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I'm Brian Bashore, Professional walleye angler and owner of The Walleye Guys Guide service. I am here to reel you in with captivating stories, expert tips, and interviews with some of the biggest names in the fishing community. So, sit back, relax, and let the drag scream!
Brian Bashore (00:03.054)
Hey folks, thanks for tuning into this special episode of Real Talk Fishing. We're going to go over and talk to Walleye Pro Bass Pro coming off his first Bass Master Classic tournament. That's right. Mr. Josh Wiesner is going to tell us all about the classic. I was down there. I got to watch it. It was awesome. He represented the Walleye guys. We had a few of them out there in the Bass world making waves, helping out the Walleye world get a little, a little love. So.
You got to definitely want to hear from Josh, what he was doing, how the experience was, how he got there. We're going to break all that down in this one with Josh Wiesner. We're to talk about boats because he owns a boat dock as well. So just take one quick second, hit that subscribe button down below. If you all have it, share this with your friends, follow along us on YouTube, head over to the Walleye Guys Facebook page as well, and like it and share it. Let's get the word out there and let's show Josh Wiesner a little love as he tells us about his first.
Bassmaster Classic.
Brian Bashore (00:02.398)
Hey folks, thanks for tuning into this special edition of Real Talk Fishing Podcast. We've been covering a lot of walleye things and talking to walleye pros and we're still going to talk to another walleye pro, but we're going to break this one down a little different and go a little bass. Cause we got Mr. Josh Wiesner with us today, just coming off his first Bassmaster Classic appearance. So Josh, we got a lot to talk about there. I'm sure you got a ton of stuff. I was there. It was cool. Before we...
dive into that thing. Cause we're going to spend most of this time. I'm pretty sure talking about the classic cause I got all sorts of questions, but for those just new, we're growing this border walleye and bass fishing. Let people just share a little background with about Josh, how you got into the professional angling thing, what you do when you're not fishing, which is very seldom, but today for instance, you're not fishing. So
Josh (00:49.768)
No, it's working for a while here. So I got kind of a crazy deal. I got in the marine business a long time ago and I started, I went to actually college for it after I realized what I wanted to do when I was a kid, you know, when I was 19 or 20.
And got into that, worked at a dealership and eventually ended up going to Mercury Marine, um, before starting my own dealership. And, um, I started fishing tournaments. I fished my whole life, but I started fishing tournaments when I was at this dealership in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin and seeing guys, you know, I was working on their boats and they come in and tell stories and stuff and, uh,
I just started fishing more and more and more, you know, because they motivated me to, you know, to go fishing more and started getting more competitive. And the next thing you know, I'm jumping in tournaments and was doing really well. And that's what gets you hooked is success, right? Or failure too, you know, but you can only fail so many times before you just give up, it seems.
We happened to get, my brother and I jumped in Walleye weekend or Mercury nationals, whatever you call it. But that was our first big one. And we ended up taking like fifth or sixth and we were like, we were jacked up, you know, and I was like, well, this is so easy. Well, it's not. So, but that, that was just a motivation to keep, uh, keep the dream going, you know, and, uh, but I had a lot of work to do. I was young and I didn't have, you know,
Brian Bashore (02:19.438)
Ha ha ha.
Josh (02:33.412)
started with a small boat and you just gradually get bigger and bigger and bigger until you got, you know, now I get a new boat every year. So it's awesome, you know, but, but that's kind of how I started out. And that was all walleye stuff. So I fished walleyes for, I mean, and I still did. This is the first year that I'm not fishing walleyes since I've been 20 years old. So I made a lot of money in the walleye tournaments, more local.
you know, stuff than anything. But, um, but I, so I went to, uh, after the dealership, I went to Mercury Marine. I worked in the technical service department. Um, basically talk on the phone with every Mercury customer or at Mercury dealer, I should say in the United States. Um, so if they had a problem, they'd call me and I'd walk them through diagnosing the issue, um, and get them parts if they needed whatever we had to do.
And when I went to Mercury, I realized that, hey, I want to, I actually want to own my own business. And I was finally able to do that. I think in 2000 and boy, this is going to go back. I think 2004, I bought land on highway 41 down by LaMira and had that intention of, and it was just a farm field, but I had that intention of starting my own business and.
Brian Bashore (03:43.406)
I'm sorry.
Josh (03:57.62)
I think I left, I left Mercury in the spring of 2007 and started building in 2006, the dealership. And we're still going today. So I left Mercury, took a huge gamble and didn't have a penny left in my name. You know, my parents weren't rich or any, you know, I got no money from anybody. It was all me and...
duck it all in the line and you know here I sit today and I got a full crew of guys and I'm able to go fishing if I want and it's pretty nice. It wasn't nice for a long time like I worked a lot of 100 plus hour weeks and you know I'm done with that though and now I just you know I fish a hundred hour weeks it feels like and 40 so it's crazy but finally to that point where
Brian Bashore (04:47.636)
Breath.
Josh (04:55.316)
I can start enjoying more things. My wife actually still works for Mercury. My dad retired from Mercury. My grandpa retired from Mercury. My great uncle retired from Mercury. Like it was, we're definitely a bleeding black family.
Brian Bashore (05:10.43)
Yes, you are. Hey, the, the hard work has paid off and you're, you're living proof of it. So just not in the business, but in the fishing side of it as well. It mean you got sucked in like so many other stories that they fished their first tournament, you know, big one in your case, work nationals. And they want it, you know, where they got a top five and they're like, this is easy. I don't, what's all the, this is no problem. That it's obviously hard lessons learned after that. And for some they continued to just do well, but for the most part everybody's got that.
Josh (05:15.629)
Yeah.
Josh (05:29.528)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (05:40.146)
One or two, it's almost like gambling. It is gambling, right? But it's, you know, you sit down at the table, whatever it is, and you hit the first couple and you're like, no problem. And then you're all in and, you know, an hour later, you're walking home with your tail tucked between your legs going, Hey, that didn't really work out so well.
Josh (05:56.748)
Yeah, you're gambling on yourself. I mean, that's the best way to gamble though, right? I mean, but it's you against the fish. Everybody thinks it's you against the fishermen. It's really not. It's you against the fish. And that, I mean, that's a really good key is don't look at who's in the tournament. It's how many fish you can catch and how big a fish you can catch, you know?
Brian Bashore (05:59.542)
Well, that's the advantage.
Brian Bashore (06:21.834)
Yeah. And like you said, you got, you got motivated working or hearing everybody come in and tell all these stories. And, you know, fishermen like to tell stories or are they true or not? We're, we have a lot of stories and a lot of things to say. Uh, you know,
Josh (06:28.969)
Yeah, absolutely.
Josh (06:35.1)
Yeah, yeah, the biggest I mean for new guys starting all tournament fishing. I mean I would
As far as the tip goes, just guys getting started. I would go fishing. You know, I would go when I'm back in the day, I'd fish when these guys were fishing tournaments and stay out of their way, but go fishing and see what you come in with, you know, weigh your best five and see where you would fall into place in these tournaments. And then when you get to the point where you're making money, then jump in the tournaments, you know, don't, don't go donate all your money or you're going to give up and quit right away. So.
Brian Bashore (06:51.79)
Well.
Brian Bashore (07:09.622)
Yeah, it's not cheap by all means. And that's a, it's a really good way to kind of gauge yourself against the field and what's going on out there. Um, now granted you need to keep your five fish caught in the same timeframe. They did. You don't get to go out in the evening and whack five big ones during the spawn and say, well, these guys suck, man. I just got 50 pounds, you know? Um, I've done that when there's tournaments on my local lake and I'm guiding or whatever and I'm like, Hey, I only had two or four rods out all day and they were teams, so they had four rods out. And.
Josh (07:20.685)
Yeah.
Josh (07:27.446)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (07:36.702)
I wouldn't even fish them, but my clients brought in just as much as, you know, the winter did and we fished from seven to three, you know, and we were done. Um, and then there's other days you're like, Oh, but you know, I also stay out of the areas where I know the big ones are at and what have you, but it's a good, a good way to, to learn termites, just make you a better angler period. Win or lose just by fishing them. I mean, cause it's, you know, as much as any, well as anybody, it's a mental game. And I've said this all along and I told us.
Josh (07:42.476)
Yeah.
Josh (07:56.012)
Hope you start. Yup.
Brian Bashore (08:04.286)
A lot of guys, when the head to head thing was going on in the PWS, I said, it's not, it's not even you against the other guy. It's just what you said. It's you versus the fish. That's, it's all matters. It doesn't matter what he's doing or she's doing or how many they caught is how many, you know, once you give up to that thing, that's got a brain, right? The size of a P you lost. So you can't obviously fold to a, to a not a very smart fish, even though there's days where they outsmart us.
Josh (08:32.295)
A lot of it.
Brian Bashore (08:33.095)
And there's plenty of those days, but the minute you think that, you know, psych psychologically, you're done. You just, you know, throw it in, but it's you and the fish, how many, in certain cases, how many even fast can I catch it? And for the most part, how many, you know, where's my five big bites today? And at the end of the day, you'll find out where you fell with everybody else. So for those that don't know the dealership, the boat dock, right. And you're in Fond du Lac or. Yep. Okay. We'll put some.
Josh (08:55.008)
Yeah, correct. Yup, just south Fonduec, yup.
Brian Bashore (08:59.606)
drop a link in the YouTube below. What are you selling over there as far as brands?
Josh (09:05.)
Um, just Ranger and Triton. So, um, we've, I've sold Triton since I opened in 2007 and we've never, never dropped, I've tried some other brands and stuff and just never, never was happy with things, so, but Ranger and Triton, Johnny Morris brands, uh, love dealing with them guys, um, just a fantastic organization. The guy donates so much money to the, to the business, um, to our industry.
It's just a phenomenal spokesperson for the outdoors.
