This article might not reach every angler that needs to read it however it’s a subject near and dear to my heart and I believe if I can change one person’s mental game then it’s worth the time. I want to challenge you to a new mindset when fishing because I think that it will make your tournament attitude better at the end of the day. The most used phrase at the end of the day is the one about ‘that 5lber that broke the line’ or the one that ‘threw the hook at edge of the boat’. Just for fun, at weigh-in start counting how many times you hear the same story.
Just like in life, I feel like you can separate people into two different categories “ones that talk about where they’ve been” and “ones that talk about where they’re going”. Fishing is no different! Here’s the challenge if your tendency is to talk how your heart was broken 3 times today and you were devastated at least once in every outing of your fishing existence. Stop the whining everyone who fished that day can sing you the same sad song.
I call it Losers Limp. Here’s a visual of “losers limp” using football as a background; running back breaks a few tackles and is out running everyone on the field towards the end zone and the closest defender is giving it all he can to catch him but just can’t and when this realization hits the defender he has a choice to keep running or reach back and grab his ham string and starts limping off the field. I feel like our “losers limp” in bass fishing is always talking about the one that got away and how that would’ve been the winning fish. I’ve made a commitment to myself this year to talk about the ones I caught rather than the ones that got away, no matter what the reason. I believe this commitment is making me into a better fisherman.
Gerald Swindle promotes similar concept with his P.M.A Campaign (Positive Mental Attitude) campaign. I witnessed this attitude in action during one his Facebook live videos. He blanked at the BassMaster Classic on the second day and he focused on the ones he caught not on the ones that slipped off of his hook. One of his popular saying is, “…this sport has a way of force feeding you some humble pie, the best thing you can do is just eat it and start getting ready for your next outing.”
This article isn’t one of inspiration, its one that makes you do a little bit of soul searching but in the end, I believe if you start this journey you will become a better angler or, at least, one that is more pleasant to be around at weigh in.
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