The pros dont know much more than we do

[Catt]

The pros dont know much more than we do

 

Yeah but they do it a lot better than we do!

[FishTank]

Maybe but.... Think of the data bank of knowledge we have and then multiply it 3x over for just their time spent on the water.  They are also faster at making those make or brake decisions based on the conditions they are given, they can find fish better than we can and recognize what pattern they are on.  Plus, fishing isn't the only thing they have to worry about.  Just fishing for them is a a full time job alone, then you add what the sponsors want out of you and you are now working two high pressured jobs. 

[ironbjorn]

10 hours ago, BigAngus752 said:

^^^this^^^

 

They don't know more than us to start.  They eventually learn more than us...but any of us could with that amount of time on the water.  

I've seen a few videos of pros who have said that time, dedication, and more importantly resources is what makes them a "pro." A lot of guys could out fish pros, but a lot of guys have families and different careers and aren't millionaires with sponsors knocking on their doors.

[LrgmouthShad]

@Deleted account knows everything. It's his biggest secret. He'd be a pro but then everybody else in the field would be relegated to handing out french fries.

[zell_pop1]

6 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

Rick Clunn used to be the GOAT.  Now he’s struggles to complete.  Is it because he forgot how to fish?  Do you think Jordon Lee won his second Classics at age 26 because he knew as much about fishing as Rick Clunn and KVD?

 

Knowing about fishing and being good at fishing are two different things.  

Put them both on a lake they have not seen and take their electronics away and Clunn would own Lee.

[TnRiver46]

They are good at selling you two different color frogs because now you don’t know who’s right 

[LrgmouthShad]

I would throw a gray frog. Checkmate

[RDB]

Fishermen say his kind of stuff all the time.  It’s good for the ego, just like holding that bass a certain way to look bigger or adding a few pounds to the fish story.  The reality is most anglers who post here couldn’t hang with the best sticks in the local clubs.  A handful might have a chance in a 1 day tournament on their home lake but the VAST majority who think they can hang with the pro’s are delusional.

[roadwarrior]

57 minutes ago, RDB said:

 The reality is most anglers who post here couldn’t hang with the best sticks in the local clubs.  

 

I get your point, but his statement is untrue. We have several members that compete

and have numerous club and regional titles. Two members that are National High

School Champions! Then we also have guys that are very successful in the Big Bass

arena. Some of our guys "hang" with the pros.  Big O, Catt, WRB and Glenn come to

mind.

[RDB]

35 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

We have several members that compete

Your statement

 

36 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

The reality is most anglers who post here

My statement

[Greenfrog]

Hey I believe the pros are in perfect water at perfect times of the year. Very seldom are they actually looking for places to fish. Its just a barrel Fishing "smallmouth". Drop your rig straight down and look at forward facing rader and fish on. Fishing on a perfect lake at perfect times we all can make money. Pros are just like every other angler there just fishing in bass factories. 

[Tennessee Boy]

21 minutes ago, Robnkey said:

Hey I believe the pros are in perfect water at perfect times of the year. Very seldom are they actually looking for places to fish. Its just a barrel Fishing "smallmouth". Drop your rig straight down and look at forward facing rader and fish on. Fishing on a perfect lake at perfect times we all can make money. Pros are just like every other angler there just fishing in bass factories. 

That's like saying NASCAR drivers go fast because they drive fast cars.  It's true but to win they have to drive their fast cars faster than the best drivers in the world.

[Mobasser]

I tend to think there's several guys on BR, when fishing they're best, can compete with pros. Not all the " pros" are great. There's some very good of course, but there's lots who never make it close and quit the pro fishing game. It's like that in all sports. There's a few who are consistently good, and many just so so pros.

[LrgmouthShad]

28 minutes ago, Robnkey said:

Very seldom are they actually looking for places to fish

Do you watch tournaments? If you've watched a few you'd know this is not true. IMO this is what the pros do best. They are able to find fish on a body of water they haven't seen in months or perhaps years... maybe they've never seen it before at all... and not only that... they find enough fish to make a living against a field of competitors with all the pressure of sponsors etc. Sure... maybe there's some tips they get from locals on where to go and what to use but at the end of the day their chance of success is placed entirely within their hands. 

 

There's different levels of pro fishing, sure, but watching the bassmaster elite circuit I am impressed with what the guys can do. 

[Glenn]

This reminds me of when Chris Lane told me about when he decided to fish the Elites.  He had been an outstanding tournament angler, winning local and regional tournament circuits as well as opens.  He practically dominated them.  So he decided to "go pro".

 

His first Elite tournament, he slayed 'em.  Caught a ton of fish and got a really good bag on the first day.  He thought, "Man, I can DO this!!" as he was heading back to that first weigh-in.

 

He didn't even make the top 25.

 

He said it was at that moment he knew this was an entirely different ball game.  Up until then, he thought the same thing many of you have articulated on this thread.  But once he was in it, he realized these competitors were better than anyone he'd ever competed against, despite winning so many tournaments previously.

