Entry 77-4
Meet Mr. Mike Wurm
Lessons Learned At The Classic
Editor's Note: Have you ever wondered who these men are who run up and down highways across the nation catching little green fish for money? What are their lives like? Why do they do participate in professional bass fishing? What do their families think about them being away from home so much? We want you to meet and get to know the Strike King Pros, both as some of the best bass fishermen in the nation and also to learn what they're really like. This week you'll get to know Mike Wurm up close and personal.
Wurm: I've fished in seven Bassmasters Classics and haven't won one yet. Some people want to know why. I've had seven chances to really boost my career to the next level, but I haven't capitalized on any one of those chances. For me to win a Classic, the Classic will have to be held on a lake or a reservoir that matches my style of fishing. One of the Classics where I did the best was at High Rock, North Carolina. To win a Classic, I also have to change my mindset from catching just the limit to trying to catch really big fish. In most tournaments across the nation, if you bring in a limit of bass every day, you'll make the Classic. And sometimes when you bring in the limit every day, you'll catch some really big bass. The Classic is different because you have to catch a limit of the really big fish every day. The next Classic I attend, I'm going to force myself to go after only the really big bass.
There are two wars that go on in the head of a tournament fisherman. You want to catch a limit every day so you can earn a check to feed your family and build up points to get into the Classic for your sponsors, which is the safest road to success. However, you're not going to win as many tournaments as the fishermen who go looking for the big bass. Trying to catch big bass and a big limit of bass is an all-or-nothing proposition. You can zero a tournament or win a tournament using this philosophy. The next time I make it to the Classic I must say to myself, "I'm willing to lose big if I don't win big." That idea is a hard pill for me to swallow because I like to come to the scale with a bag of bass, get a payday, get points for the Classic and prove to my sponsors that they've made a wise investment in me.
Contents:
- Part 1: Getting to Know Mike Wurm
- Part 2: What Mike Wurm Likes Most About Professional Fishing
- Part 3: Keeping Up with the Intensity
- Part 4: Lessons Learned at the Classic
- Part 5: What Wurm Wants People to Know About Him
