®
ASU NC G CLEESRS
model for
Story & Photos
BY MIKE GORMAN
M
any years ago, I had the honor to
fish with one of the forefathers
of bass fishing, Dee Thomas.
Plugging along, picking off a few spotted bass with jigs and enticing the oc-
casional spot on topwater, he talked about an
interesting way of looking at bass anglers.
He categorized competitive anglers as
those with the ability to catch fish and those
with the ability to find fish. This resonated
with me as a young angler with ambitions of
a future in competitive bass fishing (I’m still
ambitious, just not as young)! Well, the years
have passed, and my focus has been on my career and raising my two children. But, my mind is still on the water and I still think about his words.
Being the data-driven, nerdy-type, I started to think about his words in the context of a mathematical model – a way to visualize the relationship of these abilities and how they can lead to success. I quickly realized, with the help of some good friends along the way, that there was more to success than just the ability to find and/or catch fish.
CORE VARIABLES
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