A mysterious world exists out on the lakes and rivers where professional anglers practice their craft. It's a place that can suck success from even the sturdiest of pros. It's a world where victims rarely see clearly identifiable entry and exit portals.

Clark Wendlandt stumbled into that strange realm and only recently found what he hopes was the doorway back to a better place.

Anyone who's fished competitively for bass has experienced bewildering periods when the fish just don't come. Call them slumps. Anglers often don't understand exactly why they went into a slump. But they agree on one point: It takes a whole lot of effort to return to the place they enjoyed before their troubles began.

On the Right Path

Wendlandt weathered one of the more notorious slumps in recent years and now, after finishing 2nd at the FLW's Chevy Open on the Potomac River, can look ahead with confidence he's on the right path once again. His story is one from which all BassFans can draw counsel.

"I went from the seven previous years where I had only two finishes worse than 100th," he said. "Then I started this year with four finishes worse than 100th and followed that with a fifth tournament in 85th place.

"I don't know if that's what you'd call a slump, but I definitely felt like it was a slump."

Wendlandt's return to the world more commonly associated with his name began when he realized that he had inexplicably changed his approach to tournaments.

"It was a two-step process," he said about shaking the slump. Step 1 was recognizing he had changed his game-day strategy. Step 2 was spiritual.

Too Much Scripting

"Part of it was the way I was fishing," Wendlandt said. "I was trying to script the day. I figured out ahead of time where I was going to fish, and then I wasn't listening to what the fish were trying to tell me."

He had pre-programmed spots in his head.

"I'd plan out the day. I'd go to spot A, then spot B and spot C where I got fish in practice and fish those spots during the tournament. When things didn't work out, I didn't adjust properly."

He said success returned after he realized he couldn't script his day.

"I decided to just go fishing. It's a cliché, but true. It's the way I've got to fish tournaments. Greg Hackney and Kevin VanDam make decisions from minute to minute throughout the day. Even if their first five spots don't produce a fish, they've got the confidence because they understand what the fish are telling them.

"The other part of the two-step process, for me, was dealing with the spiritual side. I was working as hard as always and everything at home was the same. But the results just were not there."

He said he got closer to God as the slump wore on.

"He gave me the ability He gave me to fish for a living. In tournament fishing, there's a lot of pressure on us. That's stress, and stress makes us do things in life we normally wouldn't do. I had slipped back into trying to script my day."

He said prayer helped him gain understanding. "It made me realize I had to fish for the moment."

Good From Bad

Wendlandt sees a silver lining in the cloud that hung over his 2005 tournament season.

"I wouldn't trade any of it (the slump experience)," he said. "It made me a better fisherman, going through the slump and then coming to the realization that I had to just go fishing."

And he noted that any angler who has slipped into a slump can gain the confidence to emerge successfully through the same kind of self-analysis. Often, he said, the problem is rooted in trying to think too hard rather than relying on the same instincts that contributed to initial success.

"It's like golf," he said. "If you don't play for a while, you go out without high expectations and then do well. Then you start thinking about your swing and pretty soon you're struggling. It's usually better if you just go out there and relax and fish the moment."

He sees the instinctive side of fishing manifested in the younger pros.

"I've really analyzed this quite a bit," he said. "You'd think the guys who are a little older and have more experience should do better. But the young guys have that blind confidence that 'I can't be beat.' They don't realize how good everybody is. They just know they can't be beat. They don't know any better."

Notable

> Wendlandt is fishing the Northeastern EverStarts this summer.

> About the recent Erie EverStart, where anglers battled big water during the first day of competition, he said: "I just don't believe you should have to go out in 8-foot waves. You don't want to ruin your back for life." Nevertheless, he tossed caution to the wind in deciding to avoid the crowds who sought shelter behind Cleveland's lakefront breakwall. He drove 45 miles to largemouth water, where he caught 10-02 the first day. He eventually finished 36th.