I learned many years ago that to be successful I had to make sure I kept first things first. The first three things in my life in importance are God, my family and my fishing. I’m on the road at least 200 days each year. But when I’m not on the road, I enjoy spending as much time with my family as I can without any of the distractions of my fishing. When I’m fishing, my wife Jennie keeps all the distractions of my family, my sponsors and the press in line and handles all that, so I can concentrate on my fishing. However, when I’m at home, time with my family is so important. Whether I’m fishing or spending time with my family, God’s always there.
People often ask me how long do I think I can keep up this pace of fishing and traveling, being on the road 200-plus days per year, working with my sponsors and finding time to be with my family. I’d like to continue to fish bass tournaments for at least another 15-20 more years. I’m 33 right now, and when I get into my 50s, I may want to back off some on traveling and competing. But right now I can’t see that far ahead. I enjoy what I’m doing, I’ve got one of the greatest jobs in the world, and I can’t think of a single thing I’d rather be doing than fishing for bass. I’ve been truly blessed, and I plan to keep on going and fishing as long as I feel like I can and stay competitive.
