Entry 285-4
How to Make Decisions That Help You Catch More Bass with Mark Menendez
Editor’s Note: Mark Menendez of Paducah, Kentucky, a long-time Strike King pro, is one of Strike King’s most-consistent pros. This week, Menendez will tell us how he makes the critical decisions in a tournament that helps him catch more bass.
Part 4: I Don’t Like Lightning
Question: Mark, how bad does the weather have to be for you to leave the lake?
Menendez: I’ve put my boat on the trailer many times in Bassmaster Elite Series tournaments. My rule of thumb is not to leave under any circumstances during a tournament, except for lightning. When lightning starts hitting the water on the lake I’m fishing, I’m out of there. Several years ago, in a tournament on Santee Cooper Lake in South Carolina, we had one of the biggest lightning storms I’d ever fished. I pulled my boat up on the bank and huddled under my console on the boat. 
When I looked out on the flat where a number of other contestants continued to fish, I saw them catching 25- and 35-pound bags of bass. But I didn’t care.
If lightning’s popping, I’m leaving. No bag of bass is worth a trip to the hospital or a ride to the cemetery. When you’re on the water, you have to use sound judgment for your life and safety. I know that each year a large number of people are struck by lightning. I don’t want to increase my odds and become one of those people. If the wind’s blowing, the rain’s falling, or the water’s choppy, I’ll stay on the water and fish. But when lightning’s happening, I’m leaving
Next: Leading the Last Day
Contents:
- Part 1: Stay Close or Run Far
- Part 2: Deciding to Change Lures
- Part 3: Why and When to Leave Biting Bass
- Part 4: I Don't Like Lightning
- Part 5: Leading the Last Day
