2014 Underway!!!

Time for a new year with new challenges!!!  I’m very excited about this year, and so far, it’s shaping up to be what is bound to be one of the most memorable years of my life.  What lies ahead?  Well, here’s what I’m looking at:

Fishing

I’m headed into this year with probably the most confidence that I’ve ever had going into a tournament season.  I finished off 2013  with some really strong tournament stats.  In 2013, I won a little over 22% of the tournaments that I entered.  On average, that means I was winning nearly 1 in 4 tournaments that I fished!  BOOM BABY!  2013 gave me the shot of  confidence I needed to know that I can win any tournament I enter.  Occasionally, I used to be intimidated by some of the local pros in the area who are fantastically good fisherman.  I don’t feel that anymore… and it feels good.  Every tournament I enter now, I go in with FULL confidence knowing that I have a good shot at winning.  Don’t get me wrong, I still respect the skill and knowledge of much the rest of the field, but it just doesn’t intimidate me anymore.

This year I’ll be competing in the Media Bass Austin Individuals Division once again.  I had a great record in the Media Bass events I fished last year, and I’m ready to do it again this year.  The team trail I’ve chosen to fish this year is the Texas Tournament Zone Team Trail.  TTZ has quickly become one of the most popular and best paying team trails in Central Texas.  Last year I fished the Bass Champs Trail, but simply put, I didn’t like their wacky 3-fish format, and I just wasn’t impressed by or had a good experience with Bass Champs.  I’m looking forward to TTZ.  TTZ has attracted the biggest local names in tournament fishing and some of the best anglers.  It will be some fierce competition, but I’m ready to face them.  I’m also really excited about my team partner this year, Stephen Malina.  Stephen has got an intense passion for fishing as well and is dedicated to performing well in TTZ this year.  He’s got a fantastic track record and as long as I’ve known him the last few years, he’s been a top contender in any tournament he fishes.

Personal

(Said with an Arnold Schwarzenegger voice) – I’M HAVING A BABY!!!  Yup, that’s right.  My wife is pregnant with our first child and I’m as excited and pumped as ever.  We’ve been married for nearly 7 years, and it’s about time we got that ball rolling.  We found out over Christmas break while we were with our family in Utah and got to celebrate in finding out with them before we left.  That was a very special experience and we’re excited for the experiences that are ahead of us.  With that in mind, a co-worker told me, “Having a kid will drive you more than anything you could imagine, and it will drive you in every aspect of your life.”  I’m already feeling that coming on, and I’ve already started feeling the drive to be a better me… in everything.  Fishing will be no different.  My first two tournaments so far this season, the thought of my wife being pregnant with our first child has been in the back of my head, and it has driven me to fish HARD all day long until the very last minutes… in some unbelievably cold weather might I add.  Har!

With two tournaments under my belt so far this season, and one check already in the bank from the TTZ tournament, bring it on, 2014.