What Makes Pro Fishermen Good?

[Brian6428]

Thanks for the replies everybody, there really are some great answers here.

I want to expand on my previous post about the bass pros.

 

Each bass pro has a number of sponsors. These sponsors do the research and study the biats, rods, reels and line under many conditons. Even some pros, like VanDam, Ike, Clunn, Crews, Duckett, Reese, Rombanus, Parker, Brauer, Monroe and others have a say in the production of a specific bait.

 

The baits the pros use are not always the same as the ones that are marketed to us with the support of the pro. The pros modify their baits in ways we do not know. I was told of two ways VanDam alters his baits and I was asked not to share it with anyone and I will abide by that agreement. Each pro will modify their "off the shelf" baits either using their own gut feeling or based on what the company researchers tell them.

 

The pro bass fisherman has an number of tackle manufacturers working behind the scenes so that they can produce baits for the pros to use on specific bodies of water at certain times of the year and under specific weather conditions that have proven to be productive. With many researchers doing the homework for the pros the pros can take to the water with a good arsnal of baits and knowledge how to use them.

 

What we are missing are the years of free research that the pros have available at their fingertips and the fishing histories of each body of water the tournaments are held. Computers today can take the results of many tournaments and catagorize them so one can easily see the various fishing factors and what baits worked and when.

 

The data we do not see is like baseball. Every team knows about each player on the opposing team and how to pitch to them and how to set the field based on the inning and guys on base. The pros parallel this with bodies of water and their tackle and baits.

 

Please do not feel frustrated when the pros do so well in tournaments and you struggle. If you had a pro bass fishing career with your livelyhood in question you would have to mate with a few manufacturers to hawk their products so you can enter their world of statistical information to use to your advantage.

This is a really good point no one else has said too much about, because ultimately all the work comes down to the lure that is in the water. Good reply, thanks!

[Dinky]

I want to expand on my previous post about the bass pros.

 

Each bass pro has a number of sponsors. These sponsors do the research and study the biats, rods, reels and line under many conditons. Even some pros, like VanDam, Ike, Clunn, Crews, Duckett, Reese, Rombanus, Parker, Brauer, Monroe and others have a say in the production of a specific bait.

 

The baits the pros use are not always the same as the ones that are marketed to us with the support of the pro. The pros modify their baits in ways we do not know. I was told of two ways VanDam alters his baits and I was asked not to share it with anyone and I will abide by that agreement. Each pro will modify their "off the shelf" baits either using their own gut feeling or based on what the company researchers tell them.

 

The pro bass fisherman has an number of tackle manufacturers working behind the scenes so that they can produce baits for the pros to use on specific bodies of water at certain times of the year and under specific weather conditions that have proven to be productive. With many researchers doing the homework for the pros the pros can take to the water with a good arsnal of baits and knowledge how to use them.

 

What we are missing are the years of free research that the pros have available at their fingertips and the fishing histories of each body of water the tournaments are held. Computers today can take the results of many tournaments and catagorize them so one can easily see the various fishing factors and what baits worked and when.

 

The data we do not see is like baseball. Every team knows about each player on the opposing team and how to pitch to them and how to set the field based on the inning and guys on base. The pros parallel this with bodies of water and their tackle and baits.

 

Please do not feel frustrated when the pros do so well in tournaments and you struggle. If you had a pro bass fishing career with your livelyhood in question you would have to mate with a few manufacturers to hawk their products so you can enter their world of statistical information to use to your advantage.

 

 I must disagree a little.

The so- called "free research" done by the bait sponsors is done in response to a specific request by a pro for a bait to look/act a specific way under certain conditions. The pro has initially come up with the type of bait he wants and it's specific characteristics based on his months of fishing for a living and analyzing what works and what doesn't--ie-he is doing the research, not the bait company.

The sponsors want to sell their products, but the pros must be successful on the tour for those sales to increase so they can continue to pay the pros.

