bank wasn't as good as he'd anticipated, however, so he eventually determined that he had to find out whether the fish he was seeing on his graph were actually black bass (largemouths or smallmouths) and not line-sided descendants of East Coast imports.

They definitely weren't the latter.

Between those deep-dwellers and others that were in the skinnier water they were supposed to be inhabiting, Reynolds had enough fish to carry him to victory. He amassed a 51-09 total over three days and collected a prize package valued at approximately $80,000.

The loot comes at an opportune time, as he's in the process of building a house and awaiting the arrival of his first child – a daughter who'd due not long after his 44th birthday next month.

Happy Where He's At

Reynolds competed on the Elite Series for the first four seasons of its existence (2006-09) and on the Bassmaster Tour for several years prior to that. He made four Bassmaster Classics and logged six top-10 finishes in tour-level events.

Nowadays, he has steady work with Careco Multimedia, operating a camera for fishing and hunting shows, and fishes a lot of tournaments at Texoma and other venues in the region. He has no desire to return to the tour lifestyle.

"I'm pretty happy where I'm at right now," he said. "The only way I'd ever consider (going back) is if I had somebody show up and offer me a lot of money for sponsorship.

"I probably fish more now than I did when I was on the Elites. I get into 20 or 25 tournaments a year, at least."

Will the arrival of his daughter cause him to scale back on tournaments?

"It could a little bit – it's hard to say because I've never had a kid before. My wife is 100-percent supportive of me fishing and she knows how much I enjoy it. I'm going to keep fishing tournaments, that's for sure."

Still a Mystery

Reynolds doesn't have an explanation for the situation he discovered at Texoma over the past couple weeks.

"I've thought about it a lot and I really don't understand it," he said. "The only thing I can come up with is there's so many shad in the lake right now – I've never seen this many – and the (bass) are scattered from the main lake to the backs of the creeks. You can find shad anywhere you want to go."

He used a Texas-rigged worm to pull most of his deeper fish from the 18- to 21-foot depth range, but caught one that was within a few ounces of 6 pounds from 27 feet. He threw a Heddon Super Spook at the ones that were still near the banks.

"The shallow ones were very shallow and that was a big timing deal. They weren't staying up there all the time; a lot of the time they'd be sitting off the breaks and I couldn't catch them there. When they started pushing the shad up on the flats and feeding on them, you could catch them pretty good if you were there at the right time.

"I threw the spook a couple different ways. On the second day it was pretty cloudy and I was working it a little slower, making it walk real wide. When the sun was out and the wind was blowing, I'd work it faster. I'd start with a medium-speed retrieve and then make it get real erratic, mimicking what shad do when a bass gets after them. Sometimes they wouldn't feed until I made it do something crazy."

Pattern Notes

Reynolds said the most critical elements of his program were not baits, but rather his HydroWave unit and his Garmin Panoptix sonar.

"I'd have the HydroWave on full-blast on the "bait blitz" setting when I pulled into a place and I wouldn't ease in there," he said. "I wanted to get the bait moving around and the bass fired up. I'd pull up and put my trolling motor in the water and shad would start flicking, and usually right after that something would come up and show itself.

"One of the best areas I had was where a little ditch came into a flat and I could pull in and use the Panoptix to see where both the baitfish and the bass were at. I'd turn the trolling motor around and scan and if I saw the bass up in 5, 6 or 7 feet, I knew it was fixing to go down (with the Spook). If they were out in 17 or 18 feet, I'd start throwing that worm."

Winning Gear Notes

> Topwater gear: 7'9" heavy-fast Cabela's XML Umbrella Rig rod, Cabela's Arachnid casting reel (8:1 ratio), unnamed 65-pound braided line, Heddon Super Spook (blue shore shad).

> Worm gear: 7'3" medium-heavy Cabela's XML casting rod, same reel, unnamed 20-pound fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce bullet weight, 3/0 EWG worm hook, Zoom Trick Worm (green-pumpkin).

The Bottom Line

> Main factor in his success – "Moving a lot, which is the way I fish this lake. Very seldom do you pull up and catch all your fish from one spot – you need a lot of spots and you need to be doing at least a couple different things, especially for a three-day tournament. I was burning nearly a full tank of gas every day."

> Performance edge – "I got the Panoptix hooked up just before the tournament. It's the most unreal thing I've ever seen in my life."

