In previous articles I’ve talked about how anglers question themselves after a bass tournament. Bass fishermen are their own worse critics when it comes to how they performed. While I still go into every tournament wanting to win, the reality is I probably won’t. But I do feel I’m still good enough to make the Top 10! My effort and heart are still there, and I’ll do my homework before each event, but I’m continuously reminded that this is a young man’s sport. Today is my perspective on what happened after my recent ABA Solo 150 15th place finish at Lake of the Pines in East Texas.
Today’s tournament anglers are very good at catching bass. It all starts with the equipment they are using today. Fishing reels are so much more advanced today than when I first started tournament fishing back in 1990. Reels that we used to consider high speed with a 7:1:1 gear ratio have been replaced by super high-speed reels with a gear ratio of 10:1. The fishing rods also are state of the art with so many different designs for every type of fishing known to man. Many rods today are so sensitive you can actually feel every single pebble on the bottom of the lake.
So, with all this great equipment, why is it that everyone is not a great angler? In my opinion, it’s just like any other sport. Some anglers are just naturally better and more talented than others. The days of someone getting lucky to win a tournament are long gone! Anglers still must do their homework, spend time on the water and pre-fish before each event.
For this Lake of the Pines ABA Solo 150 Tour event, I made several trips to the Pines to scout weeks before the tournament. Of my first three previous trips leading up to the week of the event, I was catching not just a lot of fish, but quality as well. I was feeling pretty good about being able to have a Top 10 finish. Then tournament week rolled around and all the time and effort I had put in was all for naught, or was it?
One thing about early spring bass fishing is conditions can change almost daily. It might be the hardest time of year to pattern fish since conditions are constantly changing with passing cold fronts. This time of year, bass are constantly on the move looking to head for shallow water to spawn. For this event, I had what I thought was a good area where I felt bass would stage before coming in for the spawn. These spots can be a true honey hole and can put an angler in great position to do very well.
But that did not happen for me on this event, and I had to adjust my game plan and go to plan B early on day 1. But that’s what tournament bass fishing is all about….making adjustments. Long story short, I managed to bang out a 5-fish limit just shy of 17 lbs. on day one. Now for 80% of most events, this would be considered a great start. I felt confident I would be in the Top 10 for sure or maybe the Top 7.
Wrong!!! After all anglers weighed in on day 1, I was sitting in 12th place. Now that’s nothing to be ashamed of, but two of my competitors caught over 25 lbs., with one over 27. After the shock was over, I asked myself, “What the heck am I doing wrong?” I knew that the anglers who were leading were really good anglers, but I was heading into final day with a 10-pound deficit. I knew that there was no way I could make up that kind of ground on this group of anglers.
But day 2 for me was not very good as I struggled to get a limit of about 11 lbs. in the boat before 11:30 that morning. It was a small limit, but I continued to put my head down and fish hard hoping to get two or three quality bites (four or five pounders) that might put me in range to maybe get a check. As day two came to a close, I ended this event in 15th place overall.
Over my 34 years of tournament fishing, I have logged in thousands of hours on the water looking for those little green fish we call bass. While I still have the desire to compete and win an event, I’m a realist as well. These young anglers today are good, and I mean really good, especially with today’s advanced electronics. They are just better than me and that’s hard for me to say!
But one thing I have come to terms with is that at the age of 62, and a melanoma diagnosis that so far I have overcome. I’m happy to be able to wet a hook and continue to fish on a competitive level. It’s funny how your perspective changes when life throws you a curve ball and reminds you how precious it is to have our health. Winning is no longer that important. What is important is that I still enjoy the camaraderie we anglers share as a group. It’s the friends I’ve made because of bass fishing that makes it all worthwhile.
Till next time, good luck, good fishing and make sure to check out Tackle Talk Live podcast, as well as the Hook’N Up & Track’N Down Show on You Tube.
Steve Graf Angler’s Perspective
