question for dave stewart about pro fishermen

[brlfishing]

mr. stewart, is it true that some pro bass fishermen have requested you or other guides to familarize them with ky/barkley lake? in other words show them fishing spots? i am just asking because i always thought those guys just go to a lake and pre fish and then face off with each other, or at least that is the way they make it look on tv.

[Dave Stewart]

Lets see if I can put this answer in prospective.

About half or 50% of my business each season is tournament preparation trips. This includes tournaments from the club level thru the professional level.

My phone rings hundreds of times during the season and my email is loaded every season with folks wanting information on how, where etc to catch fish here.

A bass fishing guide's job is to not only take people out bass fishing, but provide instruction and information on where and how to catch bass. This is how I make my living. I am happy to take folks out to assist them in preparing for tournaments, assist them in learning more about how to find and catch the fish using all the aspects such as techniques, maps, sonar etc....this is what I do. This is how I pay my bills and put food on our table.

A professional tournament angler's job is to catch fish and promote their sponsors by doing so. This is how they pay their bills and put food on their table. They use whatever tools they need to use to do this and they work very hard at it just like any successful business person. A guide or local lake expert is a great source of information (tool) and as such will be used at times to assist them in putting together a hopefully winning pattern.

Bottom line, just like me, the professional tournament anglers uses a lot of resources to better enable him to accomplish his job. But remember, just like me, the professional angler still has to go out there on the water, find and catch those fish on his own when he goes out on the water on tournament day or like me, when I take clients out (which is every day).

[smokefan]

I think, by the pro's contacting you, it shows just how much you know and how good you are at your job. Hats off to you Mr. Stewart.

[elnutsmalljaws]

"Mr. Stewart"????? What is the world coming to??? I thought he was just Dave.

I have known Dave for about 6 years and change. He was the first person that I called to get a guide trip set up when I first started coming to Ky and Barkley in 2004. We have become good friends over that time and have shared the boat together on several occasions. He is an OUTSTANDING guide and when I say "guide" that includes lake knowledge, teaching ability and overall fishing experience. He does guide all fishermen at all levels from the first timer on the lake, to the business guy in town for a couple of days who does not even own a rod and reel, to the low-mid-upper-elite tournament anglers. One day he may have a "fun" trip where he takes out a father and son and they catch 100 fish in one Bay and the next he may run 50 miles on the lake hitting 30 spots showing a tournament angler what to expect in a tournament he is in that weekend or having to forecast 3 weeks out as to where the fish will be then and showing a different guy those areas. I was/am lucky to have called him that first time because there is no telling how many years it would take me to know what I know about the twin lakes versus what I know today because of Dave. What I do know is that I would not have caught the fish that I have out of Ky and Barkley to date if not for Dave. I have said it before and will say it again, MONEY WELL SPENT on a guide trip with Dave. Any technique that you don't know or want to know more about give him a call and setup a trip.


'This promotion was paid for by elnutsmalljaws and is no way a part of Dave Stewart, owner/operator of Bass Buster Guide Service" Any recreation or copy of this promotion is strictly prohibited unless you are calling Dave to set up a guide trip or taking elnutsmalljaws on an all expense paid fishing trip to Ky and Barkley. You can reach Dave for his service as well as reach elnutsmalljaws to set up the fishing trip thru a PM. Have a nice day and we will both be talking to you soon.

[bassman_ky]

My brother and I took Dave "Mr. Stewart" out last October for a tourney prep. While on that trip he showed us how to find fish on the ledges. I used that info last weekend and wacked em all on my own. You can kinda call taking Dave out as an investment. Like Elnut said money well spent. As far as the pros receiving info from guides. You can call it on the job training. If all you had to do is take extra classes or go to a conference to make more money at your job than that's what your gonna do. Just my opinion.

[Dave Stewart]

LOL...thanks for the kind words Elwood and your to bassman. You know, I turned 61 a few months ago...don't know how much longer I have it in me to go out there every day like I do now, but what keeps me doing it is all the great folks I get to meet and friends I get to make, and of course, I get my satisfaction when folks catch fish or learn something and I had a hand in assisting to do so.

