Big possums walk late

The biggest bass caught in this tournament bit late Friday afternoon. Randall Tharp caught a 7-pound, 6-ounce largemouth bass after moving to a different area of Lake Texoma than he’d been fishing.

And that wasn’t the biggest bass he’s caught this week. Tharp said he caught “a sure-enough eight-pounder” during practice.

The point here, at the noon hour, is that lots of big fish have been caught late in the day this week. Ott Defoe caught a 4-pounder Friday afternoon that propelled him into the Top 12. Brandon Card has mentioned late 4- and 5-pounders on different days.

Often by this time on the final day you’ve got a pretty good idea of who is likely to win an Elite Series tournament. Not today. Not by any stretch of the imagination. The weather change has seemingly scrambled every angler’s pattern.

Lake Texoma has a better than average number of game-changing bass. Casey Ashley had big bass on Day 1 with a 6-15. Bradley Roy took those honors on Day 2 with a 7-0. Then came Tharp’s 7-6.

“It’s not going to be like Bull Shoals, where a seven-pounder is out of the question,” said Tharp on Friday. “It’s obvious this place has got a few of them.”

“Big possums walk late” is an expression the late baseball announcer Harry Carey often used when the Chicago Cubs rallied late in a game, especially with a big home run. Bass fishing’s version of a late-walking big possum may well decide the winner on Lake Texoma.