22
Keeping calm is, by his own admis-
sion, one of the biggest hurdles Britt
feels he needs to work on to become
the angler he wants to be. In his mind,
“it’s what separates the men from the
boys.”
Hence the constant reminders
inscribed on his body.
You might wonder why Britt would
choose such a mental sport to begin
with, what with him “starting out in an
emotional hole.” Ask him that, and
suddenly he gets calm. His tone
changes. And the man who has trou-
ble focusing suddenly focuses with
remarkable precision.
“I wanted to play baseball, but that
all changed when I was 16 and my
dad, Ron, and I went on a guided trip
to Clear Lake,” Britt says. “I can close
my eyes and still picture everything
about those two days.”
As he tells it, he and his dad hired
local guide Dave Majestic to take them
fishing on a lake they’d lived little more
than an hour from his entire life, yet
had never fished before.
“I remember him [Majestic] com-
ing down the bank to meet us at the
dock while tossing a spinnerbait. I
remember getting out on the lake and
seeing the lake; the docks and reeds
and rocks. It was like out of a video
game. We must’ve caught 300 fish
pitching Senkos, which I thought was
ridiculous at the time.
“I was so dumb. I was working that
Senko like crazy because that’s obvi-
ously what you had to do, in my mind.
I caught some fish doing it my way,
but eventually I learned.”
Britt remembers coming home
from that trip with a focus that he’d
never experienced before.
“I had to be the best fisherman,”
Britt says. “I wasn’t going to settle for
anything less. Right then and there I
knew I loved this sport too much to
ever stop.”
That passion clearly hasn’t waned
16 years later, and neither have some
of the same bad habits.
So go ahead and judge Britt.
Say he’s too loud. Frown on his
tattoos. Call him a punk.
Or say he’s passionate. Admire his
tattooed mantras. Call him determined
for working through all of his issues.
Whichever side you land on, there
is no middle ground.
“Either you like me or you don’t,”
says Britt. “If you like me, stick around.
If you don’t, leave.”
Learn from the Pros
Be an FLW Tour
MARSHAL
Pick your favorite lake, ride along to learn from
the world’s best pros and win cash awards
based on the combined weight of the pros you
are paired with in the two-day opening round.
As a Marshal, you will be treated to a VIP cook-
out and seminar with FLW Tour pros on the
Wednesday before your tournament, plus
you’ll get behind-the-scenes access through-
out the event. You will also receive an exclusive
FLW Tour Marshal shirt and play a vital role in
live coverage of the tournament by verifying
your pro’s catch and relaying information to
FLW editors.
Win $2,500 and be entered in a
Ranger Z518L Giveaway
details: flwfishing.com/marshals
FLWFIsHIng.com I sprIng 2019