[brlfishing]

ok, i will just use dave from now on, but he is alot older than i am, so maybe i should use the MR.stewart LOL.. i have only been tx fishing for 2 years now and i work in the medical field. one of my co workers was doing a work up on a pro fisherman who does the same series as kvd but just isnt as well known. he made the comment that kvd will have 2-3 people out fishing before they get to thier next lake to help provide him with areas of where the fish are holding. kinda like sending out the troops before the battle starts to give him an advantage. i didnt know if they did things like this or not, because on tv they make me feel like i dont know crap about fishing. they will be catching fish right off the bat. but, i can see how they can get right on fish if they have some type of foresight. thanks for the answer dave, i have been curious about this for a while now. maybe ill make it down to ky lake for a trip someday.

[davidsa]

Dave-

I'm wondering what differences you have noted between a good recreational angler and one of the top pro's who depend on the pay check to feed the family?

I've often wondered if a top pro can vizualize what is underwater at a level that I could never grasp. These conversations of bouncing cranks off deep water stumps on a point or dragging a jig in open water of a ledge that goes from 20 to 24 feet and catching limits as a result to me has always been an amazing thought to me. I honestly don't think I can read my graph well enough to even tell what a stump would look like no less to imaging a ditch beside the stump

As I fish an area repeatedly I stumble on to spots that under certain conditions can hold lots of fish. I have memory for these spots and can find them years later. The pro does not have time for this long learning curve.

[bassman_ky]

ok, i will just use dave from now on, but he is alot older than i am, so maybe i should use the MR.stewart LOL.. i have only been tx fishing for 2 years now and i work in the medical field. one of my co workers was doing a work up on a pro fisherman who does the same series as kvd but just isnt as well known. he made the comment that kvd will have 2-3 people out fishing before they get to thier next lake to help provide him with areas of where the fish are holding. kinda like sending out the troops before the battle starts to give him an advantage. i didnt know if they did things like this or not, because on tv they make me feel like i dont know crap about fishing. they will be catching fish right off the bat. but, i can see how they can get right on fish if they have some type of foresight. thanks for the answer dave, i have been curious about this for a while now. maybe ill make it down to ky lake for a trip someday.

They have an off limit time before each elite series event to where they are not allowed to be on the water or receive information. They have scheduled days leading up to an event to where they can get on the water but still cannot receive any info.

[smokefan]

ok, i will just use dave from now on, but he is alot older than i am, so maybe i should use the MR.stewart LOL.. i have only been tx fishing for 2 years now and i work in the medical field. one of my co workers was doing a work up on a pro fisherman who does the same series as kvd but just isnt as well known. he made the comment that kvd will have 2-3 people out fishing before they get to thier next lake to help provide him with areas of where the fish are holding. kinda like sending out the troops before the battle starts to give him an advantage. i didnt know if they did things like this or not, because on tv they make me feel like i dont know crap about fishing. they will be catching fish right off the bat. but, i can see how they can get right on fish if they have some type of foresight. thanks for the answer dave, i have been curious about this for a while now. maybe ill make it down to ky lake for a trip someday.

Mr. Stewart is a whole lot older than me too. I was trying to, for once in my life, some some respect to my elder. But I guess if he 's ok with me calling him Dave I will, dont want the old fart mad at me. If I ever get to over there he will be the one I will look up.

[Dave Stewart]

Dave-

I'm wondering what differences you have noted between a good recreational angler and one of the top pro's who depend on the pay check to feed the family?

I've often wondered if a top pro can vizualize what is underwater at a level that I could never grasp. These conversations of bouncing cranks off deep water stumps on a point or dragging a jig in open water of a ledge that goes from 20 to 24 feet and catching limits as a result to me has always been an amazing thought to me. I honestly don't think I can read my graph well enough to even tell what a stump would look like no less to imaging a ditch beside the stump

As I fish an area repeatedly I stumble on to spots that under certain conditions can hold lots of fish. I have memory for these spots and can find them years later. The pro does not have time for this long learning curve.

Actually I have had a number of recreational anglers in my boat that I have no doubt could compete with the professionals....no doubt the professionals are talented or they would not be where they are...but they have their own different levels of talent also....just like ball players, they all get paid to play ball but they are not all on an equal level when it comes to talent.

One does not get good at any sport without talent, one does not get great at any sport without sacrifice, hard work and dedication. Some of these guys out there are very young, but if you add up the number of hours they have on the water and living and breathing bass fishing compared to the average angler, you would find they are very mature in relationship to experience.

[kygorski]

Gee Dave I feel for you, 61 years old wow! Dave you got at least 8 years of hard fishing left in you. Then you can slow down. When I was 68 I felt like a kid, now I'm 74 and feel like an old goat. But manage a couple of times a week.