With that , Connell ’ s list of fishing habits continued to form . He found success in fishing fast and swinging hard with his strength techniques and fell into , “ being hard-headed and forcing the issue ,” to make heroic catches . When he stepped up to two-day local tournaments , that approach still produced , but with it came frustration when it worked one day and not the next .
“ As a competitor , getting mad and frustrated when things don ’ t work is natural ,” Connell says . “ But how you handle that frustration is huge . Early on , I let frustration fly all over me .”
When Connell moved up to the BASS Opens and then the Elite Series , he started with the “ get checks and qualify for the Classic ,” mentality .
“ Nearly every pro starts their career this way ,” Connell says . “ That ’ s why I can ’ t say it ’ s a bad habit . When you work up through the regional to the national levels of multiple-day competition with no money or notoriety , your first goals are earning checks and points to establish a foundation . You don ’ t make on-the-water decisions based on winning ; you make decisions based on needing to eat , paying entry fees , paying gas bills and getting to the next tournament . That conditions the brain to think in that way .”
With a berth into the Elite Series in 2017 came the next habit : the mindset of “ I ’ m just happy to be here .”
“ Again , I can ’ t call it a bad habit ,” he says . “ It ’ s all part of becoming seasoned as a pro . At my age , I was just happy to be out there competing in national tournaments instead of working construction . That leads to fishing in your comfort zone ; running a lot of history , falling back on techniques that have worked in the past . It becomes redundant .”
Connell experienced victory twice at Bassmaster : He won an Open on the Alabama River in 2015 , near his home of Clanton , and also won an Elite Series event at Ross Barnett in 2017 . But Connell says those wins didn ’ t come because he learned how to win . Those wins came from local knowledge , sheer will and fishing by the seat of his pants .
Connell ’ s next career victory came at REDCREST at Lake Eufaula in February of 2021 . That event helped him realize he had all the pieces he
QUALITY AND QUANTITY
Connell won his three Bass Pro Tour titles in 2022 by catching the most fish , but this 7-pounder he caught at Lake Fork proves he can catch big ‘ uns too .
needed to win tournaments ; he just wanted to do it more frequently .
“ I wanted to be what I call a ‘ beast closer ,’” he says . “ Jacob Wheeler , Ott Defoe , Edwin Evers , Jo Lee – all those guys are beast closers . When it ’ s all on the line on the final day , they step up and close . I wanted to be in that category .”
Identifying the negative loop
The REDCREST victory made Connell realize he had the winning components , but he needed to clean out some clutter of his old conditioning . The Bass Pro Tour was a different puzzle altogether : six days , every fish counts , multiple rounds , zeroing weight after cut days . He felt he was being held back by too many old pieces that weren ’ t relevant anymore . He needed a mental house cleaning of certain notions and emotions that had become old habits , clouding his view of victory lane for that format .
Through the rest of 2021 and into the offseason , Connell went to work purging his old habits . Over the course of several events , he began to precisely identify a redundant cycle in his fishing that was hampering him . Several old
habits and subconscious notions were joining together to start this spin , which was fueled into a swift swirl by frustration . Essentially , it was a negative feedback loop that needed to be broken and dissolved .
“ This cycle starts by chasing that Knockout Round for a $ 10,000 check and REDCREST points .” he explains . “ I would run my best stuff and burn it up to make the Knockout – great , I make another Knockout Round .”
But once in the Knockout – five days into the tournament – things have changed substantially . Productive areas or patterns have fizzled . Fishing pressure takes a toll . Bites get hard to come by . The slide down SCORE- TRACKER ® begins . Frustration sets in . And old habits began to haunt him .
“ Then I start running history and old places trying to get a bite ,” Connell explains . “ I get torn between fishing new water to expand or clinging to what got me there . I start trying to force the issue , which only makes me madder .”
Then Connell takes a moment to humorously reflect on where he is mentally at this point by referencing the golf movie “ Tin Cup .”
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 35