Brian Bashore (09:38.206)
Yeah, he is. Uh, right there is one of the two thank you letters I've gotten from Johnny over the years and hands down, you know, he was at the classic, nobody has donated more in conservation and done more for the sport. People may have their opinion on the Bass Pro or Cabello's, whatever the case is, but Johnny is at the top of that and has, you know, and has created the foundation and funding and has just done, like I said, more for the sport, uh, as you know, like Ray Scott had.
Josh (09:56.909)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (10:07.466)
in creating bass than anybody has period with, without him, the national walleye tour doesn't exist theoretically. Right. Um, you know, bass masters is their own thing, but he was the title sponsor of the classic and is for so many other things and most all the other, the tournament trails out there, bass and walleye, um, they got their, their hands in it or they own it and that goes as boat manufacturers, right? Right. Like river Marine group, Ranger Triton, Nitro, handful upon, you know, tracker the.
Josh (10:14.604)
Yes, correct.
Josh (10:33.079)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (10:37.078)
world's largest selling because they got them, you know, in every kind of price range and size and model, but you're doing the Rangers and the Tritons. And while we're talking boats, how is, so we've had Brett King on here and some other, uh, Kent Anderson was this done with warrior boats. How is the boat industry kind of looking on your end? You obviously have a very good, good pulse on it.
Josh (10:59.908)
Um, I mean, as far as sales goes, it's, it's definitely slowed down a little bit. I mean, in the COVID time that we couldn't keep stuff in stock, couldn't get product. I mean, everybody wanted to buy everything. And, um, you know, we've been busy. I, when I opened, I opened at the worst possible time you could even open a business in all seven, eight. I didn't, you know, I didn't eat well then, but we didn't lose any money then either. I mean, it's just, you just.
Brian Bashore (11:01.858)
sales.
Brian Bashore (11:19.198)
Yeah, you did. That was tough.
Josh (11:29.004)
do what you can, you bust your butt and make it up in other ways. And I mean, I definitely am expecting a little bit of slowdown in the sales. Um, and maybe a little price reductions on some of these boats, but it's tough to say, I mean, I can't certainly can't read the future, but
Brian Bashore (11:46.786)
Well, as a consumer, I would love to see some price reduction on those boat price tags come down a little bit. Yeah, exactly. And that's what people forget is that it's the boats, this one aspect of it. It's the motor, the trailer, the electronics, right? And electronics is a big deal, but you're obviously able to leave and go fishing. So you've got yourself a good core group of employees that, which is obviously hard to find and you've kept them, it sounds like for a while, which is, you know, kudos to you and
Josh (11:49.896)
Yeah. Well, with everything, not just bull price, just everything, you know.
Brian Bashore (12:16.918)
That's great because it allows you to go, you know, chase your passion and stuff. But man, it, uh, it probably helps, I'm sure a lot in your dealership with you being a tournament angler, I'm sure you probably got guys working there, that fish to local tournaments and stuff too. So it can be a problem.
Josh (12:30.496)
Yeah, that's a problem because they want off. They want to go fishing and that's uh, but that's when I come back, like they can do that stuff, you know, so that's, that's the advantage. And that's what I tell them too. Like when I'm here, it's, if you guys need to leave, you know, let me know. So we're stuck. But as long as we're talking about that, I am looking for one more really good rigger, you know, like we rig, we rig a ton of boat, like.
Brian Bashore (12:38.855)
You are
All right.
Brian Bashore (12:56.022)
I was just.
Josh (12:59.872)
We got guys that'll buy a different brand new boat, not the brands we sell and they'll bring in here and we rig them for them. So like that's kind of what we're known for is staying on top of the latest technology with electronics and how to do all that stuff. So very precise, very detailed. I don't put up with anything less. So, but we are looking for one solid guy. So if anybody...
There'd be a younger guy. I don't mind teaching people. Um, actually my best guys are all from the automotive field and I got one electrician that I trained, but yeah, you don't have to be in the, in the Marine business to work at a place like this, if you're a good worker and, and like, like your finished product, um, you fit right in. So anybody's.
Brian Bashore (13:34.662)
That's probably a good thing to have on staff.
Brian Bashore (13:50.25)
You need a guy that shows up and has a little pride in his work, right? Those are the two qualities Josh is looking for.
Josh (13:53.824)
You got to have, yeah, you have to have pride in your finished product because it makes you feel good when, you know, that customer comes in and looks at his boat and said, this is awesome. You know, you guys nailed it. So.
Brian Bashore (14:06.626)
And that's exactly what I was getting to is being, you got tournament guys and yourself that when it comes to rigging and the setups boats are coming out of your, out of your place, out of the boat dock, ready to roll. I mean, they're, they're done right. And you know what it is and you know who's in tournaments and who's got certain needs and, and versus a weekend guy and what have you. So you, I mean, it's like you said, you've been, now you're known for that. And guys are coming over there and had this talk with actually down at the classic was what's another South Dakota guy saying we don't have anybody like, like Bill.
Josh (14:17.953)
Ready to go.
Josh (14:26.727)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (14:35.97)
Shimoda does that right is ringing out of his place and you're doing it. And we have two sports and they do good. But if we even had somebody more local or just, and, and if you're listening and they are that guy around Sioux falls, let me know, cause we don't know about you. There's a bunch of us that would like, I would love somebody go back through my boat and do it right. You know, it came directly from factory and store and it's not, I open up the thing and it's just a giant mass that I'm looking to, you know, move from the acids over to lithium and I need, and I just wanted done.
right and more clean. So if something does go, it's easy to fix, right? Cause things happen on tournament days or practice and, and you don't want to spend hours trying to figure out what wire goes where, and I mean, I can't even tell you what's hooked up to what it's such, it's just a disaster. Everything works, which is great, but everything works till it doesn't. And then it's, then it's a problem. And if it's not clean and you don't know what goes where you're, you're going to probably do more damage than good tugging on stuff. Cause it's frustrating. I don't.
Josh (15:23.681)
Yeah.
Josh (15:31.348)
Mm-hmm.
Brian Bashore (15:33.49)
Wood and concrete I'm working with electrical things. Take it to Josh or take it somewhere. I just, somebody else can do that. It's not, not my thing.
Josh (15:42.152)
Yeah, no, it's very sophisticated now and it's stuff has to be done right or you will have problems 100.
Brian Bashore (15:49.034)
Yeah. I mean, especially with the new switch to the lithium and, and the four to six, seven graphs on every boat. And I mean, I got a mega live a three 60 and four graphs, you know, but then you run what you got the same and, or a Garmin or a live target, whatever it may be. I'm sure maybe, and you probably got five or six graphs on there. That's, we have four. It's a lot of juice.
Josh (16:10.368)
Yeah, I only have four, but that's all I need anymore. Yeah.
Brian Bashore (16:14.922)
That is plenty. I agree. It's funny. A lot of the walleye guys will stick one in the back that, you know, if you're on ear, you're something that troll a lot since they're always facing backwards. But like, it's just one more thing to get in the way, you know, especially for net and fish and what have you. So you so you touched on it. We'll just cover it when you went there. You're not going to fish the walleye circuit this year. We're going all in on the bass stuff.
Josh (16:26.125)
Yeah.
Josh (16:37.656)
Well, I don't have time. So when I, last year, when I won the opportunity to go to the Classic, I took third in the national championship. And that's what got me to the Classic. But the Bass BASS paid for all my, all my opens. So there's nine, there's nine Bass Master opens. So they're completely paid for, which was awesome. So I got, I had a hell of a deal. I got the Classic all paid for.
Brian Bashore (16:53.115)
Oh, OK, it opens. Yep.
Josh (17:04.244)
10 grand in cash. Like I got plus another 10 for the classic. Like it was a pretty damn good, good gig. So this year, no, well, unless you do well, I mean, then you get paid, but, um, payouts in the wall is a terrible, it's just, you know, you were at the classic. I mean, it's a different world, you know.
Brian Bashore (17:11.55)
You're never gonna see that in the walleye world. No one's paying for nothing for you. This is not happening.
Brian Bashore (17:25.642)
Yep. Completely different world. And the mass opens, you got to do nine of them. And I think that's, I mean, what are the entry fees on that? Aren't those two grand, right? So yeah. Yeah, that's a big deal.
Josh (17:29.269)
Yeah.
Josh (17:34.148)
two grand. Yeah. 18 grand. Just here you go and go fish and I mean I and that's I got my hands full. So now this get my schedule a bit easier because I got four done including the classic. I have six left for the year.
And there's kind of spread out once a month here. So that's, that's good. Cause I just jammed in from end of February. Yeah. End of February to now I jammed in four tournaments, big four giant tournaments. Kind of excited to work for a month here.
Brian Bashore (18:07.598)
It was almost back to back.
Brian Bashore (18:12.362)
Yeah. I'm sure your wife and everybody's glad to have you home for a little bit though. But you got a hell of a vacation there last week. So we'll just dive into that. You'd fish the nationals. So I think everybody wonders, how do you qualify for the classic? There's, you know, I went to, so you're on the St. Croix team and the seven as well as I am together. And we all went out Saturday night and went bowling. And so Steven Browning and David O'ndall and I were, I was talking to those guys and talking to Steve about, I'm like, how do you.
Josh (18:31.821)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (18:42.19)
Cause there's a lot of names up there this year that I've never heard of, you know, and I'm like, Steve, how do you even qualify for the classic anymore? And he's like, it's changed a lot, you know, since he's been doing it for a long time, obviously, but he was like, I'm not even a hundred percent sure really how he'd do it anymore. Um, the nationals opens elite series. Cause the classic winner is going to go back to the next classic universities. Right. So, and you took.
Josh (18:45.634)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (19:10.274)
The Bass Nation route is the way you went, right?
Josh (19:12.788)
Yeah, that's the way I went. So in the, with the vast nation route and they've changed it now, but when I qualified last year, um, it's the top Wisconsin, how can I even explain this? I had a jump through hoops when I did this. So you, you fish in a club, right? And then you fish your state tournament and your top.
