DD: Three Things that Never Change
(The writer's opinions and observations expressed here are his own, and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views, policies or positions of FLW.)
What can I say about Hartwell? First off, the weather conditions were exactly the opposite of what we got last time the FLW Tour stopped there. Thinking back, the weather was foggy, cold and rainy – straight up miserable. This year we had great weather, sunny and 82; exactly what you’d expect in South Carolina.
The fishing conditions in 2014 were much different as well. When I got to Hartwell this year, the water temperature was the first thing I noticed. It was 40 degrees in 2014, but hit 60 degrees last week. Changing conditions are pretty much the norm on tour and something an angler learns to deal with as he goes from lake to lake and this repeats year after year.
In the past, Hartwell standings typically have been dominated by finesse techniques such as shaky heads on light line. However, this time I could only get bit by power fishing and using fast-moving baits. As it was, this only equated to a few bites and marginal-size fish. I ended the week with my worst finish ever in a tournament. Why? With my tail between my legs and experiencing the awful feeling of defeat, I pondered the thought of why…
Three things come to mind, not that they had anything to do directly with why I didn’t do well at Hartwell. They do make me think a little about tournament fishermen in general and the pattern of attitude we all share.
1. At pre-tournament meetings, during practice or wherever, you might walk up to a fellow competitor and ask, “Catch ’em?” Always, the instant response is “No, man, I can’t figure out the bite.”
2. At the end of a tournament day, while everyone is standing in line at the tanks and getting ready to weigh in, you ask those same guys who previously said they couldn’t figure out the bite about how they did and their response is “I can’t believe I caught ’em!” They act all surprised even though you know they knew!
3. At the moment you leave the tournament and when the phone calls start with those same guys, the conversation goes something like this, with me asking the obvious question: “Thought you weren’t catching ’em?” They laugh it off, knowing very well they were caught in a bluff.
As a competitor I’ve been on the receiving and sending end of those questions and I always get a chuckle. I’m not sure why those three scenarios have all of a sudden come to my attention, but over the past 11 years of tournament fishing it plays like a broken record.
Lake Hartwell was tough on me and maybe I am a sore loser – I’m not sure. What I am sure of is that I will learn what I can from this event and work harder and smarter moving forward and laser-focus on the next event at Beaver Lake. The fishing, food, hospitality and weather are looking B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L and I can’t wait!
Beaver Lake is sure to produce one heck of a tournament, which will make it difficult for me to narrow down my top three things, but come what may I’m looking forward to sharing my thoughts!