Most of the fans who watch Bassmaster LIVE, and visit Bassmaster.com, or read our magazines, want to learn how to catch more fish and bigger fish. Bass fishing is a life long learning game. You never, ever know everything. Here’s the lesson from watching Greg Hackney fish today. Success often comes from slowing down. And fishing slow for long periods of time requires a strong dose of mental discipline. Today’s Bassmaster University is a mental lesson.
Hackney is fishing very, very slow. Creeping down the bank and methodically picking it apart. He’ll go an hour or more between bites. But he has stayed in this same little area. On Friday, in eight or nine hours of fishing, Hackney had six bites and five fish. But he didn’t give up and start running around. He stays with his game plan, slowly milking his area. This is more hunting than fishing.
The average angler might run into a little creek like this, fish for an hour with no bites and head out. Hackney has been here for five hours. He’s caught three fish for about 7 pound. Not a bad morning. But it took a lot of patience to get that weight.
A lot of fans think Elite anglers can come in and hammer an area like this. They remember Edwin Evers’ Day 3 at the 2016 Bassmaster Classic, when he caught a slew of five and six pound bass in a short period of time. More typical is Kevin VanDam’s Day 3 at Toledo Bend. KVD caught a total of five fish that day, the last one coming minutes before his check in time. Mentally he stayed with it. Even though the bites were few and far between.
It’s easy to think Elite tournaments are won by choosing the perfect baits. And that’s certainly important. But more often than not, the game is won with mental toughness.