Page 7 - Lady Bass Digital Magazine May 2023 Revised

afterwards. By 8:00am you’re on the move to a completely different area and suddenly the trolling motor won’t turn to
the left, only to the right. Sad that you draw from previous experiences to know that the mother board has gone out on
the trolling motor but your remember that the remote will operate the motor with no problem. Now you have another
problem, the remote won’t power up, batteries are crusty and definitely dead, but you have spares. Batteries are changed
out and remote still won’t power on. You opt to just try to make it work by using spot lock which will turn you to the
left until you straighten up and you can stay on course with the pedal back to the left. Finally give in and call the tour-
nament director to maybe get some help and he’s on his way with no hesitation. Between him and the local marine, you
still can’t get the remote to pair up with the trolling motor so you’re back to the spot lock navigational trick and just try
to make it to the end of the day. No more fish for you or your co-angler and I’m more disappointed that my co-angler
didn’t get a limit than I am, but we salvaged a day that seemed doomed for the majority of it.

I wonder during these times if there are tournaments where everything goes right and according to plan, but I know
they do, I’ve had plenty of them. When you feel completely defeated, you have to let your love for this sport override
everything negative that you are feeling. It’s so easy to say but definitely extremely hard to do, but if I can do it, anyone
can do it. I know that these kinds of experiences are teaching me something for the future. For instance, the trolling
motor….I’ve had the same exact thing happen before so I didn’t freak out, get upset or mad, just adapted and went on as
best as I could. My oil reservoir leaking will teach me something to draw from in the future for me or maybe even an-
other boater. It’s teaching me and that’s the best thing in the world. If we quit learning something new, it’s time to quit.
I’ve learned a lot and I definitely take much better care of my equipment and boat. I reach out to others if they need help
and trust me, that comes back to you tenfold when you help others, not expecting anything in return.

SOOOOOOO, what do you do, when you don’t know what to do?? You just go fishing. What did I used to do before
I had a boat, what did I do before I actually had electronics on the front of my boat, what did I do before I had live-
scope?? I went fishing and had a blast every time. A very influential fisherman on the pro circuit uses the term, “Never
give up!” And he’s referring to actually catching fish out on the water, I say NEVER give up, whether you’re out on the
water or preparing for a tournament or on your way to a tournament. If you really love fishing, really want to go fishing,
find a way to adapt and JUST DO IT!!! Everything is not always going to roll in your favor and run smoothly but there
will be days, I promise, that they will and all those bad experiences will not even come to mind.

Lady Bass Anglers Association 7
4 Her Outdoors