When I look back on the 2017 Bassmaster Elite Series season, I’ll have several moments that will stand out. But without question, the most vivid and meaningful memory will be the season-long joy of fishing with my son as a competitor.
With Alton Jr. fishing his rookie season, this created a new stage in our relationship. See, with most fathers, when their sons advance into their careers, it limits their time together. But, I’m very thankful that my son’s career choice has ushered in a new phase in which we have even more time together.
The older I get, the more I realize that family is really all you have; it’s all that really matters on this earth. I’ve always enjoyed my career as a professional angler, but I enjoyed it even more this year because I got to share it with my son.
Now that we’re into the offseason, we’ll have more flexibility to plan some casual activities. One that I’m looking forward to will be our visit to President George W. Bush’s ranch in early October. My son and I have been invited to fish a 15-acre lake that President Bush is sculpting and help him learn how to effectively fish it.
I’ve known President Bush since before he was elected in 2001. As Governor of my home state, his ranch is not far from where I live, so I’ve been fortunate to have interacted with him several times over the years.
One of the greatest honors of my life was when President Bush invited my family and me to the White House after I won the Bassmaster Classic in 2008. I’m sure our visit to the ranch will be a little less formal, but we’re definitely looking forward to it.
I’ve been in communication with President Bush’s ranch manager to do get some idea of what to expect from the lake. I’ll put it this way: President Bush is not much of a crankbait fan, but from what I understand about his lake — he should be. I’ll have plenty of Bomber crankbaits with me, so we should be in good shape.
Now, as for other memories from the 2017 Elite season, certainly, my Top 12 finishes on Toledo Bend, the St. Lawrence River and Lake Champlain will be some of my favorites. I’m especially fond of the Champlain experience because I did well even though I never felt like I was on the motherlode of fish.
Usually, you’ll catch ‘em good in practice and feel like you’re going to crush ‘em in the tournament. But this time around, I simply never had that kind of confidence in my spot. I had to make decisions on the fly, but it all came together. I think that’s what made this Top 12 so special.
Now, on the other hand, sometimes things don’t work out and the negative experience can prove just as valuable. For example, on the final day of the AOY Championship on Mille Lacs, we had a strong wind that blew out my area, and I ended up only weighing three fish.
I know I should have adjusted sooner and fished a different area, but I tried to outsmart myself by saying, “This is Mille Lacs; I’ll catch them.”
That’s a fundamental lesson I’ve learned before, so I guess I have to ask myself if I really learned it in the first place.
I’ll probably think a lot about this during the offseason — but not until after I make a crankbait fan our of our 43rd President.