Foster Went Deeper To Win Debut By A Bunch

By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor

It's hard to imagine how Cameron Foster's first triple-A event fishing from the front of the boat could've gone any better. Not only did the 28-year-old from Wagoner, Okla. win the Fort Gibson Lake Southwestern Toyota Series, he weighed the heaviest bag on each of the 3 days and prevailed by a margin of more than 14 pounds over runner-up and Bass Pro Tour competitor Zack Birge.

"It was a heck of a deal," he said.

It'll probably be a while before he can test his skills in another high-level, multi-day event as he's set to begin a full-time job with the Muskogee Fire Department and will be on probation for a year, which means that the number of consecutive days off he'd need to compete in a Toyota Series derby will likely be unavailable to him. He'll have to be content with single-day tournaments until 2022 rolls around.

There may come a point when he'd like to take a crack at the sport's top level, but that won't be anytime soon.

"Fishing's what I've loved to do ever since I was old enough to walk," he said. "But as I've gotten older, I've gotten to know a lot of people in the industry because I'm around it all the time. I've seen how difficult it is and I'm not sure I'd want to go down that road.

"I'm definitely going to fish lots of tournaments, but I'm not sure I'll ever move up to the professional ranks."

Found his Own Path

Foster spent the 6 days leading up to the tournament in search of an effective pattern that didn't consist of "bottom-bugging" with a swing-head jig and plastic trailer in water that was shallower than 7 feet – just about everybody in the field would be doing that. He came up with a program that consisted of throwing a swimbait to get deeper fish (12 to 14 feet) to reveal their location, then slowing down with a conventional or bladed jig for the ones that wouldn't aggressively bite the swimbait.

"Fort Gibson's known as a shallow fishery and people say that if you're fishing below 6 or 7 feet, you're too deep," he said. "They're typically right, but I just felt like a lot of the bigger fish were deeper. I might get fewer bites, but they'd be better quality."

He had no trouble loading up quickly on day 1 as he amassed his tournament-best 22-11 stringer in just six casts. Day 2 was a bit slower as it took him until 1 o'clock to compile his 18-05 bag, for which he handled seven keepers.

He went into the final day with an advantage of almost 12 pounds. The 15-11 he caught by 11:30 was overkill as a single 1 1/2-pounder would've secured the victory.

He caught two fish that exceeded 6 pounds over the course of the event and another that was within an ounce or two of that mark.

Won out of Borrowed Boat

Foster's boat is an 18-foot Pro Craft that he bought when he was 16 years old. He didn't use it in this event because the livewells are too small to keep 20 pounds worth of fish healthy on one side.

He ended up borrowing a boat from Fred Fielder, who competed as a co-angler. The two had met at an event 3 years ago when both were fishing out of the back seat and it was Fielder, a Muskogee firefighter, who put Foster on his career path.

"He's been doing that for 30-plus year and he told me about it and the benefits and all that and it piqued my interest," said Foster, who spent several years employed as a tile-setter and currently works for a company that builds booths at shows such as the Bassmaster Classic. He told me to join a volunteer fire department and I did that almost 2 years ago.

"I went through all the schooling and worked my butt off, and here we are."

Winning Gear Notes

> Jig gear: 7' medium-heavy Enigma Fishing rod, Abu Garcia Revo ALX casting reel (6.4:1 ratio), 20-pound Seaguar Red Label fluorocarbon line, 1/2-ounce Bass X jig (Okeechobee craw), Strike King Rage Craw trailer (green-pumpkin or watermelon candy).

> Swimbait gear: 7'3" heavy-action Enigma Fishing rod, same reel and line, 1/4-ounce bullet weight, 4/0 extra-wide gap hook, Texas-rigged Keitech Fat Swing Impact 3.8 or Swing Impact 4.5 (white).

