During this Thanksgiving week, I’ve been thinking about how many things have made me thankful and I’ve come up with a handful that I’d like to share.
The biggest thankful for an angler is you’re thankful that you’re back in the Bassmaster Classic. That’s the one thing that everybody wants. You always want to win tournaments, but you always want to be invited to the Classic.
If you’re not, it’s kind of like somebody down the street is having a party and you’re not invited. That kind of hurts your feelings a little bit.
As far as fishing goes, I’m thankful that I was able to put myself in position to win a couple of times this year. Last year, I don’t felt like I ever challenged to win a tournament. I had some decent finishes in 2015, but in 2016, I had a couple of seconds — the Classic and the Elite event on the Potomac River — and I had a third place at the Bass Pro Shops Central Open on the Arkansas River.
I fell on the wrong side, but at least I got back to getting close again.
I think part of that comes from what you might call lessons on the water. For a long time, I’ve been aware of a key point that really came into focus in 2016. What I’ve learned is that, if it’s going to happen for me, it’s going to happen in a small area.
All the tournaments I’ve won over the years have come out of one area that I’ve milked for four days. At the Potomac, I caught almost every fish I weighed out of one very small area.
That’s the way I do business best, by getting a creek arm and just fishing. We can’t do that at every event, but at the Angler of the Year Championship, I only finished 18th, but every single fish I caught came out of one little area.
The reason that’s important is that it’s had a big effect on the way I practice. I used to look for 20-30 places to run throughout the event, but I don’t get in a hurry any more. Now, I just cruise around, looking for that area where I can settle down in a tournament and fish for three or four days.
I still fish fast, at times, but I’m going to do it within a general area. Give me three to four days to really learn an area and understand it; how the fish eat and how they react to the tides, I’ll do well.
Here are a few more things I’m thankful for:
Next Year’s Elite Schedule — It looks like 2017 will be the year of the flipping stick. With the exception of the first tournament on Lake Cherokee, it’s going to be a shallow water deal. Usually, shallow water tournaments are not dependent on waypoints, so you can just go out there and fish.
I also like that we’re going to some of the legendary lakes at the right time of year. I’ve been to some of these lakes before, but to be there at the right time of year will be an enjoyable experience.
One thing’s for sure, it’s going to take a lot of weight to do well in 2017, so you’d better catch ‘em.
Sponsorship Support — Everything is kinda the same and that’s not bad news. I’ve been very satisfied with my sponsor lineup the last couple years and how it all works. It looks like that’s going to remain the same for another year and that makes the business side of things easier on me and the companies I represent because we all know what to plan on.
I’ve chosen to stay with them and they’ve chosen to stay with me, so that makes the off season a lot more enjoyable because I’m not spending that time looking for a boat wrap.
Family Time — One of the reasons I’m thankful for my sponsorship consistency is that it allows me to enjoy a lot of family time during the off season. That’s always been important to me, but this year, it’s even more so because it’s the last year my oldest daughter Ali will be playing basketball at home. She signed a letter of intent to play for Oklahoma Christian, which is about three hours from our house.
In years past, I may have had to miss a game now and then, but this year, I’m not missing a single game. I feel like as hard as my daughter has worked, I owe it to her to be there.
At the end of the day, do I want to be remembered as a good angler or a good dad? I’ll take being a good dad every time.