Entry 37-4

Mark Rose's Tips for Professional and Recreational Fishing

Answers From The Pro

Editor's Note: Up-and-coming professional fisherman Mark Rose, 31, of Marion, Arkansas, is a member of the Strike King Pro Staff, has competed professionally since 1999 and has had several top-20 and top-10 finishes in bass tournaments.

Question: What other questions would you ask yourself if you were an average Joe bass fisherman, and you ran into you -- the bass-fishing pro?

Rose: I'd probably ask, "How do you know how to catch fish in so many different bodies of water all over the country?" A bass is a bass wherever you go. Take those same skills that you use in the body of water you fish the most, and apply those same skills in similar situations on the other waters you fish. Watch how the pros catch smallmouth in the Great Lakes and in other clear-water lakes.

I used to watch some of Kevin VanDam's smallmouth videos. Even though we were close in age, I worked full-time before I came here, and Kevin started fishing fulltime a lot younger than I did. He fished professionally five or six years before I ever did. I knew he was very good on the Great Lakes since he was from Michigan.

Early on in my career, I would record tournaments down in Florida, or I would record tournaments in North Carolina and the Great Lakes and just watch what the anglers did. Once you learn some basic tactics, your outdoor skills will take over, and you'll get a feel for it. You'll have a hard time at first realizing how guys go to a new body of water and can establish a good pattern on it. But, you'll get a feel for it.




 

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