11-24-2010, 07:10 PM
Keith Poche of Troy, Ala., says he expects his 2011 Bassmaster Elite Series season will be just as difficult, just as rewarding and just as much fun as his 2010 rookie year.
"I had a blast," he said. "I learned so much about fishing by being on the water and hanging out with the guys who have been doing this for years. And I learned a lot about myself.
"I didn't expect to bust wide open the first year or two," added Poche, who qualified through the 2009 Bassmaster Southern Open circuit for his first Elite Series year, and through the 2010 Elite Series for the upcoming Elite Series season. "I'm willing to pay my dues and keep working hard next season."
He recently got a peek at one 2011 stop that's new to the Elite Series schedule, West Point Lake out of LaGrange, Ga. He was in town to make a presentation to local businesses at a program organized by the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the Elite Series event.
What he saw of the lake renewed his knowledge of the fishery, which he hadn't been on lately.
"It's a pretty lake. It's got chunk rock with bigger rock upriver, and sandy points, but not many docks - there aren't many houses on the water," he said.
West Point Lake is an impoundment of the Chattahoochee River, which runs along the western Georgia border. LaGrange hosted a 2010 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Divisional Championship tournament there, as well as pro events in 1986 and 1987.
"I had a blast," he said. "I learned so much about fishing by being on the water and hanging out with the guys who have been doing this for years. And I learned a lot about myself.
"I didn't expect to bust wide open the first year or two," added Poche, who qualified through the 2009 Bassmaster Southern Open circuit for his first Elite Series year, and through the 2010 Elite Series for the upcoming Elite Series season. "I'm willing to pay my dues and keep working hard next season."
He recently got a peek at one 2011 stop that's new to the Elite Series schedule, West Point Lake out of LaGrange, Ga. He was in town to make a presentation to local businesses at a program organized by the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce, which is hosting the Elite Series event.
What he saw of the lake renewed his knowledge of the fishery, which he hadn't been on lately.
"It's a pretty lake. It's got chunk rock with bigger rock upriver, and sandy points, but not many docks - there aren't many houses on the water," he said.
West Point Lake is an impoundment of the Chattahoochee River, which runs along the western Georgia border. LaGrange hosted a 2010 B.A.S.S. Federation Nation Divisional Championship tournament there, as well as pro events in 1986 and 1987.