Title
Photo – Anglers docked awaiting championship day three of the 2020 Bassmaster
Classic Lake Guntersville, Alabama.
Tournament Pattern Strategy
In pursuing victory in tournaments, anglers often look for
patterns to establish a winning bite. These repetitions can, among many things,
represent a type of structure, cover elements, water conditions, depth, time of
day, fishing techniques and their associated lures, or combinations of these
elements that winning-size fish consistently use during a set of tournament
days.
Locating a pattern or multiple patterns during competition
provides anglers with confidence. This self-assurance goes a long way in
achieving the task of winning because the angler knows what needs to be accomplished.
The more familiar anglers are with a given task, the more automatic their
actions become.
However, one should be aware that familiarity can spawn
unconscious behavior.
The Pinnacle of Bass Tournaments, the Bassmaster Classic
A portion
of the Classic Champion Banners hanging above the Bassmaster Classic Expo
At the 2020 Bassmaster Classic in Birmingham, Alabama, I gazed
up at the Champions Banners. What stood out was that only a few had won
multiple events. This detail inspired my prime question for Media Day as I
interviewed several Classic contenders before the first day of competition.
Bassmaster Classic Media Day
In no special
order, Media Day interviewees, top left to bottom right – Cory Johnston, Clifford
Pirch, John Crews, Cliff Prince, Scott Canterbury, Skylar Hamilton, Grea Buck, Seth
Feider, Josh Busby, and Keith Combs.
The Lead-in and the Question
Few anglers have won multiple events. Fewer have won
multiple Bassmaster Classics; those that have know how to pattern winning. What
is your pattern for winning?
This question took a few anglers by surprise. There was a
mix of answers, some better than others. As they answered, I could read the
confidence or the lack thereof on the competitors' faces. The 2020 Bassmaster
Classic comprised a field of anglers who had never won a Classic event.
Rick Clunn, a Four-Time Bassmaster Classic Champion
The
author with Hall of Fame, Legendary Professional Bass Angler Rick Clunn, at the
Bassmaster Classic Expo in Birmingham, Alabama.
On the event show floor, I asked Rick Clunn the same
question. Clunn wasn't competing in this year's event but is a multiple Classic
winner, a rarity, with a superlative ongoing career. Clunn's answer was
instantaneous and by far the best. He knew very well what the question meant.
Clunn's Answer -
For me, and I think for most anglers, this is what you emphasize
in your vision and career. I'm in the Classic quest, which got me into fishing.
It wasn't about money but the dream of winning the Bassmaster Classic.
Obviously, it took me a while to do what you said (author's
question), and that's to figure out how to win it. It took me three years. In
my third year in 76, I won it here in Guntersville, and in 77, I won it in Toho.
I wanted to win again; I won it two more times later.
The key was that I ended up fishing every tournament of the
year, pretending it was the Classic. Especially because back then, where you
were going was a secret. We fished the Classic so differently than any other
event. There wasn't much pre-preparation because you didn't know where you were
going.
So, you had to know seasonal patterns and things that were
starting to develop then. So unlike all the other anglers in the Classic that
fished all 12, 15, and 20 events leading up to the Classic, they fished those events
differently. I fished every event like it was the Bassmaster Classic because I
knew what it would demand. I wanted to be better prepared and more ready than
anybody.
So that's kind of why, to me, nowadays, you can win one when
everything goes right. But, it's like the old saying, are you consciously
confident about that win? And most people are unconsciously confident when they
win.
So, how can you duplicate that? It's very difficult to
duplicate unconscious confidence. Once you become consciously confident, then
you know how to duplicate it, – Rick Clunn.
The Mental Side of Competitive Angling
In all sports, champions have long been aware of the mental
side of performance. These 'inner' skills are just as crucial as technical
talent; some say more so. How strong is your inner game?
