Yakhead

                      In the last article I outlined a few ways to improve diversity and start becoming a more well-rounded angler. In this piece, I’ll concentrate on why I feel you should do this and what changes happened to end the era of the specialist.                 A few things started to happen around 2010 or 2011 that changed the way our sport is played. Technology began taking giant leaps, information became much more accessible, and the popularity of our sport exploded. All this created pressure. Pressure that changed the way bass behave and the way that competitive events could be fished. Pressure is the least understood and most confusing adverse condition that a tournament angler can face. When dealing with drastic weather changes, rapidly rising or falling water, or rapid changes in clarity, ...

  RIP specialist: part one                       In years past competitive anglers were able to focus the majority of their attention on one technique or style that suited them. Those who excelled at this became legends of the sport; they were the heroes that future pros aspired to be and modeled their own careers after. This monomania became a widely accepted formula for success and the thought process trickled down to local competition as well. In the club scene you would often hear AOY’s and perennial high finishers say something along the lines of “I just locked a jig in my hand all day” or “I caught them all on a Carolina Rig.” With success to back this theory up, it is easy to think that when we are trying to be diverse or experimental all we are doing is overcomplicating the process. “Overthinking it” is a cliché I often here tossed around. In a way this is true and in a...