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Shreveport,
LA. – Fresh off a 2nd place finish at Lake Amistad, Elite Series rookie Clark Reehm will spend this week plying the waters of the Red River in this season's first Central Open. Some might consider that a return to the minors, but the Opens are no AAA ballgame. He counted approximately 15 Elite Series pros in the field and there are sure to be a cadre of top local sticks in the tournament as well.
Reehm is an Army brat who attended college at Louisiana Tech, so he considers the Red River one of his home waters and he has done well there in the past.
One might think that his 8th place finish in the Classic and 2nd place finish at Amistad would give him the gumption to go all out and try to hit a home run, but that notion would be wrong.
"Last year I took more chances to try to win a tournament," he said. "This time I'm just going fishing. I don't want to tear up my boat before the (Elite Series) tournament next week on Clarks Hill.
"It doesn't change the way I fish. These are all grinding lakes and I know this one, so I'm just running holes."
While he wouldn't say exactly what pattern he'll fish, he stated that he's had a mixed practice and that the river is fishing small because there is limited amount of clear water, "and what little bit of clear water there is has a bajillion boats in it."
His motivation for entering the Opens has changed as he's realized that he can compete with the big boys.
"When I first signed up for the Opens, I figured it would be a way to requalify for the Elites in case I didn't make it otherwise. But now I'm kind of looking at it as a backdoor opportunity to make it to the Classic."
While the odds are steep against a Classic berth through the Opens, he achieved that milestone last year, and since he's already been on all of these waters, he thinks he has a puncher's chance once again.
It's not the reduced pressure that really relieves him. Instead, it's the reduced entry fees.
"A one thousand dollar entry fee is a lot less than five thousand. It's a lot like fishing the Opens and then going down and fishing a BFL again for two hundred dollars. It just seems insignificant."
He did say that his presence at the Elites, and in particular his TV time last week, has changed the way people look at him:
"I've gotten a lot of congratulations from that, and everyone seems to know me, but as everybody knows I already talk to everyone the same way. The other guys who are trying to make it feed off of it. They have a lot of questions about how to get to the next level."
He did say that having a wrapped boat is a mixed blessing – if you're on fish, everyone knows where you are, but nevertheless he doesn't fear bombing on this slightly lesser state. "If you have a limit every day you can't bomb…unless it's Falcon."
As for practice, he's one of the few at any level who is not on the water at first light. "A lot of guys take pride in being the first one out on the water, but I don't see any sense in burning my self out. I've always done it that way. I still need to work on time management, but it has worked so far."
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