From the Back Deck: Focus
In “From the Back Deck,” columnist Rob Newell takes a lighthearted look at all aspects of competitive fishing – from pre-tournament meeting to post-tournament celebration.
One thing I have always admired about successful professional bass anglers is their ability to focus in extreme situations.
Sure, I am a focused angler, too. When a tournament starts, I am focused. Those first few casts of the first morning, I am all about focus.
By the last afternoon of the tournament, however, my mind begins to stray a bit. I begin to think about getting home. Should I drive a few hours tonight? I need to check out of the motel. I wonder how much that bill is going to be. Let’s see, $45 times six nights …
Maybe it’s from not getting enough sleep. Maybe it’s from eating road food for a week. But the truth is, after I fish an FLW Tour event – even as a co-angler – I am exhausted. And the more exhausted my brain gets, the more my focus wanes.
That is why professional bass anglers amaze me. It’s almost as if the more exhausted they get, the more focused they become.
For them, it’s nothing to fish a tournament, pack up, wolf down a burger and ride 500 miles to the next event. They prepare tackle; they repair equipment; they wash their rigs; they wash their clothes; they do sponsor business – all on the road. Sleep is a rare commodity.
Then it is back out on the water, from daylight until dark, in any weather that Mother Nature can possibly produce.
Yet their intensity on the water is tenacious; it never wanes. It’s a common denominator of the most successful anglers in the business. Their first cast in practice is just as intense as their last cast in competition. Their focus on fishing never falters.
In addition to the physical exhaustion, pros are under extreme pressure to catch fish. This scenario often builds around young anglers struggling to break into the big leagues.
It’s impressive to watch how some anglers can make it happen despite extreme adversity. It’s like watching a 10-foot wave swallow a surfer – just when you think he is history, he comes blasting out of the tube propelled by the blowout of the crashing wave.
Several years ago, I had the opportunity to fish with David Walker when he was in pursuit of the Land O’Lakes Angler of the Year title. He had fished flawlessly until the Mississippi River event in May out of Memphis, Tenn. On the first day of the tournament, Walker dropped the ball by bringing in just one fish.
I drew Walker on the second day of that event; it was a pivotal time in his fledgling career. An Angler of the Year title would legitimize his presence in professional bass fishing. Another day like the one before, and that opportunity might forever slip away.
Walker was making a 150-mile run down the river to Mellwood Lake. Every compartment in the boat was filled with 5-gallon gas cans full of extra fuel. We looked like we were going to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
While my mind festered with thoughts of breaking down 100 miles from nowhere on the “Mighty Mississippi,” Walker’s focus never veered from the task at hand.
He made the long run with vigilance. Upon reaching Mellwood, Walker took time to refuel his boat and securely strap down the empty cans. Every movement had purpose; every action was deliberate.
Because of the four hours of running time, Walker only had about two and a half hours to fish. Even when he missed a strike, he remained unfazed. Once, when the boat failed to start, he never freaked out (as I would have); he just calmly opened the back hatch and screwed down a loose battery terminal.
Walker didn’t catch a 20-pound limit that day, but he did catch four fish that put him into the lead for Angler of the Year. He officially won the title one tournament later at Lake St. Clair in Michigan.
Recently, at the FLW Tour season opener on Okeechobee, I was again reminded of the laser-like focus it takes to be successful in this sport.
On the final morning of the tournament, Pat Fisher had to release a 3-pound bass that he had caught without his cameraman present.
Fisher, by his own admission, was not aware that he could not fish without his cameraman – a rule that was explained to competitors following the semifinal round weigh-in. As fate would have it, Fisher caught a 3-pound bass on his third flip before his cameraman arrived.
Via cell phone, tournament director Bill Taylor instructed Fisher to let the fish go.
At this point, it would have been easy for Fisher to throw in the towel or throw a fit. Others in Fisher’s shoes might have had a mental meltdown, myself included.
Fisher responded to the situation with an acutely focused state of mind. As he put it, focusing completely on fishing was the only way he could deflate panic and escape the cruel irony that had taken place. He went on to catch nearly 22 pounds and handily won the tournament.
I guess some people are just wired to perform under that kind of pressure. Successful bass pros are those kind of people. To a bass pro, physical exhaustion, intense pressure and extreme adversities are the exact catalyst for acute focus and intense performance.
That’s good, because the only thing I get from such a state of mind is aimless rambling …
Rob Newell is a freelance outdoor writer from Tallahassee, Fla. He has been actively involved in tournament bass fishing and the professional bass-fishing industry, both as participant and a writer, for more than 10 years. He currently fishes as a co-angler on the Wal-Mart FLW Tour and contributes to FLWOutdoors.com, FLW Outdoors Magazine and other fishing publications.
Past columns: