Oroville Pro/Am … Looking for Honest Feedback from Pros

[TheFLY]

Here is the story of a 95th place finish and an honest request for some constructive feedback.

First and foremost I’m an employment attorney and insurance consultant. That is my profession and where I spend the bulk of my time.

I fished my 2nd ever pro-am this last weekend (as a pro) at Oroville and got my tail kicked in and I want to know:

(A) Should I be fishing pro? and
(B) What I did wrong, if anything?

I’ve been bass fishing all of my life, recreationally. Only in the last 4 years did I buy a boat and since then I’ve been on the water 70 days per year.

I fished as an AM probably 6 or 7 times over the past 4 years. I first made the leap to the front of the boat in August in a 100% pro/am and did poorly there as well despite catching 30-40 fish in that event … just not the right ones.

So this was my 2nd Pro/Am. I pre-fished 4 days. One day on each weekend before the event and then the two days immediately before the event. Over that 4-day period I fished the main body, north fork, south fork and middle fork. (Part of me now thinks I should have picked one fork and just learned that fork very well instead of trying to spread myself so thin.)

My best results were on the Wed. before the event when I landed 2 fish over 2.5 lbs in succession at the top of the middle fork in 40 feet of water. I’d also landed a 2.25 fish on the North side of the main body. I had probably 10 other places I knew I could catch fish … but I knew they were not necessarily the right kind of fish.

On day one … I ran my best 4 spots. We caught 22 or 23 fish … I was trying to count, but lost track by one or so. We caught the vast majority of our fish in 40 feet just off of the large falls ½ the way up the middle fork. We weighed in 9 pounds. I caught the vast majority of those fish crawling a ¾ oz jig on the bottom. I also tried cranking, ripping and a spinnerbait with little to no success. My best spot, at the top of the middle fork, was in chocolate milk. We tried it for a few minutes (maybe 20 to 30) and left. I had no confidence in it.

On day two I knew that I needed bigger fish to have any shot at a check. Knowing that I fished the one spot where we caught a 2-lb fish in the main body and then ran all new water to try to find better fish. I threw a rip bait for about 5 or 6 hours. The remaining time was split between a big jig, crankbait and darthead.

We only landed 13 fish on day 2, but we did rip 10 fish. Still … even thought we were throwing larger reaction baits on the nastiest wind-blown points I could find … only 7.5 lbs.

So where did I go wrong? Should I have been catching MORE fish and hoping the law of averages would give me a better fish? Or … should I have been sticking with those bigger baits and moving around a lot more. On day 2 we pretty much fished the mouth of all 3 forks and up the middle fork some. But I did not run much at all.

Should I not be fishing A/C or WON as a Pro? I’m looking for honest opinions here. I’m fishing pro because I prefer to fish the front of my boat. I’ve had some pretty decent success in team events and, frankly, I need to turn this into a business if I’m going to spend this much time and money on it. I brought in a few thousand dollars on sponsorship deals and winnings in 2006. No … not because I’m an established fisherman, but because I’m a good salesman, spokesperson, and have established relationships with insurance companies who want me to keep them in my good graces.

But the bottom line is … I love the sport too much to be a fake, wannabe or loser. What are your thoughts? The last thing I want to do is be that “proâ€

[Noluk]

Craig,
I did not fish the tournament but I will ask a few questions and then offer a comment or two. Did you communicate clearly with your ams? Give them an idea of what and why you were doing what you were doing? Did you feel, (and they) feel like you were working together as a team to do the best you could. I don't mean that you should be listening to your am's against your own instincts but sometimes the feedback they provide is key to getting your perspective back. If you can answer yes to the above then it was probably okay. If either of your ams were on big weights the day before then it becomes a bit more pressure on you to keep them in the check range.

At all times we have to be honest with ourselves. Not every tournament is going to be the one we win. Some days you just are not on the fish to win. You can do one of two things. Take YOUR best areas and milk them for what they are worth. Or you can pick up something different and go for a hero approach. I feel you did both and in the proper sequence. You went to what you had, made your fish bite and worked as hard as you could. The weight wasn't quite what you wanted or needed so you tried something new the next day looking for a better day. That is also a valid decision. It is a gamble but you already knew that what you had from the day previous probably wasn't going to be enough to get you where you wanted to go. Honestly I think you made the right calls both times. Now I am certainly not a fishing expert but I have been on both ends of the boat and know what you were feeling.

