Mental Fortitude

[Nathan O'Hara]

I want to dive into the psychological part of fishing, what makes the KVD’s, Martens, and Evers so much different than a regular Angler? I know the exact thing that you are thinking though, well of course it’s because they have $100,000+ worth of equipment and get to fish every day if they want. What if it’s more than that? If you take all that equipment away from these guys are they still going to be able to catch fish, and the answer is yes.

Why? Because they are confident not only in themselves, but their abilities and in their preparation. One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is they psych themselves out before they even hit the water, and we are all guilty of it. We see the weather pattern is shaping up to be a warming trend for the week and the day before the tournament a cold front comes through and we don’t catch a fish for the first 3 hours and are completely out of the tournament with 5 hours to go. Staying focused, staying calming, and trusting yourself and your abilities are some of the strongest and most important traits that as anglers we need to focus on. Sure you can fish with the best of them, you have the best of everything, but come tournament day if you can’t keep it together for 8 hours then you’re no better than the guy around the corner in a john boat whacking them because he’s calm and collected.

So let’s talk about some ways that we can work towards and become more confident, calm and diligent on the water like the professionals. First, if you’re nutrition is off and you’re out on the water bloated and uncomfortable you are not going to be able to stay focused. Always eat a healthy meal the night before and a good light breakfast in the morning, if you aren’t on a diet then two meals for a week will not kill you in order to have a great tournament.

Second, envisioning your day is crucial to success, walk yourself through what spots you’re going to fish, how you’ll fish them, if you don’t catch a fish for so long you’ll try something else and etc. Having a pre-determined plan and actually taking the time to close your eyes and meditate on that plan greatly increases the receptors in your brain.

Third, check yourself out at least twice during the day, and what I mean by that is sit down, take a drink of water, eat something(preferably something nutritional for you) and take some deep breathes. Calming yourself down, giving your brain and body a rest will help break up your day meanwhile keeping your focused on the task at hand.

Fourth, and most important of them all is have fun.  You are getting to enjoy something you love and enjoy and have the chance to get paid for it. Most likely you have a 8 hour job during the week that you stress over for 5 days and then to go fish a tournament that you stress about along with that isn’t fun or enjoyable. Using these tools and taking in your surroundings and stepping back will allow you to be more effective and is exactly why the professionals are where they are today. Hope everyone can take away something from this and will make you think about the next time you’re getting ready to go fishing.

[BareHook]

Its been said "10% of the anglers catch 90% of the fish" is not an absolute but I've witnessed it many times and been on both sides of the coin.

One way I've found get out of a slump is to study the anglers who are catching fish and imitate their methods. This works for general sport fishing in a group but with bass angling and tournaments its particularly challenging because your are on your own or with a co-angler only.

 

 

[frogflogger]

It's between the ears

[A-Jay]

Hello Nathan and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

Thoughtful first post but you're preaching to the choir.

A-Jay

[flyfisher]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

Hello Nathan and Welcome to Bass Resource ~

Thoughtful first post but you're preaching to the choir.

A-Jay

Maybe i am callous but whenever i see a first post like this, I can't help but think this person is trying to boost a "fishing resume".  I hope I am wrong but like you said, preaching to the choir.

[Nitrofreak]

Welcome to BR, well, I'll be the first to admit that I am not the healthiest and fit of people, I'm pretty happy though for the most part, I don't get all worked up, my faith helps more with that than my dietary plan, not that I have a dietary plan, I figure that if I keep putting in the effort to learn about growth, behavior, structure and cover, water temps, clearity, depth, stratification and how all species relate to each and interact with each and which baits are best suited for each just like the pros did, just like all of those that take the time to educate us here on this site do every day have done, that I will continue to learn and have fun, bloated or otherwise.

 

 

[Bass newb]

Wall of text. Could not finish.

[Sam]

Nathan, welcome.

Great post. Next time remember to split it up as a paragraph that long is tedious to read and comprehend.

It all boils down to confidence.

 

 

[Jar11591]

5 hours ago, Bass newb said:

Wall of text. Could not finish.

