Saturday, February 20

            Let me get this part over with. On the second day of the Bassmaster Classic, when I was hoping to get back into the picture, I had one of the worst days of my career. In fact, I cant’ remember one any worse.

            I fished all day today and didn’t get a single bite.

            I’d by lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it might be more than disappointment. I feel frustrated and put out. Just like at Hartwell two years ago, I prepared the way I thought I should, but in the end I got beat because I didn’t execute a solid enough plan.

            I’d also be lying, though, if I said I didn’t enjoy having the opportunity to be part of the Classic again. It’s the greatest show in fishing. I’m glad I qualified, and I’m glad I had the chance to fish for two days. I went down swinging, but I can’t really blame anybody but myself. I made a bad decision right out of the gate, and I never recovered.

            As I mentioned yesterday on this blog, I chose to start the Classic by getting in a boat on a 24-degree morning with an all-but-new engine and running that engine as hard and fast as it would go for more than 30 straight minutes. Mercury, my sponsor, makes an outstanding engine and I had confidence that running that hard right off the bat wouldn’t be a problem. But I didn’t spend enough time running the engine before the Classic, and I absolutely pushed too hard. I was running 77 miles an hour upriver and forced myself into engine trouble.

I said it before and I’ll say it again; no matter how great your engine is, you’ve got to spend time breaking one in properly. I didn’t do nearly enough.

            Engine trouble was the start of bigger problems. I was still able to fish on Friday. Running in a borrowed boat (my brother Errol’s Triton), I tried all day to find something that worked. Nothing did, and at the end of the day I had only one fish.

            But that one fish was one better than I got on today.

            I can make this explanation short and simple. I flipped all day, looking to grab a few big fish that would get me back in the competition. Nothing worked. I’m not exaggerating when I say I didn’t get a bite all day.

            I ran all over the lake. I flipped on shorelines and in channels that had worked in the past and I suspected would bring bites today. Not so much as a nibble.

            So here’s my four-year scorecard at the Classic. Great first year at Lay Lake . Bad execution and a bad showing in my second year (Hartwell). Strong third year with a pretty good finish at the Red River . Then there was this year, and it was terrible.

            I wish I had produced today and gotten back in the mix. That’s an amazing leaderboard, and I’d love to be fishing with those great anglers on Sunday.

            So. I guess I should say: there’s always next year.