I don’t care what sport you play, there comes a day when the Gods of that sport will humble you. So many times, as an athlete, we think we have everything figured out. We think we know more than anyone else and that we are invincible. We have the attitude “you can’t beat me!”
That’s when we get a little too comfortable in our own skin and things start to unravel and go south. For bass tournament anglers, you never know when that day will be coming. But rest assured, it will happen!
My humbling moments have occurred more than once in my 30-year fishing career but there is one that stands out more than any other. It took place about five years ago on Lake Texoma on the Oklahoma/Texas border during one of those late February events with temperatures in the upper 20s and lower 30s.
Over the years, I’ve had several tournaments on Lake Texoma and have done well there in the past. It’s a lake that I feel very comfortable with. I have a lot of confidence each time I drop my boat in the water at this famed Oklahoma/ Texas fishery.
If you’re angler who likes to power fish with buzz baits, crankbaits and spinnerbaits, Texoma is the place for you. But there are times when you will question if there’s any bass in this lake as the fishing can get really tough.
On one of my recent trips to this impoundment, I found out firsthand just how tough Texoma can be. I was preparing for a three-day event while pre-fishing in some very frigid temperatures. To say that the bite was tough would be a huge understatement.
As Day 1 of practice began, I knew that the only way I was going to get a bite was by slowing down my presentation. Bass in cold water conditions are very lethargic and slow to react to a bait.
Well at the end of practice on Day 1, I had absolutely nothing figured out as I put my boat back on the trailer after a long 9-hour day with zero bites. That’s right, I had zero bites the entire day!
Day 2 brought the same cold temperatures but sunny skies as daytime temperatures rose into the upper 40s. I thought with temperatures warming as the day went on, that maybe there would be a good afternoon bite. My thinking was wrong as I once again as I loaded my boat after Day 2 of practice with zero bites.
That’s right, I had fished for a total of 18 hours and had yet to set the hook on a single fish! So, as I laid in bed that night, I thought that maybe I need to speed up my presentation and throw some type of reaction bait like a rattle-trap, which is very popular during cold weather tournaments.
As the final day of practice rolled around, I was actually a little excited and was looking forward to trying something different. So I tied on a ¼ oz SPRO Aruku Shad in the popular chrome with a blue back. When I say I threw the paint off that bait, I mean I stayed committed to my plan and never put it down pretty much all day long.
But as only the bass fishing Gods can explain, I once again came off the lake nine hours later with zero bites! At this point, now I’m as frustrated as I’ve ever been going into Day 1 of a tournament.
To cut this article short, I’ll just go ahead and tell you that over the next two days of tournament competition, I had one bite and never caught a single fish I could weigh-in.
For the first time in my tournament career, I fished on a body of water I’m very familiar with and caught only one bass over five consecutive days!
So, for all those up-and-coming anglers, listen up — if you fish tournaments, there will come a day when you question if you really know anything about how to catch a bass.
With this frustration, you might even want to sell everything you own that’s related to bass fishing! But hang in there — sooner or later, grey skies will fade, and sunshine will return as you catch bass like never before.