me, mentally it’s to get some fish in the boat early as it calms the nerves. From that point I will focus on upgrading. This usually means I will change up my techniques slightly, and cover more water.
Bass Digest: What do you consider to be your primary fishing strengths & weaknesses on the water?
Marc Bywater: I like to think my strength is versatility. I definitely do have techniques that I feel I’m better at, but I feel like I can fish any situation. What I mean is I would prefer to catch them pitching all day, but if I need to fish with a spinning rod and 6lb line in 30ft of water I can do that too. I always try favouring my preferred techniques, as my confidence levels are higher.
As for weaknesses, it’s definitely the mental aspect of tournament fishing. I spend too much time focused on others instead of what I am doing. I work hard at focusing on my tactics and techniques and less on others.
Bass Digest: Do you use your fish finder to find spots to fish? Do you just know where to look for the fish? How do you go about choosing your fishing spots?
Marc Bywater: I always use my fish finders whether I know the dam or not. I think it’s an extremely valuable tool to have on the boat and can supply a lot of information to what the fish are doing. If I’m fishing a new body of water that I have never fished before, I will choose a few different areas off a map to start and fish those. Once I’m on the water I will side scan the spot to try and understand more, and start fishing what I feel confident in. After fishing and hopefully getting some bites I will try put the puzzle pieces together and figure out a pattern.
Bass Digest: Being such an accomplished angler already, where to from here for you? What are your aspirations & goals for the future?
Marc Bywater: I’m not so sure I’m an accomplished angler just yet, but for now my main goal is on the upcoming nationals at Inanda. I’d like to rank in the top 10 finishers and line myself up for the next years nationals. I had set myself a goal of achieving my Protea colours, and as I mentioned earlier am extremely excited to fish that later this year. From there the ultimate goal for me is to reach the federation championship in the USA and hopefully have an opportunity to fish in the Bassmaster Classic.
Bass Digest/July, 2014