By John Johnson
BassFan Senior Editor
Now in his ninth professional season, Fletcher Shryock was on perhaps the best roll of his career when the 2020 campaign was halted last month by the coronavirus pandemic. He's trying to avoid thinking about that – along with anything else that's occurred in the past or what might lie ahead for him.
"I'm just staying focused on the present and the day that's ahead of me, which seems to work best for me whether we're talking about tournament fishing or everyday life," he said. "If I do that, then a lot of worries go out the window and I have a clearer head.
"If you get too worried about the future right now, it'll drive you crazy. You can watch the news for hours and try to figure what the hell's going on. I'm staying away from all that and fishing just about every day."
An Ohio native now residing in Grant, Ala., he has a lot of options for wetting a line. In addition to Lake Guntersville (Grant sits just above Honeycomb Creek), he's also made recent visits to Wheeler, Nickajack, Neely Henry and Smith.
"Living in Ohio, I didn't have that opportunity, so it wasn't a priority," said Shryock, who lived out of an RV for his first 14 months in Alabama before purchasing a house last year. "As long as I'm fishing as a pro angler, this is where I'm going to live."
Lots of Trips to the Bank
Somewhat quietly, Shryock has been one of the most consistent performers on the Bass Pro Tour since it launched last year. In 11 regular-season events, he's finished outside the money (41st place or lower) on just two occasions. That's as many cuts as Jacob Wheeler has made and just one behind circuit leader Jeff Sprague, who has 10.
He's ended up 21st or better in five out of the past six derbies and is 4th in the Angler of the Year race.
He believes his recent ascension would've occurred regardless of the organizational banner he was competing under – with a solid sponsorship portfolio, he fishes with a different mental outlook and feels far less pressure than he did during his first few years on the Bassmaster Elite Series. Nonetheless, he said that always knowing where he stands among the field (courtesy of the ScoreTracker that's utilized in all Major League Fishing events) is a big aid to his decision-making.
"When I fished B.A.S.S., I'd go out with a game plan and if I wasn't doing well on my first stretch in the morning, my mind would be telling me that KVD and a bunch of other guys already have 20 pounds," he said. "I was always thinking I was getting my (butt) kicked.
"Say you have a bad first period in MLF, you can look at the ScoreTracker and see that you might only be 2 pounds below the cut, so you realize it's manageable and you consider your options. Do you pack up your bags and change everything or stay with your strengths and just grind it out. At the end of the day, knowing the pace keeps me from spinning out."
Not Much for Finesse
Shryock estimated that well over 90 percent of the fish he's caught in competition since the start of 2019 have come on a flipping stick with braided line spooled on the reel.
"There were a lot of times with B.A.S.S. when I'd start out that way and then end up saying, 'This ain't the deal' and that I needed to go do this or do that," he said. "Knowing the score allows me to manage my day so much better.
"The updates are still stressful and there's times when I don't want to hear them, but (the boat official) chimes them out anyway. It's not really about who's catching them, but what the pace of the day is for everybody. If I'm falling behind, I can juggle things based on that."
Notable
> Shryock said he's in the process of developing a lot of content (primarily tip-related) for broadcast on his social media platforms. "It's so important for both me and my sponsors at a time like this because we're not going to be doing MLF Live for a while. I feel like I let that slip a lot when my focus was all on tournaments, but I'm going to keep it as a priority moving forward."
