I’ve guided on Sam Rayburn Reservoir since 2012, and it was my favorite lake long before that. So, I’m not going to lie — ever since we learned last year that Rayburn would host the first Bassmaster Open of the year I’ve thought about it every day.
I’m sure it’s no different for someone like Lee Livesay when the Elites go to Fork, and I can’t imagine what Chris Zaldain is going through with the upcoming Classic on Ray Roberts. You can’t avoid it, and it’s difficult not to overthink it.
The biggest issue with an ultra-familiar lake is to figure out when to fish spots versus when to fish patterns. We all know the glory holes on our home waters — the places where major tournaments have been won and subsequently get named after the winner. They’re the types of places where, as the top local sticks launch, they typically say, “If they’re on my spot, I’m gonna wreck ‘em.”
Typically that doesn’t happen, especially in multiday tournaments. The competition is so good, and so thorough, that if you bank it all on one place there’s a solid chance you’ll be very disappointed.
With an early season tournament on Rayburn, you can likely break the field down into three main sets of anglers.
The first are the “trappers.” They may throw a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, but it could just as easily be a ChatterBait or a spinnerbait. They’ll be fishing up in the grass and bushes. The grass is limited these days because the high water killed it off, but if the water stays up that shallow cover may hold the best group of fish.
The second group are the “draggers.” Historically, that meant a Carolina rig here, but it could just as easily be a deep crankbait. The crankbaits have probably produced more wins, but the rig gets more checks. I’ve got a milk run of hard spots that I’ll hit to figure out if that’s likely to be the dominant deal.
It used to be it was the trappers vs. the draggers. Now of course there’s a new conundrum: How will scoping impact the event? There’s no question it’s been the dominant deal on the lake in recent years, but we may hit Rayburn at a time when there’s a window to do something else even more effectively.
I’ll probably mix up all of these options during practice. At heart, I’m an old school guy, but I will certainly use my Lowrance Active Target. I just won’t use it the way some of these new kids do. They’re out hunting suspended fish. I’m not really a hunter.
The other complicating factor of being a local is the no info and off-limits rules. I can’t talk to my buddies, because invariably they’ll start to talk about fishing. I have to immediately tell them to stop and put my fingers in my ears. It also means that as a guide I haven’t been on the water in 30 days. While I have a chance to earn a big check on my home lake, it also limits my income.
As a guide, I’ve worked to develop “guide holes,” places where my clients can catch lots of fish. Those are not the types of places you typically want to fish during a multiple day springtime tournament on Rayburn, because they don’t often produce the big bites you’ll need to do well. Notice I said “bites” not “bite,” because it’ll take multiples to contend. Nevertheless, it’s nice knowing I have spots to hit if I simply need a keeper.
This event is a big deal for my career. I’ve been doing this full time for 17 years, and I don’t have a signature win. I’m a journeyman who grinds out a lot of checks.
Even though I haven’t been on the lake for a while, I know the winning fish are on some waypoint I have stored in my Lowrance units. It all becomes a matter of timing – the next spot could be a home run.
I’ll need to take some risks because, even though there’s not much room for error in a four-event season, I want to make the top 50 and move to the next level. Looking at the schedule, this is the one where I likely have the most ability to help myself.
The lake is full of fish, but there are a ridiculous number of 9- to 13-pound limits out there. You need to distinguish yourself somehow, and that’s not easy. Maybe it comes down to swapping out your 1/4-ounce Rat-L-Trap for a 3/4-ounce model, or upsizing your usual 5-inch Senko to a 6-inch or even 7-inch model, but some small change has the potential to make a big difference.
I need to avoid the guide mentality of putting my clients on biting fish and keeping them there, and stay focused on the task of garnering multiple bigger bites each day. Four- and 5-pounders are big bites in my book, but Rayburn has fish much bigger. I need to keep my mind straight to give myself the best chance of running into them.
