SALLISAW, Okla. — For the first time, the Strike King Bassmaster College Series presented by Bass Pro Shops will visit Kerr Reservoir in Oklahoma, and Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series sophomore Blake Capps believes shallow-water anglers will have a chance to dominate.
“The river system as a whole has been fishing better than it has in years,” said Capps, who lives in Muskogee, Okla., near the shores of Kerr. “It is booming. It has taken some serious weight to win local tournaments. It is a shallow fisherman’s dream.”
Tournament days for this College Series Legends Trail event are scheduled for April 29-30 at the Cherokee Nation Park located in Sallisaw, Okla. Teams will launch beginning at 6:30 a.m. and return for weigh-in starting at 2:30 p.m. The Top 10% of the field will advance to the Strike King Bassmaster College National Championship presented by Bass Pro Shops later this year.
The 2026 Strike King Bassmaster High School Series and the 2026 Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series will follow after the College Series event, with competition taking place at Kerr Reservoir for both trails on May 3.
Kerr Reservoir has been featured many times when the Bassmaster Tournament Trail has visited the Arkansas River in Muskogee, but this will be one of the first times the reservoir has the entire spotlight. Teams will be allowed to lock down through Lock & Dam 15 but will not be allowed to lock up to Pool 16, where much of the recent tournament history resides.
Still, there will be plenty of territory for teams to cover, and according to Capps this section of the Arkansas River is fishing better than it ever has. Both the Illinois River below the Tenkiller Dam and the Canadian River below the Eufaula Dam flow into Kerr Reservoir, the latter providing plenty of fishable water.
“You can go a long way in the Canadian, and it will be a big player, but Eufaula Lake pushes out so much red clay and dirt that you get massive sandbars,” Capps said. “But the Canadian is a winning area.”
In recent years, Kerr has seen a resurgence in aquatic vegetation, including hydrilla, lily pads and reeds. Capps said he expects frogging and flipping to be key strategies in this tournament, particularly for those anglers targeting postspawn largemouth.
“A few years back, we had some extreme flooding, and the bass didn’t get a good spawn in,” Capps said. “The water stayed up so long that it killed all the vegetation. Well, in the last two years, all of that grass has come back and come back healthier than it ever has been. There is more grass there than there has been in the last 10 years.”
Two main creeks draw a lot of attention on Kerr: Sallisaw Creek and San Bois Creek. If anglers can avoid hitting stumps, Sallisaw Creek has plenty of potential, while San Bois Creek provides tons of options.
“San Bois is like its own lake,” Capps said. “It has its own water color. It has old railroad tracks, water willow and strip pits.”
Along with frogs and flipping, top baits will likely include ChatterBaits, swim jigs, squarebills and some topwaters. For the late spawners, creature baits and Yamamoto Senkos will play a role.
“You can catch prespawners, spawners and postspawners in the same place,” Capps added.
For more information on the Strike King Bassmaster College Series at Kerr Reservoir presented by Bass Pro Shops, the Strike King Bassmaster High School Series at Kerr Reservoir and the Tackle Warehouse Bassmaster Junior Series at Kerr Reservoir visit Bassmaster.com.
These events are being hosted by Cherokee Nation.
