Last time I said we’d talk this week about how Lake Champlain fishes. When I thought about it, though, I realized that it fishes pretty much like everywhere else except that it splits the smallmouth and largemouth populations.
Practice has gone well. I’ve been able to develop several different patterns so I’m feeling pretty good right now. In fact, if today (Tuesday) goes well enough I’ll probably not fish at all tomorrow. That’s a rare thing for me. I almost always fish up to the very end of our practice time, but this time feels different.
Just about everyone knows my thinking about practice. You need a backup plan and then at least one backup plan for your backup plan. I have that, assuming that they hold up through this Saturday. That’s the thing that matters, really — the assuming they hold up part.
Most guys will tell you that they want a good practice. It sends you out on the first day with confidence and a plan of action. I’m no different. But just because you caught them in practice doesn’t mean you’ll catch them when it counts. There’s no prize for winning practice.
I’d love to tell you what I’m doing and why I’m doing it but I can’t, at least not until after the tournament is over. I’m sure you understand that.
I mention the rest part only because it’s so unusual. Right now it seems like we’ve (the family) been on the road forever. I know my travel and my schedule hasn’t been much different this year than any other year in my career. That’s not the way I feel today, however. And so, my plan is to clean things up today as far as practice is concerned and then take tomorrow off. The only thing I plan on doing, other than taking a nap and getting a good night’s sleep, is to put together my tackle.
Sometimes it’s better to be fresh when one of these things gets underway. No matter how many patterns or spots you have you must be sharp mentally and physically if you expect to be competitive at this level.
Beyond what I’ve said, the Iaconelli world is much like it has always been. Becky is home with the kids. I’ve been gone since Friday. That doesn’t sound too long when you say it but it seems like a long time to me. The older I get the less time it takes for me to start missing them.
As soon as this event is over, I’ll be heading towards the Delaware River. I was glad to see so many positive things written about it over the last week or so. I grew up fishing there. I’d like to think it’s one of the great ones. It was sure good to me. Much of what’s successful about my career comes from what I learned fishing her with my family and my friends.
Make sure you follow all the Lake Champlain action. I’m guessing there’ll be some heavy sacks carried to the scales.
Mike Iaconelli’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter or visit his website, MikeIaconelli.com.
