They are sucessful because they put in the time and effort. Sure they have cool gear, but that doesn't always help them catch fish. Check out of the bootom of the leaderboard. A lot of those guys have cool boats, huge graphs, and lots of baits. These guys are great competitors, but it's not easy, and there is no guarantee that they will be successful.

The difference in the elite and the amature fisherman is simple....
The amature fisherman is surprised when he catches a fish....
The elite fisherman expects to catch a fish!

Its table rock. I usedd to spend a week there every april. Let me tell you 50-100 fish is pretty common. They are everywhere and you can see most of them.

I've been waiting to see someone post that. I concur. Table Rock in April the two times I've been have been amazing. Green Phantom Original Wiggle Wart, 6-10' gravel sloping points, and sharp dropping banks in the backs of deep cuts. But..... if you don't have wind, you are going to have a hard time, at least I did.

You have to have confidence to catch fish...you might seem confident to others, but the fish know when you don't have it.

You nailed that one Iconn. In my opinion, if you're not expecting a bite on each cast, you need to be changing things up. If you're not "feelin' it", you better be moving or changing baits. "Feelin it" comes from past sucessess in similar situations and also just your gut sometimes.

I read an article by I think KVD a while back where he talked about that exactly. He said something to the effect that every cast he makes to cover, before he makes the cast, he's already playing out in his mind how he's going to get a big fish out of the cover and into the boat. THAT'S confidence.

Fishing is indeed a sport. Like any sport, the more you practice the better you get. One thing I've noticed of those elite anglers is the "mental" part of the sport. They're constantly thinking about what they can do to get the fish to bite while fishing. Tweaking lures, down sizing, up sizing, color, flash, speed, action, depth, etc, etc.

I think more specifically TOW equates to be able to recognize the pattern. There are so many variables with weather, time of day/year, lake topography. If you can't calculate all that together to a winning pattern right at that point in time, you aren't going to catch the quality/quantity of fish. To me a large portion of the battle is finding them (fish finder can fix that I suppose) the other half is figuring out their mood and what they'd be hungry for an how to present it to them. If your throwing the right bait into deserted water it's going to be a slow day.

You guys don't know? It's simple. Just buy all the high dollar products they push in every video and you will catch fish just like them.

For a guy to go to different lakes at different times of the year, look, ride around
an then find the fish's patterns. And hauls in fish after fish, my hats off to them.
Pro or not, like said before, if you work at a trade you enjoy, an do if everyday
for years. Yes, you will master that craft
Just wish I could fish all the time instead of cutting chips in a machine shop, lol

FALSE! there is so much more involved in baseball, basketball, football. sports vs fishing is not a good analogy. you have to be a physical specimen to start with and work hard and have god given talent. pro guys come in all shapes and sizes on the bass / flw tour which we could all maybe compete in fishing.... lol have you ever met a nfl linebacker?

You don't think KVD has God given talent? Fishing is a sport...

You think Mark Davis is not a physical specimen? Are you kidding me? God given talent is right! Do the math, if there's a million bass fisherman and your in the upper 90 percent that still leaves 100,000 bass fisherman better than you and the Elites are all in the top 3-400 of them. That may be longer odds than making it in pro football.

You know a lot of these guys would be fishing even if they were not pros. I don't think anyone is more dedicated to their sport. Brauer or Davis all the guides that have moved into pro fishing how many football players would be doing that if not for the money.

Hat's off to these guys.

I'd consider myself a man that loves to bass fish and has been doing it for 30 years. At one time I owned a bass boat and worked in a tackle store but even then I was lucky to fish once a week. I fished a few basschamps back when the south texas lakes were peaking. I was lucky to fish all three before they were nationally exposed, while they were peaking so I've seen some unbelievable fishing. Along the way I've met a few pro's, competed against some local legends, and befriended some pretty damn good dudes. One of these guys guided for some years primarily on Choke Canyon. We spent a significant amount of time fishing together and he put me on some of the best bass fishing I've ever experienced, 3 times catching over 50 in a trip. I always respected how much more proficient he was casting especially in the wind and I thought I was pretty good, Not to mention his experience and instincts for finding schools of fish, Sometimes his light bill depended on it. You'd be surprised what is possible when things line up and you're in the right place at the right time after you've put in Time On the Water. I can easily see how a pro can catch 100 fish in a day on some of the nations best fisheries. With the equipment and experience they have I would expect it to happen atleast every now and then. jmtc