Story by Todd Goade | Photos by Tanner & Travis Lyons
I have had some profound learning experiences at two tournaments so far this year. I’m always trying to learn every time I put the boat in the water, but these two events still stick in my craw, and they have me sitting in 32nd place in the Progressive Angler of the Year standings. Since only the top 40 qualify for the 2026 Championship, that’s a little too close for comfort.
But don’t think I’m joking when I say those tournaments were learning experiences. Every tournament is a learning experience if you’re serious about competitive fishing. Win, lose or fall flat on your face, you should walk away with more than a trophy, a check, or a bunch of travel receipts. You’d better have some takeaways you can build on.
At Stop 2 at Lake Norman, I had a real good practice. I found several key docks that held fish, but I also found a post-spawn offshore pattern that I thought would be a big difference maker. I found this same pattern two years ago at Hartwell—and it burned me then, too. Granted, I lost three fish in that event that would have had me with a finish in the upper teens, but I relied too much on the offshore bite and didn’t bail on it soon enough. Lesson learned that I won’t forget the next time I’m in that situation.
At Stop 4 at Eufaula Oklahoma, I had the best Pop-R bite going in practice that I have had in years. I rolled my hooks up early on the second day of practice and threw it all day, having my last 4 pounder blow it up at 3:00 in the afternoon. I figured I could flip the bushes if I needed to or fish a bladed jig or spinnerbait around them, but I didn’t do that enough in practice to figure out the right angles on these places that the fish were setting up on. I even commented to my roommates, “I’ve been burned before with topwater. I sure hope this holds up,” and sure enough, the lake came up two more feet, scattered the fish and left me scrambling.
Those two tournaments were frustrating and aggravating, but I always try to have a valuable “takeaway” from any event that will help me going forward.
First, I want to remember what worked and what didn’t for the next time I’m competing on those fisheries. It’s also important for me to try to explain what happened and why, so I can adjust in the future.
At Norman, I think I let the rising water temperatures trick me into staying offshore too much. Had I stayed shallow more and located a few more key docks, that may have made the difference in getting the two or three bites I needed as the weights were super tight.
At Eufaula, I should have been more in tune with the weather forecasts and fished some other techniques to see how those would play out. I knew I could catch them other ways, I just didn’t throw them much as the topwater bite was so good.
Next time I’ll be ready. For now, I’ve added just a little more information to my bass fishing database.
When you fish competitively—at the club level, the fruit jar level, or the pro level—you have to keep learning if you want to get better. I’m always trying to do that. Instead of trying to forget a bad event and put it behind me, I think about the key takeaways and try to grab some valuable knowledge out of it. Keeping the glass half full has always been my mindset with everything in life, and hopefully some of these things can help you, too.
Tight Lines!
Todd Goade – Angler Profile