The biggest factor is that you can assemble some progress from that finish. Noone wins every tournament. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be a pro. A very well respected pro went through a period where his finishes weren't up to his standards. (read Fishing Chicken by Gary Dobyns on this very website) Gary obviously belong in any pro tournament as a pro. But he won't win all of them. He will however fish to win all of them. Even if that means an occasional bomb. If you can learn from your experiences and improve then by all means continue fishing pro. By your profession comments I can guess that your well educated and have suitable drive to accomplish goals that you set for yourself. Apply that professional drive to fishing and you will be fine. (And be glad that your only means of putting food on the family table did not depend on that tournament finish) You can afford to fish. Your smart enough to learn and adapt. You made solid decisions and followed your instincts. I would say yes, you should keep fishing pro. Make no mistake, your ego is going to take some beatings. That is what makes the good days feel so good. Take a positive approach to each tournament and try your best. Your AM's will respect that approach. Be hoenst with em and work together as a team. I certainbly hope that the pro's and am's I have fished with enjoyed the experiences as much as I did. And that feeling usualy had little to do with how many fish were or were not caught. Checks are always nice but friends made are priceless. Good luck in the next one as a pro. If I were fishing as an am there, I would be happy to have you as my boater. that is the only way we can grow fishing together.

[g-man]

Noluk, that was thought out very well. Nice!!

[mac (Doyle McEwen)]

Speaking strictly as a non-boater, I have to agree with Noluck..You did the correct things as you saw it, it just didn't work out..Even the big names in pro bass fishing don't always make the best decisions, but they make decisions just as you did, by what they thought they needed to get into contention..There is nothing wrong with that approach..Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't..

mac

[Rich hamilton]

Good honest question = a good honest answer, like the previous poster gave. I guess a guy can lurk or he can bare himself and say what the f%$@! part of me wanted to say "are you kidding?" the other part see's that you are looking for honest feedback. look at the company of anglers around you in the results, I saw at least 10 that are all very good fisherman who have done well in tournaments. I personally think you are a winner in many ways. The quality of anglers at that tournament was pretty high in my book. I believe it is pretty hard to consistently do really well on a spotted bass lake even though I believe I read Glen weighed in a few blacks.

I am not really sure what a professional fisherman is but obviously the concern you have for others puts you in that category. I wish I had a game plan as sound as yours. It sounds like to me that you or your non boater was 1 bite away from a very good tournament at anytime.

70 days on the water per year is a great committment to the sport from a working persons perspective. I hope you continue to fish and soon you will be working your way up the list with continued hard work. I fished a team tournament the week before and tanked, got myself sick and bailed out of the oroville event from lack of time on the water and confidence. I would hope that any non boater would be happy to draw you. Just my perspective and really it is you against the fish and there will always be someone a little better at any given time. have fun and enjoy your passion. RR

[TheFLY]

I really appreciate your comments, Noluk. And to answer your questions, yes, I fully communicated with my AM's what I was doing and why. In fact ... my Day 2 AM was Mr. 70-year-old pro himself, Jim Conlow, and we fished some of his water at the end of the day just to try something different.

For day one, I asked my AM if he'd prefished and had any good bites, he said yes, then I asked him if they were his fish or if he'd prefished with another pro. He said he'd prefished with another pro and so I didn't ask him another question about it and he understood why. He did say, however, that he was throwing the same stuff as me ... which was a little reassuring.

Going into day 2, Jim only had 9-something as well. He felt that they were really not on anything great and stated that he had a lot of confidence in a particluar bait and presentation ... I said, "then by all means, load the boat with it!"

I actually had fun and feel like I made 3 new friends (each am and prefish am) but have been really disturbed by the results. I have, unfortunately, allowed it to take much of the enjoyment out fo the memory for me. And I'm bummed that has occured.

I keep coming back to the question I beat myself up with ... did I not get enough bites in general? I.e., were my particlar bait chioces simply too far off to generate the number of bites I needed? Or was I simply not where the better fish were? Or both?

And for the pre-fish deal ... I'm really thinking I'm gong to focus my prefish on one third or one fourth of the lake in the future so that I don't feel like I'm spreading myself out.

