LESSON NO . 4
FISHING FAMILY IS FAMILY
“ The most difficult part for me is time away from home ; time away from your family ,” he admits . “ They ’ re the ones that make the big sacrifice to let us pursue our dream .”
Additionally , Jones and his peers make up their own family on the road – one their actual families don ’ t have for extra support .
“ We all compete with each other on the water . There ’ s nothing I ’ d rather do than knock them out of the lead and hurt their feelings and make them feel bad about themselves . But outside of that , it really is one big family . I can remember seeing one of the competitors broke down on the side of the road with a flat tire , and within 10 minutes , there ’ s seven other anglers stopped to help . It ’ s a home away from home .”
… and all the other things
Like fuel costs . At Lake Erie , Jones ran north into St . Clair all four days , burning about $ 800 worth of fuel for the 750 miles he ran during the tournament alone . If you ’ re not cashing checks , every tank can sting .
LESSON NO . 5
IT ’ S THE LITTLE THINGS ...
With all the time Jones spends in his vehicle , keeping entertained is especially important .
“ I listen to a huge variety of things ,” Jones explains . “ My top three would be Whiskey Myers , Turnpike Troubadours and Luke Combs . I click on artists and hit shuffle playlist and it ’ ll play me everything they ’ ve ever made . And those are artists I don ’ t think have made a bad song .
“ I listen to some murder mystery podcasts , too . There ’ s a couple I really enjoy . One ’ s called Criminal . Another is called My Favorite Murder . I mix it up .”
… and the cheesy things
“ My guilty pleasure when I ’ m on the road is Taco Bell ,” Jones admits . “ I can ’ t hardly pass one up . I can ’ t pass up a cheesy gordita crunch . Whether it ’ s been a long day on the water or a long day of driving , that ’ s one of the things I have to stop for . I have no self-control .”
Jones estimates he stopped for Taco Bell 25 times while on the road for tournaments this season ( and admits that ’ s probably a low-ball estimate ). When you ’ re traveling that much and time is so valuable , you better have a taste for fast food .
... and like managing tackle .
“ At Lake Fork I went through provably 60 YUM Dingers in three days ,” Jones estimates . “ At St . Clair I went through quite a few Berkley Flat Worms . I went through probably at least a dozen frogs in three days at La Crosse due to pike . I would say at almost every event I make a Tackle Warehouse overnight order . I think I can speak for my dad and a lot of other anglers ; I know they all do the same .”
... and managing caffeine intake .
“ I try to do coffee , but whenever I get really run down , my coffee turns into Red Bull . I try to keep it pretty moderate – one in the morning and one in the afternoon . Give me something to wake up and something to get me through that 3 o ’ clock feeling .”
LESSON NO . 6
THERE ’ S NO HANDBOOK
The life of a touring pro can be fun . It can be challenging . It can be exhausting and exciting and terrifying . One thing it can never be , though , is predictable .
“ Every day is a new day . You never know what you ’ re going to run into whether it ’ s on the road or on the water . I think fishing is less than half of what we actually do .”
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FLWFISHING . . COM | | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . . COM | | OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2020