Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
As a kid, my parents and teachers told me that it’s important to have goals in life. My Dad always told me if I wasn’t 15 minutes early, I was late. Make your bed every day. If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time. I took that to heart probably more than most people. There are very few things I do in my life for which I don’t have goals. I have goals for each day when I wake up, goals for each week as I travel or work, and goals for each month of my business.
You can bet that I have goals for each tournament fishing season, and they start off the same every year: Win an event, contend for AOY, and qualify for the Championship.
This season has been frustrating for me. If you’ve followed my tournament performances, that might not surprise you. This hasn’t been the season I wanted … so far.
Winning AOY in 2023 pulled me in directions I had never been pulled before, especially with time commitments. It’s in my blood not to say no to any request, and my plate filled up fast. It even filtered down to my fishing at times. I might be working a main lake point with a crankbait but wondering if I should be in the back of a creek throwing a bladed jig. Considering the options is good. Being distracted and failing to focus on the situation in front of you is not. Those kinds of distractions are terrible, and they can derail a season.
One goal I have for the rest of the season is to be more focused, more in-the-moment, and more aware of what I can do rather than what I would do if I was somewhere else. A key to accomplishing that goal will be to simplify my fishing as much as I reasonably can.
I’ve worked really hard throughout my career to become comfortable and capable with a wide variety of baits and techniques. But sometimes less is more, and I think that approach will help me as we go into the home stretch of the 2025 season.
In these last two events, every fish is going to count tremendously. I’ll have to expand my list of possible baits and techniques. Or do I? Finesse lures and methods are always in the mix. Light lines and keeper bass—especially for at our last event at Logan Martin Lake in Alabama—are extremely important.
I’m keeping it simple for the St. Lawrence River. I’ve always had a mix of baits that do well for smallmouth, and I’ll have fewer rods and less tackle in the boat than I’ve had all year. This event will come down to making the right decisions, when to run, when to punt, I could go on and on. This is a strategy tournament where you have to decide if you’re fishing to win or fishing for points … or a mix of the two.
Simpler is usually better. Less is sometimes more.
And if we don’t set goals, how will we know if we accomplished anything?
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
