WESLEY STRADER: Time on the Water Will Get You a 24th-Place Finish on an 80th-Place Practice!
When I talked to all my East Tennessee buddies before I headed down to that great country called Texas, everybody was like “Man, I wished I could go fish there.”
Oh, it’s a great fishery, no doubt, and there were some giant numbers put up at Bass Pro Tour Stage Three to prove it. But, there’s more to this place than meets the legend.
Now, I ain’t one ever, never to complain, so don’t take this wrong in any way: There’s a heck of a lot going on in a very small place on that lake!
I mean, it’s like you take about a hundred boats and drop ’em in on your favorite fishin’ hole. Lake Fork is legendary and one of the premier bass fishing destinations in this country. And, at any given point in time on Fork, you’re going to find lots of locals, folks practicing for upcoming tournaments, people fishing on designated vacations, and during this particular week: spring breakers.
Oh, and don’t forget about the kayakers. Lots and lots of kayaks. More on those guys later.
Dodged “The Funk” the Best I Could
Fishing at this level requires a certain number of appearances for the sponsors. It’s part of the business and we all have to do it. Some guys love it and some don’t. Some guys are good at appearances, and those are the ones that have people lined up around the booths.
You’ve all seen us at the boat shows, right? Welp, I’m one of those guys that typically love appearances, and it’s because I’m a people person – yep, I like to talk! I also like to encourage those young anglers. Hey, there’s nothin’ like seeing a 10-year-old kid wearing your jersey and a huge smile on his face standing by his Dad in line to meet you and get his picture with you.
It seems that my boat show schedule this year was particularly heavy, starting off in Kentucky in December. One thing stands out about that particular boat show: everybody was sick! I mean, everyone that came by you and everywhere you went you saw people coughing, sneezing and blowin’ their nose.
Just about every angler I know has been doing the hand sanitizer thing at these shows for years. Either you get a big bottle and put it on the table, or you keep a small one in your pocket. So, I did manage to escape Kentucky unscathed and not coughing and sneezing.
By the time the shows made it around to Knoxville, Tennessee I was starting to run into more anglers getting sick. Heck, my good friend Mike Neal felt awfully bad at that show. But, once again the “W” managed to escape the crud!
Stephanie does a great job of lining up things together as we travel to tournaments. I mean 20 years in the business has this partnership maximizing all travel opportunities. Usually, she strives to fit a beach vacation in after a Florida tournament.
Have I told you how much I hate just sittin’ on the beach? I got to have a rod in my hand.
It just so happened that this year’s Bassmaster Classic lined up in Birmingham, Alabama, and timely for the trip down to Texas for the Bass Pro Tour on Lake Fork.
As you might expect, the sponsors want us there at the Classic expo representing products, meeting people and doin’ what we do. And, this one was no different, as we caught up with old friends like Gerald and LeAnn Swindle and generally had a good time before we departed for Texas.
… and Durned if I Didn’t Catch The Funk
Sunday night of the show, Stephanie was coughing her head off at night and, yep, the next day I got that little tickle in my throat. The night before Day 1 practice at Lake Fork, I’m certain I developed a fever and tried to rest as much as possible. But, I just knew it, I done caught that funk.
How could this be? I had survived all these boat shows, a heavy schedule, and not gotten sick!
Well anywway, here we go, Day 1 practice Lake Fork – well, ol’ W ain’t feeling like the W at all. As a matter of fact, the day really went by as a blur, having just a few bites.
I found myself lying down on the boat to take a nap five times during practice because I felt so bad. I can only imagine what people thought as they idled toward what app,ared to be a boat without an angler, and then I’d sit up real quick.
Oranges and heavy doses of Vitamin D, I had to get myself well enough to compete. Lots of rest upon coming in from Day 1 is just what the Steph had ordered, and vegetables.
I ate ’em.
Day 2 practice: not much better. I knew that Fork had a big bite, but I just couldn’t put much together in practice. At least now I was starting to feel better. Sometimes you get saved by the luck of the draw, and this was just that time as I pulled Group B. Yes! An extra day of rest! My shoulders were killin’ me, my wrists felt weak and sore, I sorely needed every bit of rest I could get.
I Made the Best of a Funky Situation
Kickin’ off the tournament, and it was really just what I expected after a very poor practice. An hour and 45 minutes into the big show, and I finally saw something. This being something that I recognized, something that reminded me of my home waters, something that I thought I could actually be onto and be able to put something together.
So, I managed to catch 14 solid fish, which placed me in fifth.
On Day 2, I felt even stronger and managed to finish third with 12 more good fish.
One thing to remember here is with all the giants being turned in, I still only managed to get a 4-8 as my biggest fish. On to the Knockout Round.
Welp I just ran outta fish. Oh, yes, and I did lose a good 4-plus-pounder on the frog: as I airplaned it into the boat it hit my leg and rolled off the side. But, hey, a 24th place finish and 57 points on a lake I had basically written off because of the funk, a bad practice and fishing on about 75 to 80 percent?
I’ll take it.
Time on the Water is Your Best Asset
A good friend asked me: “W, when you got to Fork and you were so sick, why didn’t you just rest and rely on spots you had been to before?”
Well, here’s the thing, and I know it’s hard to believe, but in all my 20 years plus of professional bass fishing, I had only fished a tournament on Lake Fork one time! I had ZERO history to rely on.
So, how do you take zero history on a body of water and put together a solid finish in Major League Fishing while you’re battling the funk? There’s only one way and that’s to rely on your instincts and react to what you know.
You see, nothing in this sport replaces actual time on the water. And I mean nothing. You can read all the articles you want, watch all the shows you want, but nothing is going to get you there until you spend your time on the water and learn the fish. A bass is a bass no matter if you’re on Fork, Champlain or Chickamauga.
Put your time in on the water!
Now back to those kayakers. Most bass fishermen don’t like ’em in their area, but I got this thing figured out. Bass think these things are just big birds on the water, like geese. They don’t move from under ’em, just like they are used to geese floppin’ all around over the top of ’em.
Learning the fish and how to zone in while you got everybody on top of you fishing all around you and geese floppin’ everywhere: Time on the water gets you through it.
Time on the water will get you a 24th place finish with an 80th place practice. Hey, I care about kayakers and I care about geese!
Wet lines my friends!