Comparing older fishing writers versus younger writers

I was thinking a little more about Don Wirth, who writes for Bassmaster.

It’s interesting to me to see the difference in the younger fishing writers and the ones that have been around awhile. The younger ones barrage you with questions. The older ones are more inclined to just hang back and listen to you.

When I take writers out fishing with me, I’ll usually ask them before we go out what they want to gain from their time. Lots of times the older writers just want to watch how I find fish, and see what I do when I find them.

I’ll talk to them about some of the things I do. I might tell them, for example, why I change from a rattle trap to brush hog, or why I might choose to go toward shore when I do. Sometimes it’s little stuff like that, other times it’s more technical.

When we go to tournaments, we need to spend time practicing. So it’s not always good to take people out with you. But we still do it occasionally, because spending time with journalists is good for our sport.

When we’re at Clarks Hill, I’m planning to go out Tuesday morning for a couple hours with a writer from Augusta named Bill Baab. I haven’t met him, but I understand he’s awfully knowledgeable and he’s been covering fishing for a long time.

I’m looking forward to it.

The only bad thing about that is that he’s the one that will be asking questions. Bill Baab was probably fishing Clarks Hill when I was a kid, so I should be asking him questions. But BASS rules won’t allow it. We can’t ask ANYTHING.

Oh well, it should be fun anyway.