Small Streak

[Coherence]

Just a small snippet of my recent tournament adventures. 

 

Up until very recently (the past 2 months to be exact) I have been an annual "donater" in both of the small tournament organizations that I fish in. I'd use the same techniques as all the other guys out on the water, fish the same areas that should hold fish etc etc. Sometimes I'd land a nice fish or two, but would fall short of a limit, or I'd have a limit and not have any big bites. I was starting to think that I would never be able to put it all together on a tournament day (even if I can normally do alright on any regular day of fishing). Combine this with my lack of confidence at most endeavors on a daily basis...yeah, not really a winning combination. 

 

My normal co-angler couldn't go to one of the tournaments, and I was asked if I wanted to be a co-angler for someone else who also was short a partner. These are small tournaments, so you can fish with anyone at any particular event, not a regulated partner required for the duration of the season. I agreed, figuring to give my old boat a break, not to mention saving my back from trolling motor duties for a day.

 

The new boater and I got along well and had a decent day of fishing. I busted my a** to the best of my ability, trying to get fish in the boat as hard as I ever had. We ended up finishing third - the lowest spot that still made pay-out that particular day. It was my first time cashing in a tournament. 

 

About two weeks later (back with my normal partner) - we fished another tournament at a private pond and just lit the fish up - suddenly fishing felt easy, I wasn't really thinking about what if X or Y, I was just doing. Every cast I was confident there would be a fish on - going so far as to call a few hook-ups before they actually happened. Not that I was feeling cocky or anything of the sort, but on some casts it just...felt right - if that makes sense. Like I knew before the bait hit the water. We finished the tournament without incident (always a good thing) and ended up winning - I couldn't have been more pumped. Finally it had all come together. 

 

Last weekend..it happened again - my partner and I didn't quite slay the bass like the previous tournament, but we caught a limit and managed to cull 3 times - lucking out as we only caught 9 bass all day, and we won for the second straight time. 

 

During this small win streak, I've done nothing different than I normally do, EXCEPT - I believed I would catch fish. I don't know if this somehow  subconsciously made me fish harder, faster, more efficiently or something...but I am certain of one thing - winning made me happy at first...but now I'm bloodthirsty. I don't want to go back to being a "donator" as they used to call us...these few wins have become a catalyst for me. I've always valued soaking up as much information and experience as possible - but now I feel like it is time to shift into high gear, because I want to keep on winning. 

 

A few small wins does not a good fisherman make, but hopefully I can continue to hone and improve my skills, and shake any doubt that perhaps all of this was just a fluke. Plus it is kind of nice to see some of those smug grins that used to greet me, turn into more pensive stares when I carry my bag of fish up to the scale. Only time will tell, but I've got new motivation for once, which is refreshing. 

 

tl:dr; I managed to win a couple small tourneys; Confidence is some strange fishing enigma that I might have glimpsed briefly; I hope to keep improving.

 

Thanks for reading this meandering post. 

[Catt]

Some days it all falls into place

[RoLo]

Some days it all falls into place

 

And other days, it all falls apart

[WIGuide]

Congrats on your winning streak! I hope it keeps going and you continue to improve. Confidence is a huge part of fishing. I see so many people come into an event hoping to scrounge out a limit, or not get skunked. You can't come in with that mind set. You have to believe you're going to win or at least believe that you have the chance to win. If not, you're just wasting your time.

[TwoCan]

PMA! Me and my old man fish a lot of tournaments together. If a day is tough we are constantly boosting each other up by saying "PMA" which stands for 'Positive Mental Attitude'. I believe, and it usually proves true, a positive mental attitude is the best and most important tool to have on the boat.

[CDMeyer]

I an truly behind a positive attitude, you truly have to believe that you will succeed and when you TRULY DO the YOU WILL... Put all your trust in God