Muskogee angler wins 2024 Bassmaster Nation Championship, earns spot in 2025 Bassmaster Classic
As far back as he could remember, Muskogee’s Blake Capps had a dream of one day becoming a professional bass fisherman. Now, that dream is a reality.
As far back as he could remember, Muskogee’s Blake Capps had a dream of one day becoming a professional bass fisherman. Now, that dream is a reality.
Setting in fourth place going into the final day, the 28-year-old Capps weighed in 14 pounds,14 ounces for a three-day total of 42 pounds, 14 ounces to finish atop the leaderboard in the recent Bassmaster Nation Championship on Grand Lake near Afton. The tournament featured almost 500 of the best anglers from around the United States and various other countries.
With the win, Capps pocketed $50,000 in winnings and punched his ticket to bass fishing’s biggest stage, the 2025 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Ray Roberts near Sanger, Texas, in late March — and a coveted spot on the Elite Series Tour for next year.
Capps opened up about how he did it and what this means for him.
“Going into the tournament, I learned many of the anglers were focused on flipping boat docks or targeting brush piles using modern electronics like forward facing sonar,” Capps said.
Capps went old school alternating between a War Eagle and Booyah white spinnerbait using a Yum Pulse trailer to catch 14 of his 15 keepers. Despite landing only a handful of bites in practice, Capps said he was simply committed to this strategy.
Capps began throwing the spinnerbait around boat docks — a bait and technique he admits was challenging but, ultimately, set him apart from the field.
Greeted by both wind and rain on a tough first day of practice, Capps methodically pitched a spinnerbait around Grand Lake boat docks — a bait and technique he admits was challenging but ultimately set him apart from the field.
“The spinnerbait is by far the hardest one to work behind docks,” Capps said. “You’ve got wires and cables stretched just above the water from the docks to the bank and the blades want to hit everything.”
His confidence grew after Day 1 when he sacked up more than 15 pounds to sit in second place. However, on Day 2, he lost a key fish that might have put him in the lead.
Looking back, Capps considers that loss a blessing in disguise, as it kept him under the radar heading into the final day of competition.
Then, the camera crews focused on the top three anglers which meant not as many eyes were on him.
“I slept fine the night before the final day,” Capps said. “I told myself we’re going to the Classic — that was literally my mentality the whole time.”
His composed approach and cool demeanor was key. Capps said he had never fished that hard and made that many casts in his whole life.
What I find most interesting about Capps and his win, other than his hard work and commitment for so many years, is his bucking the trend of relying heavily on modern electronics.
While so many these days rely more on forward-facing sonar to pick apart brush piles, Capps succeeded with traditional techniques.
“It was almost a throwback tournament for me,” he said. “I guess sometimes the old ways still do work best.”
It was his goal to make the Classic — and he did.
The Classic qualification adds Capps to a proud lineage of Oklahoma anglers who have competed at bass fishing’s highest level — a new generation from right here in Muskogee.
• • • Deer gun season will open statewide on Saturday, Nov. 23 and last through Dec. 8. For the first time this deer season, it looks like cooler weather will prevail. That should improve the odds when an anticipated 160,000 hunters take to the woods.
With the state’s deer population booming (estimated at 600,000 to 700,000), deer hunting season is vital to the Oklahoma Department Of Wildlife Conservation’s mission to manage the number of deer. Not only can too many deer cause damage to agricultural plots, such as orchards, corn and soybean fields, but an increase in the number of deer hit, namely involving vehicle accidents.
Last year, we saw 88,231 deer harvested with firearms, down slightly from 91,735 in 2022. In 1979, the legal harvest barely exceeded 14,000. It’s obvious that even with the extended gun season in “The Sooner State,” there has been a bountiful increase in the deer population compared to the late 1970s.
As I do at the start of every new season, let me remind you that our safety is paramount — especially during gun season. We, as hunters, accept a huge responsibility from the time we load our firearm until it’s safely unloaded at the end of the day. Remember, bullets have no conscience. In addition, the animal that you harvest should be treated with respect. After all, the real work begins the minute the deer hits the ground.
Be safe, Remember, hunters in the know take a doe.
• • • John Kilgore is the former Greenleaf State Park manager. He can be reached by e-mailing him at jkilgoreoutdoors@yahoo.com
