Worry is the prevalent thought racing through the minds of anglers before most any tournament, fifth-year Elite Jake Whitaker said.
“That’s just the fascinating thing about bass fishing, especially at the Elite level. The first morning, everybody is worried,” he said. “I don’t care what they say, they could have the best hole on the lake, but you’re still worried to death.”
Whitaker said anxiety is just a part of the game that’s probably best-suited for adrenaline junkies. Anglers need to manage those thoughts to prevent spinning out, and they are quickly forgotten once they start stringing together catches.
Whitaker will be among the 94 competitors who take off from Riverfront Park in Palatka, Fla., on Thursday, battling those concerns and hoping for a hot start at the AFTCO Bassmaster Elite at St. Johns River. While it’s comforting to begin the year at a familiar venue — it’s the fourth consecutive season opener there — Elites always seem to live with the fear of fishing failure.
“They’re worried the fish they found in practice won’t be there,” or someone else is at their spot, among other things, Whitaker said. “It’s a guessing game. Once you start catching a few fish, it’s so cool and so fun. I wish I could translate that feeling to everybody.”
There’s a feeling of euphoria upon filling a limit, and that’s enhanced if the weight will likely be competitive. Then, Whitaker said, pros can relax a little, expand on their pattern or explore for new areas, with the soothing thought they still have fish for Day 2.
“It’s a great feeling going from, ‘Oh, crap, how am I going to catch one?’ to ‘OK, I’m good to go, let’s have a good tournament.’ That’s what makes it fun,” Whitaker said. “Whenever you start catching those fish you found and you’ve got a good weight, that’s when you figure out if this is going to be a tournament you just have to survive, or can I push this to have a really good tournament. And it all happens on that first day.”
Whitaker has experienced the best and worst feelings at the St. Johns. After a fifth-place finish in 2019, the 2018 Rookie of the Year suffered through a 91st-place finish last year. It wasn’t the sole reason he missed qualifying for the Classic via the Bassmaster Angler of the Year points for the first time, but it made the puzzle harder. There’s more ground to gain from the bottom of the hill, so a good start is always desired, if not crucial.
“It’s huge,” Whitaker said. “It’s the first tournament, so you don’t want to get spun out for the season. You don’t want to put yourself in a big hole. That’s not to say you can’t dig out of it, because (Brandon) Palaniuk and others have done it. When Florida kicks your butt, you can recover from it. It’s just so hard with the group of guys we’ve got.”
Known for getting better each day of a tournament, Whitaker thought he was back on track last year with a sixth-place finish in the second event on the Tennessee River. His downfall was missing his check-in time on Day 2 at Pickwick Lake — thinking he was fourth flight instead of second — taking a zero and another 91st.
“I think I lost 50-something points on just that,” Whitaker said. “That won’t happen again, I promise you.”
Making the cut in five of the nine Elite tournaments, Whitaker said his season certainly wasn’t a wash, but he didn’t have any other Top 20s needed to gain ground and ended outside the Classic cut. With the hot start in 2020, he went on to finish fifth in the AOY standings, just 17 points back of winner Clark Wendlandt. He made six cuts, including two Top 10s, but the big difference was not bombing.
“Here’s what I’ve learned fishing the Elite Series,” he said. “You’re going to have bad tournaments. If your bad can be 60th instead of 90th, you’re helping yourself out tremendously. In those tournaments where things aren’t going your way or you didn’t find them in practice, you may not make the cut, but a finish in the 90s will kill you as far as trying to make up points.”
And Whitaker knows you don’t want to start the season on such a low note. You’re behind the eight ball trying to climb out of the hole, which just ramps up the pressure.
“I understand how the tournaments go and how things work,” Whitaker said. “To just cut a check or get a really solid finish under your belt, it’s just a good kick start to the year. You start with a high level of confidence. You don’t have the pressure of trying to rebound from a 90th-place finish, like I did last year.”
A good finish can provide momentum. Taking chances becomes a little less risky. It’s not do-or-die in every event.
“It all boils down to confidence. I think other anglers will agree; it’s a mental game that starting out the year with a good, solid finish just helps so much with confidence,” he said. “It lets you make decisions to have a better finish at the next tournament, instead of having to say, ‘I just gotta get a check.’ If you’re not worried about your point situation, you just fish so much better.”
So expect some lip biting before the Elites idle out from the Palatka docks on Day 1. The first few hours of the season can set an angler up for a great season or great trials and tribulations.
“You’ve got to control your emotions,” Whitaker said. “It’s the first tournament of the year, you just don’t want to have a bad finish. Just being able to maximize your opportunities at the first tournament, make sure everything runs good, you fish clean, and just get out of there with a good solid finish is the goal.”