“If you are going fishing, you best eat a good breakfast... It may just be the highlight of the day.”
This phrase, often stated by a friend of mine, has proved to be wise. Bass fishing results, especially when tournament fishing, can quite often fall short of one’s expectations. But good experience or bad experience is still experience. And experience is how one learns and improves.
Like life itself, tournament fishing is all... in the doing. It is more than about the results. It is about all the small parts that go together to make the entire experience:
The Plan - anticipation, expectation, preparation, formulation, imagination
The Event - execute, adjust, adapt, correct, perform
The Memory - remembering, reminiscing, reliving, replaying, sharing, relating
The interesting thing about this is that so much of the enjoyment of fishing comes from the anticipation and remembering and less from the actual fishing. This becomes apparent when one realizes they enjoy relating memories of not just the successful trips but also the unfortunate experiences. How many times while making the long drive home from a tournament have you wondered, “Why even bother?” But then the closer you near home, the more you start looking forward to the next tournament!
Understanding that it is the entire package of experience that makes tournament fishing worth the pursuit will help to smooth out your reaction to the ups and downs of tournament results. It is all... in the doing.
I believe this frame of mind is one thing that helped a few weeks ago when I fished as a co-angler in my first FLW Series event. Fishing in late January on Okeechobee means a good chance of sight fishing. Sight fishing is often a bad deal for co-anglers who can feel totally left high and dry as their angler partner works on a fish locked on a bed. I knew this going into this event and tried to prepare myself mentally. I told myself I must keep it wet! I must overcome the temptation to feel slighted and simply keep covering the water I have available, even if everything tells me it is useless and unproductive.
Skinny Dipping in a Hay Field
Fishing Lake Okeechobee was a totally new experience for me. I was introduced to a number of new “technical” fishing terms. Having grown up on an Indiana dairy farm, one that I got a kick out of was, “Skinny Dipping in a Hay Field.”
Swim baits in various forms have become more and more prevalent in Eastern tournaments. It became obvious when I stopped by the local bait shop on arrival that Skinny Dippers, by Reaction Innovations, are a hot Okeechobee lure. A Skinny Dipper is a five inch soft plastic paddle tail swim bait. Since it is solid plastic it has some weight and can be cast a mile on 50 pound Power Pro braided line. This bait along with a Zoom Swimming Super Fluke, Zoom Speed Worm and a 6" Powerbait Flip Tail worm quickly became my baits of choice in the 3 days of practice.
The hay field? There are a variety of types of vegetation on Okeechobee. I do not know the scientific names but I heard names such as reeds, buggy whips, eel grass, Kissimmee grass and hydrilla. A hay field consisted of a large flat with a mixture of emergent and submergent vegetation. Sparse enough to probably fish a spinnerbait but it became obvious the Texas-rigged Skinny Dipper or Swimming Super Fluke are much more suited for such cover. Long casts with a seven foot medium heavy rod and braided line would cover a lot of water and was similar to fishing a spinnerbait or buzzbait. Holding the rod tip down and slow rolling more open areas or holding the rod tip high with a faster retrieve would cause the swim bait to buzz the surface, an extremely versatile presentation. I look forward to making use of these back home.
Luck of the Draw
Like every tournament for a co-angler, so much relies on your partner. I figure it is my job to minimize the effects or reliance on this by being as open to adjustments and adaptation as possible. Day one of three I drew out with a local, John Cox. After a 20 minute drive to who-knows-where we pulled into a line of reeds. John was nice enough to ask for my patience as he had a number of locked females he wanted to fish for to start the day. He promised his help later. Well it did not take long... I had just removed my PFD and was eyeballing my rods wondering where to start when John calmly said, “Rod, would you go ahead and bring the net up here? Are you ready? It will happen fast.” I was kneeling at his side with the net over the edge of the boat when he made his short pitch to a pocket in the reeds. Four seconds later we had a seven pounder in the boat! Welcome to Okeechobee!
John ended up leading day one with 25 pounds. I was able to pick up four scrappy keepers. I was happy to have the table scraps.
Day two was spent with Wave Energy Drink pro, David Cooke. As apposed to being inside the reeds, we spent the day out off the bank drifting across eel grass flats. I had a couple keepers by fan casting the swim baits, but we would also pitch to the holes in the grass created by beds. It was in one such “dark spot” that I pitched my small Flip Tail worm. I do not know what or why I set the hook. I don't recall the sensation. There was no tick, tug or pull. But something told me to swing and I did. I do recall the first thought that went through my head, “What’s the deal? There is no wood out here to get hung up on!” But I just held tight and a second later that big ole mouth came up out of the grass and she was mad! I don't recall asking for the net but I can imagine they heard me a mile or two down the lake. A nice five and a half pounder was the fish of the trip for me. Amazing how quickly one fish can turn around your outlook!
Day three I was determined to keep a bait in the water no matter what. I was to fish with pro J.T. Kenny. It helped my confidence when I saw we were fishing the same long stretch of eel grass I had caught the five pounder on the previous day. I knew I could get bit simply making long casts and slow rolling the swim baits or speed worm and pitching the Flip Tail when possible.
As much as I disliked them, I must admit the twin Power Poles mounted on the back of JT’s boat were pretty cool. With JT standing tall, hooded sweatshirt pulled over his head shading his eyes from the midday sun, we drifted the flat. Occasionally the Power Poles would extend into the soft bottom holding the boat perfectly in place as JT worked his mojo, often on a pair of bedded fish. I tried my best to stay positive, knowing that at any point I may pick up a keeper by simply fan casting.
When the day was done, I had been provided another fine lesson in sight fishing and had scrounged up a few keepers for myself, enough for 36th place and a nice check.
Over the week, my conversations with my wife back home always included her questioning whether I was enjoying myself. I'd tell her it wasn't like it was a nice relaxing vacation, nor was it simply the most fun fishing I've ever had. It was the little things that add up, making the trip memorable. Breakfast on the road at a Waffle House - in the middle of the afternoon. Dry Pop Tarts for an on-the-water snack. Listening to the daily escapades of roommates for the week. The happiness that comes knowing you are good to go for the day soon after your first morning coffee. In looking back, not only was it a great learning experience mixed with excitement and disappointment but it was, after all, a week of fishing in Florida... in January! What more could you want? It is all... in the doing!
Rod Yoder