Your top, what do they take the top 10 guys in that state tournament go to the regional class, the regional chamber. They call it a regional championship, I think. Um, and the regional championship just happened to be on Lake Winnebago. And so I took like second place in the tournament, went to the regionals. I won it. And then I went to the national championship, which is, was in Northern South Carolina, Lake Hartwell. And I took third, the top three.
go to the Bassmaster Classic.
Brian Bashore (20:08.258)
So how many regions are there?
Josh (20:11.012)
Um, all what the national championship it's everybody, it's 56 people. I think there was, but from South Africa, Japan, I mean, that's all it's, it's basically one guy per state. Okay. So you got 50, there are 50 people in the U S and then plus these outside guys. And there might've been a college guy in there too. I don't know, but I think there was 56, but.
Brian Bashore (20:21.959)
Oh, that's right, yeah.
Josh (20:38.644)
Somehow I pulled off a third, I bombed the last day and luckily everybody else bombed. I made it by like three ounces and, uh, I just snuck it in. But that's what got me to the classic. So every year there's three of them that come from the Bass Nation. There's 40 of them from the elite series. So the top 40 fish in the elites. There's nine of them that come from.
Whoever wins the Bassmaster opens. So if you win one open and you're signed up for the division, you get to go to the classic. Yes, that's 100%. Yep, he won one of them tournaments, I'm not sure. So, and then there's a college guy that gets in, the highest college team or something. I don't know, it's only one guy though, I don't know.
Brian Bashore (21:14.254)
I think that's how Adam got in. Rasmussen, yep.
Brian Bashore (21:31.146)
Yeah, it's what it's cause as a Mount whatever, and they actually won the other day, of course he wasn't there because he was fishing a classic and I don't even know if he's in college anymore or not, but that's what kind of wonders. Like it's college guys fish as a team, but only one, I imagine they have to designate a boat captain and then maybe it kind of as a toss up between the two on who can go and I don't know.
Josh (21:39.553)
Yeah.
Josh (21:50.056)
I think they actually have a fish off. They fish against each other. Yeah, I think they do. Um, so that's, I don't know, but like this year there was 56. Um, it kind of depends on how many guys double win and stuff, I think for, for the number of people, but it's, it's always at least 53, I think. Um, but that's, that's how you get to the classic cause that's, that's the.
Brian Bashore (21:52.798)
Oh, do they? That makes sense.
Josh (22:15.388)
ultimately. So I still have six chances to get to the Classic for next year, but I have to win, you know.
Brian Bashore (22:23.345)
Right. Or how many of the top nine in the Opens qualify for Elite Series? Right, as well.
Josh (22:29.28)
Yes, correct. Yeah. And I am not doing so hot because I am going to all these places that I think I'm in 90, 90th someplace, um, in the opens and you got to get the top nine. And I didn't, this year I didn't really expect, you know, I kind of told myself this is a learning year, um, cause I've never been to any of these places. Like we're going back to Hartwell where I did qualify and I, that's like what I'm looking forward to.
Brian Bashore (22:56.322)
I have a little bit of, yeah.
Josh (22:57.088)
I might be able to win that one, you know, but that's in October. So I have to, I have to fish all year to. Yeah, I don't know. We're going to the Mississippi River though too, but I never do good there. I don't know what's going on with that, but maybe this year will be the year.
Brian Bashore (23:14.382)
pretty good bass fishing in the Mississippi river. I actually had a lacrosse area. I really liked it over there. And that's good. Real good. I see Bass Nations coming there I think next month or something or early May. So on the nation level, they do four, right? Tournaments.
Josh (23:16.636)
Yeah. Yup.
Josh (23:28.856)
So the nation changed. So now there's a, there's a regional qualifier and the top 20 go to the national championship. And the national championship now, instead of being 56 boats, it's like 250 or 225. And the top three for that go to the classic. So the locals that are making the championship have a huge advantage, I think, with that. But.
It's definitely less, less steps that than what I just took, you know, went through. So let's say I'd go to lacrosse and I take a top 20, I automatically go to the national championship and then I got to be in the top three to go to the classic. So for me, I had to make my state team be the highest Wisconsin guy and then still go to the national championship. Like, I think it was way harder to do that than what it is now. So.
Brian Bashore (24:11.554)
You can fish two tournaments.
Brian Bashore (24:22.794)
Well, that's a whole extra step. I mean, now you're basically fishing two tournaments. You go to the lacrosse one, you went in or finished top 20, bam. You're in the regionals or whatever you call it. And then you finished top three and you got the bid.
Josh (24:27.585)
Yes.
Yes.
Josh (24:34.892)
Yeah, exactly.
Brian Bashore (24:37.546)
Yeah, that is interesting. They're either way. There's no easy way. Those, I don't think people understand that the Opens have a field of like 200, 200 plus, right?
Josh (24:41.667)
No.
Josh (24:44.836)
225 and there's a lot, there is so many guys and it's not like the walleye world, right? So everybody had, you know, like you go walleye fishing in the walleye tournaments and you got your trollers and you got your jiggers and you got...
your live baiters and you know, you got different segments of people doing different things. The bass guys are 100%, 225 boats doing the same thing that can all do the same thing. So they can all forward sonar, they can all go cast banks, you know, it doesn't, and it's, it's too much actually. We get too many days of practice, we get four and a half days of practice.
Brian Bashore (25:18.414)
out.
Josh (25:26.084)
Um, which I like cause there's off limits, you know, so I wish the walleye world had, there's a lot of things I wish the walleye world had that the bass world has, you know, and one of them is off limits and we have 14 days ahead of the tournament. We can't be on the water at all. You can't get information from anybody. It's you, you know, and that's it. So you can work with other people in the tournament, but I don't, I'm just a loner and I just, you know, do my thing. So.
Brian Bashore (25:53.55)
you're working against yourself if you're doing that in a sense too, right? So, I mean, I get it. There's good and bad to those things.
Josh (25:57.64)
Yeah, yeah, it would be helpful for me this year because I don't know any of these spots where almost all these guys have been to these places. You know, I'm, because I fish the wildlife forever.
I don't, I haven't been to these spots, you know, Okeechobee, Sandy Cooper, I mean, just, and they all fish differently. Like it's not like you go to Winnebago and then you go to another lake, the fish is just like Winnebago, like it doesn't happen. They all have their little, their little nuances that are, that are different.
Brian Bashore (26:33.77)
Yeah, it's, uh, I suppose going to Baselix is like going to a big or a devil's though. It's where it's, you got to bring everything. Cause you don't, cause you don't know what you're getting into. I mean, after you've been there a few times, you may narrow that down a little bit, but going to Okaboji certainly isn't like going to Erie when you can just grab this and go.
Josh (26:41.282)
You do.
Josh (26:47.778)
Yeah.
Josh (26:52.2)
Yeah, the only thing I don't need to bring along is trolling rods. You know, that's good.
Brian Bashore (26:56.218)
All right. That's exactly it. Wouldn't that be a, wouldn't that be some, if Josh is out there pulling a planer board up on the bank with one or something that he's, and he's casting with another or what have you. Well, he's, those bass guys wouldn't know what the hell. I mean, it happened in the crappie world. They introduced trolling and you know, and it's caught on and you know, it caught some fish and Scarless won some money with it, but I don't, don't see that happening in the bass world.
Josh (27:07.16)
Yeah, that's it.
Josh (27:16.576)
You know, we can't, we definitely can't troll. Like you would get kicked out instantly if you started trolling.
Brian Bashore (27:20.129)
Alright.
Brian Bashore (27:23.81)
You'd get rain right out of there, wouldn't you? That's fair enough. And that's fine. That's the difference with it. I love bass fishing. We have the shoots down here where I guide and they get up there a little bit in the summer on days off and chase them around. Obviously, the smallmouth are great. We do have pretty good large mouth population. The Lewis and Clark bass was actually, Bassmasters was there back in the 90s.
Josh (27:25.812)
Yeah, yeah for sure.
Brian Bashore (27:50.398)
actually have a guy fish with Venice who fished that tournament and everybody had fished it remembers it vividly because it's very unique. It's kind of sandbars. It's almost like Venice, you know, we would guys, walleye guys compared to maybe kind of Bismarck, but it's, I think it's Bismarck and then somewhere the river runs, cause you got 40 miles of, you don't know what's around next corner. And a bass boat is going to get her. Best thing is a flat bottom, you know, a duck boat is the best thing to have. Um, uh, but even when I'm in there with my walleye boat, it's, uh,
Josh (28:15.853)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (28:19.862)
you get on plane and go so you can get through that skinny water, but you just can't come off plane or if you got a pile of people in there. Um, then you know, but yeah, it's fun. Uh, yeah, Bastard is exciting, but you touched on it. Now there's such a vast difference. So you've been there and done it. So you can attest and speak to this for everybody. Now the wall light tournament world and the bass tournament world. If people don't know there, yes, tournaments are tournaments, but you're dealing with a billion dollar industry versus a, you know, a hundred million dollars.
Josh (28:23.661)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (28:49.358)
industry and difference between millions and billions is a hell of a lot. Um, which is why you see so much stuff different in the bass and you got 200. I mean, you got fulfilled. You have people, you know, different levels working their way up to qualify. You're going against 225 guys that are all sticks. I mean, let's just call what it is in the wall. That world. We know we got 10% or whatever just here because they can be here. Cause we it's pay to play. I mean, that's just the way it is. They, and that's fine.
Josh (29:15.116)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (29:19.202)
We want to take those guys' money and occasionally they'll stumbling something and take ours too. It's just the way it is. So it's, it's probably more than 10% and we have the per AM, um, you know, type thing as well, but what, what do you see? I mean, obviously there's a ton of difference. You touched on it as limits. What else, what can the walleye world do better? Finance. I mean, with, let's just say we, we don't have their money. So we're, we're limited. If we had.
Josh (29:24.096)
Yep.
Brian Bashore (29:47.874)
The wallet world had all the money, the best as we could do a lot of things, whether they would do it or not.