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Final Standings

1. Jeff Reynolds -- Calera, Ok -- 16-12 (5) -- 19-4 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 51-9 (15) -- $80,167

2. Don McFarlin -- Gordonville, Tx -- 16-15 (5) -- 12-15 (5) -- 17-3 (5) -- 47-1 (15) -- $13,627

3. T.R. Andreas -- Kerrville, Tx -- 18-0 (5) -- 15-7 (5) -- 10-15 (5) -- 44-6 (15) -- $10,750

4. Alton Wilhoit -- Noble, Ok -- 17-13 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 44-6 (15) -- $8,892

5. Kevin Gressett -- Tioga, Tx -- 16-4 (5) -- 14-3 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 43-2 (15) -- $7,913

6. Hayden Burkett -- Bokchito, Ok -- 12-13 (5) -- 19-7 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 42-7 (15) -- $7,033

7. Jeff Sprague -- Point, Tx -- 13-11 (5) -- 16-4 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 42-7 (15) -- $6,154

8. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 13-5 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 41-7 (15) -- $5,275

9. Brandon Mosley -- Choctaw, Ok -- 16-14 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 40-13 (15) -- $4,396

10. Ricci Head -- Shawnee, Ok -- 13-0 (4) -- 16-2 (5) -- 8-12 (2) -- 37-14 (11) -- $3,517

The following anglers did not make the cut and did not fish on day 3.

11. Andrew Upshaw -- Tulsa, Ok -- 13-5 (5) -- 15-12 (5) -- 29-1 (10) -- $3,297

12. Spencer McAlester -- Denison, Tx -- 15-11 (5) -- 13-5 (5) -- 29-0 (10) -- $3,077

13. James E. Davis Jr -- Ferriday, La -- 13-9 (5) -- 15-0 (5) -- 28-9 (10) -- $2,638

14. Russell Cecil -- Willis, Tx -- 18-2 (5) -- 10-3 (5) -- 28-5 (10) -- $2,638

15. Eric Wright -- Balch Springs, Tx -- 12-12 (5) -- 15-9 (5) -- 28-5 (10) -- $2,638

16. Marco Vaca -- Ardmore, Ok -- 15-7 (5) -- 12-11 (5) -- 28-2 (10) -- $2,638

17. Brian Clark -- Haltom City, Tx -- 18-0 (5) -- 9-14 (5) -- 27-14 (10) -- $2,638

18. Bradley Hallman -- Norman, Ok -- 10-12 (5) -- 16-14 (5) -- 27-10 (10) -- $2,638

19. Jim Tutt -- Longview, Tx -- 15-2 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 27-4 (10) -- $2,638

20. Todd Castledine -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 15-10 (5) -- 11-6 (5) -- 27-0 (10) -- $2,638

21. Skeeter Fowler -- Grand Saline, Tx -- 14-3 (5) -- 12-5 (5) -- 26-8 (10) -- $2,418

22. Billy Cline -- Grapevine, Tx -- 19-4 (5) -- 7-1 (3) -- 26-5 (8) -- $2,418

23. Kevin Lasyone -- Dry Prong, La -- 15-5 (5) -- 10-8 (4) -- 25-13 (9) -- $2,418

24. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 12-11 (5) -- 13-0 (5) -- 25-11 (10) -- $2,418

