Entry 80-3

Get To Know Mark Davis

Life on the Water

Editor's Note: You've seen Mark Davis on TV, perhaps have heard him present at a seminar and read about him in magazines. But, when you peel away the fishing veneer, who is the man inside the shirt with all the patches on it who listens to the roar of outboard engines all day while dancing across the tops of waves in a fiberglass bass boat? What's the man behind the legend like, and what kind of person is he? This week, we want you to get to know Mark Davis.

Davis: Many anglers don't understand or maybe they just don't want to know, what our life as a tournament fisherman is really like. In most big tournaments, like the Bassmasters Classic, I'm generally up by 4:30 a.m. I always try to get up at least 1- to 1-1/2-hours before daylight, dress, get my tackle together and make sure I'm early to the take-off point.

I have a checklist I go through every morning to make sure I have all my stuff. I usually like to get to the boat ramp ahead of the other fishermen so that I can put my boat in the water, get all my gear squared-away and have time to rest and relax while the other anglers are hurrying to get their boats in the water before the start of the tournament.

While I'm waiting for the other fishermen to get into the water, I'll check my equipment once more, although I've just checked it out the night before. I check out everything on and in my boat. Then I'll have the confidence of knowing that at least from the take-off, I won't have any equipment or tackle failures. I check my trolling motor, my depth finder, my batteries, my GPS and everything else that can go wrong or malfunction, while the other competitors are putting their boats in the water.

After I fish hard for 9 to 10 hours, as soon as I get my boat on the trailer and back to the motel, I recheck all my equipment, my rods, my reels, my lines and my lures to make sure everything is ready to fish the next day. Once I complete this homework, then I start thinking about dinner. I try to eat a really nice meal and get in bed by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. so I can follow that same routine the next morning. During a tournament, I may follow this same routine for seven days at a time.

Next: A Day of Pre-Practice

Contents:

• Part 1: Know Mark Davis
• Part 2: On the Road Again
• Part 3: Life on the Water
• Part 4: A Day of Pre-Practice
• Part 5: Local Information