Entry 322-3

2009 Angler-of-the-Year Contender Mark Menendez

Part 3: A Ragin’ Season

Question: Mark, going into these last two tournaments before the Classic and with a chance to win the Angler-of-the-Year title, how much money have you won to date in tournament winnings during 2009?

Menendez: I’ve won $185,000, and I’m assured of making at least another $14,000 in the Angler-of-the-Year race and another $10,000 for qualifying for the Bassmaster Classic. Worst-case scenario, I’ll make over $200,000 in tournament winnings for the year, and hopefully more.

Question: Mark, what will winning that much money in tournaments mean to you and your family this year?

Menendez: Initially, it will mean a tax problem, but a good type of tax problem. Too, this money will allow me to pay-off any bills and set a financial plan for the next two seasons. It will allow me to fish a lot more comfortably than I’ve fished until this point. These wins will ease the tension in me and my family’s daily lives and allow me to know I’ve still got a fishing future, that there will be plenty of milk in the refrigerator for my children, and that during the wintertime, the heat will stay on and we’ll have a nice place to live. The 2009 season wins relieves a lot of stress and adds a lot of comfort.

Question: You mentioned that at the Wheeler Lake tournament, after your win at Lake Dardanelle, you put on your big-boy pants and began to fish to win, instead of fishing not to lose. How did that decision change your lure selection and the way you fished?

Menendez: I had very-strong confidence in my ability to not only catch bass but to catch big bass. That confidence allowed me to make better and more-realistic decisions as to what it actually would take to win every tournament. Most of the guesswork in fishing is removed when you decide to only fish for big bass and to only fish to win. Having that confidence allowed me to return to the styles of fishing I believe are my strengths, which are to put a flipping stick in one hand and a crankbait rod in the other.

These were the primary weapons that carried me through the battle for the Angler-of-the-Year title this year. In the Lake Guntersville tournament in Alabama, I caught and released more than 500 bass in the 4 Parts of the tournament. In the Wheeler Lake Open tournament where I finished second, I caught 90 bass in one Part, and most of those bass were caught with a flipping stick or a crankbait.

Question: When you’ve got a flipping stick in your hand, what is your go-to bait?

Menendez: This season, my go-to bait has been a Strike King Rage Craw, and I probably caught most of my bass on dark-colored Rage Craw lures, primarily black or black with blue flakes.

Question: How did you rig the Rage Craw?

Menendez: I Texas-rigged the Rage Craw with a 3/8- to a 3/4-ounce sinker and a No. 5/0 short-shank hook on 20-pound-test Berkley 100% Fluorocarbon line with a 7-foot, 6-inch Power Tackle flipping rod and a Pflueger Patriarch 7:1 reel.

Next: Flippin’ and Crankin’ in Big-Boy Britches

Contents:

• Part 1: How and Why I’ll Fish the Next Two Tournaments
• Part 2: From the Middle of the Pack to a Front Runner
• Part 3: A Ragin’ Season
• Part 4: Flippin’ and Crankin’ in Big-Boy Britches
• Part 5: Prepare to Win