The last two Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments have been my worst by a long shot. I finished 86th at the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and 90th at the Arkansas River. I’ve had only one other finish that bad in my four years as an Elite angler.
Earlier in the season, I was 13th in Progressive Bassmaster Angler of the Year points. Now I’m in a position where another abysmal finish might put a dagger in my chances of fishing the 2027 Bassmaster Classic.
When you get into a slump like this, it’s hard to pull yourself out. If you keep telling yourself you’re in a slump, you’ll never overcome that mindset.
I’ve got five tournaments left to make a comeback. I need to put my bad tournaments out of my mind. I intend to keep my head down, stay confident, hungry and laser focused.
The next two tournaments at Lake Murray and Santee Cooper Lakes are critical. I’m excited to fish them. I’ve had some good finishes at Santee and feel confident about that one. The last two times I fished Murray, I fell short of the Top 50 by only a few spots. I hope to get redemption there this time.
We’re going to Murray later in the year than in previous Elite events I’ve fished there, so we shouldn’t be casting for spawners and fry-guarders. I don’t know what state the lake is in, but there will probably be some type of herring bite going on.
Honestly, I prefer not to think much about things like that ahead of time. I do better by just launching the boat and following my instincts.
I’ll take Top 50 finishes at Murray and Santee, but I have no choice now other than fishing to win. When you play it safe and fish for a Top 50 finish, you end up in 60th place or worse. Most of my Top 10 finishes have come when I fish to win.
Fishing to win and fishing for a check require a different attitude. If you settle into an area where you’re confident about catching enough to earn a check, you tend to play it safe and stick with what’s working. When you’re fishing to win, you’ll leave that area, especially after bagging a limit, and search elsewhere for bigger fish.
I hear a lot of the pros say they fish to win at every tournament. We all feel that way going into practice. But if you can’t find the size bass it takes to win, reality forces you to roll with what you’ve found and hope for a check.
I don’t have that luxury going forward. Fishing to win is my only option now, regardless of what I find in practice.
After Santee, we go to the Pasquotank River, where I finished 68th last year. Because I had never been there, I pre-practiced ahead of time. I made the mistake of checking every creek in that massive river system. When I returned for the tournament, I fished too quickly in practice, trying to revisit every creek.
This time around, I see myself picking a creek and learning it intricately instead of trying to dissect several creeks. The bass were spawning at the last event in mid-April. They should be postspawn this time.
If I’ve made a serious climb up the AOY ladder after Pasquotank, I’ll feel good about my chances of making the Classic when we go north for the final two events on Lake Champlain and the St. Lawrence River.
They will be smallmouth tournaments, which are my strong suit. Wherever I am in the standings, I will absolutely be fishing to win at those venues.
