Life Between Seasons for a Pro Angler
How Alex Davis mixes fun and work to gear up for the FLW Tour season
The offseason.
Usually when you hear that term you think lots of couch time, naps and being not very busy. That’s what I thought before I started to fish the FLW Tour, but after six years on Tour, that’s far from the truth.
After competing in my first FLW Cup this past August, I got back to guiding on Guntersville (which I do when I’m not gone fishing the Tour). I had a stretch from September to October where I had 42 straight trips. Far from being off, but gaining knowledge is the name of the game when it comes to tournament fishing. I’m not going to lie, though, I was really looking forward to ending my guiding for the fall, but probably not for the reason you’re thinking of.
As busy as a Tour pro stays from August until December, getting things lined up for the following year, I still find time to relax a bit. Like most fishermen, I also enjoy passing time in the fall and winter by going hunting.
Hunting was something my dad got me into, like he did with fishing. It used to be something we would do here and there, but in the last few years it went from something we did six or seven days a season to now hunting around 30 days in the fall and winter. It’s the only thing to me that’s not stressful and where I can turn my phone off and just truly enjoy the outdoors. It’s not about shooting a 150-inch monster; it’s about spending time with my dad and truly enjoying the outdoors.
With hunting, the hours somehow seem longer than in fishing. The alarm goes off at 4 a.m., and we usually don’t get home until 6 or 7 o’clock, so like tournament fishing, getting enough sleep usually doesn’t happen.
Every year dad and I take a trip to Virginia to deer hunt. We always have an awesome time. This year, we both tagged out on our buck tags, dad shot a black coyote, and memories were made we won’t soon forget. The only downside to our hunting vacation was in the evenings dealing with the emails, orders and phone calls that had to be made to prep for the 2019 season. This is the part that many people don’t know or realize professional fishermen must do.
As a guy who loves the outdoors, I want to be fishing or hunting – not in front of a computer. The offseason is the time of year to gain more sponsorships, build better bonds with current sponsors, order my boat for the following year, organize tackle and start thinking about 2019. Before I started fishing the FLW Tour, days in the winter consisted of lots of TV and playing Madden NFL. But now, if I’m not in the woods, I’m more than likely on the phone or on the computer, planning ahead for the next Tour season.
Before starting this blog, I was working on getting housing arrangements lined up for 2019. I’m not one of those guys who likes to wing it. I want everything in order before the season starts so I can concentrate on fishing and fishing only. Though, as I’m typing this, my phone goes off (I have a trail camera connected to my phone), and it was some pictures of a deer, but not just any deer – a really, really big deer.
So, I guess this offseason just got a little busier.
Hopefully the next blog starts off with, “I got him!”