I really like them and hate to even say this, but if you think TOW, $$$ and info are all that's needed, look at the bottom 5 guys on the Elites.

Not all those guys i mentioned spend a crazt amount of time on the water. The one aspect so many do not want to believe is that there is truly a higher skill level involved above the average guy. That average guy can fish everyday and still not do what those guys can do with 3/4 less time on the water. There is a higher skill level period that can't always be learned or taught. In reference to TOW it does not matter how much time you spend if you ain't developing skills and treating it like any other sport in pushing yourself outside comfort levels and such.

I'm pretty obsessed with fishing and travel around the country a few times a year to fish. If I did it month after month I'd be plum wore out. How they stay focused after all that travel is what impresses me.

My guess, time on the water, they are able to use their experience and apply it to whatever lake they are on. I am sure that shortens the learn curve on a new lake. I also am pretty sure they hit up the locals for tips. Finding the structure is one thing, fishing it correctly is another story. I think that is where most of us weekend anglers fail, or cost ourselves more fish. Unless you get guided trips or someone who has to show you how to do things correctly, it takes a long time for a person who gets out every Sat or Sunday to learn it. Presentation, boat control, bait fish, seasonal patterns are all things that take the ordinary Joe longer to learn than someone always on the water on somebody else dime. Throw in the electronics, not all of us can afford Down-scan, side-scan, the top of the line graphs, power poles, $300 rods and reels....all tools that help the angler.

False.

A lot of the pro's have 2 HDS10 on console and 2 on the front. Their equipment is top of the line. Seen a show with gerald swindel and he had a big room with the walls covered in Lucky Craft. I'm sure he paid for everyone of them, not. They have the best of everthing at their finger tips, ask and they will recieve. I'm so bad I can't even catch them schooling.

^ This X 1000

If anybody seen 60 minutes on Sunday, they were discussing what it actually takes to perform at your maximum potential as a professional, whatever your profession. The most important word that came out of it was PRACTICE. They said that a professional would at least need to log 10,000 hours of practice to maximize his potential in any given sport. "Elites" are just what it says......a chosen few that has taken the extra steps necessary to exceed above and beyond the rest of the field, and a group of people that are considered to be the best in their respective profession because of power, knowledge, talent, and wealth. Sorry, but we don't fit into that category!

If anyone noticed the other day on Table Rock the Elites were scattered all up and down that lake. What does that tell you ? It's not always about location, location, location. Once these guys get to where they are going, most of them can deliver. They have developed their ability to analyze a body of water and to present baits at a level most of us can only dream of. Of course some of stumble but overall they will school most of us. I have been in the boat with a few and it never fails to become obvious the higher level these guys operate at. They weren't born with this ability, they develop it.

I guess when all the current Elites die of old age there will be no one to replace them. Did anyone see how well they did on Major league Fishing on Roberts?

Yep, lets base that 6hrs of fishing on what they would do in 4 days plus a practice day or two. Wonder how good some local guy would have done in that same amount of time? More good anglers will come along when others step down on those levels.

I thought they did very well on Roberts. Everyone on here says "it's the toughest darned lake in the country(except Barrett)". "You better know where you are going" (I do agree with this). "I fished that sucker for two straight days without a bite" "Ray Bob is brutal" blah, blah, blah.

These guys show up with no practice and only a few hours to research the lake on the net. And they caught them. Granted, most were dinks, but they still found and caught them, all in six hours. I'm sure there are some super-hero fishermen on here who could do that. Not me.

X2 need something else that some people just don't have

Wading in here, but to the question on how they catch 100 fish a day.

They're really good at what they do. They are disciplined and dedicated.
They have the funds needed to participate at that level.
They have good support teams (guides, waypoints, pro staff team members, etc.)

And not the least --- they fish good lakes and they spend a lot of time on the water. If you think the lakes they fish are not loaded and TOW doesn't matter, watch the MLF episode on Ray Roberts. After setting daily MLF records of over 60 pounds of legal fish per day on Florida and Michigan lakes, Ray Roberts gives up 15 pounds to some of the best anglers around??? Really? And that's with a 12" minimum. Would have probably been 8 pounds with a 14" limit.

And we wonder why the casual angler has a difficult time on area lakes??

It's their ability to adapt, to adjust and to realize they have to fish to their strengths. Many guys I fish with are all over the place with their fishing. One day they are a shallow water guy, the next they profess to be a deep water expert and so forth. You have to be consistent or you're GONE.