Pro bass angler Capps takes first place purse of $87,000

Muskogee pro bass angler Blake Capps caught a five fish limit weighing 22 pounds 8 ounces on the final day to capture first place winning a total purse of $87,000 in the Toyota Series Plains Division held on Grand Lake recently.

For the first two days of the tournament featuring 219 of the best pro anglers paired with 219 co-anglers from the Plains Division, only the top 25 pro and co-anglers moved on to Saturday. Sitting in fourth place going into the final day, Capps found himself almost four pounds behind tournament leader Chad Warren and knew he had to have a big day — and did he ever.

Muskogee pro angler Blake Capps wins the Plains Division of the Toyota Series on Grand Lake and bags $87,000.

During Tuesday’s practice, Capps focused his efforts mid-lake. “On the lower end, the water was just too clear and the upper end was just too muddy for the way I wanted to fish,” said Capps.

He located his fish using a bladed jig and a flat-sided crankbait targeting banks and points with larger rock and brush piles which held limited but larger fish and netted 17 to 18 pounds. “I took that information and expanded on it the following day catching around 19 pounds, so I was confident going into the tournament,” said Capps.

The first day of the tournament anglers were confronted with temperatures in the high 60’s coupled with high winds and heavy rainfall. Relying on past experience and gut instinct, Capps knew his primary area would be blown out and tough to fish, forcing the angler to fish his backup area and that proved to be the right call.

“By 11 a.m, I had a little over 19 lbs. which put me in fifth place on the first day,” said Capps. With it being a three day tournament, the angler didn’t want to burn his area.

Day Two was a mess at takeoff. With winds of 30 miles an hour out of the north and temperatures in the 30s, the compartments on his boat were frozen shut from the previous day’s rain.

“I was literally pouring water on my compartments, cutting ice out of the carpet and using pliers just to get my rods out. What a mess it was but was well worth it. It was typical tournament fishing. I never caught another fish in that particular area for the rest of the tournament. So, I stuck with the pattern that I’ve established. Being extremely hard-headed, I ended up finding another hot area and caught a limit for around 17 pounds by 10 a.m. Knowing it’s a tougher day, I kept hunting. Later that day, I ended up culling up one and lost a big fish at the boat. I was now in fourth place,” said Capps.

On the final day, Capps’ confidence was high and, right or wrong, he knew what he was doing. Still extremely cold, the wind that morning had laid down enough so that Capps could actually seek some of the fish that he had found in practice.

On Day Three and in a different spot once again, Capps managed to catch three fish. In just a short span of time, he landed an almost five, a four and a 3 ½ pounder. Within an hour, Capps had over 18 pounds in the live well. Little did he know, he actually had the tournament won in the first hour but Capps kept on grinding. Making culls throughout the day, it wasn’t until the last hour that he caught another five pounder and culled a fish 3.88 lbs.

“At that point, I got nervous because I knew we had a giant bag and had a real shot at it. I was blessed all week and I knew I did everything I could. Standing in the weigh-in line, I could hear that it was a tough day for most people but that only made me more nervous,” said Capps. “After years and years of hard work, it paid off big time. Bringing home that win and $87,000 will be something that I won’t ever forget. It truly was a blessing from above.”

His co-angler for the day ended up winning in the co-angler division. The next tournament is on Kentucky Lake. Capps didn’t plan on fishing but decided to compete because he’s leading the Angler of the Year. What some folks don’t realize is the amount of hard work and preparation that goes into tournament fishing. It’s Capps’ goal to make the MLF tournament trail next year and fish on a full-time basis. Muskogee is proud of him.

Reach Kilgore at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com .