[TheFLY]

Thanks Rich.

The post really is honest. I'm not the best fisherman ... in fact ... I can think of MANY, MANY that are much better than me.

But I know one thing from my success in other endeavors in life ... if I really want to get better and have a rewarding experience ... I need to check my ego at the door and put others first.

I really, really don't want to be a phony up there and have an AM feel like his money was wasted when he drew me.

I felt like I was ready for this ... but really didn't expect such a low finish ... so I guess this is my way of giving myself a gut-check.

[Calistar]

I need to check my ego at the door and put others first.

Craig, I know you asked for feedback from Pros (and I am not a Pro) but I just wanted say that it is very impressive that you are willing to come on the forum and seek advice like you did. I've been fortunate to fish with many really good sticks and the one common piece of advice that they have all given me is to never stop learning. Never stop seeking out the advice of others -- it can only make you a better angler. I must say, that with your positive attitude and willingness to learn, any AM should be glad to draw you.
Keep on fishing the pointy end and eventually it'll happen for you.

[NaCl]

"First and foremost I’m an employment attorney and insurance consultant. That is my profession and where I spend the bulk of my time."

"Only in the last 4 years did I buy a boat and since then I’ve been on the water 70 days per year."

"...this was my 2nd Pro/Am. I pre-fished 4 days..."

"I need to turn this into a business if I’m going to spend this much time and money on it."

Now, perhaps you should answer a few questions for yourself...

1. Many guys who successfully fish as "pros" are on the water 200+ days per year. Do you honestly expect to compete successfully against guys who fish 2 to 3 times as much as you do, especially knowing that some of them are one-lake-wonders who put almost all their time into a single body of water?

2. If you were preparing to run a marathon, would 4 days of practice be enough? Would 1.3 days of training a week (on average) be enough? Would four days of practice be enough to compete successfully in ANY significant sport or game like bowling at a regional "pro" level?

3. Do you have twenty years of prior competitive experience with bass fishing on THAT lake to fall back on if your 4 days of pre-fish don't hold up?

4. Are your results consistent with your level of preparation and experience? If they ARE, then you shouldn't be surprised or depressed at the results if you have very little time on the water.

5. Did you have fun?

Gary Dobyns once told me there is no substitute for "time on the water" in becoming a successful tournament angler. He said smart guys can't "read" their way into being competitive. People can't think happy thoughts and "wish" their way into getting a check. Ultimately, success or failure rests on decision-making. And, the quality of those decisions grows out of hundreds of hours of prefishing over many years. Even confidence is linked to time on the water...more time = more options = more success = more confidence.

I once knew a brilliant Internal Medicine physician who took up competitive bass fishing. The man had a genius IQ, his MD, PhD and several Specialty designations. On weekends when he wasn't on call, he bass fished...about 70 days per year. He read and memorized every book and magazine available on the subject. Money was no problem for him so he bought top the the line equipment, a Ranger bass boat and even a new truck to haul it. He BOMBED in tournaments! I fun fished with him many times. His confidence always seemed fragile. He'd start out the day with a "great plan" and by 10:00 he was chasing his tail, running all over the lake and trying everything he had ever read about. He quit bass fishing when he realized he couldn't make it a successful "business" on his 70 days a year of fishing. Too bad for him that he never came to enjoy the intrinsic pleasure of the sport.

You sound like a very smart guy. You're obvioulsy a man with some competitive fire and, like all of us in tournament bass fishing, you are driven significantly by ego...otherwise, you wouldn't care about your results on Oroville. But the simple truth, one that is very difficult for some of us to accept, is that we can't "think" our way into bass fishing success. It's a game of experience...time on the water. And, if you have to make this into a "business" then how much time do you think is needed to make ANY business successful? Bass fishing is no different...time on the water!

Nobody can tell you wether or not you should be fishing regional Pro-Ams. That's a personal decision. Do it if you're having fun and if you feel you can look your Am in the eye and say you're adequately prepared for the event. Then, no matter what the results, you had a good time and were fair to your Am. But, if you're not having fun or if you did not get enough time on the water to feel competitive, then you might want to rethink your choices. My personal standard is 10 days on the water before any Pro-Am competition. (Yes, I'm a slow learner who needs a lot of time ont he water to be half way competitive). If my work schedule (which comes FIRST!) doesn't allow the time off, then I won't fish the event because it's not fair to my Am...even if I am willing to "donate" my own entry fees to have fun with my friends, I don't feel I have the rigth to waste some Am's hard earned $$.

