Thank God I have a wife that understands what makes me tick. She may not understand the big deal with kayak fishing but she knows that it is my passion and it plays a huge part in my life. I’d like to thank her from the bottom of my heart for her support. She knows me on a level that no one does and although she has shown the patience of Job towards me…I know that deep down she expects something greater to happen and with that I grind.
“Where would you rather be than right here, right now?” Marv Levy
If you didn’t know there is a national championship coming up…the Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship. I was there last year and there was no other place in the world that I’d would've rather been…none. I didn’t win it and although after finishing day one 18th out of 256, when day 2 was over I was not even close…I think I was 56th. Was I upset? No, There were some great fishermen there and if anyone thought it’d be easy they were sadly mistaken. The conditions were brutal and it affected everyone equally. Was I prepared…physically? Yes. Mentally? To an extent I was…but I know what I need to work on and that is adjustments. When to adjust and why. In saying that, it still doesn’t mean that I’ll win it this year.
Do I think I can win it…I wouldn’t show up if I didn’t. This year, my track record with other tournaments gives zero credible evidence to back up my confidence. 12 tournaments with zero wins…if I were a major league pitcher I’d be sat down to the minors (or fired) so that’s essentially what I’ve done. I’ve gone back and looked at every tournament I entered and picked out my drawbacks. I did some very irresponsible things considering the level of competition that is in Northwest Ga. I ditched what I knew for second hand info and other times I stuck with a strategy that clearly wasn’t working out of stubbornness.
It’s a new year and I’m already grinding. I have the equipment to succeed and I am overly excited to get this season started. This year I will do the “cliché”, stick with my strengths while recognizing my weaknesses. I will say this too…a Championship is not the time to be messing around with new unproven techniques. Been there, done that.
Here’s my “not so detailed” grind strategy.
• fish every chance I get... regardless of weather or how tired I am. The weather in the south is so unpredictable that although the national championship is later in March this year, it doesn’t mean that it’ll be warmer. I’ve seen it snow in April…so, I’ll take what the weather deals me and be ready to fish in cold, rainy, or icy conditions on March 31.
• work on my strengths…crank baits, swimbaits, jigs etc. I know my weaknesses within my strengths and that is a positive.
• organization- every thing from how I load my boat to how much tackle I take. Much work needed there.
• it may not be cold…it may be warm and the fish already on bed, so where can I go to fish for prespawn/spawning fish RIGHT NOW? Florida…going for a week real soon. I know it’s a far cry from Kentucky Lake but I can fish shallow water and work on some tactics that are worthless around here this time of year, plus, It’ll be warm.
• I’ll make a trip to Kentucky Lake in early March just to look around.
• in between all of that…I will fish, I know I said that already but feeling a fish bite, testing your setups i.e. line type, line weight and rods to hooksets and reading water/maps. It all helps in keeping you ready.
Again, this year…since no one has a standardized training regimen for kayak fishing tournaments…the spirit of my training will be “If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.” Check back for the next blog entry about my Road to the Championship. Peace
Note:This blog series is a most helpful tool for me. I'll share my thoughts , failures, successes and ideas...Just not too detailed. I then can go back and look it over and maybe one day my future grand kid may read it and think...I had one crazy ass paw paw.
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