RICHMOND, Va. — Patrick Walters drew boat No. 13 in the takeoff order for Day 1 of the Basspro.com Bassmaster Eastern Open on the James River. When he mentioned that to his soon-to-be wife (November 22) Emily, she said, “Gosh, I hope that’s not unlucky.”
By the end of Thursday’s competition, Walters said, “The next time I draw boat number 13, I’m going to wrap myself in bubble wrap and stay in bed.” Of course, he was laughing when he said it.
Walters, who won’t turn 25 until August 30, has many challenging days ahead of him. But he termed Day 1 on the James River “the most mentally challenging day of my fishing career.”
And he made the best of it. That’s the lesson here: It’s not what happens to you, it’s how you handle it. Walters, who is from Summerville, S.C., lost half his day and almost all his peace of mind to a pair of mechanical failures that began as soon as his boat floated off the trailer at Osborne Park & Boat Landing prior to the 6 a.m. takeoff Thursday.
“I had no power – no power at all,” said Walters, who turned the key to start his outboard motor and heard silence. That issue got remedied thanks to the service crew in time for him to takeoff in the 13th spot, just a bit frazzled mentally.
Then Walters made the 50-minute run to the Chickahominy River only to discover a trolling motor malfunction. So he made the run back to Osborne Landing for a quick fix. But as he and his co-angler were speeding back to the Chickahominy, Walters noticed he was running low on fuel. There were only two gas docks between him and his destination. When he pulled up to the first one, not only was it closed, but it didn’t open for another hour.
“I’m practically on fumes by this time,” Walters said. “So I called the other one. They were open, and I just putt-putted down to it.”
By the time Walters filled up, it was 10 a.m. Half his day was gone and there wasn’t a bass in the boat. At 12:45 p.m., he had only two fish in his livewell. “Then I pulled in a little creek and caught three in about 20 minutes,” he said. “Thankfully, I made it back here.”
Walters finished with 9 pounds, 11 ounces, which put him in 75th place in the 195-boat field. He had made the most of a bad situation. This marks only the 22nd tournament in Walters’ B.A.S.S. career. He’s already packed much success into it, winning an Open on Louisiana’s Red River last year and leading the Bassmaster Elite Series Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings earlier this season. A 57th-place finish at Alabama’s Lake Guntersville dropped him out of the AOY lead and into seventh place in the standings. The test of young Patrick Walters will be how he handles that adversity as the northern swing of the Elite Series begins on the St. Lawrence River in two weeks.
Thursday on the James River, with its mishaps, was simply more preparation for the Elite Series, according to Walters.
“That’s why I’m always going to fish Opens,” he said. “It keeps you mentally sharp. You’re fishing tournaments and you’re staying busy. If what happened (Thursday) occurred on the St. Lawrence River, I’d be sweating bullets. The good thing is this is an Open, and I caught five fish.
“I promise you, when I get back to the house, I’m going to get everything prepped and ready.”