Every so often I like to talk about the differences between pros and recreational or weekend anglers. This is one of those times.
There are a few myths about pro anglers, especially at the Elite Series level, that I think should be mentioned. The first one that comes to mind is that we all have super mechanical skills that somehow put us out in front of everyone else.
In reality some of us aren’t all that good at casting, flipping or pitching. I say not that good, but what I really mean is that we aren’t as good as you might think. We don’t always hit our target, and we backlash more than many of you suspect.
Another myth is that we all have great tech skills when it comes to using our electronics. Some of us do but others aren’t much better than the average angler. It’s pretty common for some of us to have the electronics guys on the ramp straighten out our units after we’ve got them so screwed up we couldn’t find Moby Dick if he was swimming in the lake.
The list goes on and on.
There’s one thing, however, that does make a big difference, something that sets the pros apart — time on the water. I don’t care how much you read about bass fishing or how much you talk about it, nothing replaces doing the real thing out on your favorite lake or river. Accumulated experience is what really sets us apart.
You’ll never really understand the difference between dragging and hopping a jig until you’ve done it for days at a time. The same thing is true about the different performance characteristics of heavy jigs as opposed to lightweight jigs.
Can you imagine reading about walking the dog with a walking stick when you’ve never actually done it? What about managing the twitches and pauses with a jerkbait?
The same thing is true when we talk about seasonal patterns, fishing the first break, starting at the second point back in a creek or anything else. To truly understand those concepts you have to experience them on the water. There’s no other way to learn.
The tough part about all of this is that there isn’t any realistic way for most guys to spend the time on the water that we do. Most guys are lucky if they can fish one day a week. Most of the pros I know fish at least five and have for years. For a lot of us it’s all we do.
This is not to say that you shouldn’t read and watch everything you can about bass fishing. Knowledge will make you a better angler. Just don’t think it’ll do something for your fishing that it won’t do.
So here’s the real thing: If you have a job and can’t fish as much as you’d like, it’s OK. Don’t compare yourself to what some of us do. That’s unrealistic. Lots of guys play basketball and love it, but they don’t think they can play like the top college or NBA players.
Keep something else in mind, too. Not all the Elite anglers catch lots of big fish in our tournaments. Look at what some of us have done (or not done) when we finish way down the list. Don’t get sucked into watching only the top finishers. They’re top finishers because they caught more than the rest of us.
Don’t lose sight of the big picture. It’s about having fun. There’s no reason a tough bite should turn into a tough day. You don’t have to catch fish all day long to have a good time out there.
