It was the worst single day on the water I've had in years and years. And it's amazing what can happen in a single day. In one day I put the rest of my season in jeopardy. I went from 13th on angler-of-the-year points to 34th. My goal had been to have eight consistent tournaments and to put myself in contention for angler-of-the-year. But angler-of-the-year is a long way off now.
So, in retrospect, what actually happened?
I wish I had an answer, but I still don't know what happened. But what I do know is that I'm responsible for letting the downhill snowball get going. I got negative, and I can guarantee you that negativity always backfires. I was running around the lake in a panic, frustrated by what was happening and angry that I couldn't change things.
So now I'm back in the same type of situation I found myself in the last two seasons. I need a comeback. Fortunately, I can take some comfort in knowing that after I hit bad skids in 2007 and 2008, I came back to have good seasons. And it could happen again. But it won't happen unless I can put this frustration behind me.
PAA Tournament
OK, so quickly, let me tell you what happened last week at the Professional Anglers Association Tournament on Lake Neely Henry in Alabama. It was another big tournament: 145 good anglers from all over the country. A lot of Elite Series and FLW guys in the field. And I've still got Friday at Wheeler in my head.
Well, I led the PAA tournament after Day 1. I had more than 22 pounds, and my bag was nearly four pounds better than the next best. Another good first day. But I knew that I couldn't coast. I needed big fish on the second day to win.
So on the second day I caught a limit of five, but they were small fish. I wouldn't fish it any differently today - I did what I thought had to do. And before it was over I actually hooked a big fish - six pounds plus. But as I was trying to get him in the boat, he slipped off. … That fish would have won the tournament by several pounds. Of course, I'm sure a few other anglers lost tournament winning fish, too.
So I finished in fourth place. I suppose I be happy with that.
