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By: Derek "Duke" Jenkel

Anytime Illinois anglers are discussed there is usually a list of names that come up in every conversation, one of the names on that list is Michael Black.  Mike Black lives in Toledo , IL and is easily considered one of the most accomplished anglers from central Illinois .  From the time he competed in his first buddy tournament in the late 80’s to competing in the FLW Tour, Mike has experienced a lot.

His fishing results page is at the least impressive, having competed in the FLW Outdoors BFL circuit since 1998, Mike has finished in the top 4 of the angler of the year points 4 times in the last 10 years.  That fact alone should be enough to identify the type of angler Mike is, but as you’ve guessed it there’s more.  Accompanying the victories are 17 top-ten finishes, a berth into the 2000 BFL All-American and over $56,000.00 worth of winnings.  His most recent accomplishment was winning the angler of the year award for the Illini division of the BFL.

So the question begs, how does an individual accomplish so much in several years of competitive bass fishing?  The answer seems too simple, “ I fish a jig, a ½ oz jig on 20lb Berkley Big Game line on a 7’6” flipping stick”.  At first glance, one would think that is over simplifying the situation, but as Mike explained “I have a lot of confidence in that jig, I know how it is supposed to feel, I know what it feels like when it hits a stump or a big rock, or when something feels a little different”.  His success as jig fisherman comes more in the off-shore arena than you’re standard “go down the bank and flip all the cover type fisherman”.  Mike is a self-described off-shore fisherman; he prefers to hunt out the off-shore sweet spots with his jig, rather than to fight the anglers fishing the bank.  While most would think this is flawed, his track record of success is hard to argue with.  Having stated his strengths as an “off-shore jig fisherman” it takes a little more than finding a point and throwing out your jig to make things happen, it requires an intricate knowledge of the bottom contours and knowing where the cover lies on those contours.  “I spend a lot of time letting my jig tell me what is down there on the bottom”.  It is this persistence that gives him the confidence that his jig can and will catch the quality fish he’s looking for.  When asked what the secret to his success is, he said “Having the confidence in the bait you’re throwing, once you figure out the pattern, where the fish are living and what they are doing, you select key areas and dissect them completely”. 

Although fishing success is often how we measure our fellow fisherman, it seems Mike has a different outlook in this category “My goal is to gain the respect of my fellow fisherman, winning is secondary”.  It is this mentality that manifests itself at weigh-ins where you’ll find Mike shaking the hand of those who did well, regardless how heavy of a bag of fish he carried to the scale. 

In closing, Mike intends to again compete in the Illini division of the BFL, direct two tournament circuits and squeeze in as many Illinois Bass Federation tournaments as he can.