FLINT, Texas — The spring sunshine has been making its appearance and so have fishermen on East Texas lakes.
This week Major League Fishing came to Lake Palestine where professional anglers from across the nation came to compete in their Heavy Hitters competition - an all-star contest full of anglers who qualified from the last year’s season.
"Lake Palestine is kind of a hidden gem here in East Texas," Joe Opager, the MLF director of communications, said.
Professional angler Takahiro Omori is a Japan native who moved to East Texas to get into competitive fishing.
"I was born in Tokyo, Japan, and I really liked fishing," Omori said. "So when I was in high school I thought about 'hey, maybe I can try to be professional. If I can make a living to just catching fish.'"
And make a living he did. As he ended up making East Texas his new home.
"I like East Texas, I bought a house in Lake Fork and I started touring all around the country," Omori said. "But always I come back to East Texas.
Although he may have home advantage, Omori said he’s never fished on Lake Palestine before. He’ll have to catch some big fish if he wants to beat the current leader of his group Ott DeFoe.
"I'll fish again on Monday, and that'll go for my total on that first day of competition," DeFoe said. "If I can hold on to the lead, that will automatically move me into the championship round, which will be on Thursday."
The beginning of the tournament is still underway with the second group competing Sunday, so it can still be anyone’s game.
But, until Thursday, these fishermen will be in East Texas where they’ve already been spotted.
"The anglers have been treated like rock stars all week," Opager said. "They come out the gas stations, they pull up to get gas and they're surrounded by fans for autographs. Kind of swarmed with questions, doing live streams and stuff all week."
Even though fishing has become a sport for these anglers, Omori said it’s important to have fun with it.
"This is a time of the year everybody should take their boat or ask your friends, or grandpa, or anybody to take fishing to have a great time," Omori said.
The competition will conclude on Thursday with a celebration fans are invited to. The results of the championship round will be at The Villages Marina in Flint at 4 p.m. where people can get free food and autograph opportunities with the Bass Pro Tour anglers.