Entry 271-1
Mark Rose and His Second-Best Year of Fishing with Strike King’s New Lures
Editor’s Note: Mark Rose of Marianna, Arkansas, an up-and-coming pro on the FLW circuit, has committed himself to the sport of tournament bass fishing. This week, Rose will tell us about his second-best year ever of fishing with the new lures from Strike King.
Part 1: A Very Good Year
Question: Mark, what circuits are you fishing this year?
Rose: I’m fishing the FLW Tour and the FLW Series. I’ve had a good year. I just finished in 9th place in the FLW Championship on Lake Murray, leading the tournament the first day and earning a $30,000 payday.
Question: How much total winnings have you earned this year in tournament fishing?
Rose: I’ve won a total of $115,000. This is the second-best year I’ve ever had in tournament bass fishing.
Question: What caused you to have such a good year?
Rose: I’m finally able to rely on the knowledge I’ve built from fishing different lakes over the past several years, and I’m learning how to draw on that knowledge to fish more effectively in each tournament. I feel like a veteran now because of the numbers of years I’ve spent learning my craft. Too, now I can fish worry-free because Strike King sponsors me. My sponsors help me with expenses. They also help me when I’m out on the tournament trail because I’m able to fish without worries and concerns about making enough money in each tournament to pay my bills.
Question: How much does not having to worry about paying the bills affect your fishing?
Rose: Bass fishing is mentally and physically challenging. When you’re fishing, you have to be tuned-in to the fishing environment – the types of lures and the presentations fish want and the water and the weather conditions. 
Staying tuned-in to the mental side of fishing when you’re worried about your family, paying bills and making it to the next tournament is tough.
The fishermen who don’t have that type of stress always perform better in tournaments. Working harder than the other fishermen will help you earn checks, but it only will carry you so far in your bass-fishing career. Because professional bass fishing is a mental game, the less you worry, and the more you concentrate on fishing, the more consistently you’ll fish, and the more money you’ll make.
Too, being able to fish with products in which I believe and have confidence and that I use in competition makes promoting a company much easier and reduces my stress level. I feel very fortunate that the companies whose products I purchased when I was learning to bass fish and the companies that have helped me as I’ve grown as a bass fisherman are now my sponsors. Now, I promote the products I’ve used for many years.
Question: Has anything else helped you this year?
Rose: Yes, and it’s kind of hard to define. I call it “fishing on the fly.” If I’ve developed a game plan for fishing a tournament, and the night before the tournament the area gets a tremendous amount of rain that destroys the patterns I’ve planned to fish during the tournament, I no longer feel completely wiped-out. I’ve learned to adjust my fishing tactics based on what I’ve learned about how various bodies of water are affected by rain. I’ve learned that if I’ll be competing with the best fishermen in the FLW, I can’t become derailed by changing water and weather conditions, even when the changes are drastic.
