Pro's Vs Joes Fishing

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

So I have been having a ongoing debate with my buddies about this one. In my bass club there are anglers who have been fishing our body of water for 20 to 30 plus years. These guys really know how to catch them consistently. My argument is that the elite pro's will not beat our seasoned club guys on this particular body of water. Everyone argues that the elite pro's are just that good and that they would win given a couple of days of prefishing. What is your thoughts? Are they so good that they can beat 20-30 years experience in a couple day of prefishing and win?

ALL Opinions Welcome (AOW).

Jay-

 

[mtaag3]

I had a similar discussion years ago with some golfing buddies that were scratch at our club. The deciding factor had a lot to do with the "intimidation" aspect meaning would you still play scratch on your home course with Tiger or Phil bombing it next to you. That may not be directly comparable but I wonder how some locals would react with 80k painted rigs doing 74mph all over the lake?

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

The lake has a 9.9hp restriction.

Jay

[hooah212002]

IMO, pro's didn't get to where they are because they can't adapt to new water. Double that sentiment since you are talking about "elite" pro's. These guys get paid the big bucks (winnings and sponsors) simply because they can consistently catch fish. Not just on one body of water, but across the country. Maybe, just maybe, back in the old days before all the advancements in technology, the local guys had a shot. But today, given the proper equipment, someone who has never even seen the lake except for his topo map, his graph and a look at local weather patterns, has equal (if not better) chances of pulling in a good bag. Technology trumps lore. Science trumps gut instinct.

[flyfisher]

I would have to side with the Pros side of this one.  I am not saying the ywould win every time but i would bet that out of 100 tournaments the pros would win 96 of them and probably even higher percentage if it is a multi day tournament and not a 1 day deal.

 

Anyone who can go to a lake that they may fish once or twice a year and turn around and win a tournament is pretty remarkable really, otherwise we would all be pros

[roadwarrior]

Well, back to the golf analogy...Playing from the back tees, Tiger Woods could beat every club

chanmpion using nothing but a 7 iron.

Back to fishing, who knows about a 1 day contest, the locals might get lucky. However, if it's 3 days,

against a top 25 pro, I would bet the professional would win 99% of the time.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

The Pro's are good and yeah they know their stuff, no question about it.  The only thing is this the local fishermen study maps and have spent countless hours on there home water.  They know what the topo maps show and they also know spots that the topo maps don't show.  A local fisherman will know what colors work best what presentations work best etc.  The Pro's are going to have to figure this all out, basically they will have to know 30 years of experience in a couple days of prefishing. Is that even possible? 

 

Here is a better question that will answer this.  Are you a member of club on a lake that the elites/FLW/BFL/MLF fish, and if so, when the Pro's are there do they put up similar one day weights to your club members?

 

Hope that made since.

 

Jay

[SPEEDBEAD.]

I think the pros would clean up on the Quan.

[HeavyDluxe]

I think the compromise (and correct) answer is that the Pros would win, but the locals would be probably be able to be competitive and keep it close.

 

IMHO, this goes back to all the equipment versus experience threads that sprang up a while ago.  In the end, the ability to understand the fish's likely behavior given the conditions and use that knowledge to find and catch 'em is vitally important.  This is where the best of the best distinguish themselves.

 

It could be close, I think - especially if the local is able to 'fish his game', as it were, unaware of the pros presence.  This gets rid of the psych out factor above.  Still, in the end, the pro will win more often than not.

 

An interesting thought experiment would be if you were to limit the pro re: some resources.  In other words, what if the pro and angler were both limited to a couple techniques/presentations and forced to fish from the bank only?  What set of 'handicaps' for the pro would result in the most level field?

[keith71]

Its a whole body of work that makes a pro,if you let them practice a day or two they will win.To be more realistic,put a pro and a Joe on a body of water that neither has fished to see the true talent.

[OkeechobeeAngler]

There has been countless local guys get spanked by pros on their home lake. Look at how many times the Martins have been beat on Okeechobee for example.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

Its a whole body of work that makes a pro,if you let them practice a day or two they will win.To be more realistic,put a pro and a Joe on a body of water that neither has fished to see the true talent.

Hands down the Pro would win in a strange body of water. I am talking about a local tournament angler in a body of water that the local angler has fished for 20+ years. Introduce a Pro to that same body of water give them a couple of days and then seeing what happens.

 

Jay

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

There has been countless local guys get spanked by pros on their home lake. Look at how many times the Martins have been beat on Okeechobee for example.

Very Very very good point.

 

Jay

[MarkH024]

Well, back to the golf analogy...Playing from the back tees, Tiger Woods could beat every club

chanmpion using nothing but a 7 iron.

