a daY WitH AN ElItE
location to another. Zaldain and the other elite Series anglers take it to another level and there is no slowing down. When one location is reached, it is a full sprint to the trolling motor to begin casting. When moving a shorter distance with the trolling motor, it is on 100 percent and casts are still being made. at first, i thought this intensity was just a result of too much morning coffee or the nerves from the excitement of starting the new day; but i was wrong. The intensity lasted until the very end.
during the day; locations and timing play a crucial role in the success. it was interesting to observe someone at this level make decisions based on the conditions. as the action slowed, the wind changed direction or other angler’s moved within site you could almost see the wheels turning inside of his head as he contemplated which direction to head or whether or not to fire up the engine and move locations.
no WaStED tImE
There are no wasted minutes during a Bassmaster elite Series tournament; no lunch breaks, no driving at half throttle and definitely no coming in early. This was evident as everywhere we ran was wide-open throttle, nothing less. We stopped close to the ramp at the end of the day and fished around several other
FLaWLESS mEchanIcS
Watching someone punch mats for eight hours might not seem like your idea of fun, but watching repeated pitches and punches in a rapid fire approach makes one appreciate the art. There is a certain amount of finesse and power required to get the bait where it needs to be and there were very few, if any, mistakes in his approach. it was like watching a machine repeatedly assemble a product- there were no pauses, hiccups or anything that was not in rhythm.
DEcISIon maKIng
it has always been said that tournament bass fishing is all about the decisions made
competitors. Knowing the lake well and realizing how long it takes to get back from that point, i began to get nervous as the clock ticked and ticked. Marshals are not able to help the anglers out in any way, so i sat in the comfortable Skeeter boat seats and waited. When he finally decided to leave, we were traveling as
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