Jordon And Blaukat Start Tour Packing

It all begins at home. That's where tour pros initiate their staging game and enter a holding pattern until those first weeks of January when they strike out for tour competition. But before that fateful day arrives – before the first official practice begins – pros spend their off-time organizing, packing and preparing for the season ahead.

Two-tour pros probably have it tougher. They fish twice the events, which means they have half as much time to organize themselves in-between. For some, their only day off is spent driving to the next event. Kelly Jordon and Randy Blaukat are both two-tour pros already involved in heavy preparation for the 2005 season.

"It's a process that takes several months," Jordon said. "When you get two or three weeks away from the season, it's the big thing on your mind. You want to make sure you have everything just right. Most fishermen are perfectionists, especially in terms of tackle. A lot of people say luck is where preparation meets opportunity. So you have to do everything in your power to be prepared for every situation that arrives."

Tackle Packing

Perfectionist is an apt term for Blaukat, who takes preparation to an extreme. "I look at the schedules – both FLW and BASS – and look at what lakes I'm going to," he said. "Then I create a tacklebox for each particular tournament. For example, I've been working on Florida boxes for the past 2 weeks. We have four consecutive events there, so I go through and make a separate box for each event.

"I carry backup tackle and things for modifications in case of weather, but most of the time I want to have everything I think will work for a certain tournament. It's a matter of time management during the tournaments. In the past week, I've spent probably three solid days doing nothing but working on my jig boxes."

With the large role jigs play in tour events, Blaukat makes sure he's prepared. "I carry four different full jig boxes in tournaments," he said. "I have finesse, football, flipping and heavy-cover models. I have some that fall horizontally and some that fall vertically. I probably have 200 different styles. Then I have another seven or eight boxes for skirt tying. Then three or four more big boxes full of trailers.

"These different boxes allow me to create a jig on the spot to match conditions in any water we fish. I've always spent more time with this than most pros."

Jordon also carries a full complement of baits to last the season. "You really have to look at the schedule," he said. "That way you kind of have an idea of what'll be going on. We'll be able to come home a few times, but I carry everything I need for the whole year in my SUV. I never want to run out of soft plastics, for example, so I make sure every base is covered.

"I fish only Lake Fork plastics and I have boxes for each type of bait – craws, creatures, worms, lizards – and I'll carry them in my boat. And I'll always carry a scramble package up in front – one or two 10-count packs of each plastic style to cover anything that might come up.

"That may sound like a lot to some guys, but it's not. It's easy to think it would take a whole trailer to carry around that tackle, but as I've heard Tommy Martin say, we don't necessarily carry a lot of colors. I think you can get around the whole country with about five colors of plastics.

"I'll first get my boat set up with boxes for Florida fishing, then make adjustments once practice starts."

Stick Selection

"I treat my rods the same way as my baits," Blaukat said. "I go over each lake in my mind to see every possible scenario, including strange weather variables."

Since rod storage in the boat is limited, he carries others in his truck. "I carry 12 rods in my boat, then another 25 or 30 in a rod-carrying case in my vehicle," he said. "That way I can match up a rod to any condition. I only use two reels – Quantum 860 PTs and Catalyst PTis – and all my rods are Megabass rods.

"I've downsized my rod selections and now I fish a lot of different baits on just a few different rods. For example, I'll throw big cranks on flipping sticks, or a topwater frog on a fiberglass cranking rod. Really, I try to use just four or five different rod styles."

Jordon takes a few less rods and makes sure he has at least one backup for each. "I take probably 30 rods with me on the road," he said. "I can fit about 15 in my boat, then I'll have some spares in the truck. I make sure I have a few backup flipping sticks, a few longer rods for casting and a couple of fiberglass rods too. I carry a couple rods to address every situation in my boat as well.

"I get my Fenwick rod shipment in the fall and I always take the rods out and fish them lightly. I do the same thing with reels. I just want to make sure everything's working perfectly. And I make sure I get bulk spools of line to last the season."

Outerwear Strategies

With all the elements pros face, clothing is crucial. But they need to pack for just about everything – wind, rain, sun, cold and heat. "I carry a ton of clothes," Jordon said. "Sometimes we stay in hotels with washers and dryers, but usually you have to go to a Laundromat. I have a big duffle that's filled with just cold-weather stuff like extra gloves and premium thermal underwear. You need some high-performance, synthetic-fiber stuff. That's very important and if you don't bring it, you'll learn real quick that you should have."

He also said the last two years on tour have been cold, so that means he has to bring even more clothing. "We've fished in the winter for the last couple of years, so I bring everything all the way up to blizzard suits. And I bring Gore-Tex shells for the top and bottom to block wind, plus visor caps, face protection, wool hats – just about everything."

He also packs a spare set of emergency clothes, which he keeps in his boat. "You need dry clothes in case you ever fall out of the boat," he said. "I keep an emergency set in a waterproof bag, which is always in my rod locker."

Blaukat likewise packs clothes for every imaginable condition, but one thing that always stays the same is his footwear. "I don't wear anything but sandals," he said. "I don't take anything else with me. I wear wool socks, then SealSkinz over those, then Tiva sandals." SealSkinz are insulated, waterproof, breathable socks.

"It's sort of funny. We can be fishing in a downpour, but my feet are completely dry. The sandals are light and your ankles are free to move the trolling motor."

Physical Preparation

Both Blaukat and Jordon noted the importance of physical preparation. "I work out, eat right and stay healthy," Jordon said. "But the most important thing to me is staying acclimated to the outdoors. I do a lot of deer hunting in the fall – I'm moving around a lot, scouting outside. Being outside in the elements drains your body of energy. If you're not used to it – if you can't handle the elements – you'll have a tough time once you do get out there.

"Being outside and staying active also keeps you in shape in terms of standing up. If you don't stand up a lot, your back will kill you when you fish. So many co-anglers wind up having to sit down during the tournament. It's not because they have back problems – it's because they're not used to standing up. When you spend time on your feet, you develop those back muscles that help support your spine."

Blaukat works out heavily in preparation, and does some alternative exercises too. "I've been running and lifting and stretching a lot in the off-season," he said. "I used to be involved with competitive martial arts. I watch some of these guys in boats and an experienced guy can tell by someone's posture how good of shape they're in.

"And your conditioning dictates your focus and efficiency. I've been spending five to six days a week lifting and running – trying to get into best shape of my life. I think I'm in best shape of my life. That makes it much easier to take the long days of consecutive tournaments and severe conditions."

He said conditioning is something everybody should think about, not just tour pros. "I think when you get over 30 you have to make a conscious effort to start taking care of yourself more," he said. "You notice it with co-boaters. In rough water or cold weather they get fatigued – their eyes start wandering. I bring a set of dumbbells on the road, and I do stretches and yoga postures every night. I'm proud to say I'm 43 and I can still do a split."

Notable

> Jordon said he keeps careful track of where his "special" baits are in his hardbait boxes. "If you fish a lot, you'll have a couple of baits that just catch more fish than another bait of the same model. When I was guiding every day, I found them pretty quick and I put those away. They have their own little special section and I know where they are. They only come out when money's on the line because it breaks your heart when you crack one or lose it."

> Blaukat is taking a different tack on his travel strategy this season. "My wife Susanne and I are bringing a travel trailer to the tournaments to camp out," he said. "Most hotels in the communities have a tendency to raise their prices 50 percent when we come to town. We figure we can basically pay for our travel trailer after just 2 years on circuit. Plus you have your own stuff, it's quiet and you can cook your own meals."