Josh (29:54.372)
Yeah, I would say, I mean, money wise, I mean, obviously these tournaments could be have better payouts. You know, I mean, there's where the bass comes in. I mean, you look at how many, like even the, who works for bass, like what them guys have to do to get, make all them payroll, I don't know how many guys actually work for bad guys and girls work for bass, like it's a lot.
Brian Bashore (30:14.219)
Mm-hmm.
Brian Bashore (30:18.894)
That's, it's a lot. I know, uh, I got some friends over there, James Hall editor. Yeah, there's, there's a lot of them.
Josh (30:26.556)
I can't even imagine what, you know, I don't know where they get all their money from. Like, is it all sponsor based or where is it all coming from? But like, we're not even the same. We're not even the same league, not even close in the Wally world. Like it's not, I don't know. I mean, I don't want to talk bad about the national Wally tour or anything like that. Cause that's kind of what I was doing, you know, at the end here.
Brian Bashore (30:41.974)
No.
Josh (30:54.756)
Um, I mean, there's definitely some improvements that need to be. Changed in that whole deal. Um, and that can be done, but you know, they fight a lot more laws than, than we're dealing with on the bass side, whether it's calling fish or not being able to call or upgrade fish, um, slot limits, I mean, we got all kinds of stupid rules that affect the growth of our business, you know,
I don't know what they can do. I mean, that's more of a conservation deal with that.
Brian Bashore (31:29.375)
So, well that bass has eliminated those hurdles, hurdles though. So bass reaches out and works with the local DNRs and gets the culling permit. I mean, you can't cull in South Dakota. I don't care what kind of species it is, but when the bass elite came here, they could cull and they could load those fish in a boat and drive them. 20 miles back into town for the weigh-in. They had a place they had to stop, drain, do the business, reload them.
Josh (31:34.733)
Yeah.
Josh (31:44.809)
Okay.
Josh (31:50.274)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (31:55.754)
And move on, you know, they put steps and, you know, process steps in place, but that's a hundred percent on bass reaching out, working with the DNR saying, this is what we got going. This is how we like to do things. If we can't call, we're not coming. Cause that's just, I don't know if you ever seen a no coal bastrom. Now Lake Fork did some stuff different because they have the big bass slot type thing. And so they had a little catch way and release. And then you, I think you could bring one in if it was over like 25 or anything over
Josh (32:15.316)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (32:23.406)
25 inches you could bring in or something like that. Um, so that was the first, but you know, it's that's like fork, right? You guys are like, that's cool. We'll work with it. It's all live stream. We'll make a TV and we're going to have these big, you know, big weights. And there was still a lot of bass brought in to be shown on stage and to have that present. So that was cool. But yeah, we always got all those hurdles to deal with and the party fishing, the calling, the slots are probably the biggest thing, right? You can't catch any of the big fish. You can only.
Josh (32:23.496)
Yes. Yeah, it's not my guy.
Brian Bashore (32:52.598)
goldfish, 19 and 1 half inch and smaller fish, which, oh, yay. Right? So.
Josh (32:55.875)
Yeah.
Yeah. Well, it's just, it's just so, you know, after you start doing the bass stuff, you just realize even more how messed up the walleye side is, you know, or how much, you know, the problem is, is a lot of these guys in these walleye tournaments aren't the best fishermen that are winning the tournaments because they're, they luckily got, you can't go target like.
19 inch fish, right? And, you know, if you catch 18 inch fish, you're not a, I don't know how you can target just 19s and you can't get all 18s like that. They're, they hang out together. You just happen to catch.
Brian Bashore (33:32.11)
I'm sorry.
Josh (33:37.344)
You know, and then you have to decide which ones to throw back so you don't keep them. Like there's, there's too much luck when it comes to that in the walleye side. And, and I'm not taken away from any of the anglers that have won slot tournaments. Um, I'm just saying that there's luck involved in what you catch at what time and what you decide to keep, you know?
Brian Bashore (33:58.254)
Well, you hear it all the time as the guy who does good will be like, they came in the right order, you know, and it just, and it, everything lined up for that person that day and they came in the right order when they don't come in the right order is, Oh, I got to make the decision cause I can't call. I can't, you know, and then you throw it back and then that was it. That was the one you needed at the end of the day to put you over the top. And, you know, so yeah, we that sucks is what that does. So, you know, so
Josh (34:01.941)
Yeah, all the time.
Josh (34:11.521)
Yeah.
Josh (34:22.084)
Yeah, Mississippi, Mississippi River last year on the NWT, I caught all big ones. Like they couldn't be over, they had to be over 27 or under 22 or something. And I just.
Brian Bashore (34:31.426)
Yep. 19 and a half, I think there, or 20. Yeah, it's 20 to 27.
Josh (34:36.832)
Yeah, I just hate that. I had an awesome tournament anywhere else in the world and I couldn't weigh any of them because they were all too big and it was just, and you get nothing out of it. You know, I mean, just so frustrating, but that's what, that's what we, that's what we deal with right now.
Brian Bashore (34:51.915)
Yeah, you-
Brian Bashore (34:55.382)
But I mean, we all know it. That's what we signed up for in this year. If you're not fishing it, but there've been some rule changes and we basically have a one man limit everywhere. And so it really comes down to like green base, three fish, you know, I mean, first year, you tournament, you can call, you know, keep six throughout the six four, you head in weighing your biggest five. So not a big deal there, but there are also four, three, and five, no extra fish in the box period. Once you weigh that, once you put that last one in that box, you're done for the day, so you may only fish a few hours. It may fish all day.
Josh (35:05.379)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (35:24.194)
but it ultimately is going to come down to, do I keep this fish or not? Um, you know.
Josh (35:28.236)
Yep. And there again, the best fisherman will not win that tournament. You know, it's impossible.
Brian Bashore (35:33.942)
Right. Unless they come in the right order. Right. Whoever that is, who gets them in the right order. Yeah. You don't get to make that call necessarily. So.
Josh (35:42.26)
It should be whoever can catch the biggest fish in eight hours and come in and weigh your fish, you know.
Brian Bashore (35:48.542)
Yep. Which that's what aims for, right? That, that format is, you know, has got, got that figured out and seems like it's grown pretty good and they had the river circuit now as well. But, all right. So that's the walleye world. We covered it. Let's get into the real business and talk about the classic. So I was there, uh, went down and, uh, stayed with, uh, Civerding and Drake curd and a handful of the guys at a house at a Rasmussen had for it, but we got to watch it. Was there a takeoff?
Josh (35:51.264)
Yes, 100%.
Brian Bashore (36:17.514)
Um, I got you on camera doing the takeoff thing. It was cool. Every which level we've all watched it on TV after being, being there is great, but I still watch it on TV. Like, I mean, that was, you were 90 miles from the hotel or from the convention center, so that kind of sucked an hour and a half drive. I got there in 10 minutes and you guys were all out. I'm like, huh, I guess I'll grab another cup of coffee on and start heading back. You know, and then I have two or three hours. So we watched it and it was awesome, but let's just
Josh (36:41.374)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (36:45.802)
Walk everybody through it a little bit. We got there through the, through the nationals. You're qualified. Josh shows up in Tulsa. So it's out of Tocloho Tulsa, Oklahoma, uh, Grand Lake Cher, Cherokee lakes, which is cool. Cause I haven't been down to Oklahoma since I was down there for my grandfather's funeral from Veneta, which you drove right by. Cause my, my shorter family name is from, from that area. And, uh, so that was cool. I'm like, I didn't. Okay. I was 14 last time I was here and I recognized a few, you know, signs of the, of the.
cities and stuff that are well, that's cool. But you know, I didn't, it was an hour and a half drive. So Josh rolls into Tulsa, you're there like, like week early, I think week and a half.
Josh (37:26.664)
Yeah, so we, so you guys all know how this works. Uh, so as soon as I got off the stage at nationals and realized that I made the classic, they grabbed me off the stage and said, all information is off limits. You can't, you can't talk to anybody. You can't solicit any information, nothing. So at that point I was, I was like, Holy, I can't even believe I made the classic. You know,
And they're grabbing me off the stage and telling me that, so that was cool. But so I had to do all my own research. Um, we were able to go there until December 31st by yourself. And so I took my little tiller boat and went and drove around as many places I could and marked as much as I could. And I don't even know if I have enough fish in any of the spots that I found, but, um, everything is different in December than it was in, you know, now. So.
Um, but I did that, um, I get to Tulsa, we get to practice, uh, actually it's grovel, Oklahoma is where the tournament was out of, but we get to practice four days, um, so we get first three days and then there's an official practice on Wednesday.
Uh, which actually I didn't even realize. I looked at the itinerary and I thought we only got the first three days and that was it, but the fourth day, um, we got also, but so the first three days, I started the first day and. I found some good stuff right off the bat. Like, and by the afternoon, I thought I had a plan figured out, um, with a big spinner bait and I just ended up running that whole program and that's, that's eventually what ended up costing me.
during the first day of the tournament. But the practice, you know, everything in the spring is changing so fast, whether it's walleyes or bass, the fish are on the move, unless your weather is completely solid. Like let's say it's all just 40 degrees and it doesn't move. Then you're probably okay. But with temps going from 75 down to 35, I mean, the fish are going in and out, you know, up in the bank.
Brian Bashore (39:31.574)
Alright.
Brian Bashore (39:39.438)
I got cold there in the morning.
Josh (39:42.125)
Yeah, it was like 38 that second day, I think, when we took off and blown like.
Brian Bashore (39:46.858)
which felt great to guys like a lot of us, but it was everybody else's damn near an ice bibs, you know, freezing. But it was it was a wind, you know, it was north breeze, so it wasn't warm.
