Season's Over! . . . And I'm Already Thinking About
Next Year
By Andy Caldwell
Midwestern Staff Writer
December 2, 2009
The 2009 tournament season is behind me, but I’m already thinking about next year. What do I need to do different? Where did I go wrong in the past? What did I do right? How or what can I do better next year? The answers to these questions aren’t always easy to come by. I don’t know about you, but I catch myself lying in bed at night thinking about this. I discuss it constantly with my fishing buddies and I can never come up with a satisfactory answer!
The last two tournament seasons I fished were the worst I’ve had since I started tournament fishing. It got so bad that I seriously considered quitting, but in the back of my mind I knew that I couldn’t live with that. I needed to know what I’d done wrong! I couldn’t figure it out - during pre-fish or just fun fishing I’d catch the snot out of ‘em but on tourney day I couldn’t perform! (I wish they made a pill for that!)
I finally called a very successful angler and good friend of mine, Gary Dobyns, to talk it over with him. He said to not worry about it, everyone goes through rough patches and 
that I’d snap out of my slump. That should’ve made me feel better but I haven’t won 40 boats like he has. I was still struggling with my fishing insecurities.
He went on to tell me that he had a bad year back in 2000 and had considered quitting too (see his don’t fish chicken article). I finally talked him into letting me come out and fish a few days with him so he could show me what I was doing wrong.
I flew out to California and Gary and I headed off to Lake Oroville for a couple of days, then on to Clear Lake. As our time together came to a close, I began to get nervous. Gary is famous for being honest, even if it hurts your feelings. I had a feeling I was going to get my feelings hurt and head home feeling lower than I did to begin with. On our last day together I finally asked, “Well, let’s hear it.” He told me that there was nothing wrong with the way I fished and that it must be in my mind. What an answer! I immediately felt proud (Gary Dobyns said there was nothing wrong with the way I fished) and yet doomed. How to correct this problem in my mind? (By the way, the time I spent with Gary on the water was one of the best and most memorable fishing trips of my life!)
I might as well let the cat out of the bag; I decided to sit the 2009 tournament season out, just go fishing, practice some of the new techniques that I learned while I was in California, and see if I could get my mind right. It was very tough to stick to. I had to listen to friends talk about this tournament and that lake while I’ve been sitting on the sidelines, but I’ve stuck with it. And now it’s that time of year when we’re all trying to decide what circuits we’re going to fish next year and the decision is nearly as tough as the tournaments themselves. Do I hit one of the bigger trails (the opens or the series), or do I fish smaller, more local stuff until I discover if my mind’s in the game or not? I haven’t decided yet . . .
I might as well admit this now, as I’ll have to sooner or later, but I think my wife has been telling me what the problem has been all along. When I just go fishing there’s no pressure. I enjoy the time on the water and I’m not afraid to try different stuff to catch fish. On tourney day I try to force feed them what I want to catch them on and where I want to catch them instead of trying to give them what they want. Pressure comes from time restraints and wanting so badly to make a good showing that I’ve taken the fun out of fishing.
Looking ahead to 2010, if I can ever decide what I’m going to fish, I’m going be sure I have a good time doing it. If I do good, great. If I don’t, it’ll be a lot easier to take if I have a good time while stinking it up. Either way, I’m coming back next year. Sitting it out has been a lot worse than not doing well.
If you see me on the water next season, stop by and say hello. I promise I’ll be smiling and having a good time, whether I’m catching them or not!