Hite Ready to Roll in First MLF Bass Pro Tour Event
KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Even a casual fishing outing can be a catalyst for hope and expectation. So imagine what Tuesday’s kickoff for the MLF Bass Pro Tour B & W Trailer Hitches Stage One presented By Power-Pole means to the 80 pros competing.
“2019 will be big for all anglers who made life-changing decision as to where they might spend the rest of their career,” says Brett Hite who traveled from his home in Phoenix, Arizona, to Florida’s Lake Tohopekaliga to launch that new career.
Hite admits to a “kind of giddiness about starting a new chapter.”
The Toho event will mark Hite’s first contest under MLF rules. The “every keeper counts” format, fish-handling requirements and continuous ScoreTracker updates will be new to him.
No sweat.
“You’re still looking for good, quality fish,” he says. “In the majority of MLF tournaments, the guy with the five biggest fish of the day is still in the Top 5 of the tournament. You don’t want to psych yourself out. It’s the same game. The rules are just tweaked a little bit.”
Sharpening his blades
The bladed jig – in his case, the Chatterbait Jack Hammer – is Hite’s signature tool. Few, if any, wield that blade with greater authority. Expect it on his deck on the Kissimmee Chain.
“It will be my first tournament on Toho since I won an FLW Tour event there on a bladed jig in 2008,” he notes. “So this is where it began for me with the bladed jig. It’s the right time of year and the right conditions. Toho fishes the way I like to fish.”
Tohopekaliga and its neighboring links on the Kissimmee Chain boast that lovable mix of monsters and numbers.
“The place is weird,” Hite assesses. “It’s one of those places where little ones and big ones congregate in the same areas. You can be catching 1-pounders then make exactly the same cast and get an 8-pounder.”
He likes his chances at the second tour stop in the Lone Star state, too, recalling his strong finish at the 2017 Bassmaster Classic. Lake Conroe is “the perfect size for 40 boats,” he assesses. He predicts a really good pre-spawn bite.
“I love fishing prespawn,” he says. “Conroe’s going to be right up my alley.”
Just be yourself
Hite envisions an exciting and successful season in 2019. No major additions or adjustments are planned.
“I’m not going to buy a bunch of 3-inch worms to catch 1-pounders,” he promises. “I’ll do exactly what I’ve been doing for the last 20 years, things that have been working. Nothing different. I’m a West Coast angler. Most of us are good because of our versatility, and versatility is why I’m so consistent. “
Hite expects to experience growing pains along with the rest of the field in 2019. But he takes comfort in MLF’s angler-friendly seasonal structure, too.
“What’s nice is that no matter how bad a beginning of the season you might have or how bad you are sitting half way through the season, you still have a chance to make post-season tournaments,” he says.
The same philosophy holds true for the entire MLF structure.
“We know we’ll hit a couple bumps in the road with something this new,” he acknowledges. “But we have the right people making the right decisions, and we’ll get anything that comes along straightened out. The way we are going is the wave of the future on fish care and an eco-friendly way of tournament fishing. We are at the cutting edge.”