Josh (39:57.612)
Yeah. So the, so the first day of practice, I found these fish shallow. Um, and they were like, real, like a foot of water and hanging out in stumps, but the water temp was 63 degrees where I found and eventually, um, and I caught everything on spinner bait and a big chunk of bass assassin plastic, uh, dye dapper, but
that water cooled off six degrees by the third tournament practice day or the fourth practice day on Wednesday, that water dropped six degrees. And I didn't go recheck these spots because I'm like, well, if I don't find anything else, I'm just going fishing and going to check these spots. But that obviously had a huge impact on what, what happened there. But
That fourth practice day, I still caught them on spinnerbaits in all different spots that I didn't even pre-fish on the first three days. And man, I was so dialed with that spinnerbait that, and I don't ever throw it. Like I've never thrown a spinnerbait in a bass tournament in my life, but they want, they want to eat their thing. You know, it's a spinnerbait so easy to, to use, you know, like growing up. I mean, that's what we just went and cast and spinnerbaits, you know.
Brian Bashore (40:58.326)
Really?
Brian Bashore (41:03.79)
All right.
Josh (41:09.624)
And such an easy thing to use, but, um, they just eat spinnerbaits on Grand Lake. Like some of the other lakes in Oklahoma too, they eat spinnerbaits. And I couldn't believe I was on that bite. I'm like, this is so easy. You cast it and you just slow wind it back to the boat and that paddle tails just barely move it and they just clobbered it, you know, they're just clobbered it, but first day of the tournament, um,
You know, we had media day and stuff in between there. Uh, I don't know if you were there for that stuff. Um, but the, all the, all the other extras leading up to the tournament, I mean, there was, you guys wouldn't even believe like the publicity that, that this thing has, like it's, it's crazy. Like they had a night of the champions on Wednesday night where we all get dressed up and went out to eat and, uh,
Had some drinks and stuff like that, but like Thursday was media day and I gave, I don't know, I gave probably three or four interviews, nothing crazy. But some of these guys, like I was parked next to Jason Christie and he gave, he didn't even stop giving interviews. Like he was, but he's the local, the local paper, but he needed a damn beer after like I'm ready to give him a beer because he just goes one after the other, after the other, you know.
Brian Bashore (42:18.382)
No.
Brian Bashore (42:22.698)
He's local. Yup.
Brian Bashore (42:31.594)
Didn't have a lot of voice left I'm sure.
Josh (42:33.716)
Yeah, some of his guys, they couldn't get to him, so they came to me. So I got some extra interview time. Yeah. But at that time, I thought I was going to whoop some ass, you know, like, I was jacked up then, like, I'm like, you know, they're talking to this guy. I think I'm going to beat him, you know.
Brian Bashore (42:38.79)
Like, while we're waiting for him, let's talk to this guy. You know, hey, take it when you can get it, man. You earned it. All right. Your confidence is good.
Brian Bashore (42:56.271)
Jason's confidence wasn't good.
Josh (42:58.932)
No, and he kept everybody. That's the thing. Like all these guys are crying the blues and I'm thinking back, like I'm on a really good fight.
Brian Bashore (43:07.851)
But you've done this enough, you know how it is. And the Walleye guys are always crying the blues. And then all of a sudden, this is the most amazing bite ever come tournament day. You know, and you're like, yeah, bull crap, man.
Josh (43:10.08)
Yeah.
Josh (43:15.425)
Yeah.
These guys were really, they were really trying though, like getting two bites. I talked to Robertson and he's like, I got two bites today. And I'm like, dude, I got, I had like two bites.
Brian Bashore (43:28.918)
Yup, I got two bites today. You got to do better. I got I got two bites today Me crashing beers over my head while I tell the story right that guy's a freaking nature
Josh (43:35.148)
Yeah, yeah we are.
Josh (43:43.36)
He is a freaking nature. Actually he was in the, uh, I, uh, that one, the second day coming down the elevator, he was in the elevator and, uh, I look at him like, you are right, dude, I just, I just threw up, man. Asked the reflux or reflux. I'm like, all right, man, I hope you feel better. But, uh, I think he had a spur of code on in the elevator too. I'm like,
Brian Bashore (44:00.495)
I don't doubt it one bit.
Brian Bashore (44:07.552)
Yeah.
Josh (44:12.456)
something else, you know, but, but no, I was, uh, so it was a little overwhelming with all the people, I mean, all these guys you see on TV and, but I kind of just got that out of my head. Cause after talking to them, they're just like me and you. I mean, they're not, they're really not different. They're different, you know, cause they're Southern and a little different, but they're still, or Canadian or Japanese, you know,
Brian Bashore (44:13.41)
See ya out.
Brian Bashore (44:36.574)
Or Canadian, because he's... Right. Yeah, or Japanese. Yeah, where is that? Yep.
Josh (44:42.876)
You get the head nods from them guys. Yeah. But they're just like us. I mean, there's nothing to... So once I realized that and settled in, I was more comfortable for sure. But, yeah, I don't know if you want me to get into the tournament or where you want to go with this, but...
Brian Bashore (45:02.882)
Yeah. I would just show you, you're right into the tour. Practice was good. I was, I got showed up Thursday, media day. I got there late and it was rainy. So I didn't come to the thing, but for people that don't know is media day is, I mean, you guys are off the water. You're, did you go to Bass Pro for that? Or was that in that lot where he had your book, you went to Bass Pro? Yeah. So they have them all set up tons of media, ton of Tulsa did a pretty good job covering it at the takeoff in the morning. There was, you probably made, you didn't notice it. I mean, you probably heard the buzzing cause there was like.
Josh (45:17.044)
Yeah. Yeah, that's a problem.
Brian Bashore (45:30.826)
dozen drones flying over all the boats. And then there's two big helicopters flying over as well. Cause he had news and I pulled in behind like four buses. I'm like, geez, I don't know if I want to go this way, but it was like the family and friends, right? From the, from the hotel, they shuttle you guys out there. You had the night of the champions Wednesday, but I mean, you got, they treated you like royalty there, right? Fed you, bust you everywhere you went. I mean, obviously they didn't want to lose track of you. They didn't want nobody to go do nothing stupid.
Josh (45:35.576)
Where?
Josh (45:45.346)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (45:59.754)
Your boats and trucks were all secured with security on them 24 seven and a lot like a block or so from you guys's hotel.
Josh (46:00.068)
Thank you.
Josh (46:08.212)
Yeah, a couple blocks. Um, yeah, they have you fenced off and you cannot, if you try going in there and you're not supposed to be in there, they will tackle you. Um, yeah, it's crazy, but, um, yeah, they treated us like royalty. I mean, I don't, I don't think there's a better word for it. Like it's, it was, you know, yeah. I'll pay, I'll pay it for it. Yeah.
Brian Bashore (46:29.354)
And it's all taken care of your hotel and all this stuff. It's all you made it all paid for. Uh, yeah. I mean, I watched a lot of it leading up and I always do. And I just always like, and I get it. That's the biggest stage. This is, this is it. You just, I mean, you, it says that this is beyond bucket list. This is once in a lifetime, you know, I mean, obviously if you can win it, that that's amazing, but just go into the classic qualifying. I mean, you've been up thousands of other bass anglers.
It didn't go the way you want it. Didn't have the day way you want it. And I was sitting there with Sabre Dane and I was like, you know, son of a gun, he didn't, damn it. You know, but I'm like, I guarantee it. He caught him. I said, I bet he caught a ton of fish, Dave. And, and, you know, you elaborate on that. I said, he's got to have a 30 pound bag tomorrow. Just watch it. But we got you and Adam and, you know, you got these Northern guys and then Jay, who wasn't a wall, like tournament Angler, but still throw them in that wall, like bucket, just cause we've known Jay.
Josh (47:07.392)
You were.
Brian Bashore (47:26.698)
You know, since he was little from his dad, Jason, and growing up in that walleye world, I'm like, I represent and they're coming out, you know, if that makes, you don't see bass guys converting to walleye, but you see all the walleye guys, ton of them fished the sturgeon Bay open and they do well. Would you think that's just cause you're more burst at all angler, obviously with the live scope and everybody's throwing the, uh, the walleye base that we've been throwing our whole life, right? A three inch man, I want to jig, you know, with the
Josh (47:29.324)
Yeah.
Josh (47:42.811)
Mm-mm.
Josh (47:54.912)
Yeah, so I've never, I've never in the walleye world, like I remember trolling once or twice and that's it. And I trolled in one NWT tournament on green Bay and caught a couple of big ones. But generally I wasn't trolling ever. Like I didn't even want trolling rods.
So I fish, you know, walleye is like a fish bass basically, you know, so that's, and that's how a lot of these guys are. I mean, I know Adam fishes walleye up on Green Bay a lot and Jay, I don't know how much he fishes walleye. He's pretty quiet, quiet cat. So, um, haven't really figured him out yet, but, um, yeah, I don't know.
Brian Bashore (48:28.01)
There he is.
Brian Bashore (48:36.287)
I mean, it doesn't make you a worse angler by all means. And guess he's, you know, from up north and his fish plenty of walleye in his days as well.
Josh (48:42.412)
Oh yeah, Canadians are, yeah. You know, yeah, them guys fish whatever they, whatever they can catch, you know, and that's the same as me. I mean, I like pan fishing and any kind of, it doesn't matter to me, catching fish is fun, you know.
Brian Bashore (48:57.154)
So you finished 54th overall. Day one sucked.
Josh (49:01.856)
Yeah. So day one, I, I saw the spinner bait deal completely killed me. And the last day of practices on the Wednesday, um, the weather had changed from Wednesday to Friday. First day was Friday of the tournament. And I was jacked up. Like, I'm like, I'm going to go whale on these fish, you know? And I had a super good spot a long ways away from the launch. And.
After talking to the warden, because the warden gave a big speech and them guys are, it's, that's phenomenal too. Like the police department, the wardens, the whole DNR system, they were all like jacked up for us and basically told us if you got a problem with anything you call us, you know.
we're out there watching out for you, you know, so protecting us from other anglers coming into close or whatever, you know, they're, they're on the water helping us. So.