I don't know why this is making me laugh so hard, but yeah....paragraphs would help.

[K_Mac]

Welcome to the forum Nathan. You make many generalizations about a variety of things. Generally speaking generalizations aren't of much value. I will give you a couple of examples: KVD is as intense on the water as anyone. The idea of him stopping for a little meditation and deep breathing makes me chuckle. The idea of visualization or any other psychobabble helping me catch fish is also laughable to me. I am also a big fan of being fit and would agree that it increases stamina and mental acuity. Telling me or anyone else how or what to eat before a tournament or fishing trip or during the day is not something you, or anyone else can do without far more information than you have.

Why  some succeed at professional fishing and most fail is an interesting topic. Money is a factor but ability, desire, and commitment are what separate the pros from everyone else in my opinion.

 

[crypt]

the desire to succeed,no matter what…………attitude,skill,time on the water,confidence…….all of it combined.that's what makes a winner.

[MIbassyaker]

What makes the KVD, Martens, and Evers different from me is.........virtually everything.

This "mental fortitude" stuff sounds like work. I already do enough work. 

The day fishing starts stressing me out is the day I stop fishing.

[lo n slo]

36 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

The day fishing starts stressing me out is the day I stop fishing.

well said

[geo g]

A lot of quality facts about mental toughness, fortitude, and being able to block out negative factors.  I watch a video of KVD on day three of a big tournament.  He missed a big quality bass at the boat and you would never know it from his actions.  He never said a word, no screaming fit, cursing, or breaking rods.  He reeled in the line and immediately made another cast at the same rate as the one before.  He never said a word or change a single thing he was doing.  He is one of the toughest competitors because of his mental discipline.  Nothing is going to effect his level of concentration.  He is not the flashiest competitor, but just the best of all times because of his ability to overcome adversity.  Its not equipment, time on the water, or who your sponsors are.  Success lies between the ears, when you get to that level of competition, week after week, all over the country, year after year!

[Nathan O'Hara]

      Alright, so I not only realize but see now I went about this all wrong and should of done this the first way I thought of. Let me first say yes this is my first post and I have made a rookie mistake in how I constructed this. No this isn't a resume builder for me, I have been doing a lot of research and studying of pyschology the last couple months for my job as a Law Enforcement Officer and have recently in tournaments have seen the influence the tools I have acquired are transferring over to my time on the water. I was merely trying to make it more interesting in the way that I wrote and posted it and should of just came out and said the things I just said. 

 Also I apologize for the lack of paragraphs and size of that post. I didn't realize what it would look like from a phone till I looked at it a little bit ago.
 Again thank you for all the input positive and negative, it is all greatly appreciated. I will repost with my original idea and see how that goes. Thank you all and god bless.

_____________

Moderator note: I edited the original post with paragraphs.

-Kent

["hamma"]

Considering "MY" past and how if effected my fishing, I Agree to a point (and only to a point) that what Nathan posted holds some water. You see, I have been riddled with injury since my early 20's, about the same time I became legal to consume alcohol, and i did,...lol,. right on thru my mid 30's, which ironicly is when i started tourney fishing. Many a tourney am's i woke to a brutal hangover,in pain from my injury, and still perfomed on the water

BUT!, and i mean a huge but,.... I love bass fishing, always have and always will, (some of you know exactly what i mean) this is what i believe is what contributed to the success I had at it. Did I turn pro? no,..it was at a state level, but success all the same to me

 That "love" i harbor is the ticket, when you are passionate about something you put forth your best effort, attention to detail, and effort to research as much as possible. Couple that with experience, desire, and direction,.. you have the makings to be at your best no matter what your physical condition is. Did my condition hinder me some? of course it did,... but as they say ,..love conquers all.

 Many bass anglers fish because they like the distraction from everyday life, albeit work, family, faith, etc. the challenges that the sport contains is a easy draw, and offers that "other world" these anglers  seek and utilize. Others actually love the sport as i do, that love puts these anglers in a different position. Instead of just showing up at the ramp on a weekend morning as a "distraction angler" and going fishing for that day, with the last tourney's lures still tied on,..... The "love angler" has prefished that lake, studied the maps, figured out a pattern during the prefish time, and has devised several plans for the day. With fresh line on the correct rods, even the backup rods are ready to go with the proper lures, with the backup plans gear ready as well,.. etc. I believe that these anglers are the ones that progress. to the pro level.

