Through his 30-plus years as a professional angler, Mark Menendez has amassed a deep well of knowledge. From rigging, to seasonal patterns, to the best restaurants on pretty much any travel route, he’ll gladly open the vault and share what life has taught him.
No question, Menendez knows the ins and out of tournament fishing, the tricks of the trade, the productive patterns.
He also knows what it’s like to lay in a hospital bed wondering, “Is this the end?”
He knows what it’s like to lose a beloved family pet.
He knows what it’s like to watch a spouse valiantly battle a merciless disease.
And Mark Menendez knows what it’s like to watch that spouse draw their last breath.
Share the wisdom
Menendez has walked each of these paths and more. Many have tested him; none have broken him. If anything, they’ve strengthened his constitution and his desire to help others through his insights.
“I do it constantly,” Menendez said of his ever-ready compassion. “I lost (my first wife) Donna to pancreatic cancer in 2014. She fought a very public battle.
“She asked me, ‘You take all the knowledge you’ve gained and all that you’ve studied; take all that you’ve amassed and help others with the shock of cancer.’”
About five years prior to losing Donna, Menendez said goodbye to his faithful friend Barkley — a lovable yellow Labrador Retriever well-known among his Bassmaster family. Barkley had provided safe emotional harbor during life’s storms, so “tough” doesn’t even come close.
Human love, dog love; of course, they are not the same. However, anyone who has made “the drive” — the one that ends in tears — knows well the searing pain that’s just impossible to describe.
Menendez considers this and many other chapters fair game for any of his fellow competitors that just need an understanding ear. No age limits high or low, just a good balance of listening and advising.
“Especially with the (pressures of the professional fishing career), there are things that can devastate you, unless you have someone that can offer some practical perspective,” Menendez said. “I think you need to use life experiences and help people. You owe it to humanity to do that.”
Striking parallels
Every Elite angler has their own mix of life dynamics, but at some point, they all cross common bridges. It’s the stuff for which there are no playbooks, no downloadable templates.
There’s only the insightful words of someone who’s made it through the dim forest presently surrounding you.
For Menendez, a striking parallel exists between him and reigning Bassmaster Classic champ Easton Fothergill.
- Both are sponsored by Strike King, Lew’s, Skeeter and Yamaha.
- Both experienced severe cerebral ailments.
- Both won their first tournaments after recovery.
Menendez won the 2005 Southern Open at West Point Lake about four months after an extensive bout with what was thought to be meningitis, but later determined to be a brain abscess (not requiring surgery).
In August 2023, Fothergill underwent surgery to remove a brain abscess. A month and a half later, he won the 2023 Bassmaster College Classic Bracket.
Notably, Menendez predicted his 2005 Open victory and mirrored that confidence when Fothergill took to Kansas’ Milford Lake.
“About three weeks before that Open event, I told Donna, ‘I will win that event,’” Menendez said. “I won the tournament by 7 pounds.”
Looking back on Fothergill’s course, Menendez calls it an amazing story of human strength.
“Maybe I had a little insight seeing it; he had a little sparkle and a little glow,” Menendez said. “I’m sorry to the rest of the field, but they didn’t have a chance. He’s gonna win because it’s just his time.”
Bridging the generational divide
Sure, aspiring young pros born into the digital age have endless resources at their disposal. Various social media platforms offer instant lessons, while modern technology clearly advances the learning curve.
All helpful, but what about the human element?
During Elite travel, Menendez rooms with Will Davis Jr. and Tim Dube, both about half his age, along with fellow veteran Bernie Schultz. Differences aren’t hard to find, but neither are respective contributions.
“I’m using these young anglers for their youthful enthusiasm,” Menendez chuckles. “It pushes me to get up in the morning. It pushes me to stay out longer. It pushes me to be more organized in my tackle.
“They love to come back in the evenings when we’re having dinner and hear the old stories of what Bernie and I have been through. They’re enamored with the history. They want to know how David Fritts figured out angles on using a flasher; they want to know how Rick Clunn was so mentally strong.”
Rudyard Kipling’s poem “If” challenged his son to become an honorable man. Similarly, Menendez believes it’s important for established pros to help mold those early in their careers, either by example, or by welcomed encouragement.
“I feel I have an inherent responsibility to the sport to help young anglers become well-rounded pros, and to do the conservation things that I’ve done to make the sport better,” Menendez said. “The sport has been so good to me for 35 years. I’ve been able to make a very nice living for me and my family.
“That’s the reason I’m on the Bassmaster Elite Angler Board of Professionals. If I can help make the sport better and shape its vision forward, so that it’s better for the organization and better for the anglers, I feel I need to do that.”
No posturing, no grandstanding; only honest intent.
It’s that nodding smile.
It’s a little shoulder bump and a wink when you’ve done well.
It’s that pat on the back, the arm around the shoulder, the brief whisper meant only for the ear in need of encouragement.
It’s a tear in the eye that tells you some pains last a lifetime, but you’ll be okay.
A deeper meaning
Why is this important? Well, at the one-on-one level, seasoned advice often helps keep good people in the game during rough patches that raise those hanging-it-up thoughts.
Much has been made of the theoretical clash between tournament fishing’s technology-centric young guns and the old-timers with decades of knowledge tucked away in weathered saddle bags. Two different eras, two different mindsets and never shall the two worlds meet — some would say.
Opinions are an individual’s right, but that premise alone unfairly assumes a unilateral conflict when, in fact, the Bassmaster tournament world sees a lot of genuine, mutually respectful interaction between veterans and up-and-comers.
Fact: In terms of social media traffic, the wholesome, uplifting stuff simply can’t compete with the latest drama du jour. Still, good is good, kind is kind and the resonating, future-shaping impacts therein are undeniable.
Fothergill said he appreciates the open-door welcome an Elite veteran has extended to a young rookie.
“Every time I talk to (Menendez), he tells me to come to him with any questions,” Fothergill said. “He’s kinda taken me under his wing.
“When I’m next to him at the weigh-in line, I’m always looking for tips on how to carry myself. I’m doing my best to learn all I can from those older guys.”
Mendez offers this viewpoint: “Credibility comes in many different forms. It comes from tournament success, it comes from the educational (aspects), but it also comes from being a human being. I don’t think there’s enough of that.”
Take this to the bank: Those lean in years can learn from those long in the tooth. Conversely, the young guns often inspire and energize those past their prime.
It happens more frequently than you might think, and the fishing industry is better for it.
