You know, with all this talk from the Elite guys and their visits
to Grand Lake for the Classic practice has got me thinkin’. How mental is
fishing and how can I not get thrown into the common pitfalls of losing your
head during a tournament or even before you hit the water. A wise MLB catcher
once said “Baseball is ninety percent mental and the other half is physical.”
Fishing can be the same way, sometimes…
Am I a practice guy, well kind of… Great answer, right? My
practice takes different shapes based on how far out the event is or what body
of water. For example, I had fished a couple events on tidal waters where I do
my best to practice during the same tidal conditions I will face on tournament
day. Typically, every two weeks you will see the same tidal height so, say I
pre-fish on day 1 when tournament day is on day 14. Will I still hit that body
of water the week before? Yes, but I will have a different plan in my head on what
I am trying to accomplish. Maybe it’s looking for similar structure I might
have missed or coming up with a Plan X, which is something I never like to go
to but it is one of those off the wall gambles that can pay off in an
emergency. Sometimes on the water you just get that feeling you need a change
and it needs to be something big, and 180 degrees from what you’re currently
doing. As I said it’s not something I
really condone but it’s there if I choose to use it.
My one warning on practice and it is something I am very
careful of is letting past experiences play into the present one. Many of you
know what I mean that fish local tournaments on waters you occasional fish but
not week in and week out. I noticed Mike Iaconelli was discussing staying away
from preconceived notions of a place that can affect not only your practice but
tournament day. Even if you bombed the last time you fished Lake ____, you must
keep an open mind and remember to keep a confidence bait close by and hell,
somebody has to win, it might as well be you.
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| While everyone was throwing an A-Rig I pulled out a drop shot with a Z-Man finesse WormZ. A possible check to Plan X...? |
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