WE LIKE TO paste labels on just about everything. Something is either in or out, trending or not.
Bass fishermen, it seems, are especially fond of their school names and not necessarily those filled with shad. To further complicate the situation, tone matters. Call something or someone old school or new school, use the wrong inflection and suddenly a casual launch-ramp conversation feels like a tense moment at the Long Branch Saloon circa 1875. In other words, “You’d better smile when you say that, pilgrim.”
Obviously, there are pluses and minuses to both schools of thought. The trick, of course, is knowing what to keep, what to leave behind and when to do it. Someone who has successfully ridden the eternal rollercoaster of this old school/new school dilemma is 2020 Bassmaster Angler of the Year Clark Wendlandt.
Although he readily admits to being old school in many ways, it comes with a caveat. After nearly three decades of negotiating the highest levels of tournament competition, and
