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 Darrin Schwenkbeck with a nice Lake Amistad largemouth. |
Only by walking in another man's shoes has he learned that the glory
these top anglers have is hard won. Meanwhile, those of us at home take
on a heightened sense of adventure as we live, vicariously, through him.
What he's doing is what we want to do, but for our own reasons, can't.
My husband and I first met Darrin at a New York State BASS Federation
tournament and were taken with his energy and friendliness. He has a
generous nature and an attitude that radiates good will.
Darrin, 37, has been fishing since he was 11. His dad got him started
and once he got the bug, he couldn't get enough. When he was about 20,
after a year of playing semiprofessional ice hockey for the Danville
Saints in Illinois, he began getting serious about fishing. In order
to learn more and become competitive, he joined a bass club, the Niagara
County Stout Rod Bassers.
For 10 years, he fished as a nonboater while gaining knowledge.
Darrin's deciding moment to become a major player within the bass fishing
world was at B.A.S.S.'s 2005 Oneida Lake Open Tournament when he received
his tour card. He didn't want to look back in years to come and question
himself like he has with hockey and wonder, if he had played at a higher
level, how he would have done. He had to give it a try.
His dream, like many serious anglers, is to win the Bassmaster's Classic.
Afterward, he would want to stay at the top and win Angler of the Year,
a prestigious feat that earns the respect of anglers because it shows
strength over time, not at one single tournament.
Lake Champlain is his favorite body of water because an angler can catch
fish on anything: top water, jerkbaits, tubes, deep jigs, spinnerbaits
or worms.
Within this vast body of water are shallow and deep water humps, reeds,
milfoil, dropoffs, rip rap, and miles of shoreline.
As with other anglers, Darrin's fishing is bothered most by inconsistent
weather patterns. They leave a fisherman scratching his head during the
day to day process as fish change locations or quit biting. Another big
problem for any bass fishermen is the wind. Darrin deals with it by throwing
jerkbaits and spinnerbaits when he can't fish his intended pattern. So
how long does Darrin stay with a plan when it's not working? Not very
long: maybe half an hour or so.
Is there ever a time he doubts his capabilities? He says he does it at
every tournament. To get himself out of that kind of funk, he throws
himself into the fire by going out and catching fish and simply - doing
his best.
One approach Darrin uses during tournaments is what's called a milk run.
This is when an angler motors from spot to spot trying to catch one or
two aggressive fish, then moving on to the next spot. Usually, an angler
planning to do this has his route set up ahead of time - where his first
stop will be, his second and so on. For later in the day, he likes to
have a back-up plan, an area where he can pull in and finish his limit.
Some fishermen tend to sabotage themselves by failing to take care of
simple tasks within their control. They can oversleep and fail to make
the earlymorning send off or they don't keep track of time during the
day and miss weigh-in. Darrin has been known to blip the screen now and
then, and he admits to being a little lax in these areas. He pleads guilty
to getting to weigh-in at the closing bell a few times because he fishes
until the last minute and then some. It's the then some that hurts his
chances. At the open championship in Alabama, he was penalized for being
late to send off and was put at the end of the send off line.
The last minutes of a tournament, the last few casts, can be a boon or
bust.
The bust is if a guy is late to weigh-in and loses some or all of his
weight, but the boon can be great if a good fish is caught in those last
minutes, one that's a kicker (big fish) or that finishes out his limit
(five fish).
Several times, Darrin has been in that position. On Champlain, he rolled
into a spot and within 15 minutes, culled two small fish with two over
three pounds and got back to weigh-in with two minutes to spare. Quite
often, those late in the day fish are what puts him over the top.
His advice for the novice angler is to fish as a non-boater for several
years and learn as much as he can. And for the experienced angler? Darrin
says that no matter what the situation, be courteous to the local anglers
and the people who live on the water. Sometimes it's hard, but it needs
to be done.
Each one of us has exciting memories, those that stick with us forever.
For Darrin, it was the day on Lake Amistad in Del Rio, Texas when he
caught a 9-pound,13-ouncd fish on the first day of a tournament. Later,
he caught one that weighed 7 pounds, 8 ounces. Thatwas after he caught
a t10-pound bass, plus several over six during practice.
When there is so much on the line during these high-end tournaments,
is it possible for a boater to be benevolent to anglers in the back of
their boats?
Darrin proves it can be done. While fishing a tournament on Santee Cooper
in South Carolina, he knew he wasn't going to finish at the top, so he
took his partner to his bedding fish where he worked with the guy until
he caught his limit. This speaks of the kind of guy Darrin is.
He's a guy who has people that believe in him, and though he lives hand
to mouth so to speak, he does have sponsors. They include: Crimson Talon
Broadheads, Ricky Morris's RPM Custom Rods, Mr. Twister Exude, Besam
Entrance Solutions, Amsoil, P-Line, Team Glory Bag Ñ the ultimate
culling system, Lowrance, Costa Del Mar, and Billy Alexander's MTO Lures.
At the end of the interview with Darrin, I asked him if there was any
question he wanted to answer that I didn't ask. He said, yes, and that
it was, ''Is
he having fun?''
His reply was, ''Absolutely. It's stressful but rewarding, and I'm living
my dream''
Enough said.