Have you ever been asked, “Can you keep a secret?” Sure, you have but there’s probably not another group of people on earth who have more secrets than tournament bass anglers. Secrets that they will take to their grave! Let’s dive into the secret world of tournament bass fishing and look at the mental side — how anglers think.

It’s absolutely amazing how anglers won’t ever give up any of their secret baits or locations where they catch bass. I don’t care how long you’ve been fishing, there are just certain bits of information a tournament bass angler will never reveal, not even to his best buddies.

This is why it’s hard for one angler to trust another! It’s like opening a closet door and revealing everything you never wanted anyone to find out. Every angler thinks they know something no one else does, but if the truth be told, there are no secret baits or secret locations any more on any body of water. 

Anglers, as I have said so many times in the past, are a funny bunch. Every single tournament angler on the water is always looking for that ONE bait that no one else is throwing. That one bait that they have the utmost confidence which no matter the conditions, will catch fish. Anglers are always searching for anything that will give them a leg up on their competition. 

This is where the mental side of tournament bass fishing comes into play. Bass fishing, as so many pro anglers will tell you, is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. This is actually what separates the average anglers from the great ones. 

The greatest angler of all time, Kevin Van Dam, once told me that if you believe in the bait you’re throwing, you’ll fish that bait totally different than one you don’t believe in. Confidence in bass fishing goes a long way in catching bass!

That’s another key word in tournament bass fishing — confidence. It’s funny how this one word is crucial for anything we do in life. It’s a word that can make you average, or great. 

Again, I reference a conversation I had with Kevin Van Dam when I asked if he believed in adding scent to the bait he’s fishing?  His answer was not what I was expecting when he reversed the question and asked me if I believed in adding scent to my baits? 

My answer was “yes.” I do think it makes a difference in the number of bites I get in a day. He then said, “That’s all that matters; if you believe in it, use it! Because the more you believe in what you’re doing, the better you ‘ll fish that bait! It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks, it only matters what you think.”

So, I guess you could say that the best-kept secret of any angler is not a certain bait or location on any body of water, but it’s the confidence they have in what they’re doing! 

Preachers read. I read because I’m not very smart—and because I’m terrified of being boring. Let’s be honest: some sermons are so dull they could be used as sleep aids. I’ve heard paint dry with more enthusiasm. Sorry, colleagues, but we might be the reason folks choose brunch over the Body of Christ. Jesus told stories that made people lean in, not nod off. So, I read, hunt, and scavenge for stories that make the Gospel feel like a live wire, not a library whisper.

The other day, I went trolling for a story in one of my Bible commentaries. I glanced at my shelf and noticed something odd. One of the volumes looked… moist. Not “anointed” moist. Just suspiciously soggy. The one next to it looked like it had been baptized by a leaky roof. I thought, “Well, that’s interesting. Maybe the Holy Spirit is hydrating my theology.”

I pulled the books down and—surprise!—termites. Not just a few. A full-blown theological buffet. These bugs had eaten the entire guts out of two volumes. I mean, they didn’t just nibble—they feasted. Paper to termites is what McDonald’s fries are to me: irresistible, regrettable, and always followed by a need for repentance.

My preacher friends had a field day. One said, “Well, at least they were feasting on the Word.” Another asked, “Were they Old Testament termites? Maybe they skipped the New Testament because they couldn’t handle grace.” Someone else suggested I start a new ministry: Exegesis for Insects.

The exterminator came out, gave me a price, and looked at me like I was the weirdest theologian he’d ever met. I’ve got carpentry repairs to make, commentaries to replace, and a new sermon illustration that’s practically begging for a pulpit.

But here’s the real question: Do you have termites? Not cellulose kind. I mean the soul-chewers. Anger, bitterness, jealousy, revenge, those little varmints that sneak in through the cracks of your spirit and start munching on your joy. They don’t knock. They just move in, set up a recliner in the lobby of your heart, and start gnawing away like it’s a buffet.

So, what’s the treatment? Grace. Not the kind you say before meals. The kind that fumigates your soul. The kind that kicks out the termites and replaces them with peace, purpose, and maybe a little laughter.

Go to church on Sunday. Your preacher’s been reading all week, dodging termites, and praying for a story that’ll wake you up, shake you up, and maybe even make you laugh while Jesus does His deep work.

At dawn on November 19, 1942, the frozen plains of southern Russia erupted in artillery fire. Soviet forces launched Operation Uranus, a massive counteroffensive that surrounded German troops at Stalingrad and shifted the course of World War II.

For months, Nazi forces had besieged the city bearing Joseph Stalin’s name, determined to seize control of the Volga River and cripple Soviet industry. But by late fall, the German Sixth Army was exhausted, its supply lines stretched thin.

Commanded by General Georgy Zhukov, Soviet troops struck from the north and south, encircling more than 300,000 Axis soldiers. Within days, the hunters had become the hunted. By February 1943, the trapped German army surrendered, delivering Adolf Hitler one of his greatest defeats.

The Battle of Stalingrad cost an estimated two million lives, military and civilian. Yet its outcome marked the beginning of Germany’s retreat across Eastern Europe and solidified Soviet resolve.

