FISHING
PATIENCE CAN PAY OFF
TOURNAMENT ADVICE
I
DON’T RUSH YOUR RUN FOR THE TOUR; WAIT UNTIL THE TIME IS RIGHT
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might’ve had the skills to com-
pete on the flw tour when I was
in my 20s, but it’s a good thing I
didn’t rush it. I wasn’t ready. Instead,
I was patient and waited until the
time was right.
then, when I was 41, I won the
2016 the bass federation National
championship and got my opportuni-
ty to fish the flw tour through the
“living the dream” program. I learned
a lot in those years in between, and I
was ready to take advantage of the
opportunity and be a professional
angler when my time came.
I’m not saying everyone needs to
wait until they’re in their 40s to fish
the tour. when you’re
ready, you’re ready, and I
know a lot of young
anglers really are ready. all
I’m saying is, you really
need to be dang sure your
fishing skills, your finances
and your life are all in
order.
If not, I’m telling you,
you’d better grow up in a
hurry when you get to the
tour level, because those
boys will eat your lunch.
I worked my way up to
the tour gradually, starting
with fishing bass tourna-
ments in North alabama
with my dad and grandpa before I
was even a teenager. then, I fished
the costa flw series as a co-angler
for several years, which is a great way
to learn your skills. I actually learned
how to sight-fish in the costas, and
that’s how I won the tbf National
championship on table rock as a
boater.
I was a good fisherman when I
was young, and I probably wanted it
a lot more in my 20s. I just wanted
other things, too. I got married to my
wife, deah, and raised two daugh-
ters, Mariah and olivia, who are now
20 and 15. I built an insulation busi-
ness that I’ve run for 12 years, and I
kept fishing the bfls and federation,
hoping I would get a little lucky and
win the championship. It didn’t come
easy. I made four tbf Nationals
before I won.
taking my time really helped me
financially. My business pretty much
runs itself when I’m gone, so I’m not
building debt in order to fish.
I know some young anglers who
ran up major debt trying to make it,
and they failed. that’s debt they might
never recover from. I’m telling you,
when you’re broke, all you’re worried
about is making a check to pay the
bills. If your bills are paid, you can
focus on trying to win. and if you
think you’re going to go out and solely
make a living fishing at first, you’re
probably wrong. you need a way to
make money when you’re not on the
road.
that’s why I encourage a lot of
young people to consider the con-
struction trades. there’s good money
in it and a lot of demand for skilled
workers. handymen can name their
price these days, and, eventually, if
you can work for yourself, you’ll have
the flexibility to go fish tournaments.
Not a lot of jobs offer that.
because I run my own business, I
also understand what sponsors are
looking for when they pay someone
their hard-earned dollars to go to
work for them. If they’re going to pay
By Joseph Webster
photo by kyle wood
you up front, before you even start,
you had better give them an honest
day’s work, or it’s not going to last
long.
that’s why I try to work for spon-
sors that are close by where I live, or
that I can support without a lot of
extra travel. I just can’t do as much as
some other pros when I have to be
home running my business. that’s
ok, though. you have to be honest
with yourself and your sponsors.
during those years, I also learned
to be patient, which helps in a 170-
boat tournament, when you know
you’re going to find other anglers in
the places you want to fish. I learned
to be confident in myself
as an angler, and to apply
my skills instead of chas-
ing dock talk.
I also learned to not
fish scared, which wasn’t
easy at first. when I joined
the tour, I fished to sur-
vive. I’d be right at the cut-
off line to make a check,
and I’d think, “If I just catch
another limit tomorrow, I’ll
make a check.” ten thou-
sand dollars is a lot of
money, but a lot of times,
fishing with that attitude, I
didn’t catch them. I’ve
since learned to fish a little
more on the edge.
I share my story not to tell you
how you should live your life, but
because everything worked out so
well for me, and I think it can work
out for others, too. there are more
opportunities now than ever before
to compete in bass fishing, and there
are plenty of success stories about
anglers who made it at the top when
they were young.
but there are also good reasons to
be patient, to wait until the time is
right and to not give up if you don’t
get your break right away. when it’s
your time, and you do it on a sched-
ule that works for you, you’ll be a lot
better off in the long run.
FlWFIshInG.com I Fall 2019