On a personal note, it's killng me to sit out of the AC Pro-Ams, Stren and FLW Series event this spring. You don't know how much I wanted to be on Oroville...even with the rain! But, my business is thriving right now and I simply can't take enough time off from work to put in a reasonable amount of prefishing. Fortunately, fall is my slow time of year so I am really looking forward to the FLW fall schedule this year. I've never fished the Columbia River but I might even take a whole month off and prefish up until the offlimits. Then, I can justify paying the $3500 entry fee and I won't have to apologize to some nonboater for not being prepared. Also, if I draw a "local" nonboater and he has some information to share, you can bet your sweet dollar I will listen to him/her if my prefish plans are not panning out. I still might end up dead last but I will have fun doing it and I will have no regrets.

Good luck in your future bass fishing exploits.

.....NaCl

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

As your second day Am and as a guy who has fished both ends of the boat both in team tournaments and in Pro/Ams you in my opinion are in the top 10 percent of all of the Pros that I have fished with. And as you know I have fished with some of the best, and the very best.
You cant make judgments about yourself based on a few tournaments.
Robert Lee and Mike Reynolds are not going to quit being pros just because they blanked at Havasu.
You are very young in years and if you quit now you will wonder for the rest of your life if quitting was the best thing to do.
You are a very intelliget guy and you will figure out how to become a power in this sport.
We all become depressed over the way we sometimes finish. We go home wondering if we should be doing this. Yes it is expensive, but I think the cost to you will be higher if you dont bite the bullet and keep on going.
The one thing that Bass can teach us all is humility
I for one would be very happy to draw you for every tournament that I fish, but of course you will want ams who can catch em

[TheFLY]

Thanks NaCl and Jim ... I apprecaite both of your posts a lot.

I had a great time too, Jim. We'll have to get out again - soon. I need the taste of that 7.49 final day out of my mouth!!!

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

this is my own personal 10 comandments

'if' by rudyard kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936)

[Guest]

Hey Craig...
I am no super pro--- just an average fisherman... but, I think you were close... as I think I was. The middle fork is where I fished for 1 1/2 days of the event. I went deeper than you did.. 50 to 60 feet and spooned up a little over 10 lbs. on day one. Like you on Day 2... I thought I needed something a little more...

I went ahead and started in the middle fork anyway.. the water got really muddy so I only gave it half a day then made a run to the main lake. I got some rip fish, but, wasn't able to get that one kicker fish that I needed! I weighed in just shy of 9 lbs with two 1.1 lb fish and an almost 3 lb kicker. Sounds like you were just one or two bites from a check as well. Unfortunately, Oroville is a very particular lake and unless you know it very well making adjustments mid day will be very tough.

Craig - in my opinion you, much like me, need to take some lumps in these events before you rise to the top. Not many of us can be like John Billheimer and win our first Pro event! Stick it out for the rest of the season on the Delta and Clear Lake and see how it all pans out in the end. To this I'd say, I'd like to hear how long it took Dobyns or Jimmy Reese to get their first win. I am not sure, but I doubt it was in their first few events.

[Hollywood]

Good post Tom, I was rooting for you and hoping you would sack them the last day.... I remember fishing a WesternBass Pro/Am there and fishing up the middle fork and getting buzzed by two F-18 Super Hornets... I think that was the day I over slept and had to fish solo! To top it off I think my Ranger was broke (lower unit fell off hehe at the delta) and was parked at Bobby Barracks house and I was using Craig Millers old Ranger!

[Hollywood]

Craig,

Keep at it, keep casting, keep entering these events and Don't Ever Give Up!

Rome was not built over night and either is the career of a pro fisherman (not many that is) so keep at it.

Hold your head high and try to get as much time on the water as possible! Time on the water is key!

Keep at it!

Kevin

[bassmeout]

for sale at Extreme Outdoors pretty soon.


" I want to be like John B "

OR

" Honey ? Yes dear "
Why can I be like Johnny B ????

good job on your top 10 finish.

[Guest]

Hey Craig one more thing -

This field had a lot of good anglers and a lot of Oroville specific good anglers as well. I think you won't know where you really stack up until you've fished more than just one body of water.

Look at where you finished in relation to some very good anglers.

Mike Pelligrini won last years first Oroville Pro/Am event and he finished in 93rd -- David Cole, Tony Stoltz and Dean Coupe (all regulars on this site) know what they are doing out there and they finished 98,99 & 100th... I don't mean to bring their finishes to public light... but, I thought I'd let you know that you and I weren't alone with having a bad tournament.

Stick with it... you have a good attitude and its great to see you out there on the water. You know you were near the good fish - You had a 3 lb plus in practice and a couple more good ones in the same spot... There were some pretty good fisherman fishing the same water as you and just got a little better fish. I hate to give up some of their water but, I don't think its a secret.... A great angler - Zach Thompson finished in 24th and fished around us most of the first day and some of day 2... and Rich Forhan, another great fisherman who knows Oroville as well as anyone, was nearby and finished 17th.... Also, Howard Hughes, another great angler, was nearby and finished in 31st. I think they just adjusted a little better than we did and got a few better bites.. it doesn't take much on Oroville to go from zero to hero in a couple casts.

[Tom(fishfafun)]

[quote]my Day 2 AM was Mr. 70-year-old pro himself, Jim Conlow.



That guy is actually 73 years old, har. And one of the most honest and respectful guys I've had the pleasure to fish with. Easy to have a good day with by just showing him respect and you'll get plenty back.

All very good responses.

Every time I get my bu** handed to me in an event (basically team events so far), I remember that it's just fishing, it's supposed to be FUN. I will quit tourney fishing when I don't have any fun out there. And it's hard to feel like you had fun when you are second guessing your decision to compete in the sport. I think if you weren't "second guessing" after a 95th place finish you probably wouldn't make a better effort at the next one. We learn the most from failure (humility).
If you can afford to fish these events then keep at it, if you need checks to remain afloat then you will stress out of "having fun". But we ALL second guess how we performed in our last tourney. It's just part of the game.

Good luck in the future.

Tom(fishfafun)

[BOGOSIAN]

I read your post and the one thing you can do to help your average go up is to focus on quality and not quanity, when you prefish try to breakup the lake into three major areas for the time of year and determine what stage the fish are at. What I mean is are we going into a full moon or are we coming out of winter, is there a weather front coming in, all of these things will help you decide were you should start to look. Okay lets use Oroville we had months of record cold weather with little or no wind, now a week before the event three major storms have started to hit the West Coast. The first thing you should do is pickup your reaction baits and try to catch two or three quality fish on some type of cover or structure you can now run around and hit for the entire event. This is not full proof but you will learn that the more you fish the conditions the better your odds are. I used to fish 80 to 120 days a year and work full time and this is the only way to learn what to do, just remeber you are chasing a fish and if they don't want to play, its going to be a nice day on the water with alot of fishing and not alot of catching. I hope you will see that after time it will take less to find out what you need to do to be sucessful, good luck and don't let the fish win.

[sTony]

I got no problem being 'outed' Tom, hahaha. I was struggling all the way through pre-fish and took it right into the tournament. I pretty much got the expected results but still feel I made the right decision to fish on the pointy end. I learned a ton doing it and expect to learn more doing it from the front then the back of the boat. My time on Oroville was limited before this event so when circumstances changed up there I was left in a situation knowing my knowledge of the lake wasn't enough to make the adjustments to find better fish. I realized that the five or six days I had on the lake for pre-fish were inadequate and resolve to get more time out on the Delta before the next event, and this knowing that I do know the Delta better then I do Oroville.

It was a tough event for me but I'm not deterred in continuing to compete in these events. This is a year of growing and learning for me and I'm not nearly as ego driven as some might suspect. Each tournament out is going to make me a better angler and I can honestly say I enjoyed every minute of this first event. I have no expectations of turning this into a living. I do however expect to become more competitive with time and I'll continue to enjoy myself along the way. If I don't get enjoyment from it then I wouldn't do it.

sTony

[Dewayne]

First thing to remember is everyone has bad days and even bad seasons. This is a sport where you are always learning and developing new skills. We all reach a point where our development from the back of the boat slows and we have to move on to developing the skills as the decision maker for the boat. You have to take your lumps to learn these skills and have a thick skin. Learning these skills without going through the tournament process is almost impossible. You cannot simulate the pressure to perform on yourself or the fishing pressure on the lake.

