Hackney: Dealing with recreational anglers

We need to start with an understanding that recreational anglers have as much right to be out on the water fishing as we (tournament anglers) do.

A few days before the Guntersville tournament I mentioned the heavy recreational pressure on the lake to a writer. He asked me for my candid opinion of recreational anglers and what, if any, effect they had on tournaments. Here’s my answer to his question:

We need to start with an understanding that recreational anglers have as much right to be out on the water fishing as we (tournament anglers) do. We’re not special. The waters we fish are public. That’s true regardless of whether we’re fishing the Bassmaster Classic or a fruit jar tournament with our local club.

/We need to think about it from their point of view. They love to fish and, in some cases, the day they’re out there is the only chance they have to go fishing. Or, they could be on the trip of a lifetime. Maybe this is their annual vacation. They want to catch fish just like us.

We also need to keep in mind that if it wasn’t for recreational anglers most of us wouldn’t have sponsors that make our careers possible. They’re the ones who buy the boats, the rods, the reels and the lures. We need them economically, and they need us to provide information and to keep the industry moving forward with advancements in equipment and techniques.

We should celebrate recreational anglers.

Of course, it’s always frustrating to mark a spot, run to it and then see another angler catching fish on it when you arrive. But it’s not always, or even often, that the recreational guys do that. I mean, we’re all fishing at the same time and on the same lake or river. Other pros have fished where I wanted to fish, and I’m sure I’ve fished a time or two where they wanted to fish. There’s no difference between us and them in that regard.

And, sometimes we need to look at things from their point of view. How would you like to wait all week to go fishing on Saturday only to find that your favorite lake has been fished for the past two days by over 100 of the best bass anglers in the world?

Besides all of that, I’ve found over the years that you can usually work something out with a non-tournament angler — or a tournament angler for that matter — if you approach the situation correctly. We’ve all been told that you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. That’s as true in fishing as it is in anything else. 

The reality is that it’s our job as professionals to develop enough spots or a solid enough pattern to deal with recreational pressure. This is a “take no prisoners” kind of business. If we don’t develop and expand our opportunities, it’s no one’s fault but our own. Blaming the other guy is nonsense.

I had a really bad tournament on Guntersville. That was no one’s fault but mine. No other angler had any responsibility for what I did or didn’t do. I made a series of bad decisions. My standing on Friday night reflected that. That’s the end of the story.