In the world of Professional Bass Fishing there are what I consider the six major necessities, which I call the six pack. And I am going to attempt to break each one of them down for you in this article.
Desire
An angler must have the desire to be successful. Meaning you really have to want it bad enough. I believe that good things come to those who want it most, not those who wait. Waiting is like putting a night crawler on the hook, and waiting for Mr. Bass to find it using his senses. Nahh, I would rather find Mr. Bass, then trick him into eating a scrumptious plastic morsel.
Competitiveness
One must be competitive in the sport of tournament fishing. I don't know about you, but I am not into donating my money to tournaments for someone else to win. I want to win, and or just do the best I can to make me feel like I am giving my all.
Determination
An angler must have the determination to pay his dues, no matter what. It doesn't matter if it is 4:00 am, sleeting, and you have 30 mile an hour wind gusts. You must be determined to get out there, learn how to find your own fish, and learn how to get them in the boat during this and all types of weather.
Versatility
It is a must to be versatile when tournament fishing, or just fishing period. One day, a Mann's 1-Minus is slaying the fish, and in a matter of a few minutes, nothing. You have to be versatile enough to switch baits, maybe to a six-inch Pumpkinseed Gambler Bacon Rind, and figure out what will turn them on next.
Honesty
This is a must. You must be honest with those you fish with as well as yourself. A lot of anglers don't think this makes a difference, but this one does. I believe in the law of cause and effect. For every good or bad action, there is a good or bad reaction. For instance, remember that line that got caught on you trolling motor and caused you to waste 30 minutes out of your fishing time on your last tournament? Well have you ever thought about the fact that it could have been because of the bad line that you threw in the water a month ago, back at home on the river, where it didn't matter? Now you know what I am talking about.
Professionalism
This last factor to me is probably the most important one. It is remaining professional during all tournaments and, heck, life in general. It gives a bad name to the fishing industry to see or hear of an angler who has been unprofessional during pre-fish, or a tournament.
For instance, I was pre-fishing the Columbia River, in Kennewick, WA, preparing for an Invitational, and was fishing about two boat lengths away from another angler. We were both fishing a set of docks at the marina. One of the anglers in the other (and I mean other) boat couldn't control his jig, and kept pitching it up on the docks, and having to get out of his boat and go retrieve it from these docks. After about five times of this, the marina attendant asked the guy to fish elsewhere so that he would not do any damage to any of the boats. The angler got very, very loud, and boisterous with the attendant before he left. Now I was so embarrassed that I went up to the attendant to apologize on the behalf of all anglers. For if I didn't, that guy would have thought that all tournament angler, will act like the OTHER guy did.
So on a good note, these six factors, will and can make you a better tournament angler, or person for that matter.