25. Kirk Smith -- Edmond, Ok -- 12-14 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 25-11 (10) -- $2,418

26. Cody Bird -- Granbury, Tx -- 12-12 (5) -- 12-13 (5) -- 25-9 (10) -- $2,198

27. Christopher Digino -- Dallas, Tx -- 16-15 (5) -- 8-9 (4) -- 25-8 (9) -- $2,198

28. Brady Winans -- Caddo Mills, Tx -- 17-12 (5) -- 7-9 (4) -- 25-5 (9) -- $2,198

29. Kyle Cortiana -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 10-0 (5) -- 15-4 (5) -- 25-4 (10) -- $2,198

30. Matt Cooper -- Smithville, Tx -- 13-5 (5) -- 11-14 (5) -- 25-3 (10) -- $2,198

31. Brad Cook -- Afton, Ok -- 9-15 (5) -- 15-1 (5) -- 25-0 (10) -- $1,758

32. Holt Markum -- Paradise, Tx -- 14-0 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 24-14 (10) -- $1,758

33. Stephen Johnston -- Hemphill, Tx -- 12-12 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 24-14 (10)

34. Randy Sullivan -- Breckenridge, Tx -- 13-7 (5) -- 11-2 (5) -- 24-9 (10)

35. Matt Massey -- Littleton, Co -- 13-3 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 24-7 (10)

36. Chris Lewis -- Longview, Tx -- 10-5 (5) -- 13-14 (5) -- 24-3 (10)

37. Dakota Ebare -- Stephenville, Tx -- 10-13 (5) -- 13-6 (5) -- 24-3 (10)

38. Earl Ates -- Longview, Tx -- 12-14 (5) -- 11-5 (5) -- 24-3 (10)

39. Joe Lane -- Republic, Mo -- 16-3 (5) -- 7-13 (4) -- 24-0 (9) -- $242

40. Matthew McArdle -- Humble, Tx -- 12-11 (5) -- 11-1 (5) -- 23-12 (10)

41. Joe Erwin -- Cleora, Ok -- 12-6 (5) -- 11-4 (5) -- 23-10 (10)

42. Drew Boggs -- Lebanon, Tn -- 13-9 (5) -- 9-12 (5) -- 23-5 (10)

43. Brian Potter -- Claremore, Ok -- 12-14 (5) -- 10-7 (5) -- 23-5 (10)

44. Tim Flowers -- Midland, Tx -- 9-9 (5) -- 13-6 (5) -- 22-15 (10)

45. Gary Riffle -- Paris, Tx -- 10-7 (5) -- 12-4 (5) -- 22-11 (10)

46. James Stricklin Jr -- Fort Smith, Ar -- 13-1 (5) -- 8-11 (4) -- 21-12 (9)

47. John Soukup -- Agra, Ok -- 9-15 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 20-13 (10)

48. Justin Wojcik -- Bulverde, Tx -- 12-15 (4) -- 7-9 (3) -- 20-8 (7)

49. Albert Collins -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 6-12 (3) -- 12-14 (4) -- 19-10 (7)

50. Brett Brandstrom -- Shoreview, Mn -- 8-11 (4) -- 10-13 (5) -- 19-8 (9)

51. Allen Rude -- Pauls Valley, Ok -- 7-2 (2) -- 12-0 (5) -- 19-2 (7)

52. Billy Billeaud -- Lafayette, La -- 8-6 (4) -- 10-12 (5) -- 19-2 (9)

53. Dylan Hays -- Sheridan, Ar -- 7-4 (4) -- 11-11 (4) -- 18-15 (8)

54. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 8-14 (4) -- 10-0 (5) -- 18-14 (9)

