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You spent the night before preparing all your
tackle. You put new mono on this rod, new braid on that rod, you gassed up
the boat, even made sure your tournament shirt was washed and ironed. You
spent 3 days pre-fishing and hours studying the lake map. You have done
everything you need to for this Saturdays big Open Bass Tournament.
 OH
NO, you forgot to set the alarm, “just kidding” your up and to the landing
with an hour to spare before takeoff. That’s when you notice Earl and Bubba,
last years Anglers of the Year. You think to yourself, {those guys are good,
that’s the team we need to beat}. Just before takeoff the wind picks up and
it starts to rain, again you think to yourself, { wind, rain, what else
could go wrong}? STOP
Don’t let the uncontrollables take control
of you. After all, your not even fishing yet and already you feel beaten.
Learning to control your thoughts and block out everything else is key to
becoming a successful tournament angler. You can pitch a jig into a weed
pocket the size of a half dollar from 20 feet, you can work a jerkbait
better than Van Dam himself, but if you can’t concentrate on the task at
hand, the rest doesn’t matter. Being able to concentrate on what your doing
is critical. Paying attention to how your working the bait your using is
much more important than worrying about the rain.
Weather is uncontrollable, each and every
angler in the tournament will fish the same weather conditions as you.
Learning how the weather will affect the fish will help you more than
worrying whether you’ll get wet or not.
Controlling the controllables, that’s where
your mind needs to be. Concentrating on putting fish in the boat and doing
everything possible to better your odds should be your first priority, not
how many bass Earl and Bubba have caught.
Tournament fishing is a great sport, it’s
you against the bass, if you can’t beat the bass, why worry about the rain,
wind, and of course Earl and Bubba.
Like I said before, you’ve done your
homework, you’ve made sure your equipment is ready for the challenge, now
don’t blow it by talking yourself out of the game. If you concentrate on
what you have control of, it won’t be long and Earl and Bubba will be
talking about you.
Good Fishing
Carl Scharenbroch {Big Bass Guide School} |
