Positive Mental Attitude – It’s Working for Me by Justin Largen

Positive Mental Attitude – It’s Working for Me

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I attended a fishing expo several years ago where Bassmaster Elite Series Pro Gerald “G-Man” Swindle was one of the headliners.  Instead of teaching a particular lure or technique, like the other presenters, he spoke about the mental side of fishing.  He talked about the importance of maintaining a positive attitude on and off the water, and he explained how thishas helped his career. G-Man shared some personal stories, and he also passed on a tip that he learned from a sports coach, a simple method to help with a positive mindset. At this coach’s prompting, Gerald started wearing a rubber band on his wrist.  Every time he’d catch himself thinking a negative thought, he would snap the rubber band and replace the negative thought with a positive one.  The idea was that your brain would associate negative thoughts with physical pain, and over time you would develop a more positive outlook.  I don’t know if G-Man still uses a rubber band, but he does sell cool wristbands on his website with the message, PMA: Positive Mental Attitude.

Before going any further, I should mention that I’m not the best spokesman for a positivity campaign. It feels almost hypocritical for me to bring up this subject. I tend to get easily frustrated on the water, whether it be from a lost fish, an errant cast, equipment failure or even a weather change that negatively impacts the fishing. When preparing for tournaments, I findmyself thinking about all the things that could go wrong.  What if the fish I found in practice are gone during the tournament?  What if I don’t catch anything and I have an embarrassing finish?  I’m not the overly positive guy who brushes off adversity with a smile and keeps moving forward unfazed.  Butafter hearing Gerald speak, I purchased one of his wristbands and started thinking more about my attitude.  For whatever reason, I didn’t stick with it for very long.  My wristband ended up in a dusty drawer and was eventually lost.

Sometime in the last year, I jumped back on the PMA train.  I’d started competing in kayak tournaments, but things weren’t clicking.  I was making mental mistakes and having lackluster performances.  After watching some of the top kayak anglers, hearing them recap tournaments at award ceremonies or via their social media, I noticed a common thread.  Aside from pro-level ability, they all had a mental toughness and positive vibe.  That spurred me to do some self-reflection and start working on my mental game.  I started by going back to Gerald’s wristband idea.  I picked up a handful of wristbands with different motivational messages, and I’ll wear one that seems appropriate for whatever I’m doing on a given day. When practicing for tournaments, I’ll often pick one that reads, rise and grind.  Other day’s I’ll choose a band that that reminds me to count my blessings.  For competition days, I might wear one that says, seize the day.  These little messages help keep me on track.

Another step – even more important than the wristbands –is talking to myself.  It sounds simple, but it works.  Just to be clear, I don’t mean loud ramblings that everyone on the lake can hear.  It’s closer to a mumble or whisper but loud enough that I can hear it.  When it comes to content, pretty much anything goes, but most of the time I’m talking strategy. Sometimes it’s in the form of a question like, should I stay in this area or move toanother spot? It could be a comment like, the fish stopped biting my moving baits, let’s make a change. Retrieve speed, depth, water clarity, or weather could all be topics of conversation.  Verbalizing my thought process and decisions helps me stay focused.

Talking to myself also helps me reign in my emotions.  When I’m amped up in the last hour of a tournament and I start fishing too fast, telling myself to calm down helps me slow down.  In the same way, little pep talks can help me shake the frustration of a lost fish.  They can also help wake me up if I’m in a funk.  Maybe I’m feeling good after filling my limit and catch myself getting a little too relaxed. A harsh word or two can snap me out of it and get me back in the game.

I’ll share a few specific examples from a recent tournament on Lake Winnipesaukee.  I’d found some quality fish guarding fry and a few late spawners holding around docks, but there weren’t very many and most were skittish.  On the morning of day one, I went to one of the aggressive fish, confident that it would be relatively easy to catch.  It bit my Baby D Stroyer on the first cast, swam behind a docked boat, and cut my line on theprop. This was mentally devastating.  Without that fish, I wasn’t sure I could manage a limit.  I thought my tournament was overin the first 15 minutes.

After a few choice words aimed at the lost fish, I started to calm myself down.  I took my time retying and started talking strategy.

“Well, that one’s not going to bite again.  Now what? Should we try for the bedding fish?  No, let’s wait for the sun to get up a little. We should make some blind casts around those other docks.  There’s still lots of time to figure things out.”

This conversation with myself didn’t magically make everything okay.  I was still frustrated with the lost fish, but the pep talk got my mind refocused, and I started moving past it.  About 15 minutes later I caught solid fish on back-to-back casts.  Another 15 minutes and I landed my third big bass. Ultimately, I was able to channel that positive energy and put together a strong limit.

​Day two of the tournament gave me another opportunity to test my mental fortitude. The morning couldn’t have started any better.  I fished a different part of the lake, another area where I’d found some bed fish and fry guarders.  I’d marked them with waypoints, and I was able to land four long, skinny ones withinthe first 30 minutes of competition. Then it got tough.  After going 3 hours without a fish, I decided to change areas. The negative voices in my head were screaming, “You’re going to blow this.”

​It took about 20 minutes to pedal back to the launch and another 40 to drive to the next ramp. I talked the whole way, reassuring myself and formulating a gameplan.  With four good fish on the scoreboard, I just needed one bite, so I decided to go back to the docks from day one.  If I couldn’t catch any there, I could pedal to a couple of nearby spots that held some small keepers.  Surely, I could catch number five from one of these spots.  While I drove, I worked to adjust my attitude.  I’d beenfeeling anxious and frustrated for the last couple of hours, so Ireminded myself that I was still in a great position.  I had done far better in my starting spot that I expected, and I could put myself in contention with one quality fish.

When I arrived at the ramp, my head was in a much better place.  Fishing was still slow, but I continued to work, talking the whole time.  “One more fish.  You got this.”  An hour later – though it felt like much longer – I netted what turned out to be the winning fish.  Looking back, it’s almost eerie to think thatmy kayak was sitting about fifty yards from where I lost that big fish the day before.

Now for a few disclaimers.  A positive mindset isn’t a magic bullet.  It isn’t going to transform you into a bass pro overnight.  It won’t improve your casting ability or help you pattern the fish.  But it will allow you to maximize your potential, to harness the skill you already have.  I’m a work in progress, but the small improvements I’ve made are having a big impact.  A more positive attitude has made my time on the water more enjoyable and resulted in higher tournament finishes.  So, I’ll continue to battle negative thoughts, control what I can, and accept the results with a gracious attitude.  Don’t be hardheaded like I was.  Jump on the positivity bandwagon and don’t look back.

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