What It Takes To Win
By Kurt Johnson
I won my first bass
tournament in 1979 on the Whitefish Chain in the Cross Lake area; I know some of
the people that might read this weren’t even born at that time! The last win was
this past year on Gull Lake also in the Brainerd area. In that span of time
some aspects of tournament fishing have changed dramatically – others haven’t
changed one bit. The fish are the same and except for the fishing pressure, live
in the same places and have the same needs as they always have. Equipment,
common knowledge, and techniques for the most part are superior; however what it
takes to compete is essentially the same. What it takes is the knowledge of
where the quality fish are, and making good, on the water decisions based on a
number of variables during competition - a little luck doesn’t hurt either. Then
you have the confidence to go where you need to, when you need to, and stay with
or abandon, a variety of options on any given day. Add to that various weather
conditions, that can open or close doors for you, and what the competition can
do to your fish and there is a lot to think about – maybe too much. Probably the
best mental place that a fisherman can get to is an intuitive one where you can
make the decisions based on a lot of experience either in consecutive days on
the water or accumulated time on specific bodies of water. When you get to that
place you make your decisions instinctively based on what feels right at the
time.
Plans for 2008
Kurt will be fishing the Camp Confidence Pro Team Tournament,
the Fort Frances Canadian Bass Championship and the Extream
Bass Team Circuit.
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