 

Statistical information for many lakes is readily available on-line. It has its limitations for sure and is of some, but not significant, usefulness. Regardless, everyone, pro or not, knows certain things and most of these can be found on line--Gunnersville: no grass, no bass; certain lakes with blueback herring forage favored by bass; etc, etc. Access to this info is no secret and is not why the pros are as good as they are.

 

Hiring a  guide is helpful to get a general overview of a lake; general structure, etc can also be determined by the pros from maps-and they can all read maps!  but the off limits rules preclude use of guides when it would be most helpful--right before the tournament--, and thus its usefulness is questionable anyway.

What the fish are doing in April on the lake is not a sure indicator of what they are doing in July on that lake. Besides-they are busy competing and hardly have time for guided trips other than in the off season--making the info even less useful 8 to 12 months later.

 

It is true that they were all 'local' pros at one time-it is also true they weren't local for very long. Plus many have risen to the big time 200 best only to be soon returned to a smaller arena. Very few local/amateurs who weigh a big sack in his club championship on his home lake is capable of competing with those 200-no matter what they say about not having the resources to go pro.

[K_Mac]

Very well said Dinky. There has been much talk of special knowledge, special baits, special sponsorship, etc. Marketability is important; having a bait that works exactly for the purpose it was made is great; having detailed knowledge of the water using every legal means possible is just good business; but, none of these things are what separate the best from the rest. What is special about these guys is their ability to perform under all conditions while managing their personal and business affairs. Many pro athletes make the big time only to crash and burn. They make the big time based on their talent, and stay based on their ability to perform. Pro fishing is exactly the same IMO. 

[senile1]

I vote for research, critical thinking skills, positive outlook, resolve, and time on the water. Also, having grown up fishing where there are diverse opportunities would help a lot too in terms of the learning curve.

 

AND... after reading the posts below... you have to want to, be willing to, make a business out of your fishing.

 

I agree with a lot that has been said and I believe Paul sums it up quite nicely.  However, there is one element I want to comment on and that is critical thinking.  Many have mentioned it as one of the things that separates the pros from the rest of us.  There are doctors and mathematicians who are just average fishermen.  Fishing and marketing are not rocket science.  Fishing and marketing are not higher level math.  Fishing and marketing cannot be compared to deep, high-level IT work.  I have known anglers whose critical thought in other areas was poor but they could catch fish better than most.  I think there is an element of critical thinking involved but it is specific to finding fish under the circumstances presented.  There are probably some geniuses involved in fishing as in anything else, but for the most part, there is a specialized type of critical thinking that a higher performing elite angler has with respect to finding and catching fish.  I think that type of thinking has to be honed through study and many hours on the water under different circumstances.  And I think, like many forms of intelligence, some people may be genetically inclined to be better at it than others.

[Paul Roberts]

I agree with a lot that has been said and I believe Paul sums it up quite nicely.  However, there is one element I want to comment on and that is critical thinking.  Many have mentioned it as one of the things that separates the pros from the rest of us.  There are doctors and mathematicians who are just average fishermen.  Fishing and marketing are not rocket science.  Fishing and marketing are not higher level math.  Fishing and marketing cannot be compared to deep, high-level IT work.  I have known anglers whose critical thought in other areas was poor but they could catch fish better than most.  I think there is an element of critical thinking involved but it is specific to finding fish under the circumstances presented.  There are probably some geniuses involved in fishing as in anything else, but for the most part, there is a specialized type of critical thinking that a higher performing elite angler has with respect to finding and catching fish.  I think that type of thinking has to be honed through study and many hours on the water under different circumstances.  And I think, like many forms of intelligence, some people may be genetically inclined to be better at it than others.

Good point. And an interesting one too, in that it asks for a better definition of "critical thinking skills". Then, how is such a thing used in tournament fishing? Are we talking about different kinds of intelligence required?

 

As to the highlighted sentence, this may have more to do with experience? How would such a person fare in "The Elites"? Which always made me wonder whether many pros aren't just regular guys who fish a lot but have gone ahead and made the sacrifices of fishing costly tournament schedules. (Pardon my ignorance bc I really don't know how rigorous qualifications are for the various tournaments schedules. {EDIT: Although after reading Dinky's response above, maybe its is rigorous. So I guess I would ask, do the "Elites" have to qualify from the ground up every year? Or is there some kind of "glass ceiling?"} )

Edited May 13, 2013 by Paul Roberts

[mtaag3]

Similar to one of the other posters I was a professional in something besides bass fishing however I think the factors are universal and transcend the specific "sport".

