When the Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series concludes in August, that doesn’t mean my tournament schedule is over. Actually, I typically fish several more events each year.
By mid-October, I had already fished in three western tournaments, and I’ll finish the month with a big event on Old Hickory Lake in Tennessee. After that, I’ll fish one more big tournament on California’s Don Pedro Lake in November.
Second only to my family, I really enjoy getting home after the Elite season and spending time on the western fisheries I grew up on. I especially like Clear Lake with all of its big fish, and I really like our spotted bass fisheries like Shasta and Oroville.
When you add in places like the Columbia River and the desert lakes like Mead and Havasu, it’s easy to see that the western U.S. holds a great diversity of amazing bass fisheries.
I’ve said many times my western bass fishing background helped prepare me for fishing the eastern U.S. because of the different fishing styles I had to master. You can go from flipping with 65-pound braid and throwing a frog on the California Delta to using 6-pound line on Mead.
I’ve experienced so much on my western fisheries that I have a lot of skill sets to call on when I travel east.
I’ve definitely enjoyed fishing throughout the eastern U.S., experiencing all the great fisheries and meeting wonderful people everywhere we go. However, I have to admit, I also enjoy getting back to my western roots.
We have a vibrant fishing scene with lots of talented, passionate anglers. We all like to just have fun, and we make sure that happens along with the competition.
After I finish with fall tournaments, I’m gonna spend as much time on the water as I can and work on various skills. Everyone’s different, and I know some guys like to unplug from fishing for a few months. I’m not a guy that can put the fishing rod down in August and pick it up in February and be right where I need to be. I need to keep the rod in my hand to stay sharp.
Of course, I’ll balance that with family time, because as much as I’m gone during the year, I owe it to them.
Along the way, I’ll also be spending a good amount of time getting content for sponsors. That’s a part of my job that I enjoy — making sure the companies that support me are happy,
With all of the activities on my plate, there’s really no offseason. This sport is super competitive, so you have to constantly be working and improving.
That being said, I do give myself some necessary off time after the Elite season ends. This year, my family and I took a trip to Scotland. The landscape was amazing, we saw several castles and we rode the Harry Potter Train for my son’s fourth birthday.
The other part of that time off from fishing is simply taking care of the tasks that are necessary for next year’s preparation. That includes unpacking the truck, reorganizing tackle, selling my boat and getting a new boat rigged and ready. These are time-consuming tasks, but at least I’m home with my family during most of the process.
