"It's
a lot more of a mental game out here than I
thought it would be."
Story
by Matt Pangrac
Posted
- March 29th, 5:18am CST
This is part-two of a two-part series focusing on the rookie class for the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series. Last Friday’s article focused on past ROY performances and looked at the current top three anglers in the ROY race. Today’s article looks at the remaining four rookies and offers insight from 2009 Rookie Of the Year, Billy
McCaghren. To read Part-one, CLICK
HERE.
Norman, OK – Regardless of talent, every rookie in every professional sport goes through growing pains. It’s just part of the process. In Kevin VanDam’s first Invitational with BASS in 1987, he finished 110th. In Mike Iaconelli’s BASS Invitational debut in 1996, he finished in 236th.
Both of those guys turned out OK.
Photos
by Mark Jeffreys & Matt Pangrac
Whether it’s improving performance, boosting the mental game, working on techniques, or refining life on the road, the California Swing featuring the California Delta and Clear Lake was a learning experience for the 2010 class of rookies.
Here’s how the remaining four members of the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series rookie class analyzed their first two tournaments at the top level of the sport:
Cliff Crochet (306 points)
Starting his Elite Series career with a 78th place finish on the California Delta, Louisiana’s Cliff Crochet rebounded at Clear Lake, making the weekend cut and eventually finishing in 44th place.
After a sub-par performance on the Delta where Crochet admitted that he never located a concentration of bass, got a little rattled and ran way too much, cashing a check at Clear Lake was a big step in the right direction.
“Making the cut in my second Elite tournament was a big plus,” he said. “If it got to the point in the season where there were only a few tournaments left and I still hadn’t made a cut, I know that it would have really started to wear on me. I realized at this tournament that it’s doable and I think that I’ll be able to settle down a little from here on.”
While he is pleased with his Clear Lake performance, Crochet said that had he capitalized on several opportunities, the result could have been much better. “I missed a fish that probably would have put me in the Top 15,” he lamented. “If I catch that fish, everything is different.”
Like many of the other members of the rookie class have stated, the learning curve from the Bassmaster Opens to the Elite Series is steep. As a result, Crochet acknowledges that there’s a lot of work ahead. “I have to get better. I’m a decent fisherman but I need to get better at scouting and practice. That’s what’s killing me right now.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the schedule, Crochet noted that he is looking forward to Guntersville in May, but realizes that each upcoming tournament on the schedule will offer a unique set of challenges. “As far as looking forward, it really doesn’t matter to me because each body of water will have a certain pattern and I’m going to have to figure out how to catch them no matter where we go.
“I just have to fish clean, fish hard, improve on my practice and see how things go.”
Scott Ashmore (242 points)
After an 80th place finish at the Delta and a 74th at Clear Lake, Oklahoma’s Scott Ashmore has an uphill climb the remainder of the season. It’s a challenge that he was expecting, however. “It’s going to be a learning curve for at least the entire first year out here for me,” he said.
“These are all new lakes for me and I’m picking up a lot of techniques that you can’t learn unless you are told about it or see someone doing it. I’m going to learn a lot and I’m having a good time.”
At the Delta, Ashmore was a victim of the unfamiliar tides and at Clear Lake he just never found the right bites. “There’s so much to learn about how to catch these big fish,” he said. “You can’t get tunnel vision. You have to be able to move with the fish.”
Looking ahead, Ashmore said that he feels a lot better about the remainder of the schedule. “I think some of the lakes we are going to are a lot more up my ally. I loved this stuff in California and enjoyed the challenge, but some of the other lakes should fish to my style. These first two tournaments, I came in completely cold.”
BJ Haseotis (208 points)
“Before the season kicked off, I was a lot more excited about the California tournaments but looking back on it, I think the lakes back East will fish more to my style,” concluded Massachusetts rookie, BJ Haseotis.
With an 81st and 90th place finish on the California Delta and Clear Lake, the outgoing rookie didn’t sugar coat his performance in the first two Elite Series tournaments of his career. “I think that I need to go back to the drawing board, analyze what I’ve done so far in the first two events, and then not do that in the next six.”
Like many Elite Series veterans who have been victimized by unfamiliarity with big swimbaits on their first trip to Clear Lake in past years, Haseotis said that learning the previously unknown technique was a struggle. “I’ve never thrown swimbaits before,” he said. “I finally picked one up on Friday at Clear Lake and lost a couple really nice ones.”
Haseotis said that he is taking an important lesson into the remaining tournaments. “It’s a lot more of a mental game out here than I thought it would be,” he stated. “I’m strong mentally but I never figured that it would be like this. It’s definitely more mental than physical.
“It’s a matter of how quickly you get back up and get to the next event and do well. I just can’t wait to get back East.”
Keith Poche (185 points)
Even though he made the Top 47 cut at Clear Lake and fished on Saturday, Alabama’s Keith Poche finds himself at the bottom of the rookie race after the California swing, courtesy of a disastrous Duel In the Delta where he failed to bring a fish to the scales.
“Tides played a big part and I just wasn’t very familiar with how the tides worked. The stress got to me so when things weren’t working, I just fell apart,” admitted Poche. The following week on Clear Lake, Poche bounced back and left the Golden State on a positive note.
“I put my head together and realized that I had to pick it up at Clear Lake. I put a little pattern together and it worked for me. I was worried about the pressure really getting to me at Clear Lake but I was able to bounce back. I’m starting to think that things are going to hopefully work out.”
After the next tournament on Virginia’s Smith Mountain, which should suite Poche’s finesse style of fishing, it’s on to waters closer to home. “I think I’m more comfortable with the rest of the schedule. I’ll be closer to home since I live in Alabama, and I’ve been to a few of those lakes before. I’m going to be more comfortable and feel more at home and it’s more my style of fishing. The Delta just kicked my butt, what can I say?”
McCaghren Reflects On
2009
With a recap of the performances of the seven rookies on the 2010 Bassmaster Elite Series through the first two events, 2009 Rookie Of the Year, Billy McCaghren, can sympathize with the growing pains.
“At the first tournament in 2009 on Amistad, I just never got over the shock of who I was fishing against,” he remembered. “I learned that I just had to block that out of my mind every day when I was on the water.”
While he hasn’t gotten to know many of the 2010 rookies yet, McCaghren believes that several of them will be able to unlock the keys to success. “You have to fish against the fish and not against the other anglers. That’s key to keeping your confidence high. I’m sure that a few guys will be able to do that this year.”
McCaghren also noted the importance of a strong finish early in the season. His 14th place performance on Dardanelle, the second event of the 2009 season, was a big confidence builder. “That’s where I realized that I could compete against these guys,” said McCaghren. “I was fortunate that it was close to home and I was able to catch fish around other anglers. That let me now that I can catch fish out here.”
As far as setting goals prior to his rookie season, McCaghren said he started the year with his eyes on the Rookie Of the Year title but his focus shifted midway through the season after Matt Herren gained a commanding lead. “Herren was so far ahead and he is such a great fisherman that I reset my goal just to make the Classic. It just worked out and I was fortunate that I had a few good tournaments at the right time.”
Reflecting on his Rookie Of the Year performance, McCaghren is proud to be named along with the previous recipients. “That’s something that I’ll never forget,” he said. “There’s only one Rookie Of the Year each year, and my name will always be linked with guys like Dave Wolak, Steve Kennedy, Bobby Lane and the other great anglers.”
