By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor


David Mullins hasn’t held a fishing rod since September and he says it’s unlikely that he’ll pick another one up before February.

“There’s too much duck hunting and deer hunting going on around here for that,” he said with a chuckle, referring to the plentiful opportunities to be afield in eastern Tennessee.

Rather than get caught up or consume himself in examining all the zigs and zags and ups and downs of his rookie season with the Bassmaster Elite Series, Mullins has basically elected to unplug altogether from fishing for the offseason. His easy-going demeanor almost demands it. For now, he’s content hunting and serving as an assistant coach for the Daniel Boone High School boys’ basketball team.

Not that his initial go-around at the Elite Series was anything to be ashamed of. The former school teacher rebounded from a tough first event (102nd at Lake Seminole) to notch four straight money finishes and work his way up the points standings. His bid for a Bassmaster Classic berth slipped away down the stretch, though, with a 96th at the Delaware River and a 51st-place finish at Cayuga Lake. He wound up 61st in points, a respectable result for someone who hadn’t previously been to seven of the eight venues on the schedule.

“I let a lot of stuff go and don’t get too frustrated,” he said. “Even at the Seminole season opener, which was horrible for me, I can’t pinpoint what I did wrong, but I’d already forgotten about it by time we got to the St. Johns River (the following week). I probably should be more stressed than others because of the financial aspect, but I look at it like basketball – you can’t dwell on it. You just try to learn from your mistakes and move on.”

Delaware Downer

Mullins was among the majority of Elite Series anglers who hadn’t seen or fished the Delaware River prior to the tournament there last August. He'd fished the James River before so he had some familiarity with tidal waters, but even that couldn't prepare him for the massive tide swings seen near Philadelphia. When he arrived, he was 44th in points, well within striking distance of a Classic berth. Finishing 96th saw him tumble 22 spots to 66th.

“It was one of those tournaments where there weren’t enough fish and you didn’t know if you were doing the right or wrong things,” he said. “I learned a lot from that tournament. That particular system is such a timing deal. Those massive tidal swings are different. I didn’t quite understand how critical timing was going to be. It seemed like you had a 15- to 20-minute window to catch them.”

Case in point: On day 1, he said he fished around a barge for about an hour, but had no bites. The following day, he went to the same barge and watch eventual winner Mike Iaconelli catch seven bass off of it.

“The only difference was I hit it 45 minutes earlier on day 1 than he did on day 2,” Mullins said. “I didn’t know how critical that was going to be. You had to perfect on each place there.”

Despite finishing one spot out of the money at Cayuga Lake, he isn’t lamenting any missed opportunities.

“I had a ball up there,” he said. “In practice, I was starting to think I could win. I’d caught a bunch of fish and after talking to Jason Christie, we had figured out a way to catch bigger ones, but it didn’t pan out in the tournament. I didn’t lose any so I can’t complain.”

Show Up And Fish

Mullins’ straight-forward and simple approach is refreshing in an age of tournament bass fishing where Internet research and advanced scouting trips help anglers get a sense of how a lake or reservoir will set up come tournament time.

Mullins says he invests little to no time in lake research, preferring to pick apart the current conditions upon his arrival instead.

“I don’t ever do the pre-looking stuff,” he said. “When I show up, I’m probably a little behind because people know people in certain areas and stuff like that. For me, I like going to figure it out.”

In the future, though, he says he might start doing some homework ahead of time.

“I probably should, but I’m the kind of person that just goes in blank and gives it my best and lets the chips fall where they may,” he said. “I usually don’t like to set goals to do this or that because if you don’t reach it it can get you down.”

For next year, he’s going to focus on being more efficient during practice.

“I need to break down water a little bit quicker,” he said. “I need to not get hung up in practice in areas for too long. I need to fish on feel more and fish quicker and cover more water in practice so I can dialed in quicker.”