John Denver said it best! I am sitting in my boat looking up at the mountains along the Clark Fork River drainage. I am back on what I like to call my home fishery... Noxon Reservoir. Oh what I have learned in the period of one year! I feel as though I have crammed four years of college into one year. I honestly can say that if I knew what I know now twelve months ago I do not know if I would have had the nerve to attempt this endeavor. In my life I have always waded into new things like a crocodile chasing a gazelle through the water, this approach has some benefits and a whole lot of detriments to it. For me the fear of something new never strikes until I am all in. Then the fear slowly creeps in. Can Ireally do this? Can I really make money doing this? Is all of my wife and family's sacrifice going to be worth it? That being said I have realized a few important things about my life. #1 is the fact that I have the most beautiful and supportive wife on the planet! Yes, I am sure she is tired of hearing about bass fishing. I am also pretty sure that she is tired of Tackle Warehouse boxes showing up weekly. Once in a while she says to me "can you just let me know what is going on" and the question I know is burning in her brain although she would never say it "when do you start making money doing this?" But she continues to watch all the weigh in's online live and wait for my call to tell her I finished in the top 50 and will get a check for this tournement. Her support is amazing, and if I believed in myself as much as she does I would already be buying my tickets to the Bassmaster Classic! #2 is that if I die tomorrow I will feel 100% fulfilled in my choice to make fishing a job! This has been an absolute dream come true for me. I never believed that I could have so much fun doing the thing that I love. This year I have been able to fish, then fish some more and when I have been totally tired of fishing I have...... yes.......fished more. I have callouses on my thumb and forefinger from my casting reels, I have a tan like I have never had in my life, and my thumbs are chewed up and cracking from lipping bass... Yet my brain continues to push me forward hungry for the knowledge that will allow me to "get em" consistantly. My next tournament is a B.A.S.S. open on Fort Gibson Lake in Wagoner Oklahoma. I am enjoying my pre-tournament planning this time. I know what to expect and I need to be more prepared and efficient in Practice. I am very slowly becoming more dangerous to these fish!
