By Todd Ceisner
BassFan Editor

The conversation was pretty lengthy, but it was to the point and vastly one-sided. It lasted the entire 3 1/2-hour drive from Bainbridge, Ga., to Palatka, Fla.

Paul Elias had just logged a disappointing 92nd-place finish at Lake Seminole and he was on his way to the St. Johns River in northeastern Florida. His game plan for the season opener of the 2014 Bassmaster Elite Series had gone to pot – "I was looking forward to Seminole and hoping to survive St. Johns," he says – and he was left with nothing more than some self-motivation in order to prevent his year from spiraling away from him as has happened in the past.

"I went to the St. Johns and on the way there I gave myself a little pep talk," Elias said. "I said, 'Are you going to be stupid or are you going to turn things around?' It wasn't brief. I was pretty upset with myself. I had gone to Seminole and pre-fished and thought I had a strong pattern figured out, but I couldn't get it going. I had a horrible practice once we got there and it was just a real bad start (to the year).

"Driving all the way to the St. Johns, I told myself I can do better than that and that I needed to get my head right because that's all it is. Ever since then, I felt good about the rest of the season. I felt confident and worked hard."

Whatever happened on that trip across the Georgia-Florida line in early March, Elias has been all the better for it, because over the next four events, starting with the St. Johns, he posted three finishes of 14th or better.

After a hiccup at the non-points BASSFest at Lake Chickamauga, he finished 55th at the stingy Delaware River before notching a 12th-place result at Cayuga Lake, his third 12-cut of the season.

Add it all up and the 63-year-old Mississippi native will head to the Angler of the Year (AOY) Championship later this month sitting in 20th place in the points – his highest standing since 2001 – and is virtually guaranteed a berth in his 16th career Bassmaster Classic.

"It helps a lot," he says when asked what a boost a season like this can be after a few lulls. "With age, you start losing confidence when you're having bad finishes so it always boosts your confidence when you can have a real competitive tournament. I've been fortunate to have three or four this year."

Confidence is Key

Elias is the first to admit consistency has not been his strong suit throughout his career.

For instance, when he set the B.A.S.S. 4-day cumulative weight record at Falcon Lake in 2008, he followed up his win with four straight finishes of 85th or worse. He later notched a 5th at Kentucky Lake before closing the year with three straight finishes in the 70s. Since winning the now-famous Alabama Rig FLW Tour Open at Lake Guntersville in the fall of 2011, he's had as many sub-75th-place finishes (nine) as Top-40 outcomes.

"All these years, I've just never been real consistent," he said," but this year I just seemed to turn it around. I didn't lose near the number of fish that I seem to lose. Execution has been real important this season."

He's also been quick to combat little miscues with a glass half-full approach rather than allowing them to fester into something more.

"In the past, I've been bad about dwelling on things and letting my focus stray in the wrong direction," he said. "I think looking more at the day to day, like, 'Today, I need to go out and get five bites and fish 100 percent and put five in the boat,' then worrying about the next day when it gets here has helpd me.

"When you drain yourself mentally with any negative thoughts, it seems to escalate. I still do it, but I'll catch myself now and tell myself to not dwell on anything negative."

After Seminole, he could've carried that negativity with him to the St. Johns, but he knew he needed to clear his mind if he wanted to get back on track.

"It deflates you to open up with a bad tournament," he said. "My track record in Florida is all over the place so looking back, the St. Johns was a big event for me this year. I was looking at the points after Cayuga and I started thinking what if I beat half of the field at Seminole. Look where I'd be in the standings if I had another 50 or so points. That's what it's all about … consistency."

Sounding Board

Another factor working in Elias' favor has been the close bond he's forged with fellow Elite Series veteran Shaw Grigsby. The two have been roommates on the road for the past several years and he finds that having an outlet to vent to or bounce ideas off of has been critical to his success.

"I can talk straight with Shaw," he said. "We don't BS each other. We lay it all on the line. We don't mess with each other's areas or fish, but we'll talk about patterns and baits and all that. It's a pretty comfortable relationship. We really trust each other."

Having Grigsby to confide in has helped his mental approach to fishing as well.

"Us older guys, sometimes, we've been to some of these lakes so many times that we get it in our minds how we're going to catch them and that's it," he said. "It's been real important for me because I can easily get off in the wrong direction and he might say something that straightens me out.

"For example, I might be concentrating on deep water and come in and be frustrated and he'll say he killed them shallow, which gives me the idea that I don't have to get so down about what I'm doing. Even the slightest thing like not thinking about throwing a topwater and he'll say that he had a few bites on one. It just gives you another look from the outside instead of the way you're looking at it."

Leary about North

Elias has never been a fan of big water. His leariness can be traced back to his victory at the Watkins Glen Invitational at Seneca Lake in upstate New York. Seneca is the largest and deepest of the famed Finger Lakes and is known to turn nasty in a hurry when bad weather moves across central New York.

"Back then, we were all in 18-foot boats," he said. "On the last day, we had some strong south winds and out of more than 200 boats, only 40 or something weighed in fish. The rest of the guys kept their boats on the trailer. I got back, but it took me 2 1/2 hours and ever since then, I've been like, 'That was stupid.'

"I've always been leary about big water. I know how to be careful and handle a boat, but it takes one mistake and you're down."

The fact that the upcoming AOY Championship will be held on the northern end of Lake Michigan (Big and Little Bay de Noc) has Elias thinking he'll likely bypass any sort of long run to some offshore structure to chase chunky smallmouth. Instead, he'll try to find a productive pattern closer to land.

"I just don't feel like the Great Lakes are bass-boat waters," he said. "They can be very dangerous and I think we're fortunate to have not had a catastrophe. I'm going to focus on staying in safe water. I'm going to be there and fish competitively and I'll do my best to find some close fish, but looking at it on a map, if we get a strong south or southeast wind, it could get rough."