Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

As I sit here at work pondering why I'm working on a holiday again, I reflect on the past year of fishing wishing things could have been better and spent more days on the water.

My year was a busy one at work which led to less prefishing than I have ever done and it showed in the standing this year. Even though I won a tournament I had two that I zeroed in which dont help that end of the year standings.

I will be setting some pretty high goals for myself this year and trying to tackle two tournament trails this year. The main goal is of course to win angler of the year in both trails. Also to prefish more and better than last year. 5 fish every tournament will get me closer to that goal.

I was just wondering what some of yalls goals were and if you met any of your goals in 2004?

Look forward to hearing from you guys.

I wish you luck Conley, and a lot more heavy sacks at the scales.

As for me....................
Sounds like my year, in February I had to sell my boat for financial reasons, figuring I’d pick up another one off the back lot and fix it up. *While working in the Marine Business is fun, it ain’t exactly a way to get rich, winters can be tough*.

Wrong-O, in March a wholesale dealer wandered through and bought everything we had that was worth anything. Even the fixer-uppers. Then my partner got stuck on evening shifts three nights a week and on-call weekends, sorta cut way into our prefishing time.

No boat = little prefishing = Tourny blues such as you mention, including doing zippo on four for the year.

And I didn’t get to chase the Hybrids either, *insert favorite obscenity here*

In fact I fished far less than I have in a very long time this year, and 2005 isn’t looking a whole lot better. I told my partner he might want to find someone else for the season, we fish the locals mostly. Wednesday night jackpots ETC, and we try to make the Laughter & Pitts ‘Last Bass’ in November, which we missed. (First place paid over 18 grand this year, Big bass took 9 Grand). But I don’t see me dealing with shared expenses as I should, and I will not ask anyone to carry me.

It isn’t so much not fishing Tourneys that gets me, it’s not being on the water with a rod in my hand as often as I like. Which is usually almost every day from Mar to Nov.

I do get to get one wet at least four or five times a week, but the Boss takes a dim view of me fishing on the job. I tend to forget how long I’m in the water .

So, this year I’m going back to the basics, what I learned on in my youth, and where I caught a lot more fish. Ponds, I’m getting out my old notebook and making myself reacquainted with all the old dirt farmers and cattle ranchers I know. If I can’t run with the big dogs, I’ll just find a new place to play. Besides, just think how good I might do when I apply those neat tips and tricks to those poor uneducated fish. You know, the tips and tricks I pick up in Bassin’ magazine fairly often. (So it’s a gratuitously blatant attempt to suck up, but it is the truth.)

Richard