James Niggemeyer – Cover Boy

It’s been a big week or I guess almost two weeks here. It started out with; I don’t know if I mentioned it last week, I made the cover of Bassmaster Magazine! What a huge blessing that is! I was able to do an article and work with Louis Stout last fall on the Strike King Pure Poison Bladed Jigs; which is a bait that I really like to throw a lot.

We worked on an article and we were trying to get some photos of it and one of them just happened to be one that was of “cover quality” as Louis said, and with that, I was able to have one of the goals or dreams of mine coming to reality by Louis publishing this article in Bassmaster Magazine and making the cover.

It is a HUGE blessing and one that I truly appreciate. I’m thankful to have had that happen to me! That is the September/October issue of Bassmaster Magazine – it is pretty neat and surreal looking at my face; my mug on the cover of Bassmaster Magazine. I have read that magazine since I was a kid, well in my early teens I guess, just to say that I’ve been on the cover is quite an honor, I feel honored to be a part of the long legacy that Bassmasters has had. It has a history of being the number one magazine in bass fishing, it has really been neat.

I then went over to the Central Open at the Arkansas River in Muskogee, Okla. you know we have been in this long standing heat wave in East Texas. We typically have seven days of over 100 degrees; we’ve had, I believe somebody said it was seventy days over 100 this year, and counting, as we speak.

So I got up there and needless to say it was pretty warm up there in Oklahoma. The bite was really, really tough. It was late summer; hot water temperatures; very little current, fishing on the Arkansas River there in Oklahoma near Muskogee and Three Rivers area. I love river fishing because I can power fish and fish to my strengths and I can stay shallow which is something I really enjoy and was able to do, I was able to catch all my fish in less than two to three feet of water; around vegetation and water willow, that kind of line, many of them out of the water. I caught them all on Strike King Lures and St. Croix rods with Ardent Reels and heavy Sunline fluorocarbon.

I was able to catch five fish the first day and wound up in 24th place, and I was just trying to get bites. I only had six keeper bites and I boated them all; I was able to cull one time and had enough weight to end up in 24th place. So the second day I only came in with four fish. I only had four keeper bites, I had some other small ones that I caught as well, but they weren’t keepers. I weighed those four fish and dropped two places to 26th, but I still ended up making a check.

They pay the top 40 places in the Bassmaster Central Opens and I want to congratulate Tommy Biffle on a wire to wire win and just a fantastic job there on some of his home water once again in Oklahoma.

So, I missed the top twelve cut by just under four pounds which is quite a bit on the river, but I felt like I did the best I could with what I found. I didn’t find much, I had a really tough practice; struggled; was able to find one little area that I was able to jump around; work around and catch enough fish to cash a check there.

That’s it for now; got a slew of guide trips lined up; it’s the middle of September and I’m looking forward to some serious fall fishing! The fish on Lake Fork are feeding up and you can catch them on topwaters, jigs, soft plastics and even crank baits. It’s a great time to be on the water,

I’m looking forward to getting out with some of my clients and do a bunch of guide trips this fall.

For more information about James, or to find out how to book him for a guide trip; visit, www.jamesniggemeyer.com