There is an old saying; a picture is worth a thousand words. How true that is! But what does that have to do with bass fishing? Plenty, read on!
Bass anglers have one of the most potent tools available, but very few take advantage of it. That tool is the human mind. The human mind is the most powerful computer in the world. Like all computers, the mind must be programmed.
The key to programming the mind is this:
1. Input negative information, output negative results
2. Input positive information output positive results
Our mind is such a powerful computer that it will recreate what we are programming into it! If we see ourselves not catching any fish during a tournament, guess what our mind tries to do? You're right. It tries convincing us not to catch any fish. Our mind does this by instinct to make us comfortable. To get positive results, we have to input positive information. We have to see ourselves winning the tournament!
Think back to a successful fishing trip you had. Now close your eyes and "visualize" that trip in your mind. Picture in your mind the lake you were fishing, the fish you caught, the bait you caught them on, your casts, what the bites felt like, feel the bass pulling as you were reeling them in.
How can we use that experience to help us get better as bass anglers? We can use this to "visualize" success on all fishing trips by programming our minds for success. We must "visualize" the bass eating our bait on every cast! The more details we include in our visualization, the better.
For example, say you are practicing for a tournament. You catch a couple of bass flipping boat docks with a jig-n-pig. You leave this spot to save it for the tournament. That evening while preparing for the tournament, you can now "visualize" making that perfect flip that yields a 5-pound largemouth! You can feel the bite, set the hook, land the fish, and put it in your livewell, all in your mind! Remember, visualization does not stop on the water; this is when it should kick into high gear. Just keep "visualizing" that 5-pound largemouth. You should be visualizing everything you do!
You should visualize the bass eating your bait on every single cast! (Sorry to repeat me, but that is a significant point) This is not easy, but practicing visualization every day will become easier. This will not happen overnight. It will take time and effort but don't give up!
Remember, the more successful you can visualize your fishing trips, the more successful you will become because your mind is "seeing" you succeed and won't stop until it happens!
