Keith Poche has had a ton of fun fishing his style in 2022 and it has paid off in a big way in the St. Croix Bassmaster Opens presented by Mossy Oak Fishing. After securing his Elite Series bid in the Northern Opens and winning the second Central Open at the Red River, Poche locked up the Angler of the Year title in the Overall standings with a 15th-place finish at Sam Rayburn.
The Alabama resident accumulated 1,507 points throughout the year, finishing no worse than 73rd all season in a field featuring more than 200 boats for much of the year. He outlasted Cooper Gallant, Cole Sands and David Gaston to earn the trophy and the $10,000 prize.
“It has been fun. I am fishing like I want to fish and doing it my style in my little boat, off the grid style,” Poche said. “No matter who you are, whether you fish or do something else in life, if you are having fun and are happy, you will be successful at it. It took me 41 years to figure that out, but heck I’m doing it now and having fun.”
Since earning his Elite bid at the beginning of September, Poche has been fishing to win and successfully did that at the Red River and believed he would have a good chance at doing so again this week at Sam Rayburn.
Unfortunately, Poche picked the wrong area to fish on Day 1 and came back with four fish for 7 pounds, 3 ounces. He rebounded on the second day in a big way, catching the second heaviest bag of the day at 21-0 to secure AOY and a Top 15 finish.
“I tasted that victory and I wanted more of it. I wasn’t going to lay down. I was angry (after Day 1) for making a bad decision,” Poche said. “I didn’t get it done and I was angry. I knew I had another place to go. I felt like I could catch the upper teens in both areas, I just chose wrong the first day.”
All year, Poche has been using his Gator Trax aluminum boat to access shallow water areas and get away from the crowd. The realization that he could requalify for the Elite Series came at the James River, where he led after Day 2 but ultimately fell to Kenta Kimura on the final day.
“It really set up well for me. I was going way up this ditch and into this backwater pond and I let one slip by me. Of course, Kenta had a really good day, but I saw that door opening for a victory and it gave me so much more confidence and I didn’t let second place get to me. The style of what I was doing was working and it gave me confidence to continue doing it. It boosted me and solidified my decision-making.”
Now, Poche’s attention will turn towards 2023 where he has a couple of events circled on the Elite schedule, particularly Lay Lake which is an hour from his house and the Sabine River.
Sands, Gaston, and Soukup Receive Elite Invites
Cole Sands has made quite the impression in his short time in Bassmaster competition. He owns a College Series National Championship trophy and now, in his first year as an Opens pro, Sands earned an Elite Series invite by finishing third in the Overall standings.
“I knew if I finished in the Top 40 I was going to be in no matter what. So that was my goal,” Sands said. “I can’t put it into words. It has been a dream of mine since I was 11 years old and it has not sunk in yet. For a while, I didn’t think I was going to get there, but with a couple of great mentors, my parents making incredible sacrifices, and having a couple of opportunities through sponsorships (I did it). Most of all the good Lord blessed me this year. I didn’t lose a fish this week or last week at Hartwell. It was incredible.”
He will be joined by David Gaston of Sylacauga, Ala., who notched four Top 10s this season and finished fourth in the standings as well as Oklahoma’s John Soukup, who stayed near the top of the Overall race all year long and finished sixth.
Both Gaston and Soukup benefitted from Poche and Gallant double qualifying for the Elite Series through the Northern Opens and the Overall race. If an angler qualifies in a division and the Overall race, they are awarded the invite through the division and their overall invite drops down to the next eligible angler.
Unfortunately for Logan Parks, Gaston struggled at Sam Rayburn this week, which took him out of contention for double qualifying, leaving Parks as the first man out.
Final Central Invites Determined Today
Only one invite to the Elite Series through the Central Opens has been extended so far, and that was to Bradley Hallman who mathematically clinched the Central Opens title after Day 2. The final two invites will be extended at weigh-in today.
Entering the day, Logan Latuso was second in the Central standings with 544 points, thanks to a massive Day 2 bag weighing 31-4, while James Niggemeyer was third with 538 points and Kyle Norsetter was fourth with 537 points.
Latuso and Norsetter are out on the water competing on Championship Saturday while Niggemeyer unfortunately just missed the cut and will finish the tournament in 12th. To earn an Elite invite, Latuso must finish higher than seventh place. Norsetter will qualify if he finishes higher than ninth.
As it stands at 11:15 a.m. CT, Norsetter has done his job by catching a limit for 12-15 today, which unofficially has him in third place with 41-13. Latuso has only three bass thus far, but he sits just behind Norsetter on BassTrakk in fourth with 41-7.
It will be a stressful couple of hours for the three anglers in contention.