In terms of my fishing career, I’m very proud to compete on the Bassmaster Elite Series. But on a personal level, I have to say that I truly enjoy the experience. The biggest reason, for me, is that B.A.S.S. has done a good job of keeping the schedule diverse and interesting.
Every year I’ve fished the Elites, there has been something different that B.A.S.S. has thrown into the mix. Maybe it’s a different tournament format or a new location I’ve never fished.
Fans might think that I wouldn’t like this; maybe they think throwing new locations at anglers is a negative. Well, I’ll admit that knowing something about a fishery can help you, but fishing it for the first time is not always a limitation.
I’ve found that I tend to do well at new fisheries because I don’t go in with any preconceived notions about how and where I should catch fish. This frees me up to just go fish.
If you always go back to the same places, you start thinking about how you caught them the last time; you wonder if those fish still going to be there; or, if you’re there in a different season, you wonder how you can catch them this time.
So, when we go to new places, it makes it fun. Also, it’s fun to see the fans in different areas. Let’s look at the Sabine River event from mid-March.
Who would have thought there would’ve been a turnout like there was? The fans loved it and whenever we’re welcomed like that, it makes it fun for us to be there.
I also enjoyed BASSFest on Kentucky Lake. This was the second year for this format, and I think it was a tremendous success. The fan participation during our off day was great and that gave me a good opportunity to talk about some of my new sponsor baits, like Booyah’s Bank Roll Jig and Finance Jig.
This season also gave me my first opportunity to fish out west with our stops at the California Delta and Lake Havasu. For years, I’d heard about those big Delta bass, and I caught a few of them. So from now on, I can say I did that. Same thing with Wisconsin’s Sturgeon Bay, where I enjoyed some tremendous smallmouth fishing during the AOY Championship.
In 2016, the event on Bull Shoals Lake will have a unique format with us alternating between two lakes. We’ll fish one day on Bull Shoals, the next on Norfork, return to Bull Shoals and then finish on Norfork.
Will it be stressful? Yeah, it will be stressful because we’ve never done that before. But that’s what makes it fun and exciting.
Chances are the two lakes might fish similarly, but there won’t be one guy who’s able to win the tournament off one stretch. It’s going to come down to who can come up with the best patterns for both lakes and who will be able to run them.
Also, we’re going to Winyah Bay in S.C. – a fishery where not a lot of guys have any experience. And then there’s BASSFest on Lake Texoma. That’s kind of close to my house, but what I like most is that this event will target an area of fans that we don’t often get to see.
There are a lot of bass fishing fans in that northern Texas/southern Oklahoma area, so I’m looking forward to meeting a lot of the fans and hearing what interests them.
I think that’s what is so great about BASSFest – the fan interaction. You don’t get bigger than the Bassmaster Classic, but BASSfest is kind of in between the Classic and a regular-season event. It has some elements of the Classic in terms of the fan interaction, but the biggest thing is that the BASSFest winner gets an automatic Classic berth.
There’s a lot on the line at BASSFest, but I try to remember that, for the fans, this is one of their few times to have those one-on-one conversations with us. We have a lot of fans that are pretty hardcore bass fishermen, and you can tell when they come walking up that they have something serious to ask.
They may ask something like, “When you caught those fish at (a particular) tournament, what size line or which reel were you using?” I enjoy all of our fan interaction, but I particularly appreciate the opportunity to dig into the finer details of bass fishing.
I’ve even walked out to my truck to show fans some baits and then it’s just two fishermen talking. You’re there to sign kids’ hats, but you’re also there to answer questions and give tips to fans who want learn more about the sport.
I’ll be looking forward to this and all of our 2016 Elite Series events. It’s going to be another diverse season, but that’s what I like. That’s what keeps it fresh.