Ish Monroe had a down year in 2014 failing to make the championships in either the FLW Tour or Bassmaster Elite Series. Prior to the 2014 season, and the start of the 2015 bass fishing tournament season, Monroe was known for his Ish's Poppin' Phattie frog, his ability to cash checks and win tour-level events from time-to-time and much more. Of course, he is now slightly infamous for his attempts at grappling in a boat and taking a dive into the water with another competitor earlier this year.
Ah well, fortunately his tenure in sports entertainment was brief and the Cocoon Eyewear pro is currently back to the form of previous years having cashed checks in the first three events of the 2015 pro season. What has changed from 2014 to now? Focus and fun.
Monroe's performance is all about enjoying his time on the water.
"I decided to lighten up and have fun again this year," said Monroe. "I've eliminated a lot of the *** I was dealing with last year. I allowed too much external stuff to interfere with
my fishing. If it doesn't pertain to my fishing, it doesn't matter when I'm on the water.
"That is one of the reasons I feel I'm fishing well again. I've been in a position to make a run at the final day of each event I've fished so far. I've had the bites, but just haven't executed perfectly. Regardless of executing perfectly, I go out every day happy and have fun because I get to fish for a living."
Focusing on the moment keeps Ish dialed in to successful tournament fishing.
"My focus is definitely the other component to me having some success again so far this year," said Monroe. "By eliminating external noise, my focus is where it needs to be again.
"I've been using the 'Andy Morgan' approach. I just fish what is in front of me. I go ahead and fish. I don't have preconceived notions. I take my time and fish. If I feel it, then I fish it. Pretty simple."
by Dave Landahl
Photo courtesy of FLW Fishing
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