Do I really want to fish for a living? What in the world would make any avid self-respecting tournament fisherman ask himself that? Believe it or not, however, this is exactly what I asked myself when I got a taste of what it might be like while attending the American Bass Anglers National Championship this past October on Kentucky Lake.

I fish weekend tournaments, just as most of you do, and I sometimes dream of turning pro. This year, I found myself competing in the American Bass Anglers National Championship on Kentucky Lake. This was a weeklong event and it allowed me to closely experience what it might be like to compete as a pro. No one chased me down and asked for an autograph and my cheering section was very small so it may not have been exactly like what the BASS pros experience, but after looking at what it took out of me, I can only say, “This ain’t no hayride!”

The experience was very exciting but, at the same time, it was also a real eye-opener. Because I feel as my experience might surprise some of you, I decided to share the highlights from this intense week.

Day 1. Left Iowa at 4:00am and drove 480 miles to reach the host hotel for an afternoon tournament meeting. I built in an extra hour and a half into my schedule to allow me time to stop for lunch but, due to a detour, I found myself short on time an had to drive right through except for a couple of quick rest area stops.

Day 2. First day of practice and I am really pumped up and ready to go. I had numerous conversations with sponsors and their pro-staff in the area to put together a pattern before getting to the lake. I felt well informed and was anxious to prove myself worthy of being there. I trailered the boat to a nice spot on the Big Sandy River in Tennessee and started pitching one of my favorite spinnerbaits up shallow close to one of the many exposed stake-beds. About 10 minutes into the day I had a couple of bites but they seemed to be striking short so I added a trailer hook so I could catch just a few to prove to myself there were good fish there. Five minutes later I landed a beautiful 4-pound largemouth. This really boosted my confidence in the area and I moved on after a few minutes. I caught several more fish that day in different areas but by the end of the day I was beginning to get worried because I was not finding keepers. After 10 hours on the water I headed for the hotel to charge the batteries and regroup for the next day. After eating I went to the room for an hour of map study. I decide to try my hand on Lake Barkley in the morning. I want to look again at shallow areas but also spend some time on points and drop off areas as well.

Day 3. Second day of practice and I am staying positive. I still have a couple of days to put something together. I talked with a local angler and he says, because of a cold snap during the week before, the temperature has dropped 15 degrees in just a few days. I had noticed the cool water temperature but did not realize it was a recent and sudden drop. With the cold water and falling level due to winter drawdown I decide to spend almost all day looking at creek channels, points, and ledges. Conventional wisdom says that is were the fish would concentrate. I did catch many fish again but just as yesterday, keepers were not biting. I tried to fish deeper, as well as shallower, and it makes no improvement in my catch. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastics, and jigs, all caught fish but no keepers by the end of the day. With batteries dead once again I again head in after another 10 hours of aggravation.

Day 4. This is the last day of practice and I am beginning to feel desperate. Both areas I have tried were a long way from the ramp so I’ll spend this day closer. If fishing is going to be tough, it would be better to stay close and not lose 2 hours a day running instead of fishing. I tried deep areas, shallows, and points and even some main river ledges and I caught just a handful of short fish. I have to admit, after 3 days of hard fishing I am lost. I feel better about the fishing on the southern portions of the lake but I don’t feel too excited about anything I have tried so far.

Day 5. The first tournament day has me out of bed at 3am to make the ramp at 4am, our flight’s designated time. I had hoped I would be paired with someone who was on fish but he was just as lost as I was. On the bright side, we start 12th out of 253 boats. After launching the boat we sit on the water for two hours waiting for everyone to get in. It is not even light this time of year until 6:30am. At least the stars were pretty. We had a great view of the Milky Way.

My partner feels good about the southern spots as well, so we make a 62-mile run to a spot almost off the Kentucky Lake map. Results are much the same as it was the first practice day with the exception of the 4-pounder being nowhere to be found. We both catch fish using various methods but could not find a 15-incher. We get back to the launch area on time and it takes about 2 hours to get the boat out of the water due to the numbers involved in this tournament. Gas was so short after that long run that the motor runs out as we put it on the trailer. I noticed the motor also gave out a couple quick beeps. It was an alarm but it was not in a recognizable pattern so we brush it off.

Fishing proved tough for everyone. Only 198 people out of 506 brought a fish to the scales and only about 50 brought more than one. We head back to the hotel to attend pairing for the next day, fill the boat with gas and oil, and eat supper. The oil reservoir is almost dry, could this have been the alarm? I had hoped to get to bed early but once all this is finished it is 10pm.

Day 6. I get to sleep-in this time. We are in the last flight. I don’t have to get up until 3:45am. Second tournament day and once again I have a partner that is just a lost as I am. We decide to head back into Tennessee portions of Kentucky Lake and try a few other spots. The gas tank is filled to the overflow point because of the close call yesterday. We start 206 this time. As we blast off the alarm starts going off. Once I stop, I discover the oil reservoir inside the motor is only half full. As it sloshes the oil around as we hit waves the alarm would go off. I cut up a Pepsi bottle to fish out some oil from the main reservoir and top off this one. I suppose, this is why one should carry extra. We only lost about 10 minutes or so.

This day is cloudy and over cast. Maybe this will change things because all previous days have been bluebird days. We started out in the same areas as the day before but again no keepers. We decide to try a spot with riprap during the last couple of hours and we catch a few dinks and then my partner casts out onto the boring flat on the other side of the boat to remove twist in her line and catches the first keeper I have seen in 5 days. We both wonder is this is a fluke, or are the fish cruising this boring flat. We spend the final hour fan casting this flat and she manages one more keeper. I only managed a close one but it was ½ inch short. Oh well at least I have found a small concentration of keeper fish. Does 2 count as a concentration? The weigh-in results were almost identical as the day before. I am happy for my partner and glad I was a good enough guide to put her in the prestigious 2 fish category.

Day 7. My partner is not on fish this last day either, but another guy from his district suggests a spot he will not be able to return to this final day. It turns out it is very close to the spots I have been fishing. So another long run and another $70 in gas and oil was in store for the last tournament day. We spent 2 hours fishing the area he suggested but we catch only a couple of nice Kentucky spotted bass but they did not make the 15 inch limit imposed at this tournament. We decide to head to the flat that was somewhat successful from yesterday. The bite has changed. We catch very few fish on this spot but my partner does manage one fish that will just barely reach 15 inches. With my tail dragging between my legs I head in for the last time.

Conclusion. This was a very difficult tournament for everyone. After 3 days there were still 137 people who were fishless and just under half had 2 or more fish while no one brought in a limit everyday. I found myself very sore and tired at the end. I was surprised how an 8-hour fishing day turned into a 16-18 hours day when you figure in the time it takes to get everyone on and off the water as well as the partner pairings and boat prep. This was a real eye-opener for me. Regardless of how I tried, I was unable to get the amount of sleep I needed. I realize now why the pros are called athletes. You have to be in good shape or this could really wear you down and make it impossible to be able to compete mentally or physically. Perhaps, this was part of my problem.

All in all, this was a nice event except for the fishing. American Bass Anglers put on the one of the best national championships in existence. I met a great deal of nice people and learned a good deal from all of my partners. I met Ray Scott, Bob Cobb, Earl Bentz and other greats from the sport of bass fishing. This was by far the most fishing I had done in any one stretch. I know now I can do it and I am looking forward to qualifying for next year. Hopefully, things will go more my way. The championship is to be held at Lake Wheeler in Alabama and they have a 12” limit.

Oh, to answer the question asked in the beginning, yes, I still want to fish for a living. I do, however, know now all that glitters is not gold.