Ready to take a few chances

We’re getting down to the wire on this year’s Bassmaster Elite Series season, and I’m really looking forward to the next event in La Crosse, Wisc. For one thing, the Mississippi River is going to set up for the way I like to fish — flipping and fishing shallow.

Also, this is the first event in a long time where I just get to go fishing. I don’t see myself falling out of the Classic. I guess there’s that possibility, but considering where I’m at in the points, as long I catch a few fish, I’m in the Classic.

Angler of the Year is pretty much out of reach, so the biggest motivation I have after the La Crosse event is going into the AOY Championship on Mille Lacs and improving my ranking. There’s a lot of money to be made in the AOY standings, and even though I probably can’t fall out of the Classic, I could fall out of a lot of money. Hopefully, I’ll stay up there in the Top 10 and maybe sneak up there to fifth or sixth place.

Looking at all this, there’s a lot to consider, but the biggest motivation of all is that I just get to go fishing. To me, that’s a lot of fun because I can take a few chances.

For example, we’re going to be involved with a lot of locking up there in La Crosse. Going into the event in good shape for the Classic lets me go through the locks without worrying about missing the Classic or the Angler of the Year Championship.

Taking all this into consideration, I think it will be a fun two weeks. The fishing ought to be great at La Crosse, and it ought to be exceptional at Mille Lacs.

As eager as I am to fish these final two events of my 2016 season, this is also the time of year when I start shifting my thoughts to deer season. I’ve spent a lot of time on the tractor plowing food plots, and a few days ago, I shot my bow for the first time this year.

I’m trying to get these food plots planted before I leave for the final two events. I’m hoping that after I get home that I’ll see some results from all the work that I’ve been doing, and I can get ready for a relaxing offseason.

This is an important time for me because deer season is my vacation. There are no TV cameras, no traveling, no 20-hour drives — it’s me and my family, my dad and the kids.

There’s a 2 1/2-month period when I try to focus on them, I try to not to miss any of my kids’ ball games and just recharge my batteries by spending time in the woods.

Stepping away from fishing lets me wind down and relax. It’s funny, the last six weeks of the offseason is when I start to get excited again about fishing. But for the first month of my vacation, I don’t even think about fishing.

I know some guys that get done with the Elite season. They go home over the break, and they fish. That works for them, and it used to work for me, to some degree. But anymore, I’m better when I focus the offseason on my family.

Even though I don’t think about fishing during that first month, during November and December, I get a lot of things done in the deer stand. I get a lot of emails sent and answered, I get a lot of preparations for next year like lodging, fishing licenses, ordering all my Falcon rods and Lew’s reels and making sure I have all the YUM, Booyah and Bandit baits I’ll need.

It’s a long process that might seem kind of crazy, but for me it’s really organized. The key to staying on top of it all is my list. When we come back from Mille Lacs, I’ll start a list of things that need to be done for next year.

So whether I’m sitting at the house or in the woods, any time I think of something that needs to be done, I make a note. There are times, during the offseason, when those notes are two to three pages long.

I’ve found this is a great way to fill time in the deer stand. I’m ordering the items I need and crossing things off the list. That way, in late December when I start fishing again, everything is done — the boat’s wrapped, the truck’s wrapped and sponsor contracts are done.

By doing it this way, I can step back into a new season 100 percent focused on fishing with a full bar of batteries and ready to go.

There’s still a lot of sponsor obligations to take care of in the offseason, but a lot of that can be done through emails and phone calls. I’ll make a few appearances and do some speaking, but for the most part, it’s all vacation to me.

I’m looking forward to the break — but not until I have some fun fishing up north.