Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Summer 2016, Page 43

Westernbass Magazine - FREE Bass Fishing Tips And Techniques - Summer 2016, Page 43

I started with the core variables: the ability to find fish, ability to catch fish, and mental ability (which I established as an independent variable because of its importance).

There are competitive anglers out there with the innate ability to find fish; can’t always catch them, or catch the right ones, but they have the skill/ability to consistently find fish.

Conversely, there are those anglers that can catch fish…in the darnedest of places and conditions, when others simply cannot or do not.

The last of my principal core variables is the mental component. To be successful you have to have the confidence to compete and win, the adaptability to adjust with the conditions, and the resiliency to keep fishing when things get tough (tough could be one tournament, or an entire season). In comes luck, it never hurts to get lucky! But, as the old saying goes, luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

FINANCES AND EXPERIENCES

In my model (Figure 1), the core variables (ability to catch and find fish, along with mental ability) are proportional to an angler’s financial means and experience.

For example, an angler with unlimited financial resources, who can have the newest and best equipment may have an advantage, but is no closer to success, without experience, ability, and some luck along the way. You see one cannot be successful strictly with the nicest equipment (some people have learned that lesson the hard way).

In contrast, you can have a salty ol’ angler who has a great wealth of experience, but if he/she does not have the means to fish as much or keep up with technology and new techniques, they can find themselves at a disadvantage (e.g., using electronics to find and catch fish and maximize time).

Further, if it were entirely based on experience, then those salty ol’ anglers would win every event, right? But, if you notice, there

are often a handful of

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