Brian Bashore (50:01.034)
You have to deal with something that we don't have to deal with in the walleye world and that's a ton of spectators on the water. I'm driving over the bridge to go there in the morning and I'm just pushing to get there before we even take off. And it's pitch black. I'm like, there's no way they're leaving at 715. It is as dark as hell out and it's like 630, 645 and it's, it's not even close to being light. But I see bass boats flying around in the pitch black. I get to see the light on the front and the back and they're flying underneath the bridge and these are spectators going and getting set up.
Josh (50:06.346)
Yeah, yeah.
Josh (50:20.578)
Yeah.
Josh (50:29.462)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (50:29.622)
you know, for where you're going to go. And then 715 sure as crap. Boom. Mercer starts sending you and it was just, just barely light enough. It was kind of misty. So it was still dark, but it was, it was good enough to go, but you had a wig zigzag through a, you know, I don't know what 30, 40 boats probably just to get out.
Josh (50:44.848)
I would say, but yeah, and then we once we got, I mean, then it was fine, but I didn't have many guys following me. So
Brian Bashore (50:51.466)
You were, they showed it on the tracker and early you were way up further than anybody. I'm like, I'm like, I was like, there you go. Typical walleye guy going far away as he can from the boat launch to catch the fish.
Josh (50:56.649)
Oh yeah. Oh yeah, I-
Josh (51:04.7)
Yeah, I had something special I thought figured out, but I get up there so that I was getting back to the DNR guy. I had this all planned out, like what I was going to do at this first spot that was a long ways away and they told us we couldn't run above idle speed along a shoreline. So if you're within 150 feet of shoreline, you had to idle.
So I'm like, how dang it all. Cause this spot I had to run the shore. I was going to take out my lower unit on stumps, you know? So I get in there and I decided I'm just going to fish a ways in. And then I'm just going to idle. Cause I had to idle in like 40 minutes to get to this spot. It was a shallow flat that dropped down and do like a ditch and the fish were just stacked. Like I was so jacked up to get in there.
Brian Bashore (51:46.114)
Ooh, way back in.
Josh (51:58.6)
I went there and practiced and had three keepers in a half an hour and I wasn't even trying hard, you know, and I was worried about somebody else finding the spot. Well, obviously I shouldn't have worried about that, but I got, I get in there and I'm idling through and I'm like, what in the heck? I'm like kicking mud up and I'm looking at the rocks and I'm like, they dropped the water on me like eight inches. It looked like on the rocks.
And cause I'm kicking mud up with my big motor and it's like, my graph is flashing. It's too shallow. That put the troll motor down and I ran that as fast as I could, you know, and I could only go two miles an hour with it because I'm dragging the boat through this mud, but I finally get in there into this hot honey hole deal that I thought was a honey hole and.
I cast us the spinner bait where I, where I had a three, three and a half in practice and I get bit and it missed it. And that sucker would not re bite neither. I know it was the same damn fish too. This is a week later, you know, and, uh, I could not catch a keeper fish. I caught four or five dinks and the big ones were gone. And I had, I wanted to leave that place with 12 pounds. Like I told myself, I'm not leaving here until I get 12 pounds because I'll fish better the
with a limit in the boat and it'll just be a burden off my chest is it a limit you know and I thought I could get a limit in a half an hour I could get a limit up there well I get in there
I'm looking at my clock, it's 10 o'clock and like, what the heck am I going to do? You know, we take her off at seven. I'm finally at the end of the deal at almost 10. I'm like, I got to get out of here. I got so many other spots that I can go and catch fish. So I boogie out of there by the time I get out of there, it's 11 o'clock. I got to be in at 315.
Josh (53:52.184)
And I'm like, no big deal though. I got stop and other spots that all had fish, you know, and they were all clobbering spinner baits and I just start running that program. I lose one, a keeper, the second spot. And I just start catching shorts. Like I couldn't catch a big fish. Like they have to be 14 inches. I had, I don't know how many 13 and three quarters. I don't know. Three, four, five. I don't know.
but it's like I could not win. And I just kept going spot to spot to spot to spot until finally it's like 2.30 and I'm like, what in the hell am I gonna do? I have no fish in the well.
And I have one more spot I can finish up on and I just, I'm like, I got to go try it. I mean, what am I going to do? I not going to rethink my whole plan. And maybe I should have at that time, but check the other spot, catch two more dinks. And I'm like, you got to be kidding me. Like I caught two or three dinks the whole practice. Like they were all nice fish, you know, all in that. I thought I could have between 14 and 14 and 18, probably pounds the first day. And.
Brian Bashore (55:02.174)
Which is exactly what you needed to be in it.
Josh (55:04.848)
exactly what I needed. And I was just so, I was so frustrated, man. I, I came in, I'm thinking, well, there had to be more zeros, right? No. These guys all, it was crazy. I think one, I think, Scott Canterbury caught two fish. Everybody else had a limit of fish. I'm like, you got to be kidding me. How, how bad can you be? You know, and in hindsight, I should have abandoned the program.
And I just didn't know better because all practice, it worked for me, you know, but
Brian Bashore (55:38.678)
But it's tough. You're, but you're still, I've been there and on bago actually the most confident ever in a tournament. And is there a common right off the bat through a back cause it's, we can only keep submitting 18th I'm not even keeping an 18 to bago. It was so good. It was like 25 plus inches every day between the three of us and is the gun club area, casting countdowns like this. We're going to finish one, two, and three mean brandy and Ted is so caught. This is stupid. Lightning storm comes in. Nope. Nothing.
Josh (55:50.281)
Yeah.
Josh (56:08.76)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (56:08.79)
Bail on it, catch one pretty quick, throw it back. Nothing, bail on 10. They fish a different spot. Get there five, but considerably smaller. I go out trying to control and some of the clean water for bigger fish, you know, and just nothing. Could have went and caught five dinks, you know, but for five pounds, and it's no different than zero, and it's not gonna do you any good. Points weren't a big deal back then for the championship. It didn't matter. But when you're getting bit by all these dinks all day, doing the same program that worked for you.
Josh (56:28.525)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (56:36.822)
You're just like, it's just a matter of time. One of these is going to stretch out a couple more inches and I'm, because we all fish better once you got five in the box. Like you said, all the weight comes off and then it's, it's a whole new game. I've been plenty of tournaments where I'm just going to go get these five and then, you know, go hogging at these big spots. So I mean, I don't know, blame me one bit. They're biting you had an amazing practice. It's hard to throw that, you know, just abandon that program and start over.
Josh (56:44.544)
Yeah, I don't know.
Josh (57:01.844)
Yeah. And I was getting bites that weren't, they weren't eating it. Like they just, they just hit it and you'd feel them hit it, but you just keep turning it and wait, you know, generally they come back and hit it again, but they, it was just so off that, and I didn't, I didn't know to change it because during practice I threw other stuff and they wouldn't bite it. Like, you know, I chuck a chatterbait out or a jig out and I just couldn't get bit. They were feeding on bait fish during practice.
Brian Bashore (57:12.11)
All right.
Josh (57:28.516)
And things changed during the tournament and that's, and I didn't change. And that's, that's what got me, you know, and, uh, so I came in with zero fish the first day embarrassed as hell. And, uh, um, man, I was sick to my stomach, like, geez, but there's nothing I could do. I, uh, you know,
Brian Bashore (57:48.639)
I was sick for you. I know the Philly and I'm like, oh, that pork demand that does suck. He's all the literally the biggest stage, you know, and any, the one guy that, that zero, but I look at it at sea reading right away. I'm like, you know, he caught fish. I said, I guarantee you got a ton of fish. You just, and it's exactly what happened. And I think you said that on stage there, you know,
Josh (57:53.645)
Uh... Yeah.
Josh (58:05.108)
Yeah, I had plenty of bites. Like if I caught a dozen dinks, I mean, I expected to get a dozen big bites that day and this didn't happen. And, uh, you know, I'll turn them efficient as a game of decisions, you know, that's 90% decisions, you know, and 10%, um, you know, strengths, I guess, or, or fishing abilities, I guess. Um, that's the way I see it. And, you know, I just didn't make the right decisions to, to switch my game plan. But.
Brian Bashore (58:12.654)
All right.
Brian Bashore (58:35.522)
Day two you mixed it up.
Josh (58:35.921)
So day two, the weather complete and other weather change.
Josh (58:43.608)
This lake just fishes so different. I mean, for me in practice, it wasn't changing much, but now it's like, everything is changing, right? Big wind blows, opposite directions. Um, big cold front upper thirties when we take off blowing out of the North. But I'm thinking, okay, now I caught some nice ones in practice. I mean, four or five pounders. If they turn on these good spots, I'm going to whack the piss out of them. Right. So I started throwing that spinner bait right away.
And in 15 minutes, I don't have a bite and I am like, I am done with this thing. Like I have not, I am not going to go down with this thing again, you know? So I put that sucker away. I grabbed a crankbait. I went to a Leeward side where the wind wasn't blowing and just a rock, rock bank with a docks and I just started throwing a crankbait at DT six.
And I caught one like right away, like two casts in, I caught a keeper. And I was like, I was pumped up. Like that sounds a little stupid. It's like, I'm not weighing zero fish on, I'm weighing a damn fish on stage, you know? And so I got that one on the boat. I just kept going down the shoreline, lost two crankbaits, um, in the, in the stumps, grabbed the jig rod. Cause now I had six rods on the deck. I was catching fish today. I plan it like I'm, I'm doing something to catch fish.
Brian Bashore (59:41.974)
Thank God.
Brian Bashore (59:48.096)
Yup.
Josh (01:00:03.232)
Grab a jig rod, chuck it at this rock and catch like a three and a quarter. And then I decided I'm not, I'm not putting this jig rod down the rest of the day. And I just kept working, grilled my limit and then just upgraded all day long. And at the end of the day, I weighed 16, 10. Um, had a great day. Like I caught probably 15 Legals. Um, you know, and the fish were there the day before, you know, all I had to do was change, you know, and.
