In life, you run across people that ultimately see something in you and kind of take you under their wing. There was one guy back in 2019 that I had no idea who he was at the time, but little did I know he was the guy that would teach me so much more about fishing and tournament fishing than I knew. Obviously, I grew up loving tournament bass fishing, but it was Danny Brinegar who instilled in me how to be competitive in the tournament fishing scene in West Virginia and gave some great guidance on managing and running tournaments.
Now before I dig into this, there was no need for an interview with Danny as I already know so much about his local angling accolades as it seems we already spend at least two or three hours on the phone every week.
Back in 2019, I am going, to be honest, I had no idea about running tournaments nor did I know much of how to truly be competitive around our state. What I did know and what I did really like to do is just fish as much as humanly possible and that was when Danny noticed me. He realized I had a very strong passion for success and ultimately I feel like it is the reason he even spent the time to talk to me and is still the reason he talks to me. While I am going to take a giant step back from tournament fishing (obviously so) I still have other things I want to succeed at moving forward.
So it was then in 2019 he really stepped up and kind of took me under his wing. For the longest time, I always wondered why he decided to take me in when nobody else really would, but that is neither here nor there. We spent a lot of time in the boat during COVID learning springtime fishing and learning his tricks to spawn fishing (and arguably he was one of the best and is one of the best in the state to catch a spawning bass). I would be lying to say he has made a much better angler when the fish get up shallow.
But, also Danny taught me a valuable lesson that I try to pass on to other anglers. Danny taught me how to win and what it takes to win at the highest level on a state level and really on a national level (granted I never won a national tournament). We hear it all the time “it’s all about time on the water” and I use to think that was silly, I always thought that if I had three days to practice before a tournament I could figure out any body of water and do good. Boy was I wrong. What Danny taught me was hard work, that you basically need to spend every moment you have free towards time on the water, and taught me the amount of sacrifice you have to make to succeed. Ultimately, teaching me how to develop my own style with each changing condition and using my money towards fishing and not towards the latest gear or boat accessories.
I get the question a lot, “how do I become a better angler in our state? What am I missing?” My simple answer to that is, is simply time on the water. During a little stint I had in 2021 when I think I was fishing my absolute best “which may not be that good” I was fishing four to five days a week. I had a conversation with a fellow a few weeks ago about, how basically I was spending so much time fishing and spending so much money fishing I was kind of counting on making checks and money in tournaments.
Anyways, I would definitely have to credit a large part of my “somewhat success” in 2021 and this year to Danny. I would even accredit him to some of my success off the water just instilling a hard work ethic in me.
Danny back just a few years ago had the hot hand on tournament fishing around our state before some family health complications which has slowed his fishing down since. Albeit, Danny is still very competitive around the state and I truly feel like one day he will come back around to where he was. Danny was the 2017 Team Angler of the Year on Trail of Dreams tournament series and has won many other larger event wins in our state and surrounding area. I didn’t have time to call before I wrote this, but if you know Danny you know for a few year period he was dominating.
I say all of that to say this, I think Danny and whomever he decides to partner with could be a real threat in the Marshall Trail at making a Team of The Year run and potentially win a few events throughout the season. I think he has been well overdue for a string of good finishes and just talking to him recently I think he is in the right place now to do it. Thank you Danny for always being a mentor for me.