 

So unless you've been there, it's super easy to be an armchair quarterback.

 

Also note, there are several top pros that post regularly on these forums.  They just hide under different aliases. 

 

[DitchPanda]

12 hours ago, zell_pop1 said:

Put them both on a lake they have not seen and take their electronics away and Clunn would own Lee.

Maybe...but take that same scenario but put Clunn against John Cox and Clunn would get destroyed. I don't care that Clunn has been fishing longer than Cox has been alive...at this stage of the game John is a superior angler. I'm not taking anything away from Clunn , I love that guy and he's an absolute legend but age gets everybody in every sport eventually.

[LrgmouthShad]

8 minutes ago, Glenn said:

But once he was in it, he realized these competitors were better than anyone he'd ever competed against,

This is what someone who used to fish B.A.S.S told me. He said "Nate, you have no idea how good these guys are." And I respect this man very much as a fisherman, so I took his word for it. I was blown away by some of his stories of fishing with Randy B. and Woo Daves. He was often co-angler.

13 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Also note, there are several top pros that post regularly on these forums.  They just hide under different aliases. 

Whomst do you speak of? @ol'crickety? @T-Billy? Dare I say.... @TnRiver46?

[Woody B]

A true "Pro" regardless of what they're a pro at is usually head and shoulders above the rest.   I know a (retired) Professional bass fisherman.   He just oozes knowledge every time I talk to him.   

 

 

The real question is, do the pros enjoy fishing of has it got to the point it's just a job?

 

I'm not going to pretend I can out fish a professional angler, but I bet I have more fun. 

[TOXIC]

Didn’t we put this to bed with the TV show “Pro’s vs Joe’s”? ?

 

I had an Elite Series angler stay with me prefishing for a tournament on the St Johns river when I lived in Florida.  We had a common sponsor and I was asked to help him out with a place to stay since I lived right on the river.  I could not help him with any fishing info since I was relatively new and only started fishing a local tournament trail.  But I could hook him up with some of my friends who were well known local sticks on the river.  Some things I learned watching him….He fished sunup to sundown every day that was allowed for prefishing it was brutal.  He never worried about catching fish, he worried about catching the right fish.  His comment to me after he went out with some of the locals was that they all took him to spots that he could easily identify from reading a map.  He wanted to find the spots that weren’t on the map/graphs.  Every pro I have ever talked to has said that if they can find the fish, they can catch the fish.  
 

Time…..on…..the…..water.?

[rboat]

Time on the water, leads to more knowledge under many conditions, seasons, pattterns, and better control. The pros normally fish the same big name lakes throughout the country each year. A few years back one of the bass magazines did a feature something like "a day on the water," The pro had never been to the lake and got no preplanning or map study. He was turned loose and followed for a day. Some did real good, others not so much, and some blanked. I am sure they did better than I could and probably better than most of us, again because of time spent on the water. It was interesting to see how they approached it. If your home lake is not well known, how would a pro do on it?

[AlabamaSpothunter]

34 minutes ago, Woody B said:

A true "Pro" regardless of what they're a pro at is usually head and shoulders above the rest.   I know a (retired) Professional bass fisherman.   He just oozes knowledge every time I talk to him.   

 

 

The real question is, do the pros enjoy fishing of has it got to the point it's just a job?

 

I'm not going to pretend I can out fish a professional angler, but I bet I have more fun. 

BINGO......my fishing mentor, a man who was personal friends with Ray Scott, and many of the earlier pioneers of BASS.

 

He stressed one thing throughout my childhood when seeing my love for fishing....DON'T TRY TO MAKE A LIVING BASS FISHING!    He said inevitably you start to hate the fish when they don't bite and you go home checkless.    

 

I'm lifelong friends with a guy who has won and took second place during MLF events this past year, he's been professionally fishing for a decade, and up until this year the most he won in a single calendar year IIrc was 30k.    This year he's already at almost 200k though.    I couldn't imagine making a living that way.  

[PhishLI]

The Elite and BPT pros and all other full schedule touring pros with higher aspirations are built for pressure. Immense pressure to not only win but to keep their hard earned spot in those tours and to build points to make the championship event. Doing anything well under pressure will weed out most people including local hammers. Some people are wired for pressure. Most people are not. This applies to everything, not just fishing.

[Bass Rutten]

Anyone who’s competed knows there’s “levels” to any competitive sport, it’s what defines competition itself.

[T-Billy]

2 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

Whomst do you speak of? @ol'crickety? @T-Billy? Dare I say.... @TnRiver46

? I just PURCHASED another Ark Invoker chatterbait rod this morning. IT AIN'T ME!!! Monkey beat me over the head with a 25% off sale on 'em. Couldn't help myself.

[Mike L]

This thread reminds me of a saying I read somewhere….

”One man with conviction will overwhelm a hundred who have only opinions”

 

If you’ve never competed at the highest level, you’ll never fully understand what it takes to succeed at that level. 
 

The End

 

 

Mike