Brian Bashore (01:00:30.027)
Nope.
Josh (01:00:32.628)
And that's where I made the wrong decisions, you know, so. Out of it right there.
Brian Bashore (01:00:36.118)
That was one of the better bags that day. Yup. Yeah. He needed base 29 and a half about to make the top 25 cut. Hey, the good news is you weren't last. That bag was good though. You moved up.
Josh (01:00:44.481)
Yeah.
Josh (01:00:49.785)
Yeah, I beat Canterbury and that was, I'm glad I didn't take last. I'm not going to lie.
Brian Bashore (01:00:57.142)
Right. I mean, it all paid the same, but hey, it's right. There's, there's a little bit of something there.
Josh (01:01:00.24)
Yeah, so yeah, so 2026 to 56 paid 10 grand each. So we all got the same amount of money, you had to get to that next level. So you had to get to 25th place to get a jump and pay. And more respect, I guess and fish the final day, you know, and that's that was the goal was that like if you told me that I wasn't going to make the final day, I would have bet you my business that I was going to make the final like, just so
Brian Bashore (01:01:25.906)
Alright.
Brian Bashore (01:01:29.294)
that confident.
Josh (01:01:29.368)
So disappointing. Yeah, I mean, just unbelievable, but it is what it is. I mean, it's fishing. I can laugh about it now, but I was definitely, I was definitely bummed out that first day.
Brian Bashore (01:01:42.154)
Yeah, that is, that's a tough one to swallow. And I mean, it's, it's one thing when it's on a smaller walleye term or even the NWT thing, you're like, yeah, whatever that shit happens. But you're up the pinnacle, but nobody can take it away from you. You made, you made it to the fricking Bassmaster Classic and you fished it and you competed and you showed that on the second day. So there's no fluke that Josh is at the Classic. You earned it. You got there, you caught the hell out of them. He just got to saying thing. That's a bit, a lot of us.
overconfidence, which it wasn't wrong. Right. It's just the adjustments that we have to make. And we get our blinders on sometime because of our confidence from practices. So good. We just were like, we force, we just try to force it, you know, and if, if you weren't catching dinks, you would have abandoned that, I bet super early, but you just kept getting enough dinks. And then of those, those bump bites are probably those big females that were on a bed or something that just bumped it as it went by, you know, to get it out of there, you kind of, you hook into one or two of those boom.
Josh (01:02:16.686)
Yeah.
Josh (01:02:24.93)
Yeah.
Josh (01:02:29.476)
100%.
Josh (01:02:38.478)
Yeah.
Josh (01:02:41.812)
Yeah. And you can, the deal with that is you could fill the boat and you can make five casts and have 25 pounds. I mean, that's how, that's how that can be. So that's what kept me going also is just knowing that if I run into the right pocket here, it's on, you know, man, wrong choice.
Brian Bashore (01:02:41.923)
That's it.
Brian Bashore (01:02:48.674)
Alright.
Brian Bashore (01:03:02.494)
It's tough. It's a tough, but you're hungry now and you want to get back there 10 times more than you did before you knew what it was all about. I'm sure you're, I mean, you're everything. You haven't had a great start this year, but you still got plenty of room to make some redemption. And like I said, you just got to win one. Right.
Josh (01:03:11.876)
100%.
Josh (01:03:19.496)
Yeah, well yeah, that's easier said than done, but I mean, at least I feel like I'm going after something now. You know, I didn't realize, and I don't know why I didn't realize this, but I didn't realize it was as cool as it was. You know, like even if you never seen the classic, like in person, you need to do that. You know, just a cool, really cool deal.
Brian Bashore (01:03:22.483)
That's a lot easier.
Brian Bashore (01:03:48.322)
I've never been to one. I always watch it. Usually spend the whole weekend, get all my stuff out and do all my taxes. I did that in February, got it done out of the way. And I'm like, I'm going because it's an eight and a half hour drive for one. It's not that far. I'm like, that's it. Jump my truck away. And then I was able to go ahead and help out at the St. Croix booth and the Segar booth and then go, you know, hang out and meet some of the other companies and just, you know, there's, there's so much stuff going on. I mean, the expo center and then the weigh-in. I mean, it's those things don't start till noon or 10, but the weigh-in didn't get over.
Josh (01:04:01.326)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:04:18.214)
seven or so and that place was pretty packed. And the best thing is it's free. Everything's free. Normally you go to these type of things. What does it cost? Nothing. The expo center is free to get in. Um, there's things to buy. You can go and get autographs and photos and there's games and there's, I mean, buckets, the Bass Pro had buckets for everybody and chills had bags and it was how much stuff free stuff can these guys cram into here and then the live stuff's going on, they had it out on the street. I mean, it's just.
Josh (01:04:19.981)
Yeah.
Josh (01:04:23.916)
Yeah.
Josh (01:04:41.846)
Yo.
Brian Bashore (01:04:45.414)
It's a spectacle and they do a great Jake Latondras, which maybe you saw him. He was, he's a cameraman there and he's a, I'm an old friend, him, and I've done some conservation stuff in the past. So I stay in touch with him and follow him. And so I get his, you know, if you follow his Latondras media or his social, you get to see a lot of the background things that happen because he's a cameraman. So he's, he was in, he was Christie's cameraman when Christie won the classic, you know, and I think he was in a, I can't remember whose boat he was in on day three, but.
Josh (01:05:03.423)
Mm-hmm.
Brian Bashore (01:05:12.97)
James Overstreet retired, I think. And so now Jake's kind of like that, that veteran cameraman who's really good. He is able to, he got Christie on the, uh, top water bite first thing. So Christie actually caught one on top water the first morning you were out. I think that was it. That was like the only top water bite for the whole tournament. And I think, you know, you needed some five, six pounders to make that big jump. But I don't know if there was even five or six, six pounders caught in the whole tournament, I think maybe four.
Josh (01:05:27.949)
Yeah.
Josh (01:05:39.276)
I think six and a half, six and a half was the biggest fish of the tournament. And there wasn't many six pound, like it was impossible for me to make. Yeah. There's no way I was catching 30 pounds. Like that doesn't, what are we going to happen? But I, I didn't care. Like I, I wanted five. I don't care if there are five 14 inches. I wanted five fish, you know, but.
Brian Bashore (01:05:47.134)
Enough, three or four of them maybe.
Brian Bashore (01:06:01.818)
Right. Yeah, nothing's tougher than bringing in the, bringing in nothing. You played it off well on stage and then you got Mercer back for screwing your name up day two and that will never happen again. I could almost guarantee that. Dave's like, she got me.
Josh (01:06:07.479)
Yeah.
Josh (01:06:16.1)
know, and a lot, a lot of people, a lot of people know my last name now too. So it's pretty cool. Pretty, pretty good. I didn't have that planned really that way, but it turned out pretty good. Weisner. Yeah. Which I get that all the time, but I just, I had to give them some crap and, uh, um, it worked out good.
Brian Bashore (01:06:27.03)
What did he call you day one? Weisner? Yeah. So we got that.
Brian Bashore (01:06:38.434)
We don't always get to be on the biggest stage. And Tommy Scarlet's told me once, anytime you get that mic in your hand, take advantage of it, you know? And so when you had that opportunity, stay up straight and it's time to, uh, you know, to say whatever it is. I feel like saying back to the, you talked to it on the DNR guys. And maybe if people weren't listening, they may not have heard this, but like said, you have spectators to deal with out there and that can become challenging. And obviously with all the, so in our opinion going on down there, that can cause some issues.
Josh (01:06:45.106)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:07:05.206)
And I think Hamner had to deal with a little bit of that on day two, but I heard it was everybody was super respectful, you know, stayed out of your way quite a bit, um, but every one of those camera boats was being driven or had a DNR officer in it, which most people probably didn't realize. And then when they were doing the commentary, they're like, that's probably helping a little bit because the camera boats hit it a little closer, but they also see that the CO is in that boat and, and it's everybody's right to get on that water and go do whatever they want to do.
Josh (01:07:18.552)
Yeah.
Josh (01:07:25.346)
Yeah.
Josh (01:07:29.528)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:07:34.282)
That community is full of tournaments and tournament anglers and that's nice when they get it and they know it. We ran into it in the walleye world at certain fisheries that are just loaded even throughout the week and people have no idea what's going on. And if they did, they don't care anyway. They're just going to pull up right beside you to watch. I had that at Chamberlain our first time we were there and literally guys came flying up and then they were on their phone and they looked to me like tournament guys. So I said, you, Hey, get off your phone.
Josh (01:07:52.664)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:08:03.982)
He said, no, we're not in a tournament. We're here to watch. We actually came to watch you. Can you, can you move your boat from on top of my fish then if that would be cool? So, you know, that's great, but can you, can you slide out a little bit please? Oh yeah. You know, and they move, but yeah, we don't have to deal with that very often. And, and thank God. So, um,
Josh (01:08:23.228)
Yeah, I think last time they were there, the guys that were following Christie really gave, were really on him. And maybe that's why the DNR was in these guys' bullet too. I'm not sure, but.
Brian Bashore (01:08:35.902)
It certainly doesn't help just having, you know, it's like the blue lights in your rear view mirror makes you just everything puckers up whether it's you or not and you're doing everything legally. You're just like, I don't know, you know, who knows? God, I had something else here I was going to touch on.
Josh (01:08:45.566)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:08:52.694)
I got notes all over the place, but any who that that's a, we've talked, you know, obviously the walleye world has a long ways to go to get bass and we'll probably never be there. And that's fine. We're, we're in different, just in different arenas. Um, but. You know, head to heads going on, you know, I think they fired up another season locally and they're doing the live stuff. So that that's good. And I think that's, you know, competitive or.
capitalism, whatever you want to call it in the industry. So it's making others kind of say, Hey, that's working really well for them. We need to try to find a way to do this. But the reality is all of that costs a lot of money. Um, that's a multimillion dollar production thing going on at bass to do what they do and bring that to you. So while the world's a long, long ways from that, but who knows where it would be in a, in a, in a couple, three, four or five years of plenty of talks in WT and I know they're, they're trying to do things, but it all comes down to it's, it's all about dollars, right. And.
