|
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
As a freelance writer and photographer , Rob Newell has been reporting on fishing tournaments for 20 years , finding the stories between fish and angler to be a stretched line of heroes , heartache , triumph , torture , inspiration and exasperation .
|
A s the saying goes , when life hands you lemons , make lemonade .
When bass pros endured various levels of lockdown due to COVID-19 during the peak of the 2020 fishing season this past spring , they quickly found ways to apply the down time to bettering their craft as professional anglers . From tackle room renovations to building “ lure-testing facilities ,” here are a handful of pros who have squeezed their own lockdown lemonade during the COVID-19 pandemic .
Ehrler tackles tackle room After the state of California went into lockdown , Brent Ehrler found himself with no place to fish . With most boat ramps closed for an extended period of time , he committed himself to rebuilding his tackle room .
“ We have a single room that ’ s detached from the
|
house ,” Ehrler says . “ Over the years it ’ s become the catch-all storage room for everything from household items to my fishing gear . All my bass tackle has been stored in various plastic totes and cardboard boxes for the last 14 years . The room was a mess , and I could never find anything I needed . Being that disorganized at home has always been a thorn in my side .”
Ehrler started his complete reorganization by having a dumpster delivered to his house to carry off the bulk of the junk . Then , he went through every piece of tackle and sold a lot of the excess to friends or donated it to his bass club . After that , he installed slat board on the walls and new shelving in the closet . Finally came the tedious process of putting every lure in a specific place , using pegs to hang a majority of his tackle for maximum efficiency .
|
The project took about two weeks , and the result is a tackle room that now looks like a high-end tackle store .
“ I feel so much better with that finished ,” Ehrler says . “ Now , instead of dreading tackle prep and maintenance , I love going in that room to work . I can find anything I need in two seconds and it speeds up the packing and unpacking process tremendously .”
Relearning familiar lakes
Alex Davis has been guiding on Lake Guntersville for 13 years . When the travel restrictions squelched his guide business for a month during peak guiding days , Davis didn ’ t let a lack of business derail his time on the water .
“ I still went fishing as much as possible to relearn my home lake ,” Davis says . “ Lakes are constantly changing , and the
|