No Rest for Combs
Category: Tournament
Mar 26th, 2013 by OutdoorsFIRST
Modified Mar 26th, 2013 at 12:00 AM
Most bass fishing fans would think the winner of a Bassmaster Elite event and $100,000 would take a little time to relax. Not Keith Combs. He won the Falcon Lake event in wire-to-wire fashion and instead of a week in the Bahamas he drove home to Sam Rayburn, caught a few hours of shuteye and hit the road to fish the first PAA event of the season on Douglas Lake in Dandridge, Tennessee.
Even though Combs isn’t taking a break from the tournament scene, he is relaxing in a different manner.
“It is a great feeling winning my first Elite Series event and locking up a Classic berth this early in the season,” said Combs. “I’ll be able to relax a bit knowing I don’t need to fish for points.
“Of course, I am in a good position in the Angler of the Year race and that is one everybody wants to win. So I am not sure how much I will really relax.”
Combs Falcon win showed locals can win on their water.
“I keep a trailer at Falcon Lake,” said Combs. “I fish there quite a bit. It is a fun fishery. I usually catch a lot more fish than I did at the tournament.
“Whenever you are practicing for an event, you often get two types of options. You can fish for the numbers bite and points or try and find that lower percentage bite that if it works will win it for you. A lot of the time you fish for the points, but not fish for the win. I may fish for the win more often the rest of the year. I had to fish for the win at Falcon. I was getting so few bites that I had to fish for the biggest fish I could find. I’ve fished Falcon so much I knew where I needed to be to find the right kind of bites.”
Douglas Lake is the next target for Combs.
“I signed up to fish the PAA event at Douglas,” said Combs. “I looked at the weather and it doesn’t look great, but it is part of what my sponsors are expecting me to do. Plus, it is a way to get back to the Toyota Texas Bass Classic. That is a great event. I won it in 2011.”
When the time comes for relaxing, you won’t find Combs line dancing or doing needlepoint.
“When I am done tournament fishing for the season I like to fish,” said Combs. “I love fun fishing the most. I live at Sam Rayburn reservoir and keep a trailer at Falcon. I like to fish. It is what I do for fun and relaxation.”