For the Allies, the victory on November 19 signaled a turning tide. It demonstrated that the German war machine could be beaten and gave new momentum to resistance across occupied Europe.

Today, historians regard the Soviet counterattack at Stalingrad as the pivotal moment of the Second World War — a triumph of endurance and sacrifice that turned a river city into a symbol of resilience.

We are entering the season of anticipatory waiting. There is lots of movement in this season. We travel. We welcome out-of-town guests. We hurry to the door when Amazon arrives. Soon the Liturgical churches talk about the waiting of Advent. Lowes, Walmart, and Hobby Lobby have gone all Christmas all the time. They have been anticipatory waiting since September! Before you dive head long into your ritual chaos, I wanted you to ponder Sue Monk Kidd’s When the Heart Waits. She wrote:

“One afternoon as the children watched television and I folded laundry; we heard a terrible thud against the patio door. I turned in time to see blue wings falling to the ground. A bird had flown into the glass.

None of us said a word. We looked at one another and crept to the door. The children followed me outside. I half-expected the bird to be dead, but she wasn’t. She was stunned and her right wing was a little lopsided, but it didn’t look broken—bruised, maybe.

The bird sat perfectly still, her eyes tiny and afraid. She looked so fragile and alone that I sat down beside her. I reached out my little finger and brushed her wing.

A voice came from behind me, “Why doesn’t it fly off, Mama?”

“She’s hurt,” I said. “She just needs to be still.”

We watched her. We watched her stillness. Finally, the children wandered back to the television, satisfied that nothing was going to “happen” for a while. But I couldn’t leave her.

I sat beside her, unable to resist the feeling that we shared something, the two of us. The wounds and the brokenness of life. Crumpled wings. A collision with something harsh and real. I felt like crying for her. For myself. For every broken thing in the world.

That moment taught me that while the postures of stillness within the cocoon are frequently an individual experience, we also need to share our stillness. The bird taught me anew that we’re all in this together, what we need is to sit in one another’s stillness and take up corporate postures of prayer. How wonderful it is when we can be honest and free enough to say to one another, “I need you to wait with me,” or “Would you like to me to wait with you?”

I studied the bird, deeply impressed that she seemed to know instinctively that stillness is healing. I had been learning that too, learning that stillness can be the prayer that transforms us. How much more concentrated our stillness becomes, though, when it’s shared.

The door opened again, “Is she finished being still?”

“No, not yet,” I said, knowing that I was talking as much about myself as the bird. We went on waiting together. Twenty minutes. Thirty. Fifty.

Finally, she finished being still. She cocked her head to one side, lifted her wings and flew. The sight of her flying made me catch my breath. From the corner of my eye I saw her shadow move along the ground and cross over me. Grace is everywhere I thought. Then I picked myself up and went back to folding the laundry.”

No matter what lake you’re on, it’s almost impossible to get away from other anglers even during hunting season. No longer can you go to your favorite lake in the middle of the week without waiting in line to launch your boat. So how can you as a bass fisherman avoid frustration and maintain your focus while fishing behind other anglers?

First, does anybody work any more? It seems that no matter what day of the week it is, boat ramps are full — every single day! One thing you need to do is to be aware of what events are being held on your lake of choice. 

This time of year, most tournament trails have their end-of-season two-day championships, therefore increasing fishing pressure on certain lakes in September and early October. Facebook is a place that can be a good source of information in terms of what’s happening on area lakes. 

Overcrowding issues can be a little lighter later in the fall as many anglers are in the woods hunting or just taking a break from fishing. The problem today versus 10 years ago is that there are more tournament trails, not just for the weekend warriors, but also with high school and college organizations.

Another issue anglers must deal with on certain lakes is drawdowns. This has been an issue in Northwest Louisiana for several years as state wildlife officials attempt to eradicate salvinia, an invasive species of vegetation that has taken over certain waterways in our region. 

These drawdowns help to shrink the size of the lake which allows officials to reduce the amount of acreage they must spray. Some lakes will be pulled down four feet or more depending on the lake and the severity of the salvinia. 

Lakes that go through this drawdown period allow anglers to catch more fish as the process  reduces the size of the lake and makes fish more accessible. Some anglers hate this and feel that it hurts the lake in terms of the quality of the fishery, as some anglers take advantage by catching and taking out huge limits of fish. 

The biggest issue is that bass fishing is more popular today than ever before! The influx of young anglers today is due to the popularity of high school and college bass fishing. More anglers equate to more people on the water, plus more pressure on the fish. 

Even during the fall season, a lot of anglers continue to fish. There was a time when you could go to a boat ramp in October and November and be the only boat and trailer in the parking lot. Not any more! 

For me personally, it’s a great time to try new lures or learn a new technique. It’s also a great time to get better and more efficient with my electronics. One thing is certain; the fishing can be awesome this time of year as bass go through a feeding frenzy fattening up for the winter.   

So don’t sit at home this fall. Hook up that boat and head to your favorite body of water and enjoy some of the best fishing of the year. But understand, you might have to wait in line to launch!