As I write this post my 2017 season is 2/3 done. I have been on the road fishing since February and I am a bit tired. I have been on an emotional roller coaster for the first part of this season. I have caught fish better this year than ever before, I have swung for the fences, played it safe, given up, not given up, gotten my ass kicked by the fish, gotten my ass kicked by the weather, gotten my ass kicked by my co-angler, had big fish come off at the boat, learned a ton, almost cried, did cry, and I have thrown some temper tantrums that would impress my two year old. Through all of this there has been only one consistent thing that I have been able to count on. That is my wife. She puts up with this crazy decision of mine, holds our family together when I am gone, and watches all of my weigh-ins. The thing that frustrates me the most about my lack of success this season is knowing how hard she is working to pick up my slack.
Going forward, I have to work harder and smarter. I get asked all the time about how much luck is involved in tournament fishing. I always tell people the same thing.... "Not Much". If you watch bass fishing on tv you see a lot of guys pulling big fish into the boat and fist pumping and holding up big checks. What you don't see are the countless hours of map study, internet research, boat and gear preperation, idling and graphing time on the lake, and most of all the hours of difficult fishing to find the right ones. In practice when you find the fish, usually you leave and go to another area to find more fish. Friends always ask me if they can come and practice with me. Many of them do not understand that I am not going fishing. They should be prepared to sit in the boat while I idle, find something, make 5 casts, get bit or not bit, and then leave to do it all over again. It can be very tedious work.
I have three weeks off until my next tournament which is September 7th. I am going to have an extremely short practice for this next one. I have decided to fly home and experience an amazing event that my wife is taking part in on the 3rd of September. She is running The Rut 50k trail run that starts at 7000 feet above sea level and peaks on Lone Peak at about 11200 feet above sea level. I am going to be there to make sure and experience her finish with my three kids. She is the real "athlete" in our family and I have no doubt that she is going to tear that course up! We have three kids and I am gone a lot. She still found the time to train and commit to a 31 mile trail race. I am hoping some inspiration will rub off on me for the remainder of this season! With out her I would not be able to do any of this crazy dream. Thank you Amy!
