After embarking on a journey across the country from February to October, the 2023 Bassmaster Opens EQ season is now in the books. Nine events of planning, organizing, driving (a lot) and grinding out there on the land and water, have been quite the adventure. Going into the 2023 Bassmaster Opens Elite Qualifiers (EQ) season, I knew we were going to be in for a challenge. The field of around 180 really talented and accomplished anglers whose careers spanned from many decades to only just beginning, all embarked on that same journey in Eufaula, Alabama back in late February.
New things are always exciting. Being the first year of the Bassmaster Opens EQ series, the anticipation was palpable from every angler. Having so many talented anglers from all across the country (and the globe – there were a number of international anglers) set the bar high for each event. The weights were almost always higher than anticipated and the consistency of a number of anglers was incredible.
The diversity of the fisheries we traveled to this season tested us all greatly and personally, caused me to stretch myself, striving to learn some new things on the fly. We fished clear water, we fished dirty water. We fished natural lakes as well as various types of impoundments and rivers. Always enjoying challenging myself, I very much enjoyed that aspect of it.
For me, the season started on a good note in Eufaula, Alabama. The hope of a special season was kept alive after kicking things off. With a nine event season, you may not be able to achieve your goal in tournament number one, but you sure can ruin your season with a bad finish. From there, the best way to describe the duration of my season would be consistently inconsistent. I’d have a decent event, followed by a middle of the pack finish, followed by another decent event and a not so decent one. I mostly hovered around 40-50th place in the points for the course of the season and ended up finishing 57th overall after a poor day two finish at the Harris Chain.
Overall, I like to evaluate things before and after the fact to figure out what I should do and what I could do better in a variety of aspects. Over the course of the season, I’d say a couple things I could improve/change would be to definitely prepractice, especially places I haven’t been, and commit more to forward facing sonar. Personally, I have seen the immense benefit utilizing forward facing sonar can have. However, I have rarely been one to fully commit to it each practice and tournament, which seems to be the strategy working best as of late. I really enjoy the portion of fishing that has that mysterious portion of it. Although I enjoy using my Active Target, my favorite way to catch them is shallow water power fishing. I like mixing it up, but it’s not about what I like to do, it’s about what works best and achieves the optimal result. I need to improve and change some things up.
Although the Opens season is over, there is still one event left before 2024. My buddy and DuraEdge installer, Tyler Woak and I, qualified for the Bassmaster Team National Championship in December. December is an iffy time of year weather wise, but thankfully, this year’s Team Championship is back at the Harris Chain of Lakes in the Sunshine State. It’s pretty convenient we get to go back to where we just poked around for the past week. It’s another chance to earn a Bassmaster Classic berth, get back in tune with those temperamental Florida bass and have some fun dissecting the Harris Chain, this time with my team partner, Tyler Woak.
In the meantime, we’ve got some decisions to make for next season. Registration for the Bassmaster Opens EQ season for next year already begins on November 7th. We’ve got a few weeks to talk things over with my family, sponsors (especially DuraEdge Products, Rabid Baits, X2 Power, Centimark and Turwitt Team Realty) and pray about the right guidance as to what to do next year. I’m very thankful to any and all of you who have followed along this season and in years past. Your support is very appreciated. From something like a short text before a tournament, a phone call on the road, or opening your home to a tired fisherman, it means a lot. Tightlines everyone.
