This unique format pitting anglers from Texas pros against primarily Oklahoma pros forced the anglers to scramble on this famed fishery. The anglers were pitted in a series of heads up, team and overall matches worth 1- to 3-points and each time they went out on the lake they were taken to different areas of the lake and met with new bass fishing challenges. The format held out of Lago Vista Lodge on Lake Guerrero and filmed by Careco Multimedia will be seen on the Outdoor Life Network and FOX Sports forced the pros to scramble daily and make quick decisions on the best way to catch fish to match the specific format within the allotted time for the match. Team captains Kelly Jordon (Texas) and Jeff Kriet (Oklahoma) turned in different rosters for each match without knowing who the other captain would be assigning to fish against their lineup creating some interesting match ups for each fishing session.
Each match was worth one point to the winner. Each time out on the water, each team had a pair of two man teams paired in one boat assigned by their captains to compete against the other teams assigned to the same location. There was also one match during each session where one angler was sent out against another angler from the opposite team in a heads up match out of the same boat, creating some interesting strategy challenges for the captains to guess who to assign where, and who matched up well together.
Match Number one saw the pros assigned to the island areas of Lake Guerrero. This area is made up of numerous islands all dotted with heavy cover in the form of flooded brush, deep ledges, and rocky shoreline. With lots of fish being caught during the first match, Oklahoma took an early day-one lead as Oklahoma's Jeff Kriet and John Sappington defeated the Texas team of Kelly Jordon and Cody Bird while Captains pick Luke Clausen and Oklahoma's Jeff Reynolds defeated Jason Reyes and Wade Middleton. However, Texas was able to pick up one point from Mike Hawkes as he defeated Harmon Davis.
Match number two sent the pros to more heavy cover. With Oklahoma nursing a one-point lead, the Texas team knew they needed to make a move, or fall further behind. Team Captain Kelly Jordon jumbled his lineup and the results worked as the Texas team of Bird and Hawkes knocked off the Oklahoma team of Kriet and Reynolds. With the matches now tied, it came down to the Texas team of Jordon and Reyes to keep the momentum. They successfully knocked off Sappington and Davis. However Clausen quickly tied it back up after dominating Middleton in their singles match up to leave the matches tied at 3-to-3 as the sun set over Lake Guerrero.
Match Number three gave the pros more options on the water as they learned more about the lake and headed to the clearer water up near the dam. This full day on the water featured the pros fishing for a three-fish limit. They were paired up in heads-up singles matches with five points available overall, should any one team get on a roll. With new water to fish, the Oklahoma team got an early start as Oklahoma's Davis put together a good day to knock off Texas Bird in convincing fashion due in large part to a 6.7 pound lunker caught early in the day. Then steady Clausen (for Oklahoma) continued his roll on Lake Guerrero by knocking of Texas Hawkes with a solid limit, while Oklahoma's Reynolds was able to do the same to Texas Reyes, leaving the Texas team down by 3 points and facing elimination early in the matches. However, team captain Jordon was able to knock off Kriet in a close match up. Then Texas Middleton knicked Oklahoma's Sappington at the end by 1 ounce to end the day and leave Oklahoma with a one point lead heading into the final days' match.
As the sun came up on Lake Guerrero is was all business at the dock as the final day only gave the pros four hours to fish. With the 3 points on the line, it was winner take all as the boats hit the water for the last round. This final round would see the anglers from each team weighing in just one fish so that team would have a combined 5 fish limit, with the winning team being the team with the most overall weight. With Texas Captain Kelly Jordon paired in the boat with Clausen, and with both landing 8-plus pound fish, the battle was on for the team title early on. However Jason Reyes began the landslide of big fish for the Texas team as he toted another 8-pound fish to the scales followed quickly by Middleton with a 6 pound fish. Hawkes, with a 5 and Bird with a 4 gave the Texas team a 5 fish 31.44 five fish limit and a convincing win over the Oklahoma team who weighed in five for 18.77 pounds.
Final Thoughts from the anglers:
"I wanted to win for all the Texas anglers and I didn't want to hear all the talk from the guys on the tour about letting them down and when Reyes caught that giant on the final day I didn't know whether to hug him or kiss him. I just want to congratulate the Oklahoma team as they really pushed us hard all week long and we had to play catch up" Cody Bird
"It was a lot of fun and even though it was a fun event there was a lot of pressure and I wanted to win. It was a like a big event and we wanted to win that was the bottom line but we didn't. We'll get it done next year. My hats are off to the Texas team they caught them the last day" Jeff Kriet Oklahoma Team Captain.
"I had a great time and was impressed with Lago Vista Lodge and how they took care of us. Fishing was pretty good on Guerrero and while the format caused us to fish differently every day we caught quite a few fish each day and in the end the Texas team got some good bites that pulled it out for us against a talented group of anglers from Oklahoma and their captains pick Clausen" Mike Hawkes
"It was fun event and fun to try and figure them out in all the different areas they took us to as they were each so diverse. When you couple that with the Texas-Oklahoma rivalry it's big and even pressure filled and now we're down one so we've got to get them back next time. This type of event just makes me even more ready to get back on the water on the FLW tour for next year I can't wait till January". John Sappington.
"It was my first time to Mexico and it was just awesome. They took great care of us at Lago Vista lodge but in the end it was like any major event in that we had to make all the right decisions and while we beat the Texas team for most of the time they made all the right decisions the final day and roared back past us and it also showed how great a lake Guerrero still is. I can't wait to get back for next years event and redeem ourselves". Harmon Davis.
"It was great, lots of fun, with lots of fish and in all reality I was expecting more of a laid back event but it turned into a really competitive event in that it was such a tight race with lots of effort from both teams to win as nobody wanted to lose. We really fortunate to win as the Oklahoma team was tough and we probably dodged a bullet as they had an all star lineup and when we pulled those big ones out at the end the look on their faces was priceless". Kelly Jordon Texas Team Captain.
"It was my first time in Mexico and the lodge was awesome, service was incredible and we caught lots of fish with a good group of guys. I had a blast and while we lost it was close to the end and when the Texas boys caught the big ones on the final day it was over. I'm ready for next year bring it on!" Jeff Reynolds.
"Lake Guerrero is full of more bushes and trees than you can flip in a lifetime and every time I pitched into one I expected to be pulled out of the boat. It was a tough event as I know how strong of a group of anglers that Kriet had put together and you couldn't even relax at all while on the water in that you didn't want to let your team down and when early on I struggled on the first day I have to admit I felt the pressure to perform better on the last two days while on the water and in the end I was happy to catch a few that helped our team out otherwise Kelly might have left me in Mexico" Wade Middleton
"My heart jumped to my throat when that big one came up on the final day and I was so happy when Cody got that fish in the net as I felt now we had a good chance to win. What a great event and my hats off to the Oklahoma team they really worked hard and pushed us to then end" Jason Reyes
"I knew the rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas was huge and when Kriet asked me to fill in on this trip I was excited to go but I had no idea how hard these guys were going to fish. I was happy I was able to contribute and the last day was awesome as Kelly and I caught probably 25 fish over 3 pounds in the last 2 hours of the day". Luke Clausen