By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Last week was an extremely hectic time for Keith Poche. It was so chaotic that he left a really important item in his hotel room in Knoxville, Tenn. on Monday as he began his drive home to Pike Road, Ala.
"As I was driving away, I knew I was forgetting something," he said. "It finally hit me that I'd forgotten my trophy."
That would be the hardware he earned for winning the recent MLF Bass Pro Tour event at Douglas and Cherokee Lakes. The victory was the first at the tour-level for the 14th-year veteran.
He didn't get much time to celebrate it, though, as he was on the Tennessee River the next day to compete in the opening round of the Bassmaster Classic. He finished 26th in that event – just a single ounce short of making the cut for the final day.
"It's been awesome even though it's been so busy," he said. "To finally get it done and close the door on one ... it's hard to win these fishing against those great anglers. You can't have a bad day and to do what I do and have it work out, it was really special.
The only angler competing on both top tours this year, what Poche does is look for out-of-the-way locales that hold quality fish that he can reach with his 18-foot aluminum boat, but may be inaccessible to fellow competitors in 20-plus-foot, much heavier fiberglass rigs. For the Knockout and Championship rounds at Cherokee, he exploited a power-plant tailrace far up the Holston River that he had all to himself. It was a place where he'd caught a big bag in a Bassmaster Open in 2022.
He enticed his fish, most of them smallmouths, with a Berkley Powerbait Hollow Belly Swimbait (sexy shad).
"I just committed to that area," he said. "Ott (DeFoe) went up that way, but he didn't go as far as I did – I was about a mile or a mile and a half farther up than he was. I'm not saying you couldn't get a fiberglass boat up there, but I wouldn't try to take my figerglass boat there. It was pretty sketchy.
"I caught a lot of fish, but a lot of them weren't the right bites. I got just enough of the right ones.
Being all-in on fishing the way he wants to at every tournament has paid off handsomely for him recently. He won the overall Bassmaster Opens points race last year, winning the derby at the Red River. He's sixth in this year's BPT points race after starting the year with a 29th-place showing at the Kissimmee Chain.
"I fought it for years, but now it's just all kind of falling into place," he said. "It doesn't always work out – it's not always 'the deal' – but I feel comfortable showing up at an event and I'm confident in what I'm doing. If it's on, I've got a good chance.
"I feel so comfortable in this little Gator Trax (boat). I can go into the far back of creeks and underneath little bridges and find some largemouth that haven't been touched. Because I'm so comfortable and fishing with a clear mind, I'm making better decisions.
His run to the tailrace from the ramp at Cherokee consumed an hour each way.
"I don't mind sacrificing some fishing time to get where I want to go. In the back of my mind I know that when I get there, I'm not going to be fishing behind somebody. I'm fishing for my fish and I'm not in a place where somebody's already picked off a couple."
He said he's not getting worn down or burned out by his two-tour grind. Just the opposite, he's thoroughly enjoying it.
He's had to sit out one Elite Series event already and will miss another due to schedule conflicts, and thus won't be in the running to make next year's Classic via that route.
"I knew there'd be some conflicts, but I'm guaranteed to years on the Elites, so it's okay. If I finishe dead last (in the points standings) it's not the end of the world.
"I didn't want to pass up this opportunity because who knows what might happen down the road. The schedule might line up where I can do both (without having to miss events) or I might have to pick one or the other. My wife and my family and my sponsors are all okay with it and that's the most important thing. It makes it so much easier when you have that kind of support."
