PRO FISHING HINDSIGHT
RON NELSON
TACKLE WAREHOUSE PRO CIRCUIT
TURNED PRO: 2019
WHAT HE WISHES HE’D KNOWN: LOCAL TACKLE
TRENDS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT
JUSTIN ATKINS
BASS PRO TOUR
TURNED PRO: 2017
WHAT HE WISHES HE’D KNOWN: THE PRO FISHING
LIFESTYLE CAN BE DIFFICULT
BPT pro Justin Atkins has experienced considerable success
since he began fishing tournaments at age 16. At 19, he
won the co-angler title in the 2009 Bassmaster Weekend
Series National Championship before moving to the front of
the boat and eventually earning FLW Tour Rookie of the Year
runner-up in 2017 – the same year he went full-time pro, won
the FLW Cup and grabbed third in the Phoenix Bass Fishing
League presented by T-H Marine All-American. He followed
that up with a third-place finish in the 2018 Cup before moving
over to the Bass Pro Tour in 2019.
Looking back, the 30-year-old pro cautions aspiring
anglers about getting caught up in the prestige of being a
successful pro angler without considering all the baggage
that comes with it.
“Technically, I have the greatest job in the world, but it
isn’t easy,” Atkins says. “You have to be mentally prepared
for those times when it may not seem so great, like when
you have two or three bad tournaments in a row and you
haven’t been home in a month. It’s real easy to get disgruntled
about it.
“You have to find the enjoyment in the process of being a
pro – the travel, no sleep, late nights, up early and being
gone from home.”
Supportive friends and family certainly make it easier, but
in the end it’s up to each angler to manage the lifestyle. Even
anglers who don’t compete on the national level, the way
Atkins does, can take a lesson from the pro on embracing all
parts of the experience in order to deal with the more difficult
side of competitive fishing.
“If you only enjoy it when things are going good,” he says,
“you’ll get burned out really quick.”
PHOTO BY MAJOR LEAGUE FISHING
Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit pro Ron Nelson, the 2019
Polaris Rookie of the Year, learned from experience that specific
baits or colors with histories of working well on one
lake may not even get a sniff on a fishery in a different part
of the country.
In short, you can’t be overly prepared when it comes to
tackle.
“Back when I first started, I tried to get by with baits that
work for me locally, but once I started traveling, I found out
pretty quick they didn’t always work,” he says. “It pays to do
some research and find out what works before you go to certain
lakes.
“Tackle trends are constantly evolving. You have to keep
up with it. Don’t be afraid to try something different.”
Nelson uses the 2013 Toyota Series event he won on
Smith Mountain Lake in Virginia as a good example. He was
sight-fishing in that tournament, targeting postspawn cruisers
and bedding fish.
“I rely on a watermelon or green pumpkin Zoom Speed
Craw a lot back home, but those fish wouldn’t touch those
colors,” he recounts. “I went through my plastics and found
Speed Craws in a funky bullfrog color. I could hardly keep
those Smith Mountain fish from eating it, but they won’t even
look at it on the lakes back home.”
PHOTO BY JDOY WHITE
60
FLWFISHING.COM | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | JUNE-JULY 2020