In part 1 of my midseason report, I took a general look at the first half of my season. I compared it to the progress reports that kid get in school. This week, I’m going to dig deeper and grade myself on some of the key areas of my job as a professional angler.
PREPARATION: C
Before each tournament, my rods, boat, truck, tackle; everything is packed and ready to go. As far as mentally starting to think about the event and preparing for what I’m going to do, I’m not doing a good job.
That’s one of the things that I’ve been after myself about; it’s something I need to improve.
We’re gone so much and we’re on the water so much that when I’m not on the water, I don’t want to be at home with my kids and be sitting there on the computer trying to prepare for the next event.
I feel like that’s one of the things I have to give up to be a good dad, but it’s one of the areas where I’m not doing a good job.
PRACTICE: D
As far as effort, I’m daylight ’til dark, so I’m confident that I’m putting in the time. But my actual practice is the problem. If I had to pick one thing that’s not good for me this year, it’s practice. I don’t know what it is, but when practice is over, I feel like I haven’t even practiced.
In the event, I’m just going fishing and that really bothers me.
A lot of guys have an A strategy, and a B strategy and even a C strategy. After practice, in most cases, I don’t even have an A Strategy. It’s like, “Well, I got a few bites doing this and a few bites doing that.”
I can’t put my hands around it, but practice is a problem for me. I’m not coming out of practice with a lot of confidence, and I’m not coming out of practice with a positive outlook. I just want to catch some to get some points rather than having the outlook of trying to win the event.
Everybody talks about the decision-making element in a tournament and that’s an important part, but decision making in practice is also critical. What’s the most productive thing that you can do to see the whole lake and try a lot of things?
That’s where I’m not doing a good job.
ON-WATER DECISIONS: B-
One of the things I’ve done a lot in my career is getting out there, going fishing and rolling with what I see on the lake. I feel like getting in the hole at Winyah Bay at the beginning of the season has put me into a mindset of fishing here and fishing there just to get some points.
I’m just not fishing tournament days loose and confident. I’m more uptight and reluctant to do something that I want to do.
FOCUS: B+
I feel like everything is organized in my boat. I feel like the mental part of my game is good. Maybe not great, but I’m happy with it.
EXECUTION: A
This is one of only two things I’ve done this year where I feel like I’ve earned an A. I’ve lost a few, but that’s going to happen. And it’s not like the ones I’ve lost would have won the tournament.
I haven’t been around the fish to win yet. That bothers me the most — I haven’t had a chance to win yet this season.
But for the most part, I’ve caught what’s bit. I’m kind of resting my arm on that because I feel that if I get those bites, I have a good chance of putting him in the boat.
FAMILY TIME: C
That’s a tough one. I wouldn’t say my girls resent me, but I’ve been gone a lot this year and I’ve been busy with several sponsor obligations. That carries over to when I’m at home and that bothers me.
In the years where I’ve won a lot and everything was good, it seems like I was home a lot, or the girls were with me on the road. But they’re getting so busy in their lives that they’re not able to come to the events.
I think that carries over into your fishing because it’s a big mental game because whenever you’re not 100 percent right between the ears, you’re probably not going to make good decisions out there on the water.
It’s hard to compete at a high level when you’re thinking “I haven’t been home,” or “I wonder how the girls are doing in their games.”
That’s not just my story; there are 108 guys who fish the Elites with similar stories.
Some of those guys are doing a good job of dealing with it so I have to do a better job dealing with it.
I don’t want to sound like I’m whining. I’m in the top 20 percent on the points, but I think I’d give myself the same grades if I were sixth or seventh in the points.
SPONSOR SERVICE: A-
I’ve been busy working with sponsors on a lot of things and helping with development. I’ve spent a lot of time on the phone and I think we’ve accomplished a lot already this year. I gave this an A- because I always want to do a better job for my sponsors.
FAN INTERACTION: A
This is probably the most enjoyable part of my job. I don’t turn anyone down for an interview or an autograph because I remember where I came from. I remember what it was like being that kid looking up to the pros, so I try to do my best.
I may not be doing the best, but I try to do my best.
Twenty-fifth is good, but I’m not satisfied. It’s not that I don’t feel like I’m lucky to be where I’m at against the group I’m fishing against, but I want more.
The most important thing is to look yourself in the mirror and ask yourself “Are you doing the best you can?” “What do you need to work on?” “What are your strong points that you can build on?”
Those are the questions that I’m addressing, and you can bet that I’ll expect improvement in the second half of the season.