When you have a bad day, learn what you can from it, apply the learning towards the future, and move on. If you learned something, then it was a good tournament.

PS - You can over pre-fish. Investing too much time developing a plan can cause you to ignore your instincts. One of my common mistakes has been fishing the pre-fish in the tournament and not fishing in the moment. If you do not know the lake well enough or have enough time focus on a small area of the lake. If what you did in pre-fish does not meet expectaions, just go fishing.

[Guest]

Hey sTony - I meant no dissrespect.. I just wanted Craig to know WE weren't the only ones that struggled.. I know I stunk it up too! and Good fisherman like you, Dean and David Cole also struggled. Even guys like Mike Tuck had less than stellar tournaments... If he see's that everyone has good and bad days then he'll understand it's not just him!

[JGB]

Until this event I had been up to Oroville only two times and that was in the back of the boat. This event marked my pro debut; not knowing the lake at all I fished north one day and then south the next day. I had found fish in both areas, not one day of practice did I boat a fish over two pounds. I went into the tournament knowing that I could catch a limit but unsure if I would be able to catch the quality needed to cash a check. At check in on thursday all I heard was other pro's who had been catching over twelve pounds a day.
After a quick limit on day one I saw a point in the distance that looked good and decided what the heck and fished it. I was immidiately granted with our big fish of the day which was a 3.8lb largemouth. We proceeded to cull our whole limit there and ended up with almost twelve pounds for the first day.
The second day I started at the same point and managed to catch two, two pounders before the wind blew us off the point.
I then just started driving and saw what looked to me like a good series of points and proceeded to fish them. I ended up catching another fish that was two pounds and my co angler caught a two pounder as well. Our fifth fish was less than two pounds which finished off a limit of a little over ten pounds.
Not knowing the lake I just went fishing, I fished every spot as slowly as possible and worked all my baits all the way up to the boat.
As a boater for the first time I couldn't be happier with my two draws as they are super guys who tossed a couple different baits.
I remember telling my day one co angler that the bad news is that I hadn't caught anything over two pounds, but the good news is that I'm due for a good day.
Before this event I've fished with a variety of different pro's and the one thing I learned form them is that they never seemed stressed out or rushed. They just simply went fishing, had complete confidence in the baits they were throwing and on more than one occasion I witnessed what I considered luck. They weren't lucky, their patience and persistance had just payed off.

[Guest]

JGB -

If you are who I think you are then we shared Ams - swapping them each day. Two great guys huh? John Loverin and Mark Lavine. I knew Mark from Clear Lake but, tha was my first real meeting with John... both great guys who can fish. They ended up in 25th and in 32nd... not to bad. I wish I could have got them each 1 more pound that would have gotten Mark a check and John within a 1/2 pound of a check.

Good Tournament!

That $800 pays for your entry for the events for the rest of the season!

See you at the next one!

[JGB]

Yes Tom that's me and I couldn't agree with you more about our two draws. It was also nice meeting you as I have seen your name all over the place but had yet to meet the man himself.

Take Care,

Jarod

[TheFLY]

I appreciate all of these posts and perspectives guys. I've even had guys email me and call me based on this post. Pretty darn cool.

I want to be clear ... I'm not hanging my head in total shame and ready to commit suicide over here ... I'm just trying to see if perhaps it is better for me to fish the AM side for another year or so.

It is a sport I love and I will get better. I think I'll finish this circuit out as a "pro" and fish as an AM for select FLW Series and Stren events that fit into my schedule. That way I can continue to learn from both sides of the boat.

[Hollywood]

Dewayne is right when he says too much prefish can hurt you, I think anymore than 4 days is too much, even on the bigger bodies of water. If you can't find the fish in 4 days.......

But I see no problem with a pre pre fish where you hit the lake the weekend before or two week prior to get a base idea of what your in for and what stage the fish are in which should help cut down your practice time!

