Entry 100-1

George Cochran - My Five Most Miserable Tournaments

As Cold As It Gets

Editor's Note: Most of us believe that professional fishermen live the stuff of dreams. They fish for a living, teach seminars, work with sponsors and have a great time. But the side of professional bass fishing that we rarely ever see is the bad tournaments-miserable tournaments-the tournaments they want to forget. Just like you, professional fishermen have bad days also. This week, George Cochran, a 2004 inductee into the Professional Bass Fishing Hall of Fame will share some of his memories of his worst tournaments.

Cochran: We had a BASS tournament in 1991 on the Harris chain of lakes in Florida. The temperature was in the 20s and 30s at night, and during the daytime temperature was in the 40s. Without question, this was the most-miserable tournament I'd ever fished in my life. This tournament set a record low for the number of bass weighed-in. The tournament was won with 14 pounds of bass caught in three days of fishing. I caught only one fish in three days of fishing, and I missed getting a check by 1/2-pound. Anyone who caught two fish got a check in this tournament.

I hate having to fish in really cold weather. From the time I put the boat into the water at this tournament until I took the boat out of the water and headed home, I was miserably cold. Even though I wore a snowmobile suit and all the clothes I could put on my body, I still was freezing. Since that one tournament, I have bought the finest-quality, most-expensive, top-of-the-line, warm clothes that I can find, and I carry them in my boat even in June. I swore that if I lived through that tournament, I'd never be cold again if I could help it.




 

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