There’s no perfect science to make a determination, of course, but what a professional fisherman says often speaks worlds about his approach, his command and even his understanding of the task he must perform. And if that is true, then there really are lessons still to learn from them about one’s own capacity to fish professionally.
As a long-time observer of competitive fishing, I have pulled out three quotations from the last year and a half, from winning as well as non-winning finishers. Read what they have to say, and then see how your interpretation compares with mine.
1. “I threw the swimbait early and made maybe half a dozen casts with it, but it didn’t feel right.”
I like this one, not because it’s from a young pro on his way up, but because it says something about the intuitive nature of the very best fishermen. In a timed event, where focus is in major demand, you need to have a plan. But you also need to understand when a change is in order.
Veteran anglers seem to develop the ability to get off what’s not working (but not all, and not all the time). Typically, their experience has thrown enough curves at them that they adjust more quickly than a casual angler. But the great ones don’t just make deductions and change (which is still a good thing) but rather, they sense a course correction.
2. “If I lose this tournament, it’s not because I didn’t find the fish.”
Forgive me, but this sounds something like an excuse. My sense of the top tour anglers (and those in development) is that they all can find fish–some fish. In this particular case, the pro was among the top finishers, but did not get all of his fish in the boat.
Yes, there were apparently mitigating circumstances, in that his fish were in heavy cover. But how is a fish lost in cover much different than one lost on a lipless crankbait? It’s one thing to say you know where the fish are and it’s quite another to identify where fish are that you can actually land.
Not the best example, but how about this: I know there is a new world record largemouth at Lake Poway–but it lives much of its life in the off-limits area behind the buoy line. That’s not good enough…
3. “It’s … a shot in the arm for the rest of the season. I can fish with confidence now.”
Maybe my assessment here is harsh, but if you need to win an Elite tournament in order to fish with confidence, then thousands and thousands of bass fishermen around the country are doomed. Nonetheless, that’s what one pro said after catching more than 95 pounds to win at Amistad. Many tournament fishermen have bright moments, but it is consistency of performance that is crucial to a successful career.
This angler took a win and then dropped to 43rd place, 600 points behind the regular season leader and missed the Classic. So much for that confidence booster.
Please understand, as I do, that brief, published statements do not reflect the all of any fisherman, let alone any individual. But as pertains to the tournament game, in the context those statements were given, I think there are things worth considering.
Here’s the source of those quotes:
1. Chris Zaldain (FLW Series)
2. Greg Pugh (FLW Tour)
3. Jason Williamson (Bassmaster Elites)
BTW: Who was the pro angler who compared the U.S. Open bass tournament to the Iditarod (which starts Sunday)?
5 Responses to “Pro quotes: What do they really say?”
1. “didn’t feel right” – amount of confidence in any technique should be from an accumulation of experiences that include definable variables in the micro environment. The intuition to make an adjustment should come from the ability to translate and interpret the components of the situation before us. My most successful adjustments have been when I was most confident in assessing the criteria. Success from adjustments made from a “feeling” tends to be more random. As experience and time on the water accumulate, “feelings” are more likely to be from processed interpretation of similar past piscatorial encounters.
Yes he, Clunn, did (make the Iditarod/US Open comparison.)
Rich: My years of observing the pros, there are those who feel their way and there are those who distill information and then react. Age and experience does not seem to limit the young intuitive anglers. In fact, with time, more experience merely adds clutter to the intuit’s decision-making process.
As an amateur, I know I have been in both of the mind sets you describe. Some days click,some days are a lost cause.The most successful seem to be able to slice through the “clutter”. Variety of options can be as limiting as getting stuck in a rut. The days that “click” are what keep me coming back. Was I in the zone , or just lucky? Solving the puzzle gets easier when more pieces are familiar. Some days it is easier than others to recognize the acorn that we stumble across like a blind hog.
Rick Clunn