Kevin

First thing to remember is everyone has bad days and even bad seasons. This is a sport where you are always learning and developing new skills. We all reach a point where our development from the back of the boat slows and we have to move on to developing the skills as the decision maker for the boat. You have to take your lumps to learn these skills and have a thick skin. Learning these skills without going through the tournament process is almost impossible. You cannot simulate the pressure to perform on yourself or the fishing pressure on the lake.

When you have a bad day, learn what you can from it, apply the learning towards the future, and move on. If you learned something, then it was a good tournament.

PS - You can over pre-fish. Investing too much time developing a plan can cause you to ignore your instincts. One of my common mistakes has been fishing the pre-fish in the tournament and not fishing in the moment. If you do not know the lake well enough or have enough time focus on a small area of the lake. If what you did in pre-fish does not meet expectaions, just go fishing.

[MikeSouza]

*NM*

[MikeSouza]

I’ve been on the water 70 days per year

If you are committed to one body of water such as the delta than this just might work out. Now lets throw in Orville, Shasta, Clear Lake and Berryessa. You now have 5 bodies of water to fish with only 70 days per year. Seems like a lot of fishing time huh?

Lets do some math and divide number of days by the 5 lakes. You now have 14 days per lake for each season. That is 1 time a month per body of water per year and on occassion you get a second day during the month. Now if you want to fish a mother lode tournament, or Mead and maybe Havasu, than you will cut you amount of time on each body of water even more.

Should I have been catching MORE fish and hoping the law of averages would give me a better fish?

Orville is the king of "cloned"1-1.5 pound fish. An angler can go out and catch 100 of these fish in a day and never put a big fish in the boat. So is catching more fish always better? I would say no! For example: Last summer I had a houseboat trip on Orville and the first 2 days of the trip produced the "clones" of the lake. It was fun but I wanted bigger fish.

I went to a spot in the North fork that had produced quality fish before and less quanity. I found the fish at 40 foot and threw out my marker buoy. I started drop shotting and spooning these fish on day 3 of the trip. In 4 hours of fishing I put 8 fish all over 3 pounds in the boat and about 10 fish in the 2 pound range. I knew were I had caught good fish before anf they were there 2 years later.

Like fishing the delta, a lot of bites might not win a tournament. I know of a lot of anglers that look for 5-7 bites through out a tournament day. Those are the bites that count and put you in the money.

should I have been sticking with those bigger baits and moving around a lot more

Not neccessary moving around or using big baits. Just be where the bigger fish are and use what "they" want to eat. You might have been using the right bait, but might have been in the wrong area. You might have been in the right area, but just not fishing deep enough.

I’m fishing pro because I prefer to fish the front of my boat

If you have all the skills and knowledge to fish on the pro level than go for it. But don't do it because you don't want to fish from the back of the boat. If you are not able to put you and your AM on fish, than it isn't fair for your AM.

My bestfriend fished on the AM side becasue he knew he was not gonna be able to pre fish any days before tournament. The bad thing was he drew to Pro's that had no clue how to fish Orville. Both "pro's" backseated him real bad and to his surprise would not take any advice he tried to share with them. He said he will be fishing the pro side from his boat during the next Pro-Am. Lets just say he is friends and fishes with Meyers, Lucas and Billenger and knows what to expect when drawing a Pro.

But the bottom line is … I love the sport too much to be a fake, wannabe or loser. What are your thoughts? The last thing I want to do is be that “proâ€

[Dan Sexton]

Flyman,
I was there as well. Did you notice the water came up 10' in 3 days? Did you notice that the water infow on Saturday was 27, 000fpm or some crazy amount? If you had put all your eggs in the South Fork like a few of us you would have been shaking your head at that decision alone due to the Chocolate moo in that arm.

The only prefishing that would have helped me would have been to have fished Oroville last year when they had the same rainy conditions with thousands of gallons of incoming water, otherwise, I did not have the experience on Oroville to know what to do when my underwater hump that was producing fish that came up to 22' was now 32' on top. I know what to do when it rains cats and dogs at McClure, Pedro, Melonies, but I was litterally stumped at the bigger unknown waters of Oroville!!

Keep your head up Buddy! Your day will come! these tough tournaments will make us Veterans! Do you think Sapp, Barrack, Dee Thomas, Mike Reynolds,and Ish Monroe, etc. just woke up one day and said I want to fish and they didn't pay there dues on the water experiences and become legends?

Stick with it.