Come and Take It?
Posted by Pete Robbins on Apr 21st 2021
Our friends in Texas think that they are a nation unto themselves, and they do not care for outsiders coming in and taking what they believe is rightfully theirs. That’s why it must irk them to no end that no Texan has won the state’s showpiece bass tournament on the state’s archetypal fishery – the TTBC on Lake Fork – in either of the past two years.
Of course, Keith Combs won it in 2014, with a record-breaking catch of 110 pounds in three days, but that was then and this is now. When the Elites returned in 2019, South Carolinian Brandon Cobb won, and while there were two Michiganders and a Canadian in the top 10, Combs was the only Texan. When they returned last year four Texans made the top 10 (I’m including Oregon’s Jay Yelas, who lived in the Lone Star State for many years, along with Combs, Brad Whatley and Lee Livesay), but once again the Palmetto State came out on top. Patrick Walters of Summerville LiveScoped and short-shorted his way to a not-even-close winning margin of 29 pounds. He could have spent the final day at Buc-ee’s or driving to Luckenbach and still had enough weight to win.
So will this be the Texans’ last stand at the Alamo?
By my generous count, there are 10 of them, if you include those who lived there for a long time but left, like Clunn and Yelas, and those who moved there as adults, like Chris Zaldain and Yusuke Miyazaki. You could even call it 11 if you add in rookie Darold Gleason, who lives over the line in Louisiana, but guides on Toledo Bend, which straddles the two states. Eleven out of nearly 100 is not great odds, but if they see the trophy leave once again, nobody in the state will be happy about it. This aggression will not stand, they’ll say.
Is there a local advantage? It’s debatable, and there’s probably less of one now than there would be in the fall or winter, but Walter’s dominating fall victory told us it’s not insurmountable. In May, especially on a lake that’s been on the schedule the last two years, it’s probably less of a factor, and while nothing is certain, that could mean another year of disappointment for the home team.