55. Mitch Melton -- Davis, Ok -- 11-11 (4) -- 7-2 (2) -- 18-13 (6)

56. Charley Slaton -- Valliant, Ok -- 3-13 (2) -- 14-6 (5) -- 18-3 (7)

57. Roberto Novoa -- Frisco, Tx -- 7-15 (4) -- 10-4 (2) -- 18-3 (6) -- $242

58. Sheldon Collings -- Grove, Ok -- 9-8 (4) -- 8-11 (5) -- 18-3 (9)

59. Casey Hays -- Velma, Ok -- 12-3 (5) -- 5-11 (2) -- 17-14 (7)

60. David Mansue -- Hemphill, Tx -- 3-14 (2) -- 13-7 (5) -- 17-5 (7)

61. Jeffrey Gengler -- Fort Collins, Co -- 11-9 (5) -- 5-7 (2) -- 17-0 (7)

62. Mike Michelson -- Altus, Ok -- 9-13 (4) -- 7-3 (3) -- 17-0 (7)

63. Joel Baker -- Talala, Ok -- 10-12 (5) -- 6-3 (2) -- 16-15 (7)

64. Lendell Martin Jr -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 8-14 (5) -- 7-15 (3) -- 16-13 (8)

65. Tommy Martin -- Hemphill, Tx -- 8-8 (3) -- 8-5 (4) -- 16-13 (7)

66. James Caldemeyer -- Gilmer, Tx -- 11-15 (5) -- 4-12 (2) -- 16-11 (7)

67. Chad Warren -- Sand Springs, Ok -- 3-0 (1) -- 13-7 (5) -- 16-7 (6)

68. Troy O'rourke -- Natchitoches, La -- 12-13 (5) -- 3-9 (2) -- 16-6 (7)

69. Gary Caruso -- Baton Rouge, La -- 6-10 (3) -- 9-11 (3) -- 16-5 (6)

70. Randy Despino -- Colfax, La -- 11-1 (5) -- 5-3 (2) -- 16-4 (7)

71. Blaine Covington -- Fort Worth, Tx -- 2-11 (1) -- 13-4 (5) -- 15-15 (6)

72. Rick Carter -- Alba, Tx -- 8-2 (4) -- 7-7 (4) -- 15-9 (8)

73. Steve Sennikoff -- Forney, Tx -- 2-15 (1) -- 12-7 (5) -- 15-6 (6)

74. Stephen Badley -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 8-0 (3) -- 7-6 (3) -- 15-6 (6)

75. Jerod Hawkes -- Sabinal, Tx -- 9-6 (5) -- 5-15 (3) -- 15-5 (8)

76. Derek Fulps -- Broken Arrow, Ok -- 8-9 (3) -- 6-12 (3) -- 15-5 (6)

77. Floyd Drannon -- Stratford, Ok -- 10-14 (5) -- 4-6 (2) -- 15-4 (7)

78. Jim Moynagh -- Carver, Mn -- 3-2 (2) -- 12-0 (5) -- 15-2 (7)

79. Luke Frazier -- Owasso, Ok -- 6-9 (2) -- 8-9 (4) -- 15-2 (6)

80. Ken Smith -- Dallas, Tx -- 9-6 (5) -- 5-10 (3) -- 15-0 (8)

81. Rick Hanna -- Hereford, Tx -- 6-5 (3) -- 8-4 (4) -- 14-9 (7)

82. Phillip Whittaker -- Baytown, Tx -- 2-0 (1) -- 12-6 (5) -- 14-6 (6)

83. Tye Smith -- Fort Gibson, Ok -- 5-9 (3) -- 8-2 (5) -- 13-11 (8)

84. T.W. Hardy -- Silsbee, Tx -- 7-10 (4) -- 5-3 (3) -- 12-13 (7)

85. Dennis Matlock -- Collinsville, Tx -- 1-12 (1) -- 10-13 (5) -- 12-9 (6)

86. Matt Garner -- Seminole, Ok -- 7-12 (3) -- 4-13 (2) -- 12-9 (5)

87. Eric Poindexter -- Eufaula, Ok -- 5-9 (3) -- 6-13 (4) -- 12-6 (7)

88. Travis Carpenter -- Fairview, Tx -- 12-5 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-5 (5)

89. Jason Bonds -- Lufkin, Tx -- 6-3 (3) -- 5-14 (4) -- 12-1 (7)

90. Cole Temple -- Southlake, Tx -- 12-0 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-0 (5)

91. Ray Hanselman -- Del Rio, Tx -- 11-15 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 11-15 (5)

92. Bob Keeland -- Huntsville, Tx -- 2-1 (1) -- 9-4 (3) -- 11-5 (4)

93. Jeff Magee -- Mendenhall, Ms -- 4-13 (2) -- 6-7 (3) -- 11-4 (5)

94. Brian Liles -- Texarkana, Ar -- 6-1 (2) -- 4-13 (2) -- 10-14 (4)

95. Blake Schroeder -- Whitehouse, Tx -- 3-14 (2) -- 6-11 (3) -- 10-9 (5)

96. Robert Sparks -- Heflin, La -- 4-14 (2) -- 5-11 (2) -- 10-9 (4)

97. Nick Aber -- Piedmont, Ok -- 3-9 (2) -- 6-12 (3) -- 10-5 (5)

98. Chris Hart -- Bozeman, Mt -- 10-1 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-1 (4)

99. Michael Burns -- Lucas, Tx -- 9-14 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-14 (5)

100. Kyle Hall -- Rio Vista, Tx -- 4-8 (2) -- 5-5 (2) -- 9-13 (4)

101. Nick Prvonozac -- Warren, Oh -- 5-6 (2) -- 4-5 (2) -- 9-11 (4)

102. Terry Ezell -- El Reno, Ok -- 3-11 (1) -- 5-15 (3) -- 9-10 (4)

103. Garrett McClendon -- Bixby, Ok -- 9-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-8 (2)

104. Mark Russell -- Yantis, Tx -- 6-10 (3) -- 2-12 (1) -- 9-6 (4)

105. Clint Royse -- Athens, Tx -- 2-9 (1) -- 5-2 (2) -- 7-11 (3)

106. Randy Sitz -- Prosper, Tx -- 3-3 (1) -- 4-2 (2) -- 7-5 (3)

107. Rob Burns -- Plano, Tx -- 7-4 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 7-4 (4)

108. Steve Graf -- Natchitoches, La -- 7-0 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 7-0 (2)

109. Danny Weems -- Como, Tx -- 2-13 (2) -- 3-3 (2) -- 6-0 (4)

110. Travis Kelehan -- Broussard, La -- 3-4 (2) -- 2-8 (1) -- 5-12 (3)

111. Chester Gibbs -- Wagoner, Ok -- 5-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-8 (2)

112. Jason Conn -- Anna, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 5-3 (3) -- 5-3 (3)

113. James Martin -- Longview, Tx -- 4-3 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-3 (2)

114. Robert Brown -- Round Rock, Tx -- 3-13 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-13 (2)

115. Brian Mathis -- Northglenn, Co -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-2 (2) -- 3-2 (2)

116. Michael Herron -- Paris, Tx -- 2-10 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 2-10 (1)

117. Chuck Nelson -- Elmore City, Ok -- 0-0 (0) -- 2-1 (1) -- 2-1 (1)

118. Kelly Wood -- Bixby, Ok -- 1-6 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-6 (1)

119. Chris Russell -- Montgomery, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0)

119. Ed Klobas -- Arlington, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0)

119. Bob Kujan Jr -- Belton, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0)