He also adds that he is looking forward to competing in the Costa FLW Series Championship.
“ Representing Mexico is a huge responsibility, and we know that we are going to compete against some of the best anglers of the world,” says Rosillo.“ We know that this is no small chore. Preparing ourselves is extremely important to performing in a manner that reflects well on all our fishing countrymen, who are excellent fishermen in their own right.”
the Pressure’ s on
Rosillo has been looking over all the information he can find about Table Rock and trying to form a mental picture about what to expect from the lake. In many respects, it is similar to some lakes in Mexico.
Likewise, Silvestre agrees that staying focused is the first order of business. This soft-spoken teenager, who is in his senior year of high school, is preparing himself academically to become a lawyer, but his golden dream is to fish as a pro on the FLW Tour some day.
“ I’ m learning all I can by fishing with great fishermen like Chema [ Rosillo ],” says Silvestre, whose fishing classroom is Lake Guerrero, a lake many anglers from the United States are familiar with.
Ortiz and Granados also appreciate the opportunity presented to them. The two fishermen from the Celaya Bass Fishing Club are keen to perform as true champions at the Costa FLW Series Championship and put Mexico on a higher competitive level in the eyes of other contestants.
“ We have a huge responsibility to our country. Representing Mexico in any type of competition is always an honor and must be taken seriously,” says Ortiz, or“ JJ,” as he is more commonly known.
In the same way, Granados complements his partner’ s thoughts.
“ We don’ t want to disappoint our families and friends,” he says.“ So we will prepare ourselves accordingly. If any of our two boaters make it to the 2017 Forrest Wood Cup as representatives of the International Division, it’ s the same as all of us winning.”
meeting the challenge
One thing that the two teams have in common is their ability to adapt to demanding fisheries. The Zimapan tournament serves as an example. The water was falling when the competition began, and the fish were stationed around newly created humps, sunken islands and elongated points in 8 to 10 feet of water.
While soft plastics and crankbaits were the norm, the top teams experimented with various finesse rigs and 4-inch Yamamoto Senkos rigged wacky style or Texas-rigged, and even caught fish on 3 / 16- and 1 / 4-ounce spinnerbaits. Ortiz and Granados won with a limit that totaled 28 pounds, 12 ounces, while Rosillo and Silvestre had 27-8.
True, Zimapan isn’ t Table Rock, but some of the same conditions that the Mexican champions confronted are likely to be repeated to some degree at Table Rock.
Can Ortiz and Granados, Rosillo and Silvestre follow up on their winning ways in the Costa FLW Series Championship? Only time will tell. All they pledge is that they will do their best, with no expectations other than to meet fellow anglers who share their love of tournament competition and to make new friends.
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