Love is often defined as an intense feeling of deep affection. We often mistake love for passion which is a strong, barely controllable emotion.
To do what these guys do, the anglers that make up the Bassmaster Elite Series, and even the people on the periphery of this traveling circus, you have to have the love and passion within your inner being. It has to burn at your core.
Brandon Palaniuk had to retie a bait on his first stop this morning and struggled to secure his knot because his hands were shaking so. “I get so amped up to do this,” said Palaniuk. “I get going and I’m so excited to start fishing and my hands just shake.”
Palaniuk, an Elite Series veteran with two AOY titles and multiple wins on the Bassmaster Elite Series has won on the grandest stage in bass fishing yet the love and passion he has for fishing drives him.
He began writing letters and emails to companies when he was 16 years old seeking support and wisdom of how to succeed in this fishing world. He fished the B.A.S.S. Nation and the won the Nation Championship at age 22 and qualified for the Elite Series at age 23 where he lived out the back of his truck which he, affectionately, named the “Tundra Suites.”
Palaniuk now has his family in tow, wife Tiffanie, daughter Kora and the dog (who’s name escapes me) who was adopted by the Palaniuk’s at a Bassmaster Elite Series event in Georgetown, South Carolina back in 2016.
Gerald Swindle told me once that he calls Brandon Palaniuk a, “One-Percenter,” meaning that he represents the one percent of the guys fishing the Elite Series that, “does everything the right way.”
As a Marshal, I can attest to feeling the love and passion for this. I’m sitting in this boat today as a result of the fact that I think about fishing everyday, and if I can’t be on the water myself, I want to be right here, covering this sport and this industry that drives me.
The love and passion doesn’t just impact the youthful. Rick Clunn, at 76 years young, still competes on the Bassmaster Elite Series because of the passion and love that drives him.
Gary Clouse, at 63 years young, told me this morning in the boatyard that he’s driven so much by this sport that he’d offer up body parts to stay out here and compete, and that’s coming from the man that’s President of Phoenix Boats.
Love and Passion….it’s why we’re all here!
