FLW Tour Pro, Andy Morgan or The GOAT (Greatest of All Time) as nick-named by his peers has won three Angler of the Year Titles in the last four years, has 62 top-ten finishes and has over 2 million dollars in earnings. So what we are saying here is that the man from Dayton, Tennessee knows a thing or two about not only catching bass across the United States, but he also knows how to put together a successful tournament campaign. Much of this success can be derived at how Morgan mentally prepares for and mentally executes his day during competition. Here are four mental tips from Andy Morgan on how to improve upon your tournament fishing.
Stay Positive and Keep Your Drive Going – Regardless of how the day is going Morgan keeps a positive outlook on things and fishes until the last possible minute, as you just never know when that big bite(s) will happen. “At Beaver this year, I idled into an area with seven minutes with 9 ln’s in my livewell, I ended up weighing in 17 lb’s that day,” exclaimed Morgan. “I didn’t even know if I was going to be able to make it back on time, but I just kept pushing and it worked out!”
Always Be Prepared – If you ever paid close attention to Andy when he fishes, you’ll notice that he either has his Frog Toggs Rain Bibs on, or a pair of cargo shorts. The reason for this is that since he will more than likely be doing some flipping, he puts the extra packs of Zoom Baits he is using in the cargo pockets. “This way I can just reach into my pocket and grab a new Z-Craw or Super Chunk, I don’t need to go down into my compartments,” said Morgan. Besides this, Morgan has all his reels spooled up with fresh line and any technique that he may employ that day on the water rigged on his rods. “When you are on the water, you are there to fish…not to work on tackle or fill up your oil, get that stuff done the day/night before.”
Have a Plan, Always Have a Plan – Even if you are the last boat out or had a horrible practice, Morgan insists that you need some plan in your head for that tournament day. “You may start the day on plan C, but that is still a plan and you need that to get the day going,” said the GOAT. Morgan a self-imposed and coined junk fisherman, does fish by the seat of his pants, but that is still part of a plan that he has. “You need to have multiple plans, because fishing changes by the day, hour and the minute, so you need to be ready to get after em. You also need to be ready to dump a plan, when it isn’t working, so don’t get handcuffed to any plan you may have.”
Never be too Surprised – “What I mean here is, don’t be surprised or caught off guard mentally if your day is going really well, or likewise if it is going really bad,” stated Andy. Morgan tries to keep even keel and doesn’t want to get too high when good things happen, nor get down when things aren’t working out. “You can get excited and pumped up when you catch a big one or get that limit in the boat, but as soon as that fish goes into the livewell and you get back up on the trolling motor, it’s all business again.”
