Entry 205-1
The Miraculous Recovery of Strike King Pro Mark Menendez
Day 1: Who is Mark Menendez
Editor’s Note: Mark Menendez of Paducah, Kentucky, has made approximately $3/4 million as a tournament fisherman for the past decade. Although one of the newer Strike King pros, Menendez’s certainly not new to tournament bass fishing and has fished the Bassmasters Classic several times.
Question: Mark, step out of yourself, critically look at Mark Menendez and evaluate him.
Menendez: In 2005, I contracted spinal meningitis, and after I recovered, the doctor told me I was within 4 to 6 hours of checking-out of this world (dying). I had a 6-month-old little girl at that time, and I’d just found out that my wife was pregnant with our son. That bout with spinal meningitis changed my life and my fishing. Today I don’t have any pressure about having to catch bass. I realize now that bass fishing isn’t the only thing in the world that’s important. I’ve come to learn that taking care of my family and being around for my children is much-more important than catching that next bass or winning a tournament.
I know I have a different attitude than most tournament anglers have, but I’m extremely grateful to be able to get up every morning and go fishing. The things that I do well that may separate me from some of the other tournament fishermen is that I feel I’m a good jerkbait fisherman. I believe that my strong suit is being able to suspend that jerkbait in extremely-cold water and being patient long enough for a bass to take it.
I’ve learned that one of the biggest secrets to successful jerkbait fishing is patience. The biggest portion of the monies I’ve earned while bass fishing has come when an area has had very-cold weather, and I’ve gotten a bass to bite by fishing a jerkbait like Strike King’s Wild Shiner. I’ll make a cast with the Wild Shiner and get it down to the depth I feel I need to fish. Then I may let the Wild Shiner sit for 2-3 minutes, if I move it at all.
When I won the tournament at Pickwick Lake in northwest Alabama a couple of years ago, I let the jerkbait sit for a minimum of 10-20 seconds before I’d ever move it. Then I’d simply tap my rod to make the jerkbait quiver. I fished slower than anyone else did in that tournament. I decided from fishing that week that the bass needed to see the bait longer than usual before they would make the decision to bite. Consequently I won the tournament by more than 7 pounds because I was patient.
