weigh-in at the Forrest Wood Cup in Columbia , S . C ., last summer , Watson sat down in one of the aerated water tanks , telling a protesting Senior Director of Tournament Operations Bill Taylor that he was suffering from South Carolina ’ s broiling heat . Another time , on the weigh-in stage , Watson wore a facemask that mimicked Tour great Bryan Thrift – in looks , if not in catch .
Perhaps his ever-present happy-golucky demeanor is an offshoot of his self-realization that he isn ’ t a Scott Martin or a David Dudley and doesn ’ t claim to be . Qualifying for championships and capitalizing on opportunities to move up in the standings are more realistic goals , and he gives them all his focus .
Reflections On Tournament Fishing
Inconsistency has been Watson ’ s biggest nemesis . He put together three solid days when he won the Norris Lake Tour Invitational event in 2016 , but has struggled mightily to keep up the pace in other tournaments . In the Costa FLW Series Central Division test on Lake of the Ozarks last season against some of Missouri ’ s best , for instance , he was in third place after the second round . Then he broke one of his own cardinal rules by recycling an area in hopes of catching a third good limit from it . Instead , he caught a single keeper and slipped to 10th in the final standings .
“ Boy , did I mess up that one ,” says the 45-year-old Missouri native , who jokingly describes himself as a “ power junk-fisherman .” “ I hate it when somebody says they should have won , but I should have won that one . Most of the time , I ’ m not the type who goes in to every tournament trying to win . That ’ s just not a reasonable expectation . What I do is just try to figure out a pattern that will put me in a position for a paycheck or as many points as I can get . But , hey , a win is nice too , and if it ’ s in the cards , then great .”
Regardless of the approach he takes to various fisheries , Watson ’ s track record shows that he has his best success in difficult autumn tournaments , whether on Norris or the Ozark lakes of Missouri . Tough fishing is something of an equalizer for him , as he ’ s had a lot of experience scratching out decent limits from waters not known to produce big stringers . The first bass club he joined after entering the military was the
Radcliff Bassmasters near Fort Knox , Ky ., where he was stationed for a while . Mainly the club held its tournaments on the Ohio River , Barren River Reservoir and Nolan River Reservoir – none of them having a reputation for producing hefty stringers . One year , Watson won his club ’ s annual Big Bass Award with a fish that weighed 3.33 pounds .
Watson admits that he has some blank spaces in his fishing toolbox to fill in before he reaches the level of expertise he hopes to attain . Fishing ledges is the weakest part of his repertoire and causes him the most frustration . Lakes of the Tennessee River chain such as Kentucky Lake and Guntersville , in particular , aren ’ t high
on his list of favorite fisheries .
“ Ledge tournaments are absolutely the scariest for me . I have to undergo psychiatric treatments and take anxiety medicine for a while ,” he kids . “ The thing is , though , when that tournament ’ s all over , it ’ s back to business . I ’ ll put a smile back on my face and look forward to the next one .”
His love of tournament fishing might have kept Watson from becoming a sort of Midwestern Donald Trump in the real estate business , but he doesn ’ t secondguess himself and the professional choices he made . Though his roller-coaster tournament career has had its exasperating moments , Watson has experienced enough success – and a load of fun – to
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FLWFISHING . COM I FEBRUARY-MARCH 2018