Final Standings

1. Cameron Foster -- Wagoner, Ok -- 22-11 (5) -- 18-5 (5) -- 15-11 (5) -- 56-11 (15) -- $27,149

2. Zack Birge -- Blanchard, Ok -- 14-15 (5) -- 12-8 (5) -- 14-14 (5) -- 42-5 (15) -- $10,490

3. Terry Hawkins -- Corsicana, Tx -- 14-13 (5) -- 13-2 (5) -- 14-2 (5) -- 42-1 (15) -- $9,321

4. Dakota Ebare -- Denham Springs, La -- 15-7 (5) -- 13-12 (5) -- 10-6 (5) -- 39-9 (15) -- $6,767

5. David Curtis -- Trinity, Tx -- 15-12 (5) -- 10-9 (5) -- 12-10 (5) -- 38-15 (15) -- $6,091

6. Brett Brumnett -- Wagoner, Ok -- 13-10 (5) -- 11-10 (5) -- 13-8 (5) -- 38-12 (15) -- $5,414

7. Kyle Cortiana -- Coweta, Ok -- 14-2 (5) -- 12-1 (5) -- 12-2 (5) -- 38-5 (15) -- $4,737

8. Jacopo Gallelli -- Florence, Fi -- 12-8 (5) -- 14-15 (5) -- 7-15 (3) -- 35-6 (13) -- $4,060

9. Darrel Robertson -- Jay, Ok -- 12-3 (5) -- 14-0 (5) -- 5-11 (3) -- 31-14 (13) -- $3,384

10. Blake Capps -- Muskogee, Ok -- 14-5 (5) -- 10-14 (5) -- 4-12 (2) -- 29-15 (12) -- $2,707

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

11. Caleb Black -- Mcalester, Ok -- 11-11 (5) -- 13-3 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 24-14 (10) -- $2,538

12. Skeeter Fowler -- Grand Saline, Tx -- 13-1 (5) -- 10-8 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 23-9 (10) -- $2,369

13. Tommy Biffle -- Wagoner, Ok -- 10-2 (4) -- 13-3 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 23-5 (9) -- $2,030

14. Jerod Keith -- Haughton, La -- 9-14 (4) -- 13-5 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 23-3 (9) -- $2,030

15. Lance Crawford -- Broken Bow, Ok -- 13-4 (5) -- 9-10 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 22-14 (9) -- $2,030

16. Bradley Hallman -- Edmond, Ok -- 16-5 (5) -- 6-5 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 22-10 (8) -- $2,030

17. Danny Weems -- Como, Tx -- 18-8 (5) -- 4-1 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 22-9 (7) -- $2,030

18. Eric Wright -- Balch Springs, Tx -- 12-2 (5) -- 9-12 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 21-14 (9) -- $2,030

19. Justin O`Brian Cooper -- Zwolle, La -- 9-5 (4) -- 12-8 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 21-13 (9) -- $2,030

20. Chris McCall -- Palmer, Tx -- 10-3 (5) -- 11-7 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 21-10 (10) -- $2,030

21. Brad Hillebrandt -- Ragley, La -- 13-6 (5) -- 8-3 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 21-9 (9) -- $1,861

22. Colby Miller -- Elmer, La -- 11-8 (5) -- 9-10 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 21-2 (9)

23. Brandon Moss -- Blanchard, Ok -- 6-12 (3) -- 14-3 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 20-15 (8)

24. Bo Keith -- Haughton, La -- 12-0 (5) -- 8-11 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 20-11 (9)

25. Terry Luedtke -- Burton, Tx -- 11-14 (5) -- 8-3 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 20-1 (9)

26. Weston Brown -- Houston, Tx -- 12-15 (5) -- 6-14 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 19-13 (9)

27. Rob Burns -- Plano, Tx -- 9-15 (4) -- 9-7 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 19-6 (7)

28. Sheldon Collings -- Grove, Ok -- 8-10 (4) -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 19-5 (9)

29. Ernie Hillebrandt -- Lafayette, La -- 9-5 (5) -- 10-0 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 19-5 (10)

30. Jack Covas -- Waco, Tx -- 13-13 (5) -- 5-0 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 18-13 (7)

31. Jake Biram -- Tulsa, Ok -- 6-14 (3) -- 11-12 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 18-10 (8)

32. Ryan Wilbanks -- Wagoner, Ok -- 9-4 (5) -- 9-4 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 18-8 (9)

33. Garett Jacobson -- Wagoner, Ok -- 6-13 (4) -- 11-8 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 18-5 (9)

34. Brandon Mosley -- Choctaw, Ok -- 2-2 (1) -- 15-13 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-15 (6)

35. Eric Faucett -- Norman, Ok -- 13-5 (4) -- 4-9 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-14 (7)

36. Randy Millender -- Teague, Tx -- 12-14 (5) -- 4-9 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-7 (7)

37. Dicky Newberry -- Houston, Tx -- 6-13 (3) -- 10-10 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-7 (7)

38. James Marsh -- Thomas, Ok -- 7-14 (4) -- 9-8 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-6 (8)

39. Chris Lewis -- Longview, Tx -- 12-12 (4) -- 4-4 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 17-0 (5)

40. Michael Scalise -- Port Allen, La -- 10-4 (5) -- 6-10 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 16-14 (8)

