I was just wondering why do y'all think the older guys fall down in rankings and tournament winnings and also , just bass catching in general. I see Martin, Nixon, Houston and other great bass fishermen just don't make it in the tournament winnings anymore. OK, let's also talk about the smaller tournaments, usually it's the younger guys that dominate the upper brackets. Don't they all put a bait in the water like they always have? Why does their catching fall off ? Now I'm not talking about guys in their 50's as I think they are still young. What is it, the practice, travel, pains, just what do you think ?

Some guys put more time on the road/water than others......simply put, they are hungrier! Less obligations at home means more time on the road.

You spend enough time on the deck of a bassboat like they do and you'll start having back, shoulder and knee issues that's one factor. Sometimes, your hurting and you just don't perform as well.
And, as you get older, you still love to fish but the day to day beating will make you start choosing your trips a little differently. All the guys mentioned are "greats", nothing will change that.

Being an old guy myself (69) I know the aches and pains of growing old. Flipping hurts my elbow, rattletraps and crankbaits wear me out. I could fish daylight to dark 4 or 5 days in a row. I probably make half the casts in a day than I used to. Weightless wacky worms and Carolina rigs are my go to baits now. My son always catches more fish but I usually get big bass for the day. The only good thing about getting old is I don't have to work.

Im up there too and dont seem to catch like I used to. I think its more mental than anything else. Older guys IMO fish alot of history. Or get locked into the way they have always caught them. I know guys that throw tx rig all day whether they catch anything or not. All these new electronics dont help us old timers either because we just dont understand them as well as the younger generation. This holds up locally as well as nationally.