Bassmaster / Roland Martin article - interesting

[ball_coach_1]

Many of you guys read this month's article about Roland's retirement from competitive bass fishing???

I would have to think that experience in bass fishing would be as valuable as experience in any other venture or profession. Roland is quoted in regards to exact reasons of why he knew when it was time to hang it up.  It was specific in his fishing exact places, and being followed up by Iaconelli and Ike catching fish where he didn't.  More less, he couldn't keep up with the young guys of the profession.

Do you think the differences in age give the young guys THAT much of an advantage due to focus, healthy joints and muscles, etc. that allow the power fishing/speed of the game be the advantage?  Can the younger guys be better because of more accessible knowledge while learning the sport?

My opinion - the hunger of the competition.  The young guys are trying to become the best, or make a living.  Roland has lost his past hunger, because he made his name and doesn't need the check to survive.

Any thoughts?

[RoLo]

It's probably a combination of both.

He was fiercely competitive, but in a recent article he complained about his feet hurting

and couple of other things and said generally that his fishing has gone to pot.

[Minuteman]

I think he just wants to do other stuff. He said he wants to spend more time hunting and traveling the world fishing for many species. He has no reason to fish the tournaments. He doesn't need the money and his sponsors get better exposure on his TV show.

At first I thought he meant he was mentally unable to fish against the younger guys like Ike when I read that , but I noticed on his shows he is so focused on fishing he doesn't even know what is going on right around him in the boat. His wife could be screaming that the boat is on fire and going down and Roland would just keep fishing till he was underwater or on fire, giving tips the whole time. God Bless him!

[KYbass1276]

I know a doctor who started his career in the army during the korean war and come back and started his own practice and was involved in numerous things to help people. His work was his life much like rolands.  When did retire I remember someone asking him how he liked being retired and he said, I have seen it all and done it all after a while even if you love doing it you have to take time for yourself and enjoy it I have been doing it 50 years thats long enough. I'll bet if someone asked roland about his career he will probally say close to the same thing. I bet to him it seems like yesterday it all just started with his first tournament and now he is here today wondering how the time went so fast. I'm sure his family has alot to do with it alot of time away over the years and now it's there turn

[Cajun1977]

i agree that he probably just wants to do other things  if you think about its really no different than any other person whos ready to retire   just moving on to the next step

[ball_coach_1]

Appreciate the posts so far.  Guess I should have been more general and not so specific towards Roland Martin.  My biggest observation, or question, was regarding the experience of someone LIKE Roland versus a younger talent like Iaconelli.  Is EXPERIENCE in fishing in someone LIKE Roland less significant in a sport like fishing than I have believed it to be?  In his mind, or his  words, he used as specific example of a guy outfishing him when following him up in three consecutive spots....and it was stated as if this was one of MANY instances recently he see this happen.  Are the new generation of guys so good that they are better than a legend?

[Guest avid]

I think that Roland lost his fire for competitive bass fishing a long time ago.  Then the Greatest Angler debate came up and he really wanted that title.  After he lost out to RC there was simply no reason at all for him to continue.

He's a great bass fisherman but like any other sport, your time comes and goes.

[Hula_King]

This may be looking at it way too deep (or way out in left field), but it is a scientific fact that the human brain has a much more difficult time learning new things the older it gets. A young child can learn a foreign language in a matter weeks when a 60 year old could never become fluent. Just think how much the world of bass fishing has changed in the last 15-20 years! Yeah, we still have the plastic worm, spinnerbait, and jig, but look at everything else. The sport has finally passed him by, and he decided it was time to quit fighting it. It'll happen to me, and it'll happen to you one day. The only difference is that I'll continue my old habits while recreation fishing on the weekends while he was competeing for prizes and sponsorships in an ever-changing world.

[Matt Fly]

Roland doesn't have to prove anything, he's been doing what most of us have dreamed about, fishing for a living.    A long, long, long time.  Just being named in the greatest angler debate is enough.

[Madhouse27]

Roland was certainly one of the all time greats but sadly his reign is over. I appreciate his honesty and respect the thought process that surely went into his decision. One of the hardest things an athlete faces is knowing when to hang it up. Sometimes our heroes linger a little too long, unable to physically compete at a level that they are accustomed to being at. We've seen it in boxing, football and other sports. Sometimes it's almost sad to see someone hanging on a little too long, taking a beating and only detracting from their great career. Like in nature, at some point the old lion needs to reliquish his pride or have it forcibly taken from him. Roland has done well to pass the torch while it is still at least flickering.

[0119]

I dont think he lost his need to compete, since as he retired he announced he will be competing in Redfish Tournaments.   Here in Fl. its speculated as a business venture with his main sponsors to promote Yamamotos saltwater line and Spro's interest to gain in the inshore market.

[Matt Fly]

I think he is sixty or close to it.   I think he earned some down time.  He's already been doing what the young guns are trying to do for over 35 yrs.  Thats not only fishing, but operating his business, seminars, taping shows, hunting, and his commercials.  The man has been involved in every aspect of the outdoor industry.  He's got more experience than half the competitors ages.    

Don't be thinking he got long in the tooth and can't cut it no more, his mind tells him he can compete, but its the physical aspect of travel and fishing, he doesn't re-cooperate as fast as the younger guys.

Roland was one of the pioneers who has helped BASS' roots to grow.   All I can say is "thanks for opening some doors for others to follow through".

Thanks,

Matt

[cart7t]

Call me when Ike, or whatever you want to call him stops spinning on his head or brake dancing and actually contributes something useful to bass fishing. At the rate he's going he'll have to live to 150 to contribute 1/10th what Roland did in his 60 years.

BTW, Iaconelli is listed here

http://men.style.com/gq/features/landing?id=content_4103

as one of the 10 most hated men in sports!  ;D

[SENKOSAM]

In comparison to the field size of yesteryear, it did get larger, as skill levels improved. The point being, that the best of the best always knew how to adapt to different waters, weather conditions, physical discomfort, family and financial stress, equipment malfunction, the competition  and bad luck. All of that exists as much today as it did 30 years ago, the difference being that many of the old concepts have been blown away. Even the unwritten rules of tournament etiqutte have changed. Roland and Clunn might not have been able to adapt to finesse techniques, such as dropshotting or using much smaller lures to catch bigger and more neutral fish, as KVD and Ike have done when needed.

All the angler information that we have available to us weren't just from tournament anlgers. In fact, before I even got my first Bassmaster magazine, Homer Circle, Ken Shultz, Zaleski, Buck Perry, Lindner and a bunch of other sports writers introduced me to sonar (flashers), soft plastics, crankbaits, jerk minnows and topwaters and structure fishing. I'm talking about the 60's, long before Roland even had a tv show!

One thing (supposedly) not available to present day BASS anglers, is prior knowledge of a water before they get to it or the means to prefish. Did Roland send out scouts to find out info weeks before he got to a location? Did Clunn, Dance or Houston? I know that the practice existed and made the playing field less even, resulting in top finishes.  If any of the greats had prior knowledge and depended on it to any degree, than the new rule may have taken some wind out of thier sails.

Consider too, the fisheries were different - some better, some worse than they are today, but they all had structure and cover and lures available to catch fish from specific areas. The tackle might not have been as good as it is today, but adequate reels, rods, hooks, line, sonar and well made lures have always been available. Same for the basics of finding, catching and boating fish.

Roland was good in his time, but so were many that fished the circuit. Were they just more fortunate than others that never got to prove how good they were against the most prominent and promoted bass anglers?

(Ike's antics are no bigger a turnoff than Roland's use of the word 'son' or the scowl on his face when he's not winning.)