FORT WORTH, Texas — For native Australian Carl Jocumsen there couldn’t be a more familiar site for any bass fishing tournament than Lake Ray Roberts.
“This is where I learned to bass fish, all these north Dallas lakes,” said Jocumsen during angler registration Tuesday for the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Classic presented by Under Armour. “This was like my home lake for a long time.”
Jocumsen’s long journey from Australia to the Bassmaster Elite Series included about five years living in a friend’s workshop in Denton, Texas.
“I fished my first (Bassmaster) Open on (Lake) Lewisville,” he said. “This kind of feels like home when I come back.”
Jocumsen’s big break in his Bassmaster Elite Series career came nearby at Oklahoma’s Lake Tenkiller when he won the final event of the 2019 season on Sept. 22, which also happened to be his 35th birthday. Tenkiller is only about 200 miles from Ray Roberts.
Jocumsen is one of the anglers who takes advantage of every practice hour allowed. But going in early wasn’t a choice for him one day this week.
“I went into a creek on the lower end on the opposite side of the lake from the boat ramp,” he said. “The wind was already wild, and the wind probably doubled over the next couple of hours. I poked my boat around the corner and it looked like the ocean. This was a major creek, and I was the only boat in there. I thought, ‘This isn’t good. I’m not supposed to be here.’”
If Jocumsen had been required to make a midafternoon check-in time, he would have been in a serious predicament. But he eased back inside the creek, checked the phone app he uses for wind forecasts and saw the howling wind was predicted to ease about 7 p.m.
“So, I fished in that creek as long as I could, then the wind laid down, and I got out of there,” he said. “I don’t think I would have been able to leave that creek at 2 or 3 o’clock.”
Having fished off the coast of Australia and in various high-wind days on big waters during bass tournaments, it’s not the height of the swells that troubles Jocumsen.
“It’s Great Lakes-style waves, but in timber,” he said. “I wasn’t worried about the size of the waves. But when you drop down and you’re around timber and you hit something…”
Yeah, we get the picture.
Jocumsen’s positive attitude never seems to waver. It took him through some tough years when he failed to requalify for the Elite Series and had to earn his way back. Whether it’s a career setback or a weather challenge, Jocumsen embraces the moment.
“You grow out of these wild experiences,” he said. “It actually helps you. You don’t want to do anything stupid. But it forces you to get out of your comfort zone.”
Jocumsen can tell you exactly how much he’s grown over the years, based on his practice days at Lake Ray Roberts this week.
“This lake is intimidating because of the timber,” he said. “For me, five or six years ago, I would have broken everything on my boat. I didn’t break anything. That’s all due to prep work and boat work – bigger bolts, bigger brackets. You don’t let anything get loose. You’re always checking.”
This is now the third straight Bassmaster Classic he’s qualified for. He finished 45th at Tulsa last year and 39th at Knoxville in 2022.
“The third time might be lucky,” Jocumsen said with a smile.
The old adage states that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Clearly, Carl Jocumsen is prepared for this particular opportunity.
