MLF just bought FLW

[Flysmallie]

7 minutes ago, tjm said:

Apple and carrot comparison unless competitive fishing is a team game.

Another great example of people that have never done it trying to understand it. It's not an apples and oranges comparison. Think of it as learning basketball by yourself or competing against one other guy. If that other guy is better than you then you will get better. Unless of course you are a complete bonehead that cannot or refuses to learn. Competition makes people better. Period. It also turns some people into complete turds. No matter what you do, competition will make you better at whatever it is. 

If that's not for you then great. I understand. It's not for me anymore either. But when I did do it I found I real quick that I wasn't any where near the fisherman I thought I was. But that competition made me a better fisherman. A much better fisherman. But I will admit that I took it as a learning opportunity, set goals for myself, and worked my butt off to achieve those goals. Which I did and then I quit. 

[Blazerman]

48 minutes ago, tjm said:

So, how is it that y'all learn these things from tourney fishing that you never could have from fishing every day? They have seminars, give lessons, have an instructor in your boat? ? Maybe I've been missing out .

I don't fish many tournaments but the one BFL i fished at LOTO taught me a lot. As a co-angler i got to watch a pretty good pro do his thing, which was flipping, pitching and skipping his bait around and under every dock he wanted to fish to. I was amazed by how far he could get a texas rigged worm up under a dock and also how consistently he could hit every little opening between the floats. Or under cables and next to piers.

It showed me why they are catching fish that most average guys never get a bait to. It was fall fishing and a tough bite but he ended up getting his limit. 

[fishinwrench]

It isn't just participating in a few tournaments that make you better, it's staying with it and grinding it out until you actually accomplish a few wins, then when you start feeling like you're really on top of it..... getting your butt kicked AGAIN, and starting all over from there, staying with it long enough to succeed yet again.

Once you get to the point where it just becomes luck between you and a select few, the confidence really sets in.  THEN somebody you never even considered being in your "league" comes in with a fat sack and blows you away because guess what? They are getting better too.  It's never ending. 

At that point you either keep playing the game, (basically gambling) or you realize "Hey, this is freakin' rediculous".. ....and you go back to fun fishing, being a WAY better angler than you were before.   

[tjm]

Thanks guys, I see that as a co-angler it would be like having a tutor, but the competition causing improvement is just the difference between ambition and lack of ambition, wanting to improve yourself almost always leads to self improvement. My instruction was at the library and the only angler I knew was myself so the competition was always with myself. beating what I did last time over the same water. Attempting to catch every fish in a hole from big to small and trying to be on the water at least five times a week, every week. I think that outside competition, possibly even the presence of others,  would have been a distraction.  

[Flysmallie]

3 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

..and you go back to fun fishing, being a WAY better angler than you were before.   

And that's when it's really fun. I wouldn't get back into it today but I would do it all over again. 

[Flysmallie]

2 hours ago, tjm said:

I think that outside competition, possibly even the presence of others,  would have been a distraction.  

Maybe. Competition doesn't work the same way for everyone. There were a lot of guys I fished with that never got any better. I'm not saying they weren't good, they just never did enough to improve. Yeah they were probably better than they were the day before but the pack of good anglers that fed off of each other were leaving them behind.

2 hours ago, tjm said:

My instruction was at the library

This probably touches on another aspect of what it takes to be better. Time on the water is where it's at. Tournament fisherman........Good tournament fisherman spend a ton of time on the water. NOTHING prepares you better than that. 

[tjm]

Like I said before "if you fished every day" I did that for several years or tried too, probably missed 40-50 days a year that I didn't spend at least a couple hours on some water. If the need for some one to say this is the day to fish is part of it, yes I can see very well that it would help. You've answered my question well. Thank you again.

[mixermarkb]

I've found the wife finds a lot less for me to do if I have a tournament scheduled, vs. just mention that I'm thinking of going fishing next week...she's ok with me fishing, but there are times the honey-dos seem to multiply right before a good couple of days when I could run to the lake.

[slothman]

1 hour ago, mixermarkb said:

I've found the wife finds a lot less for me to do if I have a tournament scheduled, vs. just mention that I'm thinking of going fishing next week...she's ok with me fishing, but there are times the honey-dos seem to multiply right before a good couple of days when I could run to the lake.

The biggest reason I joined a bass club and started tournament fishing regularly ☝️☝️.

It is much easier for me to get to go fishing when I have it on the schedule months in advance. If I want to go on a whim (even if we have nothing else going on) it is much more difficult for me to get my wife on board. 

[fishinwrench]