 Im sure that all pro's are in the "love anglers" category,.. with the kvd's of the sport, putiing forth their best effort and keying in on the aspect of the sport,, that brought him there to begin with,...loving the sport.,..........Then possibly using what Nathan posted,... to a degree.

[WRB]

Elite bass pro's may appear to be calm and collected, most are far from that.

The pro's are highly skilled bass anglers and good at catching bass under the stress of tournament conditions. It's easy to stay calm when your game plan is working, but being a competitor staying clam and collected when things are not going good is what separates the men from the boys. 

MLF series is a good example of bass fishing stress and how top pro's handle themselves.

Ike is legendary, Ish can be explosive, KVD and Martens have thier moments, Lane broke a few rods and tossed them into the lake.......calm and collected, no these guys are competitors and that drive is what keeps them going.

Tom

[K_Mac]

Nathan it's all good. There is no doubt that success in any field has much to do with psychology, my comment on psychobabble notwithstanding. Discussion of such things is what makes life interesting IMO. Again, welcome aboard.

[Jaderose]

On 4/20/2016 at 6:01 AM, Nathan O'Hara said:

I want to dive into the psychological part of fishing, what makes the KVD’s, Martens, and Evers so much different than a regular Angler? I know the exact thing that you are thinking though, well of course it’s because they have $100,000+ worth of equipment and get to fish every day if they want. What if it’s more than that? If you take all that equipment away from these guys are they still going to be able to catch fish, and the answer is yes.

Why? Because they are confident not only in themselves, but their abilities and in their preparation. One of the biggest mistakes I see people making is they psych themselves out before they even hit the water, and we are all guilty of it. We see the weather pattern is shaping up to be a warming trend for the week and the day before the tournament a cold front comes through and we don’t catch a fish for the first 3 hours and are completely out of the tournament with 5 hours to go. Staying focused, staying calming, and trusting yourself and your abilities are some of the strongest and most important traits that as anglers we need to focus on. Sure you can fish with the best of them, you have the best of everything, but come tournament day if you can’t keep it together for 8 hours then you’re no better than the guy around the corner in a john boat whacking them because he’s calm and collected.

So let’s talk about some ways that we can work towards and become more confident, calm and diligent on the water like the professionals. First, if you’re nutrition is off and you’re out on the water bloated and uncomfortable you are not going to be able to stay focused. Always eat a healthy meal the night before and a good light breakfast in the morning, if you aren’t on a diet then two meals for a week will not kill you in order to have a great tournament.

Second, envisioning your day is crucial to success, walk yourself through what spots you’re going to fish, how you’ll fish them, if you don’t catch a fish for so long you’ll try something else and etc. Having a pre-determined plan and actually taking the time to close your eyes and meditate on that plan greatly increases the receptors in your brain.

Third, check yourself out at least twice during the day, and what I mean by that is sit down, take a drink of water, eat something(preferably something nutritional for you) and take some deep breathes. Calming yourself down, giving your brain and body a rest will help break up your day meanwhile keeping your focused on the task at hand.

Fourth, and most important of them all is have fun.  You are getting to enjoy something you love and enjoy and have the chance to get paid for it. Most likely you have a 8 hour job during the week that you stress over for 5 days and then to go fish a tournament that you stress about along with that isn’t fun or enjoyable. Using these tools and taking in your surroundings and stepping back will allow you to be more effective and is exactly why the professionals are where they are today. Hope everyone can take away something from this and will make you think about the next time you’re getting ready to go fishing.

 

I like pie.

[A-Jay]

On ‎4‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 10:35 AM, Jaderose said:

 

I like pie.

I like Pizza.

A-Jay

[Jaderose]

14 hours ago, A-Jay said:

I like Pizza.

A-Jay

THAT TOO!