And who, how much of an entropy is, is the cutoff? Where do we hit a point that people say, that's, you know, I can't do it. Cause you're in the wall, our world 99% of these guys are that they have other jobs like yourself and, and a lot of the best guys do too, but not as many. But I think you're seeing less of that nowadays and more of them are having other, other gigs and jobs and, or, or businesses just because you just can't make a living fishing like you could 20, 30 years ago. So.
Josh (01:10:02.072)
Yes.
Josh (01:10:18.392)
Yeah, I'm shocked at how many bass guys are actually doing it full time for a living, you know, which I don't know how they do it. I mean, their sponsor dollars are tremendous, I guess. But, um, I mean, otherwise you're relying on winning all the time and that's just not a guaranteed deal, you know.
Brian Bashore (01:10:18.496)
It is.
Brian Bashore (01:10:35.818)
No, I mean, their payouts go way further down the line in some sets and they're higher, but more the entry fees are higher. So, you know, it's kind of a balance out and there's just, there's just ways to, to do that. Ours, when you look at them in relation to the wall, I, that ours aren't that bad. They're not great. We like them higher, but our entry fees, half the amount of what there's is. So of course the payout is going to be less. I just wish they were, and everybody does. They extended further down the line.
Josh (01:10:43.491)
Yeah.
Josh (01:10:53.398)
No.
Brian Bashore (01:11:06.222)
Cause if a guy can at least break even, you can roll that into the next tournament and keep going. Cause there's, there's a lot of that.
Josh (01:11:06.349)
Yeah.
Josh (01:11:11.368)
Yeah, and what that just comes, that comes down to sponsors and who's, who's sticking money into the whole thing. And, you know, we want to see it, you know, as a business owner, I want to see the, the industry, the wall industry pick up and grow. You know, we all do. Um, I just don't, I don't know what, you know, we need more sponsors jumping in, but they, you know, they have to get a value back also. And that, that's what they need to see is the value, you know.
Brian Bashore (01:11:33.698)
Right.
Brian Bashore (01:11:38.998)
Right. And the best world shows value because of the multimedia. By me, it's just, you know, the chicken and egg type thing. How do we get there without having this? Someone's got a rod drop like Johnny Morris has, you know, in these, in these formats to get them over that next hump head to head to doing it, you know, however they're doing out of pocket or with some private investment. It's just, yeah, it's an uphill battle. And like you said, you got a vested interest in it was selling boats and you're in walleye country over there and pretty damn good bass fishing as well. So.
I don't know, COVID screwed up the whole system in a sense, I would say. Um, but it got, it did both. It's the, cause of the downfall of it, but it obviously helped elevate a lot of things at the time, which was, which was good. And I don't think everybody left. They got back into it, you know, just because they were able to go back to work. I think it reignited a lot of it. So.
Josh (01:12:15.914)
Yeah.
Josh (01:12:28.928)
Yeah, it definitely got more people involved in the industry that weren't involved, you know, and that's, that's good. We do need more people, you know, I guess you think it's crowded on the lakes, but we need more of the younger generation coming into play and, you know, and buying boats and buying baits and buying, you know, everything needed to go fish.
Brian Bashore (01:12:50.69)
That's right. So all of us out there that are sponsored or pro staff, it's your job to make those, get those sales, get those numbers up so that we can go get your St. Croix rods and your seven reels people. Cause that's what's going to help. It helps it all. So it helps guys like Josh and I, and it just helps the industry. Those are Dingell Johnson funding dollars that go back into conservation and back into the fisheries. And a lot of people probably don't understand that whole thing and I could go on forever about it, but every dollar spent in the industry.
you know, can turn around to be two or $3 that goes back into it. You know, we're back out for it.
Josh (01:13:26.332)
Yeah. And you want to, you want to support the companies that are supporting the industry too, right? So that's, that's what I, I try to get involved with is supporting the company. I don't care if I got to pay more for some stuff. I mean, if a company is supporting the industry, um, you know, throw them a bone. Like boss, uh, boss snowplow, one of my title sponsor this year. I mean,
Brian Bashore (01:13:31.489)
Yep.
Josh (01:13:53.88)
They're in the fishing industry. So if you're gonna buy a snowplow, look at a Boss snowplow. I mean, there's other plows, but I mean, they're investing in our industry with me. And that's what I would look into. So.
Brian Bashore (01:14:09.258)
Nope. You are spot on. You got the Bass Pro, you got the Johnny Morris, you got Yamaha, you got Toyota trucks is huge sponsor in the fishing industry and the outdoor industry in general and people to us, those are made in Kansas or Kansas city. So this is maybe it's a Japanese owned company, but this stuff is American made. Um, one of the most American made vehicles out there, I believe so.
Josh (01:14:17.516)
Huge.
Josh (01:14:30.088)
And yeah, Toyota is another, they're not a sponsor, but I mean, I run a Toyota because they're in that, in our industry, you know, and, um, that's what I did it. And they have contingency programs too. And, um, just, you know, that's, that's just part of the game, but Toyota, I can't even believe how much they're involved in the bass stuff. Like it's, it's crazy. They weigh every, every boat's hooked up to a Toyota when it comes through that arena, you know, it's a good deal.
Brian Bashore (01:14:55.99)
Yep. Yeah. Support those who support us as anglers, not just Josh and I am saying as us. Everybody listening, tuning in is, you know, you're an angler or in the outdoors, whatever it may be. So let's wrap this up. Josh, one little tidbit nugget you already gave a few earlier on to leave to any aspiring bass angler. Let's just narrow it down or any angling, you know, to help them out in their journey moving forward.
Josh (01:15:01.121)
Yes.
Josh (01:15:24.332)
Well, I touched on fishing, if you're getting into the fishing tournaments, to definitely fish the day of a tournament. We'll stay out of the pros way, but get involved with that. I'll leave you with a little tip that most guys overthink. And I always have a hook sharpener in my pocket. And I don't know why more people don't do this, but I have a real little
It's a real fine tip, sharper, that's in my pocket. And I'm always checking my hook sharpness. I've lost too many fish in the past where your hook is dull and you need to penetrate them things. And so I check it. And the other thing to do is you check your hook. You don't touch your hook to check the sharpness, right? Grab the hook, roll it across your fingernail. And if it grabs your fingernail, it's sharp. If it slides across your fingernail, no problem. It is dull.
And that's where your sharpener comes in. Make sure your hooks are sharp. You will put way more fish in the boat. It's not even funny. And it's amazing to me how many guys don't pay attention to that.
Brian Bashore (01:16:37.942)
Nope, that is, that is a very good tip that could make a good day into a great day when it comes to weighing in at the end of a tournament. And that's, and it's so simple and it takes five seconds. It's just a file. I mean, it's just a
Josh (01:16:45.796)
on it.
Josh (01:16:51.477)
Yes, yes.
Brian Bashore (01:16:53.574)
Cause you, if you're, especially when you're on them and you're ripping lips left and right, that hook's getting dollar and dollar every, every fish. You know, especially in a walleye with a little bit of harder mouth. People are just like, they're just biting them, getting them. And then they start to miss them. And it's, I need to add a stinger hook. I need to do this. Maybe you just need to sharpen your damn hook a little bit. You know, we always will talk ourselves out. I got to give it to him more. I got to feed him more line or I got to do this. And it's like, nah, I mean your hooks, you got 20 fish on that thing. It's getting dull. So excellent tip.
Josh (01:16:59.382)
Yeah.
Josh (01:17:11.725)
Yeah.
Josh (01:17:21.765)
Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:17:23.866)
Excellent. So, all right, Josh, thanks a ton. I know you're a busy man. You had to get back out there and sell some boats and move some stuff. And maybe I'll swing out to a tournament a day early and get on your schedule and have you re rig my boat for me. So to give me a little better peace of mind and we appreciate your time. And congratulations for making the classic. That is awesome. No matter where you land, we always want to land on top, but making it is the, you know, is half the battle.
And that is something to be proud of forever and super cool. Super cool. Um, can't say I'm disappointed. I'm not going to see you on the walleye trail, but I'm not disappointed. I don't have to worry about, about you out there. So, uh, you know, it's one of those, one of those things that we need the numbers and then wish you there, but wish you, uh, best of luck this year on those opens. And hopefully you can knock one out and get back to the classic four load redemption. So you, uh, you, you'll, you get there again.
Josh (01:18:03.074)
There you go.
Brian Bashore (01:18:18.57)
You'll make it happen. You'll be in that day three for sure. I have no doubt about it. So I think it's in Texas next year. So I went Lake Fork or probably not. It's it's there's going to be a big bass in Texas. So I don't, I don't care. It could be at Mango. We'd love for it to be on Mango, but it'll be awesome. So, all right, folks, thanks for tuning into this episode of Real Talk Fish. And this is a special episode following up the classic. This thing's going to probably drop next week.
Josh (01:18:24.2)
It is, yeah. I'm not even sure what the...
Josh (01:18:31.337)
I don't even care what lake it's on. It could be on a pond for all I care. Yeah.
Brian Bashore (01:18:48.666)
Um, uh, which would be the first week in April, I believe we'll get this out there. I don't want to keep, uh, Josh's excellent experience on the line for long. We want to get that out and share it with you guys all so you can follow him along. And I'll put some links down below. Follow Josh's on a social stay up to date. He's been doing some really nice recaps of his tournament. So say if they don't always got going on through the opens, and if you're looking for a job, someone's looking to hire. So.
Reach out to Josh. I'll put the boat dock links down below. Get a hold of him over there and get in the industry. It's a great entry point way to get in and see where your career goes from there. So thanks a ton Josh. Thanks everybody for following along and listening. And we will see you on the water. All right.