provided by John Phillips
Forty-Six year-old Mossy Oak Fishing Pro Bill Lowen (Dollar Bill) from Brookville, Indiana, has made over $1.2 million in 14 years of bass fishing and currently ranks No. 46 worldwide. Recently, he fished a tournament on Lake Eufaula. On the first day, he was in the lead, but he finished in 20th place, receiving a $10,000 check. Bill Lowen is one of the most consistent check winners in the Elite Series, and we wanted to know what caused him to go from placing 1st to 20th place in a matter of days.
At the end of the tournament, I learned that the top competitors were catching almost all of their bass offshore. But I’m a hard-headed, shallow-water angler. I grew up fishing on the Ohio River where we never fished any water deeper than 3 feet. So, offshore fishing is definitely my weakest tactic.
I believe that an angler always fishes better when he is in his comfort zone, and when I’m fishing deep out in the middle of a lake, I’m definitely not in my comfort zone. I guess my problem boils down to the fact that I don’t have confidence about using my depth finder. When I see fish in deep water, I don’t seem to know what to do to make them bite, especially when the bass stop biting the jig or deep-running crankbait that I frequently fish. I thought about whether I should fish a spoon or a bigger crankbait. However, I do know exactly what to do if the fish stop biting in shallow water.
For me, fishing is about 90-percent mental. When I don’t have my head screwed on right, I usually don’t perform very well. While explaining this struggle to other people, they wonder, “Bill, how are you going to overcome your dislike for offshore fishing?” My standard answer is, “When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.”
To learn more about Bill Lowen, visit https://www.facebook.com/TurtleLowen/.
