Secrets of Longtime Bass Fishing Pro Larry Nixon
Day 5: Pro Larry Nixon Says Don’t Choose a Favorite Lure and Remember to Always Have Fun Fishing
Editor’s Note: Larry Nixon of Bee Branch, Arkansas, began guiding fishermen before he was in high school. He joined the professional bass fishermen's ranks 37 years ago. Nixon became professional bass fishing's first $1 million winner and today has earned more than $3 million fishing B.A.S.S. and FLW circuits, not including sponsorship money. He was named Bass Angler of the Year twice and won the Classic. A member of the Arkansas Outdoor Hall of Fame, Nixon, also is one of the most-respected anglers in tournament bass fishing history and still is ranked in the top 50 bass anglers in the world by BassFan.com. Nixon’s favorite technique generally is fishing a worm, and his favorite body of water to bass fish is Toledo Bend. When he’s not fishing, Nixon can be found deer hunting.
  Secret No. 11: Don't Have a Favorite Lure
Nixon emphasizes that, “Any lure you don't like to fish, be sure to fish with it on the days the bass are really biting to build your confidence in fishing that lure. To be successful regularly and catch bass on any lake you visit, you need a wide variety of lure choices to build your confidence in fishing many baits. My confidence bait is a jig and a trailer. However, if the bass aren't biting that day, I know I can catch them on a plastic worm, a crankbait or any one of the 50 lures that may be in my tackle box at one time. Learn to love all your lures, and get out of the habit of saying, ‘I hate to fish that particular bait or technique.’”
Secret No. 12: Have Fun Fishing I'd sat in the back of Larry Nixon's boat for an hour not saying anything on the first day of competition during a long ago Bassmaster Classic. I didn't want to distract Nixon with any of the questions I had about his fishing. I knew he needed to concentrate during the competition.
  Finally Nixon looked back at me and said, “Are you mad? You've been sitting there as quiet as a church mouse.” When I explained I knew he wanted to totally concentrate on his fishing during this biggest bass tournament of the year, Nixon said, “Listen, John, I got into bass fishing to have a good time. I'll answer any questions you've got, listen to any jokes you want to tell, eat a sandwich when I get hungry and drink when I'm thirsty. When bass fishing quits being fun, and I can't enjoy a day on the water with people in the boat with me, I'll give it up. If I didn't have a good time fishing for bass, I wouldn't have spent my life doing it. And, here's my most-important secret for being a great bass fisherman: Never make bass fishing so technical that you lose the fun of the sport.”
To learn more about bass fishing, get John E. Phillips’ Kindle eBooks, “How to Bass Fish Like a Pro,” “How to Win a Bass Tournament,” “Catch the Most and Biggest Bass in Any Lake: 18 Pro Fishermen’s Best Tactics, “Hot Weather Bass Tactics” and “How to Become A Tournament Bass Fisherman” or go to http://www.amazon.com/kindle-ebooks, type in the names of the books, and download them to your Kindle and/or download a Kindle app for your iPad, SmartPhone or computer.
About the Author
John Phillips, winner of the 2012 Homer Circle Fishing Award for outstanding fishing writer by the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA), the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors. Click here for more information and a list of all the books available from John E. Phillips.
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