It's really great to get back into bass fishing. Granted, I don't think I'll ever Tournament Fish like I did back in the early 90s. It's just too much work/travelling for me. I used to come home on Friday night after being away all week for work. Then, frantically hookup my boat, load all my fishing gear in preparation for an 0500 Saturday morning tournament launch. I usually didn't get into bed BEFORE 11pm on Friday night. Not to mention that I had to get up at 3a.m. and be on the road to wherever the tournament was (usually a 2 hr. drive). Follow that up by 8 hrs. on the water in 100F heat, and a 2 hr. ride back home. Then, once home, the wife wants to go to a movie or out to dinner since I've been away all week. How I managed to stay married during those years is amazing. Not to mention being away from my daughter who wasn't even in her teen years. Now that I look back on it, it wasn't fair to either my wife or daughter..but we managed. After all, if you love bass fishing as much as I do, you make it work...any way you can.
When I was tournament fishing I took a "scientific" approach to bass fishing. I didn't care about lures, hotspots, dock talk, etc. I wanted to learn about bass- EVERYTHING about em. I wanted to know where they lived, what they ate, when they ate, why they ate what they did, etc. If I could be a bass for a day..I would. After all, how can you tournament fish for bass if you don't know how they think? If they even think? Maybe they just react? Trust me, there are a LOT of tournament fishermen out there that don't have a clue about any of this. And, it's a shame. I can tell you for a fact, knowing Kevin Van Dam and Mike Iaconelli personally, they know these answers and more. That's why they are the sports best. They know why bass relate to certain structure. They know what they eat and when they eat. They even know why they eat.
So, what's all this have to do with the Greater Philly Sportshow? These are the places where you can learn from the Pros. When I started tournament fishing I think I went to EVERY show in a 2 hr. driving radius. And, I listened to EVERY Pro. I learned from the best too: KVD, Houston, Klein, Iaconelli, Daves, Martin, etc. I still remember things they told me. Just last week I ran into Jimmy Houston at the Harrisburg Show. He was just window shopping up one of the ailes when I stopped him and shook his hand and told him what a fan I was of his and still remember what he had taught me 15 yrs. earlier. He was impressed. And, I can never forget the information Dr. Lauren Hill gave me when I first started. Dr. Hill was one of the top fish biologists at the time and he studied bass more than any man on the planet. If you old-timers recall, Dr. Hill was the inventor of the pH/Combo selector which helped you select which bait was most visible to bass based on the water conditions. The pH meter also helped rule out oxygen deficient and acidic water..where bass avoid. I learned a lot from Dr. Hill.
When you go to the shows and sit down and listen to the Pros..listen to what they say about bass patterns and techniques used to catch bass. Don't worry about the lures they use. They're going to tell you to throw whatever sponsor is sponsoring them. I'm serious. But, pay close attention to sizes and colors..because that will be true. Specifically, learn why fish do what they do. And, if you're lucky enough to get a guy like KVD or Ike in a seminar, ask them how they break down a new body of water by looking at a good Map. They'll show you on a good map where fish will be during different times of the year...and trust me..that's half the battle...knowing where they're going to be. The other half is knowing how to get them to eat your bait.
I'll be there on Sunday meeting my old friends in the business. It's going to be fun. I'm also going to sit-in on a couple seminars. You're NEVER too old or experienced to learn something new. I'm learning new stuff re: bass fishing every day. It's fun learning..at least I think it is. It makes catching them all that more satisfying knowing that you did your homework and you had success..rather than one of your buds telling you to take this bait and fish this point and having NO success. That's how it usually works out.
Fish ON! Rob
