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Penny Berryman
Patti Campbell
It has been a
long summer for many WBT anglers who are anxiously
awaiting the final event of the 2007 WBT season. The Red
River tournament will decide which 12 pro- anglers and
co-anglers earn the right to fish the WBT Championship
on Lake Keowee near Greenville, SC during the 2008
Bassmaster Classic. Will the current Top 12 anglers in
each division hold on to their spot or will some have
trouble conquering the ever-changing Red River and open
the door for other anglers who are also within reach of
achieving the dream of a lifetime?
They say; “it
ain’t over, ‘til it’s over”, so what is it like being
under the added pressure of holding the 12th
and 13th place spots going into the final
event? Pro-anglers Penny Berryman of Hot Springs,
Arkansas and Patti Campbell of Waxahachie, Texas know
all too well how it feels and took the time to share
their thoughts as they prepare for “Big Red”.
Berryman currently holds the 12th place pro spot.
Qualifying for a “Classic Championship” is nothing new to this
veteran angler who has qualified for 27 different “Classics”
since 1985. She has also learned to take nothing for granted in
the sport of fishing. “Even if you are at the top of the leader
board one day, there is always a possibility that you could come
in without anything on the following day. Fishing is like that.
Sometimes everything that you thought would happen just unfolds
as you planned and other times you realize that you are hunting
a creature that can swim away and make a fool of you.”
Pre-fishing is critical, Berryman says, especially if it is
“unknown” water. “On the Red River, there is a lot of different
types of water to fish, so it is good to be familiar with the
different situations I might be fishing ahead of time so that
when I come back for competition, I have plenty of the right
kind of tackle.”
Being
“on the bubble” is an interesting place to be according to
Berryman. “It is the magic cut-off number for anglers that get
to go to the Championship and because of that, it’s importance
is magnified.” No one can control what any other angler is
catching – or not catching – during competition, but Berryman
tries to control the variables that affect her fishing for each
day. She wants to be as prepared as possible for what might –
and sometimes does – happen during tournament competition.
More
than anything else, Berryman tries to keep an open mind to all
the situations that may come into play. “Last year at Bull
Shoals, I knew that I was on some dandy smallmouths, and
possibly enough to win the event. I also know that smallmouth
are somewhat temperamental. Even after I had to eventually give
up on them, I never imagined that I would not catch any keepers
out of that lake. I had located several places pre-fishing where
I felt my partner and I could catch several good “keepers” even
if my main plan didn’t pan out. It was frustrating and
heartbreaking to come to the final weigh-in without anything to
show for all my hard work and effort. When I have an event like
that, I usually want to go back to that lake again and figure
out what I could have done differently, so I can learn from my
mistakes.”
Berryman feels that with the summertime flooding of the Red
River in Oklahoma, which eventually flows down to the Shreveport
Pool and beyond, that pre-fishing will be very interesting. “So
many variables will come into play. The current will be
stronger, of course, and there may be newly formed sand bars
along with newly placed logs and debris that may hold fish. It
will be a whole new waterway to discover by tournament week, but
I am looking forward to the challenge!”
Pro-angler Patti Campbell feels very blessed to be in 13th
place going into the September event. Had her boat not broke
down in Guntersville earlier this year, she might have been in
an even better position. Last year, Campbell did not fish the
first event at Neely Henry and finished 68th out of
122 anglers for the year. This year she says she is more focused
and determined. “Consistency has been the key to my success this
year. I set 2 goals going into the 2007 season. The first goal
was to make the Top 25 every tournament. So far, I am 3 for 4.
The second goal was to make the Championship. I am very close to
achieving that goal.”
Campbell contributes this year’s success to her husband. “He has
traveled to all the tournaments with me and provided the love
and support that has kept me going. If I make the Championship,
he would be so proud and it would be a dream come true for me. I
have not been fishing on the Red River for several years and to
date, I have not been pre-fishing for this tournament. I hope to
make several trips before the off-limits. The Red has been
really high and if it keeps dropping it will have a totally
different look and feel on tournament day, so I am waiting until
the time gets closer. I will prepare for it much like I do the
other tournaments. I will pre-fish with my husband, we will
“hopefully” get on a pattern and that is what I will utilize
during the tournament.”
Co-anglers Kim Stapp of Ringgold, Georgia and Brenda Bates of La
Porte, Texas are currently in 12th and 13th
place respectively. They also feel the pressure of fishing “on
the bubble” and hope they draw pro partners who are on fish and
can provide them with the opportunity to claim a Top 12 berth.
If Stapp succeeds, she will be making her second appearance in a
WBT Championship event. Stapp finished 7th at the
inaugural 2006 WBT Championship on Lake Mitchell near
Birmingham, Alabama in February of this year.
The
stage is set and the field of women anglers are ready to test
their skills. Some will remain in the Top 12 no matter how they
finish on the Red. Others will have to fish hard to keep their
dream alive. For Berryman, Campbell, Stapp and Bates, being “on
the bubble” will require them to do the latter.
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