Ebare cites the common scenario of tournament anglers doing well in practice , then doing equally poorly come tournament day .
“ It ’ s easy to make good decisions in practice ,” he says . “ In practice , when the fish aren ’ t biting , you pick up and move .”
He contrasts that scenario to anglers feeling locked in during competition days and not fishing in the flow . Those same anglers , then , are just trying to get by .
“ I hear about check weights and what it ’ s going to take to get a check ,” Ebare continues . “ I don ’ t even think about that , because if I fish for 50th , I ’ ll never find the fish to win .” Ebare also acknowledges that his method isn ’ t for everyone . “ Sometimes it takes making risky decisions ,” he says . “ But guys that are consistently good are very versatile and fish on the fly .”
Spencer Shuffield : 7-year pro , $ 904,301 in career earnings
Spencer Shuffield comes from a professional angler lineage . Exposure early on to the game certainly helped carve his meteoric rise to the top of the standings . By the time he was 18 , Shuffield had spent years in a bass boat all over the South .
He contrasts his upbringing with less successful anglers who really haven ’ t fished that much .
“ Nowadays , lots of guys jump in ( to high-level tournament fishing ) because they have a lot of money , or they have someone who will fund them ,” Shuffield says . “ And everybody wants info before they even hit the lake . You can ’ t fish somebody else ’ s spot . That ’ s their big downfall .”
ILLUSTRATION BY JOE MAHLER
Shuffield reasons that only through self-discovery can bass fishing secrets be unlocked .
“ Everybody wants to know the answers before they even ( visit ) a fishery , but we all approach a body of water differently ,” he concludes . “ Unless you figure it out for yourself , you ’ ll never be successful .”
Todd Faircloth : 23-year pro , $ 2,734 , 374 in career earnings .
Like Rose , Todd Faircloth sees less successful tournament anglers putting too much emphasis on what they learn online , without utilizing personal experience .
“ When I started , if you wanted to learn something , you went to the lake and figured it out on your own ,” he says . “ But there ’ s a lot more knowledge now . Today , if you want to learn something , you Google it .
“ To be successful and consistent , you ’ ve got to gain inner confidence . It ’ s a momentum-building thing , and you can only do that by learning on your own .”
Faircloth believes many new anglers will head to a lake noted for a certain pattern or hot lure and , despite having little or no experience in that arena , try to make it work in a tournament . Not Faircloth .
“ Until I get my hands on it and learn it , I ’ m not going to try anything new in a tournament ,” he says . Confidence is a trait Faircloth has seen in all the best pros . “ It was so evident in Aaron ( Martens ),” he says . “ He always believed he was in the best area and using the best lure . KVD is the same way . It ’ s like a notch above confidence .”
Nick LeBrun : 4-year pro , All-American champion and back-to-back Pro Circuit winner
Nick LeBrun is known for his laid-back style . His critique of less successful pros matches his core values .
“ A lot of what I see holding back other anglers is their situation at home ,” LeBrun says . “ Maybe their wife isn ’ t fully on board ( with a pro fishing career ). It ’ s not going to be good . Or maybe they have a small business back home , and they have one foot in and one foot out of fishing ; that ’ s tough .”
LeBrun contrasts that to what he sees as the opposite end of the spectrum in a close cohort .
“ A guy I see that ’ s doing great – like Dakota Ebare – all he ’ s doing is fishing ,” LeBrun adds . “ He ’ s fully committed and fishing as many events as possible .”
LeBrun pointed out that , for tournament professionals , “ the only thing you should be worried about is getting the next bite . If you ’ re not in it 100 percent , you might have a good event here and there , but you won ’ t be around in five years .”
So what have we learned ? Is tournament bass fishing a mental game ? For years , I ’ ve argued yes .
Confidence – however it ’ s achieved – is the primary factor in making good decisions on the water . In today ’ s game , anglers are better at an earlier age , and more committed than ever . Winning professionals make consistent decisions based on confidence that can only be attained through experience . They avoid dock talk , fish their strengths and keep an open mind and a positive attitude . The winning recipe is right there on paper .
All we have to do is believe .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 25