 

Those two traits are commitment and experience. They are not exclusive, but if you look at everything that goes into becoming a pro, any pro, they can all be boiled down to those two.

 

Commitment, what does that mean? It means to commit to your sport above and beyond just doing it. One must constantly be introspective and ask where are your weaknesses and what can you do to make them strengths? Being willing to try new things. Being willing to FAIL to LEARN. Commitment takes time. Commitment builds experience. Look at Olympic gymnasts. It amazes me the commitment they make for their dreams. THAT, to me, is a high bar but shows that a "weekend warrior" or a part time player is not going to make it. One has to go "all in" to get to the top of their game.

 

What about experience? Getting to that point where the scenarios you encounter as "first times" become more and more rare. Amassing all the different scenarios one can encounter and then using that knowledge to your advantage. One thing that struck me about the Major League Fishing show is that they all understood the uniqueness of Florida bass and lakes. They KNEW what to expect and how to approach the fish. Then on top of seeing new things, are you setting out to learn new things? What are you taking away from your day other than catching fish?

 

I'm of the mindset that technique and athleticism can be overcome with these two traits. Take golf for example. Arnold Palmer had a horrible swing. He's one of the best golfers in history. Why? See commitment and experience.

 

Could I, as a new angler, get a nice bass boat and equipment and fish 320+ days a year become a pro? I could as long as I was willing to commit to learning from every experience I have every day.

 

Just my $.02

[Dinky]

COMMITTMENT & EXPERIENCE

 

These two traits seem to dominate the various analyses above. I agree and include in those traits synonymous traits like focus, persistence, experience, time on the water.

 

As for the Elite Tour: it is very rigorous--and expensive.

But like any other sport it is a pyramid in terms of relative success. There are there those few at the very top and the success(income) will lessen rapidly as one moves down the pyramid.

 

If you saw the interview with J Todd Tucker by db here on the board you will see that he said that a tournament fishing day was an easy day compared to a practice day. These guys practice from dawn to dusk--12-16 hours for 3 to 3 1/2 days prior to a 4 day tournament in which they fish for 8 hours per day;  but by the time they finish the weigh in, load the boat on the trailer, stop by the service yard to get a problem fixed with the boat and gas up for the next day it can quickly become a 12 hour day. Now it is time to eat and get tackle ready for tomorrow. No they don't all have caddies. If their Marshall doesn't help them load the boat, or they have a wife with them who will do it, they will do it themselves.

 

You will see many Elite Pros (as well as FLW pros) fishing in the Bassmaster Opens. Sure, if an Elite Pro wins one of the 9 Opens it is an automatic berth in the Classic and a minimum $10,000 with a chance at $500,000 and that is an incentive to enter more tournaments. But they also enter because they are often pressured to by sponsors--those wrapped boats they fish out of are mobile billboards. It is what the sponsors are paying for.

[Brian6428]

Thanks a ton guys, every answer brings up another point, all of which are correct. Thanks!

[floridabassman]

Knowing how to catch fish in every situation

[Basseditor]

I tried to make a living as tournament angler on a shoe string budget. Had some minor success in mid level events, but the two days of driving, six or seven days of fishing, and two more days of driving again, would wear me out. Every two weeks or so.

Seriously though, the practice days were critical. You need to know not only know where to fish, but when. If I found a good looking area, I would go back to it four to five times in a day to see when they were most likely to bite. Like it has been mentioned, dawn to dusk fishing and sleeping for only fours a night is likely.

The more events I fished, the more in tune I felt. The more I caught too.

Time on the water. Confidence. Versatility. But most of all, IMO, is desire. How bad do you want it? Are you willing to sacrifice everything? I found out I didn't want to be on the road 300 days a year.