SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS - Oct. 21, 2008 - Tournament bass anglers are a different breed; to them everything is a competition. Even when two are in a fast food place together there's likely to be a wager as to who can get his meal the quickest. Therefore, it should be no surprise that this year's annual Texas-Oklahoma Shootout will be more than just a bass fishing event. Two state teams will collide Oct. 27-30 with daily matches on Falcon Lake, hosted out of Beacon Lodge.
The unique made-for-television fishing challenge has been similar in concept to golf's prestigious Ryder Cup for each of its first three years, but the guys just couldn't leave it alone. Who knows if it was the recent Olympics or the return of Amazing Race to TV that has inspired them to add some "sporting events" this go-round. But it's true, at least some of each eight-person teams from both sides will be competing in golf, bowling, ping pong, video games and a remote-controlled fishing boat contest, as well as in the usual bass fishing formats.
For the Texas team, Kelly Jordon returns as captain to be joined by teammates Todd Faircloth, Mark Pack, Cody Bird, Jason Reyes, Clark Wendlandt, Mike Hawkes and Wade Middleton. Team Texas leads the overall series two to one.
Jeff Kriet is once again the Oklahoma team captain, and he is joined by Tommy Biffle, Harmon Davis, John Sappington, Derek Remitz, Mike McClelland, Fred Roumbanis and Kenyon Hill. Roumbanis and Hill are newcomers to the squad but both bring a load of fishing talent.
"Well, at least the Oklahoma team got their two new guys from the state this time, but it still didn't fix their problem of having two from elsewhere," said Jordon tongue-in-cheek. "Guess we just have to live with the fact that they don't understand the 'Oklahoma' part of the event's name."
Remitz lives in Alabama and McClelland in Arkansas, and both fished with the Oklahoma group last year. As a result, the Texas crew now often refers to their counterparts as Team America instead of Team Oklahoma.
"Texas can moan and cry all they want, but this is our team," said Kriet.
One of the previous Shootouts was held in Texas and two in Mexico. The event is based on catching big limits of fish.
Veteran Falcon Lake angler Speedy Collet, whose Beacon Lodge is hosting the event, says this year's competition will be wide open because the lake is at its highest level since the 1950s and still rising.
"I expect we'll see lots of shallow water fishing in the newly flooded cover," Collet said. "The anglers better hold on, as Falcon Lake's bass are meaner than ever right now."
Falcon Lake's big bass won't steal all the headlines this year, however. The anglers will be tested off the water, too, with a variety of challenges. The Aviva Fishin' Buddy Challenge requires use of the namesake remote-controlled fishing boat and system. Each team member gets a turn for a specific period of time, and a "catch" only counts if the fish and boat are fully retrieved from the water in accordance with the rules. In addition, the pros will also test their gaming skills in the Rapala's Fishing Frenzy video game challenge. In it, two anglers from each team will compete against each other in timed fishing matches. A team's overall weight will determine the winners.
The pros will also face off-the-water challenges with a golf scramble, ping pong, bowling and more, as part of this year's events. The main focus, however, is still the bass fishing competition where points are awarded daily for various match-ups.
The competition will conclude with a head-to-head match-up among all four two-person teams from each state. After the final match-up, the state team with the highest overall point total for the week will be declared the 2008 Texas-Oklahoma Shootout champions, who get full bragging rights until next year's event.
This year's televised coverage of the Texas-Oklahoma Shootout will feature six one-half hour programs to air on FOX Sports National within the Fishing Texas television show at 10 a.m. Eastern on Sundays, beginning in February. Additional event coverage can be seen in special segments as part of the Americana Outdoors program that runs on the Versus network.