Whether those numbers are coordinates of an underwater tree that is a proven honey hole, or the number of different baits brought along, statistics play a critical role.

For a tournament angler, however, numbers become even more important. An extra day on the water could mean figuring out what color pattern works a little better, down to an extra cast, which may result in a bite from a tournament-winning fish.

for brandon palaniuk, the 2017 bassmaster aoy champion, the year breaks down like this:it started with 239 days on the water.
with an average tournament day of 8 hours, that equated to 1912 hours of fishing.
averaging 60mph, he covered 12,300 miles of lakes and rivers.
that left brandon with 102,420 minutes with a rod in hand.
averaging 4 casts per minute, thats just shy of 410,000 chances for a bite.
last year those chances turned into tournament bags that totalled 580 pounds and 4 ounces.
in 2017, that all equated to 6 top twelves and 1 elite series wins.
and 1 aoy championship.