More Keys to Winning Bass Tournaments with Boyd Duckett
Get Mentally Ready
 Editor’s Note: At the end of August, 2007, the 2007 Bassmaster Classic champion, Boyd Duckett of Demopolis, Alabama, won the B.A.S.S. Legends tournament and $250,000 at Arkansas’ Lake Dardanelle, bringing his total winnings in bass tournaments during 2007 to nearly $1 million. Never before has a tournament bass fisherman won as much money in as short a time on the B.A.S.S. circuit as Duckett. Besides finishing in the top-10 in eight, 2007 B.A.S.S. tournaments, Duckett also won the Ultimate Match Fishing Tournament, earning $76,000, and the Bassmaster Classic, earning $500,000. “I’ve won about another $115,000 this year in Bassmaster Tour Elite events,” Duckett says. At this writing, Duckett has won a total of $961,000 for 2007 and still has one tournament left to fish before the end of the year to possibly break the $1 million mark in one year from tournament winnings. He’s also currently in 10th place for Angler of the Year, which will  pay about $20,000.
Question: What else are you doing, Boyd, that other tournament fishermen probably aren’t doing?
Duckett: I play a lot of golf. I’m 2-handicapper at the country club where I play. I’ve played golf for many years. I figured out that playing a great golf game is more dependent on your mind than it is on your body. Golf is not a physical game but rather a mental game. I’ve heard that said before, but I didn’t understand exactly what that term meant for a long time. I’ve learned that if I think I’m going to hit the ball a long way, then I can hit the ball a long way. I’ve also learned that if I think I’m going to make a putt, I will. I’ve learned that succeeding in bass fishing is even-more mental than playing the game of golf.
Question: Boyd, are you into positive attitude and mental imaging when you’re fishing?
Duckett: Absolutely. The mind is a wonderful thing. If you’ll relax and let your mind tell you what to do, you’ll make great decisions on the water, when you’re fishing in a tournament. That’s what tournament bass fishing is all about – making right decisions on the water at every critical time in the event.
Question: Boyd, Rick Clunn began to preach the gospel of intuitive fishing probably 20- or 30- years ago. Most folks didn’t understand him then. Are you now doing some of the things that Rick talked about so long ago?
Duckett: I’ve talked to Rick some, and he’s been one of my heroes for a long time, especially from the mental aspect of fishing. But I haven’t had much opportunity to spend time with him. However, I rode with him one day during the Junior Bassmaster Classic and the Bassmaster Classic. He’s a genius. I wish I had the knowledge Rick does about how to tap into the mind and get your mind to give you the right answers as many times as he’s been able to do it. I’m still trying to learn how to come to the take-off site with all the distractions – the crowd, the noise, the cameras rolling and the spectators cheering – and then get out on the water, go inside myself and say, “Today I’m going to listen to my inner voice.” Rick has an unbelievable ability to do just that. I wish I had more time to spend with Rick Clunn and learn from him.
Tomorrow: Learn Your Weaknesses and Strengths
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