Back to fishing, who knows about a 1 day contest, the locals might get lucky. However, if it's 3 days,

against a top 25 pro, I would bet the professional would win 99% of the time.

I'm with this guy.

[jhoffman]

They would walk all over the locals then take a victory lap. No if ands or buts. The local would absolutely HAVE TO HAVE all the features the pros boat has and know how to use it to stand a chance.

 

Im about the only guy in my club that doesnt have side scan and believe me, its apparent.

[Grantman83]

Look at the home lake curse in the classic....only one guy (Boyd) has won in his home state. I would give then locals a chance, but the pros are the best for a reason. Top pros rarely win on their home waters. The last guy I can think of to do it was Biffle back in 2010 when a tourney was moved to his home lake short notice. That gave him an advantage since other pros didnt have a full practice....

[Goose21]

They're elite pros because they have been consistently good fishing many different types of waters, usually for years.

In a two or three day tourney a local may prevail IMO, but but that doesn't make the local a better fisherman. If I was Vegas I would favor the elite pro, but I dont think its automatic. Give that same local a similiar boat to all the rest and have him fish a season with the elites or the FLW and I think he would consistently struggle.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

They're elite pros because they have been consistently good fishing many different types of waters, usually for years.

In a two or three day tourney a local may prevail IMO, but but that doesn't make the local a better fisherman. If I was Vegas I would favor the elite pro, but I dont think its automatic. Give that same local a similiar boat to all the rest and have him fish a season with the elites or the FLW and I think he would consistently struggle.

Agreed! I am in no way implying that a Joe can beat a pro all the time. Is it agreed that experience with new electronic is one of the biggest advantages.

Jay

[james 14]

We may see this play out on a local lake down here next year. One of the guys who consistently pulls in 25-30lb bags has joined a BASS affiliated club to be eligible to fish the Opens. I'm not sure the pros can match him especially if he gets on them like he often does.

[Goose21]

Agreed! I am in no way implying that a Joe can beat a pro all the time. Is it agreed that experience with new electronic is one of the biggest advantages.

Jay

I can't speak for your local sticks, but in my area many have large SI and DI units, in addition to years of experience on a given lake.

You're right though, the ability to read and effectively use today's technology does play a pivotal role and some are better than others at using it to their advantage. This is one area that I think seperates the pro's from the Joes.

[DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only]

We may see this play out on a local lake down here next year. One of the guys who consistently pulls in 25-30lb bags has joined a BASS affiliated club to be eligible to fish the Opens. I'm not sure the pros can match him especially if he gets on them like he often does.

That's what I am talkin about. Same with my club the guys are always pulling big numbers consistently. I am not sure that the Pro's can show up, prefish for a couple of days, and out do these guys. Given that these Joe’s would get murdered anywhere else, but home field advantage is a huge advantage. Thanks for your input!

 

 

  

 

Jay

[BrettD]

The pros come to to Okeechobee and beat the local sticks all the time in the flw open tournements. The is usually atleast on local stick in the mix though.

[mjseverson24]

In this case to the origional post about pro's coming to your local lake that only has a 9.9 hp restriction, I would definately give the advantage to the local guys. the pro's are really good at what they do, but on assumingly a small lake and little to no major tournament information the pro's would be fishing more or less blind. They may stumble on to some area of the lake that has been overlooked by the locals but that is a big "if" given the size of the lake. The defigning quality of a pro is to be versitile and be able to compete in any situation they are put in. that being said I think they would be competitive, and out of 100 trials they would probabily win about 40. 

 

Mitch

[Sun Fish]

Well also look at it this way.  20+ years ago we didn't have the internet and the wealth of information we do today.  Today a teenager can spend time online studying bass fishing or any game of skill for that matter and have similiar or better understanding than the older guys who took 20+ years of trial and error to figure things out. 

 

A solid example even though it's not related to fishing at all.  In the prime of online poker prior to things getting shut down in this country.  Young guys out there who truly excelled at the game and poured their heart and soul into studying, playing and analyzing as many hands as possible had surpassed the experience of old time card sharks that have been at it for 30+ years in live card rooms within only a couple years.  Many of them went on to make multi millions of dollars and those who have, left the country to continue their pursuits after the government dropped the hammer.  Others entered the live poker scene in this country and have been breating the pants off the old time pros who would have been considered the best prior to this new generation of players.

You can be assured that all the top teir bass pros out there that are older have the decades of on the water experience as well as taking advantage of all the modern resources out there to improve.  Part of the reason why you see many young anglers rapidly climbing to the top. 

[Bass_Fanatic]

If the pros came to my local lake and fished against my club, Im betting on my club members.  Heck, Im betting on myself lol.