Entry 221-3
Looking Back Over the 2007 Bass-Fishing Tournament Season with Mike Wurm
Editor’s Note: In 2007, Mike Wurm of Hot Springs, Arkansas, qualified for his 10th Bassmasters Classic, a major milestone for him in his professional bass-fishing career. His big dream when he first started competitive fishing was to qualify for 10 Bassmaster Classics, which he believed would establish him as a true bass-fishing pro. In 2008, Wurm will realize his dream. One of the most-difficult feats to accomplish in sports is being able to compete at the highest level possible for an extended number of years. The names in sports you’re most familiar with aren’t the men who’ve won big tournaments, but the men who’ve endured over the years, like Babe Ruth, Johnny Unitas, Jim Kelly, John Elway, Tiger Woods, Jack Nicholas, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Mike Wurm has proven that he’s an endurance fisherman. Only the best in bass fishing compete in the Bassmasters Classic. To have 10 appearances in a lifetime is a major accomplishment for anyone. This week, we’ll talk to Wurm and learn what he’s doing and what his hopes are for the future.
Part 3: Learning to Change
Question:
Mike, what else did you learn on the tournament circuit
this year?
Wurm: I’ll have to spend more time learning how to fish the swim bait. The Strike King King Shad will be at the top of my tackle box next year. In 2008, we’ll be fishing two or three lakes where I’ll have to depend heavily on the King Shad. I’ll also be practicing with the lizard, Strike King’s 10-inch Iguana, and the Zero. These are all big-bass baits. I’ll have to fish more big-bass lures and fish for bigger bass this year than I have in the past. If I’m going to survive on the BASS tournament trail, I’ve got to change my strategy, increase the size of my lures and fish for bigger bass.
For instance, In 2007, we went to California’s Clear
Lake, and if you caught five bass there that totaled 20 pounds,
you wouldn’t even be in the running. A few years ago,
five bass that weighed about 4-pounds each would have won most
tournaments. But today, on the lakes we’re fishing, those
five, 4 pounders wouldn’t even get you in the top 20.
At Clear Lake, 20 pounds a day will put you in about 70th place.
That’s impressive when 70 competitors can catch more than
20 pounds a day from a single body of water. If you’re
going to run with the big dogs, you’ve got to fish bigger
baits for bigger bass. 
I’ll
have to target 5- and 6-pound bass, if I’m going to fish
the 2008 Classic. To put those 5 and 6 pounders in the boat,
I’ve got to change the way I fish, the lures I use and
my bass-fishing strategies.
I won’t completely abandon everything I’ve learned, because when we have tough tournaments like we did at Lake Toho, I have to return to some of my little-lure techniques. On Lake Toho, there were numbers of competitors bringing in 6 to 7 pounds a day, and I was able to bring in 11 or 12 pounds. I’ll still have to rely on my tactics I’ve learned over the years when fishing’s tough, but I’ve got to step-up my learning curve to catch more and bigger bass when we fish lakes where everyone’s catching big bass.
Question: How will this new philosophy change the way you practice?
Wurm: When we go fish big-bass lakes, I’ll
look for more spots holding big bass, like really-thick grass
and brush, deep drop-offs, channel swings and all those areas
where big bass like to hang out. I’ll have to exercise
much-more patience than I have in the past. 
I
won’t be able to catch a limit in 30 minutes or an hour
and then coast the rest of the day. I’ll need enough patience
to fish for five really-big bass in an entire day of fishing.
I may not get but five to seven bites during a day, but those five to seven bites have to be really-big bass bites. When big fish bite, I have to be able to put them in the boat. Being patient and waiting on those really-big bites will be tough for me, because I’m not a patient person. I’ll have to really work on myself and not get in a hurry to catch a lot of fish. I’ll have to fish slowly and deliberately for really-big bass. My technique in the past has been to catch a limit first and then slow down and fish for big fish. I still want to get limits because limits are very important, but I have to start working on getting 3- to 5-pound fish in that first limit.
Next: 2008 Classic Lures
Contents:
- Part 1: Season Highlights
- Part 2: Finding Lures that Win Classics
- Part 3: Learning to Change
- Part 4: 2008 Classic Lures
- Part 5: Finding the Right Lures, Line and Reel
