The “Grind” of a Champion
By Brandon Overstreet
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In the sport of fishing we hear people talk about “grinding”. But what does that mean? How does an angler really put in the grind? In 8 years of tournament kayak fishing I seeked the answer to this simple term. I will tell you how I came to learn what it really meant to grind.
I started tournament fishing out of a kayak 8 years ago. I remember going to my first tournament just wanting a fun, leisure day of fishing. It did not matter to me if I did well at all. I started out my day on the James River in Buchanan, Virginia with a quick small limit. So I took the rest of the day off, just floating and enjoying the scenery. At the end of the day I ended up in 3rd place. This was great for my first time, but it always haunted me, that what if I actually tried. From that day on I started trying harder.
Then 3 years ago, I decided to fish the whole schedule and to actually put in a full season’s effort. The first year I just tried to get through the season. I had my ups and downs and ended up 7th in the year end points. That off season I heard a podcast about a guy who won the Championship that year and he mentioned “grind”. I thought to myself that maybe that’s what I needed. So I set out with a goal of getting a limit of 5 bass in each tournament the coming year. I was blessed to accomplish that and finished 4th in the points for the year. But I still felt I was missing “the grind”.
Going into the 2020 season I knew I needed to find “the grind”. I started listening to podcasts, reading articles, and asking pros questions. I spoke with my wife and let her know the amount of time it would take away from our family. She agreed to it, knowing it was my dream. I had all my plans set in place and knew exactly what I needed to do. I was going to grind to a Championship.
The 2020 schedule was released months prior to the start and even delayed due to Covid. I immediately started researching all the waters we were fishing. I watched countless YouTube videos, articles on past tournaments, VDWR Data, and several different aerial maps. I went to work on my kayak, adding a trolling motor and new fish finder. I bought new rods and reels and new tackle. I was fully invested to start grinding.
Our season started out on Leesville lake. I met a new kayak angler at the ramp that morning named Jonathan Graham. Jonathan was a bass boat fisherman but wanted to try his hand at kayak fishing. At the end of the day I finished 1st and Jonathan was 2nd.
The next tournament was a smallmouth only, month long tournament. I was unable to fish the first 5 days but had heard from friends that Jonathan was fishing hard everyday. I knew at this moment that he had “the grind” and I was going to have to match that. I hit the water everyday from that point. After work, weekends, and I burnt everyday of PTO I had. Jonathan would end up winning and I was tied for 5th.
Through out the season we went back and forth for the points lead. It has a heavyweight fight, matching each other blow for blow. In our series we have a unique format. The top 3 anglers going into the final Championship tournament fish off for the Angler Of the Year Championship. Me and Jonathan had such a commanding lead going into the last tournament before the Championship that it didn’t matter how we fished.
The last tournament of the season before the Championship, a guy named James Stanley would show us that he had “the grind” as well. Coming from a couple spots back, he earned the final third spot for the fish off. James is a good friend of mine, so I was really excited for him. I could not of picked 2 better guys to go head to head against for a Championship.
The Championship was held on Smith Mountain Lake, which is basically all of our home water. I live the closest being about 5 minutes up the road. I started prefishing for the Championship 2 months in advance. With only a month until the Championship, I fished it every day. I knew if I wanted to win, I needed to grind 10x harder than those guys.
It come down to the Championship. That morning I got to my spot and said my pre tournament prayers waiting for first cast. At first cast I immediately started catching fish. I had a limit in about 30 minutes. Then I landed 2 really good fish back to back. It was magical and emotional. The over 150 days of fishing in 2020 had paid off. 2 hours into the tournament I knew I had it locked up with the limit I had.
I took my foot off the pedal. I went to the marina and got me an early lunch and relaxed. I decided to go back out and check on everyone for the last 2 hours. I was coming out of the marina and met my really good friend Chris Johnston. He said, man I just talked to James Stanley and he had a really big bag. I knew I had 1 small fish and immediately went into panic mode. I scrambled to an offshore rock pile. I was able to upgrade my smallest fish by 1.75 inches. I was still worried after hearing about James.
Back at weigh-in I am met by my family and friends, and fellow anglers I look up to dearly. I was repeatedly asked over and over if I think I had done it. Did I “grind enough? The results are read and that 1.75 inch upgrade is exactly what I was able to beat James Stanley by. I knew at that moment Chris Johnston was that one last piece I was missing of “the grind”.
As you sit here reading this looking for “the grind”, look at the over 150 days on the water, countless hours of research, every day on the car ride home listening to motivational speeches, casting until the last minute, investment in your fishing equipment, and most of all friends and family. That is “the grind!”
I want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, my beautiful wife and 3 children, Journey Outdoors for the support and love, my friends and family, my competitors, and Chris Johnston for keeping me grinding.