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Why I Quit Fishing Bass Tournaments.



Today I answer the question I have been asked by subscribers and quests for over a year. Why do I do not fish bass tournaments anymore. Its a more complex answer than most, I have been struggling with mental health issues, mostly PTSD for over a two decades now. Today I talk about my struggles in the bass tournament fishing world. I never thought that something I enjoy the most could cause some of the hardest struggles. Bass fishing tournaments will always be apart of my life even I choose not to compete in them. I appreciate everyone that I have met, talked to, and have gotten to know over the years, and I look forward too many more years of covering bass fishing tournaments from the bank.

Mental health struggles are nothing to be taken lightly, don’t forget to check in on yourselves every now and then.

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19 Comments

  1. I'm with you 100%. I walked away from it 2016 because I was taking it way to seriously. I would lose my mind if they changed the dates or lakes. If someone came into the area I was fishing I would be pissed. One day one of the guys had paid a large sum of money for him/wife's anniversary for the weekend after the tournament. Well something came up for one of the other anglers who was bumping the top of the AOY standings and he couldn't fish on the designated weekend for the tournament. So the tournament director decided to move the tournament to the next weekend where the man/wife had already paid unrefundable money for their anniversary trip. That was it for me. I left and never went back and haven't paid to play since. Don't get me wrong, I still miss it. But not at the cost of my own sanity.

  2. This is extremely common with bass fishing tournaments. There is ABSOLUTELY nothing wrong with getting to the point where you don’t want to tournament fish. I recently quit myself. Bought an aluminum boat and I go for crappie, bass and the best part…I get to take my son fishing. Enjoy Gods creation. Be grateful for the opportunity to just fish.

  3. You had half of what it takes to make a great tournament fisherman and that is a very high level of confidence.. All of the greats have had it and when they started they had it. KvD, Wheeler, Thrift, Iaconelli etc, but they also had a very strong foundation of talent. Paying your dues in bass fiahing used to definitely be required to be great, now FFS will allow Anglers that have been fishing for a cple of years to compete with champions. This has skewed a lot of people expectations and their journeys. I have been bass fishing since the mid 90s competitively and I have similar expectations. I enter every event fully expecting to win said event. However, i have learned along the way your going to be humbled by this sport way more than you will be successful. I appreciate and respect your honesty and I hope bass fishing can do for you what it has done for me in life. It literally saved my life in more ways than one. Now I have stage 4 colon cancer at 45 yrs old and I still fiah competitively every chance i get but I dont take any of them for granted. I fish every event like it may be my last. Good luck and good luck with your channel..

  4. As a co-angler, I very much recommend you just do team tournaments if you decide to co angler.. because there's basically nothing more soul-sucking in all of tournament bass fishing and being a co-angler….

  5. Man, I think anyone who has been into tournament fishing, even top tier pros, have got in a slump, felt frustrated, and had a perfect plan fall apart on game day. Hell, as a guy who has been fishing bass tournaments since the mid 90's, I can tell you after more than a few weigh-ins over the years, I've told my buddies, "I'm going to sell this damn bass boat and trade it in on a speed boat. Chasing 😻in a speed boat has got to be less stressful and I'm sure I can get a get a nice bowling ball for what all this tackle cost me." My point is, you started doing it for a reason. I'm guessing it's because you enjoyed it. Think about that before you quit. Also, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Gerald Swindle has been fishing the Elite Series since 2006 and has never won one, but he's won two AOY's

  6. How to turn on an angler myself I see this a lot. Guys will show up to their first tournament on our circuit and zero in a tournament and you will never see that team again. Play see it at the club level 2. Tournament fishing is a whole different ball of wax and it's not for everybody. If you're overly competitive you cannot do it. It will absolutely eat you up.

  7. Thank you so much for your honesty. We need a lot more of people like you in our sport and society in general.
    Sounds like you are a strong man and knows what you’re doing. Good luck to you with everything you do!

  8. Thanks for sharing that was gut wrenching, I feel for you brother. Sad that something that meant so much to you has become a source of frustration but we (the kayak bass community) appreciate your current efforts and are wishing you the greatest success as a pod-caster. I appreciate you brother and thank you, if you need anything don't hesitate.

  9. What’s up brother. This is Coey. I was the winner at Moses. I also have PTSD which comes with lots of sub issues and the one that is the hardest for me is dealing with anger that flares up for absolutely no reason. I took the past 2 years off from tournaments but plan to dab into it again this year. I’m going to limit myself to only doing 2 tournaments and focus on having fun and not winning. I also have a boat because fishing helps me with my issues. I can’t remember where you are located but anytime you want to go out fishing we can go out in the boat. Salmon season will be fun and we can get out and just enjoy the day. If you ever need anything just let me know. Take care and be safe my brother.

  10. I know this feeling you were talking about and was my fear when I started last year. I’m trying to do a lot more tourneys this year, which will cut into the “fun fishing” I always do. I hope I don’t regret it.

  11. It says a lot about you that you are honest with yourself. Do what is best for you. Enjoy fishing without it being a competition. I just enjoy being out there on the water. Catching fish is just a bonus.

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