Jim grew up fishing with his family on Minnesota lakes. When he was a teenager, he joined a bass (鲈鱼) -fishing club." The first year I was in the club, I won the state competition," he says. That success drove him to dream of fishing for a living.
After college, Jim worked for a book-publishing (出版)company. But all the while, he was practicing his fishing skills. In 1995, Jim became a professional angler (钓鱼者), competing in tournaments(锦标赛) for a living.
Each tournament begins with searching. For three days; contestants (选手)-search the lake or river for good places to fish. Jim goes out at sunrise. He tries to figure out where the fish are hanging out. There are some clues. For example, on sunny days, bass often hide in shadows made by weeds, rocks, or boat docks. In the spring, bass lay eggs in shallow water.
After searching is over, the four-day tournament starts. Contestants fish for eight to nine hours each day. While Jim is fishing, he also tries to figure out the best way to catch those fish. Every afternoon, each angler weighs the five biggest bass he or she caught that day. Then all the fish are returned to the lake. At the end of the tournament the winner is the one whose 20 fish weighed the most. A smaller prize is awarded(奖赏) to the contestant who caught the single(单个的)heaviest fish.
In 18 years of professional fishing, Jim has won 3 major tournaments and 21 top-10 finishes. "When you have a goal or a dream in mind, go for it," Jim says, "That's what I did. But it isn't going to fall into your lap. You have to put a lot of effort into it."
