Fishing in the Central Valley: Mental toughness in fishing is underrated

I thought I would share one of the best lessons I learned from my Olympic coaches during my 10 years as a world class decathlete.

This transferable insight about performing well under pressure still serves me well as an avid angler and guide.

When I first started my decathlon career at Fresno State it became apparent to me in my first competitions that the 10 event track and field event was both a physical and mental test that could last more than 20 hours.

The grueling nature of the event pushed me to the brink of my abilities and I knew I needed some way to deal with the pressure in this war of attrition.

The mental stress was the real X Factor in determining success and that’s what I had to figure out.

Many athletes would do well on the first day of competition when they were fresh and rested, but started the second day sore, tired or possibly injured, and the mental slide downhill began and they fell apart.

My breakthrough came when I studied the results of many big competitions and it became obvious that the decathlon didn’t really begin until the second day of competition with the seventh event- the pole vault.

This is where the exhaustion and stress of hours of competition began to set in and many top ranked athletes would hit this wall of fatigue and begin and discouragement would set in.

They weren’t prepared for the mental toughness needed to finish well when competing hurt physically and adversity arose.

Mastering the mental dimension of competition was the real key to winning.

A good, not great, score in a pressure-packed competition would carry the day almost every year without exception.

I realized that I could do that.

Surviving the entire two-day ordeal by plugging away was a winning strategy because many athletes would crumble under the pressure.

You didn’t need to go crazy to win, just steady and stable. The real game was to keep going, no matter how it looked and let others succumb to the pressure.

I hadn’t realized before that we were all fighting the same mental battle of doubt, fear and comparison and that even top athletes can be impacted and derailed.

This was a massive revelation that I didn’t have to have an incredible performance to make an Olympic team, I just had to be solid.

Many of the athletes who were touted to become the next great superstar would have a great first day, and then fall off completely as the reality of the second day crucible hit.

I saw this self-destruction occur many times with people far more gifted than me. Everyone has bad events, some let it affect them badly, while others are able to refocus and move. It may seem simple but it is hard to do.

I trained to be ready for this unseen but very real barrier and found that if I did not give up mentally and focused on doing my best, then the odds were in my favor that I would be successful.

Understanding this principle has been key to my fishing too. It gives me a clear perspective on how important it is to just keep going when you want to quit.

When I feel tempted to back off or stop I know it’s probably just about how everyone else on the lake is feeling too. It’s a sign that I’m at the common barrier separating me from pushing forward to unusual results.

All of us hit these points and they can be viewed as a time to quit, or an opportunity to break into a new level and be the last one standing when the dust settles.

We all think that those folks catching the big fish are more talented or lucky or smarter than we are. However I believe that persistence is the trump card they use that we tend to discount.

Whether it’s the Olympics or fishing, we are all susceptible to giving up. Yet, if we keep going instead of quitting, that persistence ends up being the key to victory.

Separate yourself and never give up.