Angler goes close to winning second Bassmaster Elite title

FISHING: Every angler has a story about the one that got away but Carl Jocumsen’s tale is bigger than some.

Toowoomba’s Carl Jocumsen and his now wife Kayla celebrate Jocumsen’s 2019 Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite title win at Lake Tenkiller.

Jocumsen came agonisingly close to securing his second Bassmaster Elite series win before finishing second to Brandon Palaniuk.

He led two days of the four day win Santee Cooper Lakes tournament finishing 8 pounds behind Palaniuk’s 72 pound 2 ounce total.

Each day, Jocumsen started by fishing a grassy depression midlake with a white Z-Man JackHammer ChatterBait with a white Yamamoto Zako trailer.

He then moved to grass mats where he punched with a black and blue Molix SV Craw rigged on a 4/0 Owner Jungle hook and a 1 1/4-ounce Woo! Tungsten weight.

“The early spot kicked off like I had hoped it would today,” Jocumsen said at the end of the competition.

“It was cloudy and dark this morning and they were feeding and I got two good ones.

“After that, I went punching.

“The sun came out, there was a little bit of wind, everything was right.

“I had a few opportunities, I had the bites, I just didn’t put them in the boat.”

Jocumsen’s second place comes nearly 10 months after his breakthrough 2019 win.

The Toowoomba angler capped off his 35th birthday with a life-changing victory when he landed the Cherokee Casino Tahlequah Bassmaster Elite title.

Originally published as Angler goes close to winning second Bassmaster Elite title