Winter 2022
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any given time in an event, with every update is a lot of pressure. Pressure that you have to get used to. All of that has helped me to fish my strengths that are in front of me.
WB: How do you deal with that TourneyX pressure?
MAH: When we tested it out, I hated it; but I found a way to use it to the advantage of my strategy. Like when we are on a body of water that I don’t know, I watch TourneyX early to see the general bite of the lake. If there are three or four people that get off to a fast start and begin catching a lot of scoreable bass when I haven’t been bit, I know what I’ve been doing is wrong. I use that information to my advantage. I will either move around or change techniques or find away to adjust. Once I get my bearings, I will slowly stop looking at it as I develop what will work for me.
WB: If you think the predominant evolution to your career has been in the last season, when you Monday morning quarterback your career is there anything you would change?
MAH: Yes. There were two major events that I regret. One was an MLF event on the Delta and the other is a Lucas Oil championship on Lake Mead. Mead was a championship that I was leading on the last day. That Delta tournament, I took 2nd. At both events, I didn’t do as well as I could’ve, because I didn’t trust myself 100 percent. I feel that is where I’ve grown and learned this year. It sounds so simple; but it’s really hard to do.
WB: The Delta is a nemesis for many anglers. It is fickle and finicky. We know the Delta giveth and taketh away. Since you are a guy that does and has spent a lot of time on the tidal water fishery, is there anything that you’ve learned there and taken away that you can share?
MAH: Yes, absolutely! I’ve learned that you can literally win a tournament in 25 to 25 minutes. That window can open up and you can have 20 pounds or 30 pounds or whatever it takes to win in that short time. I know that because I’ve done it and that has given me the knowledge to take that wherever I go and be positive and ready for that next bite. A lot of anglers can lose focus when it gets tough, but if you look at the great anglers, they would all tell you that you have to stay acutely ready and you have to stay positive throughout the day, until the end. I take that lesson with me and with the fishing gets tough, I say it out loud to myself.
WB: You are always open to the fans and it seems like “everyone knows you” already; but is there anything that
you’d like to make sure everyone knows about you.
MAH: I truly enjoy helping people learn.
I actively think about the legacy that I
will leave. Sure, I want to be thought
of as a great angler; but it’s more
important to me to support
anglers at every level that want
to come into the sport and
the industry. That is what I
want to make sure people
to know about me.
Follow Mah in the APEX Tour for 2022. •
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