Until now the pros had little fishing time leading up to the world’s greatest bass tournament. This time was different. For the first time ever, the pros got plenty of time for on-water conditioning prior to the GEICO Bassmaster Classic presented by DICK’S Sporting Goods.
Time used to be spent ordering tackle, taking delivery of new boats and generally prepping gear for this one event. All of that happened up until the very last minute. This year prep time was compacted into a few weeks, or days for some, as the Bassmaster Elite Series season began in February.
“It used to be we spent January totally focused on getting everything ready for the Classic,” said Gerald Swindle, the now two-time Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year. “The average guy probably can’t comprehend the hours in a day, or weeks, it takes to get ready for an entire season.”
The downside was cramming a month’s worth of prep and packing into a couple of weeks. The upside was more fishing time leading up to the late March event.
Swindle took advantage of undeniably the greatest practice lake of them all, located in his backyard. He spent much of February practicing on Lake Guntersville.
“It gave me time to work out the kinks, get my body in shape and generally key up for the Classic,” he said. “That was the upside of it all.”
Road trip, practice time
In early March the Elite Series stopped at Lake Okeechobee. Downtime came and some anglers spent the following two weeks prepping for the Classic. Others went fishing to keep in rhythm. Swindle is a case in point.
He made a planned stop at Ross Barnett Reservoir on the drive to Houston. Ross Barnett is the late April stop for the Bassmaster Elite Series.
“It made a difference because it allowed me to keep the daily routine going,” said Swindle. “It’s the little things that keep your mind and body in sync.”
Keeping sleep patterns the same, getting up early, working on tackle after fishing. Doing what he calls maintaining muscle memory. Keeping those activities the daily normal mattered. So did fishing.
“Weird as it seems that’s about the only quiet time we have,” he said, referring to the pre-fishing. “If I came across fish I didn’t have to shake them off like I do when practicing on a tournament lake.”
Most of all it was fun time.
“What makes you a better fisherman is simply having the chance to catch more fish.”
Snowed out, went fishing
Michael Iaconelli intended to spend his only free week prior to the Classic at home. Instead he got snowed out. A Nor’easter hitting the East Coast with a big wallop of snow prevented him from flying to New Jersey. Not to worry. He just went fishing.
Like Swindle, he spent the downtime on Ross Barnett. Then, on a whim, he traveled to Lake Livingston, the nearest place he could find to Lake Conroe.
“It allowed me to tweak my tackle and spend some much needed time alone,” he said. “Normally we are in a hotel parking lot doing what I did at Livingston.”
That meant casting baits and studying lure actions and movements. Catching was secondary to getting in tune with gear.
“Silly as that sounds we don’t ever get to do that, because normally it’s during practice for a tournament,” he said.
“It was a great confidence booster, because normally we are slammed getting boats and tackle prepped and loaded, leaving no time for being on the water.”
Backyard practice
Keith Combs also stopped at Ross Barnett on the return home to Texas from Lake Okeechobee. Combs, a clear favorite to perform well at the Classic, then spent the remainder of the downtime on Sam Rayburn and Toledo Bend. Both powerhouse impoundments are near his home in East Texas.
“Nothing was planned on learning anything new,” he said. “It was all about fun fishing to stay mentally in shape.”
Combs added that staying mentally sharp is the byproduct of spending time on the water.
“The little adjustments that I need to make come to mind quicker,” he said. “So it was good to keep that mindset going during the downtime.
Good-time Charlie
Charlie Hartley hasn’t been home to Ohio since leaving for Table Rock Lake. That happened in early March when he fished the Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Central Open. From there, he literally fished his way from Missouri to Houston. Count them up and Hartley fished on six different lakes along the way.
“If I go back to the office I totally get my head out of the game and get all stressed out,” said Hartley, a business owner back home in Ohio. “I’m not in the Classic every year, so I gave myself the time off to enjoy myself.”
More importantly, as Hartley called it, he also prepared for the greatest tournament of his life.
As for the fisheries, Hartley stopped at Lake Ray Hubbard, near Dallas, and then moved on to Lake Fork. From there he went to Sam Rayburn, Naconiche, a nearby lake and then Livingston.