So much of our life is unpredictable even though we think we have a game plan. We are constantly making plans for the future even with so many variables out of our control. We’ve all heard how we as humans are truly creatures of habit. But sometimes life takes us down a path we weren’t expecting. It may be a road that if we had a choice, we might not have gone down.
Let’s look at my years of tournament fishing. As a former athlete that has played all levels of baseball and football, my competitive fire still burns strong. I not only want to win, I also want to kick your butt in the process.
But as I’ve written before, tournament bass fishing is a very humbling sport. I think the only sport comparable would be golf. Just when you think you’re “the man”, bass fishing reels you in and makes you realize that you have no idea what you’re doing!
For me personally, as I continue to pursue championship stringers, even at the age of 64, tournament fishing still gets my blood flowing. Competing against so many of today’s younger anglers just motivates me even more and keeps me feeling young.
I used to lose sleep over my performance in previous tournaments. Like a lot of anglers, I self-analyze every tournament and try to learn from my small victories on the water to my biggest mistakes.
But a turning point in my bass tournament perspective came when I was diagnosed with stage 3 Melanoma in June of 2023. Everything changed after my dermatologist called to let me know my biopsy was positive. Next thing I knew, I was sitting in the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston with the finest doctors in the world, putting together a plan of attack with immunotherapy that would hopefully cure my cancer.
It was at this point that my outlook on winning bass tournaments changed dramatically. After several treatments and numerous PET scans and MRIs over the last two years, my cancer has disappeared and hopefully will stay that way.
Today when I show up for a tournament, I’m so happy that I can continue to participate in the sport I love. I’m probably more excited today to fish an event because I realize my battle with Melanoma could have been a lot worse. While I’ll continue to go through more blood work, PET scans and MRIs the rest of my life, I’m so thankful to be able to experience life to the fullest.
My cancer scare has been a reminder of how precious life really is and how blessed I am to get to continue to enjoy my fishing. Several times I have shed a tear or two as the national anthem is played before we leave the boat ramp for a day of chasing those little green fish we call bass.
While all of us at some point in our lives will have health issues, sometimes it takes a life altering moment to make us realize there are things more important than winning a bass tournament. Just the fact that I get to go fishing is a true blessing and one I no longer take for granted!
Let’s not get this twisted, I’m still competitive and will continue to critique myself after each event in my desperate pursuit of championship stringers! But it’s no longer the most important part of my life and does not define who I am as a person.
Till next time, enjoy every opportunity you get to wet a hook and go fishing while spending time in God’s great outdoors.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com
