AOTY Race : It seems every year the Salt Water Bass Anglers Race for the Cup gets tighter. This year there are a handfull of teams vying for the coveted title... 2009 "Anglers Of The Year".

WHO WILL BE CROWNED THE BEST?
Flash back, September 16th 2008, Mission Bay

...... ..No more Pre-fishing… No more logging coordinates in the GPS looking for the next “Secret Spot”… No more studying maps... No more restless nights… No more 2am alarms… Just 8 more hours to catch 5 fish to attain 1 final goal.

....With the hype over, the trash talking silent, only the sound of the radio crackling… ”Official Time is 5:29am, would boats number 55-65 please move forward”

....One last quick rundown of the mental checklist…Knots are good, hooks are sharp, drags are set, live well running. Water temp looks good, how's the clarity? Not going to be any changes to the plan now. The 1 st hours of the event will be fluid based on what the fish are doing. We have discussed every scenario, and possible reactions. But all said and done we are just going fishing. You cannot control how they will react on any given day, no matter how much preparation or planning.

RADIO CRACKLES...
The official start.

....“We would like to welcome all of you to the Inaugural “Fishin' the Mission 2008. Boat number 55 please pass on my right. Boats number 66-75 please move forward”

....In all the boats you can sense the hands gripping the steering wheels a little tighter as moisture forms between the palm and the throttle. In our boat, the ceremonial High 5, a nod, and the exchange 2 words “Good Luck”, as our number is called and we pass under the bridge.

....Maybe it's a bit corny, maybe a bit superstitious, maybe deep down we believe there is a little magic in it, but for the last 14 years it's the same ceremony as our number is called for takeoff. It started long before we fished with each other, is started when we competed against each other. Out of reverence, out of respect, we would meet in the parking lot with a high 5, a nod, and a “Good Luck”.

....That day last year, on Mission Bay , there was a bit magic on our side. There have been very few events we have fished together, that meant so much, where everything went so right. There was a calm confidence in the boat all day. There was no indecision, there were no ifs, there was no hoping, and there were no maybes. Every cast was made without 2 nd guessing, every hook set was true, every fish we hooked made it too the net. That day we had a good idea of when, where and how, and took it to the live well all day.

....A 2 nd place finish gave us 5 more points than we needed to win the 2008 SWBA AOTY. We wanted to win the event, but the understanding that we had completed something personally greater made that day one of the most fulfilling of our careers.

....As we look at 2009, as we look at the top teams, remember what you are fishing for. You see many can be the best on any given Saturday, but the SWBA AOTY is about being the best all year. The AOTY title will not be won with 1 fortunate cast, but with 10,000 repeated casts. It's not about 1 Hot GPS coordinate, but about 100's of key timely decisions. It's not about 1/100 th of a pound, but about 1000's of 1/100's compiling many pounds. You can't lose it by missing 1 fish at the net, but you can win it with 100's of great shots with the net. We build up 1 final event for the AOTY title, but the foundation and the structure for winning it all were built over the 5 preceding events.