41. Ryan Pinkston -- Center, Tx -- 7-3 (3) -- 9-11 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 16-14 (8)

42. Cole Moore -- Anacoco, La -- 13-14 (5) -- 2-13 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 16-11 (6)

43. Earl Ates -- Longview, Tx -- 9-10 (5) -- 7-1 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 16-11 (9)

44. Scout Echols -- Monticello, Ar -- 10-1 (5) -- 5-7 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 15-8 (8)

45. Bradley Perkins -- Raymond, Ms -- 8-8 (3) -- 6-12 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 15-4 (5)

46. Mike Richardson -- Thorndale, Tx -- 8-15 (4) -- 6-1 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 15-0 (7)

47. Tim Reneau -- Richland Springs, Tx -- 10-5 (5) -- 4-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-13 (7)

48. Tommy Durham -- Whitney, Tx -- 5-2 (2) -- 9-9 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-11 (6)

49. Chris Johnson -- Edmond, Ok -- 7-8 (2) -- 7-2 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-10 (5)

50. Joseph Norris -- Bossier City, La -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-5 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 14-5 (5)

51. Cade Alsbury -- Gentry, Ar -- 2-5 (1) -- 11-3 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 13-8 (5)

52. Randy Cisler -- Mesquite, Tx -- 9-15 (5) -- 3-8 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 13-7 (7)

53. Cody Huff -- Ava, Mo -- 3-2 (1) -- 10-4 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 13-6 (6)

54. Josh Bensema -- Willis, Tx -- 3-14 (2) -- 9-7 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 13-5 (5)

55. Anthony Goodson -- Driftwood, Tx -- 10-0 (4) -- 3-2 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 13-2 (5)

56. Jeff Reynolds -- Calera, Ok -- 4-2 (2) -- 8-11 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-13 (6)

57. Jaden Parrish -- Liberty, Tx -- 4-14 (2) -- 7-13 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-11 (7)

58. Waylon Harvey -- Henderson, Tx -- 6-10 (3) -- 5-10 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-4 (6)

59. Billy Hurt -- Spring Creek, Tn -- 4-14 (2) -- 7-3 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 12-1 (5)

60. Brian Robison -- Bellville, Tx -- 4-4 (3) -- 7-8 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 11-12 (6)

61. Daryl Barberousse -- Montrose, Co -- 3-1 (2) -- 8-0 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 11-1 (4)

62. Will Hughes -- Tyler, Tx -- 6-0 (3) -- 4-14 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-14 (5)

63. Matthew Boyt -- Converse, La -- 9-4 (3) -- 1-8 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-12 (4)

64. Michael Herron -- Paris, Tx -- 8-13 (5) -- 1-15 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-12 (6)

65. Bronk McDaniel -- Alexandria, La -- 10-11 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-11 (5)

66. Christopher Holmes -- Coweta, Ok -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-9 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-9 (4)

67. Jason Stanfill -- Hulbert, Ok -- 6-6 (2) -- 4-2 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-8 (4)

68. Jacob Keenom -- Wellston, Ok -- 4-1 (2) -- 6-6 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-7 (5)

69. Samuel Byrd -- Tahlequah, Ok -- 4-4 (2) -- 6-3 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-7 (5)

70. Roberto Novoa -- Frisco, Tx -- 4-8 (2) -- 5-15 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 10-7 (4)

71. Steve Oram -- Hallsville, Tx -- 6-5 (3) -- 3-3 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-8 (4)

72. Patrick Vince -- Ethel, La -- 9-5 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-5 (4)

73. Hayden Newberry -- Jonesboro, Il -- 1-14 (1) -- 7-6 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 9-4 (4)

74. Wayne Diffee -- Bernice, Ok -- 8-9 (4) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-9 (4)

75. Wayne Murray -- Baton Rouge, La -- 8-3 (5) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-3 (5)

76. Darold Gleason -- Many, La -- 8-2 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 8-2 (3)

77. River Lee -- Nacogdoches, Tx -- 5-11 (3) -- 2-3 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 7-14 (4)

78. Justin Parchamn -- Oologah, Ok -- 6-12 (3) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-12 (3)

79. Jason Joice -- Pryor, Ok -- 4-4 (2) -- 2-6 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-10 (3)

80. Bryan Trahan -- Orange, Tx -- 4-0 (2) -- 2-2 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 6-2 (3)

81. Allan Nail -- Sand Springs, Ok -- 4-9 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 4-9 (2)

82. Nickalas Butler -- Lawrence, Ks -- 3-15 (2) -- 0-0 (0) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-15 (2)

83. Mike Sierra -- San Antonio, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-1 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 3-1 (1)

84. David Wencil -- Buda, Tx -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-15 (1) -- 0-0 (0) -- 1-15 (1)