By Vance McCullough – AC Insider

Nick Trim, Local Hammer, National Tour Hopeful

A lot of anglers talk about versatility, but the most successful pros have something they can hang their hat on; something they do better than most, especially when conditions favor that approach. Nick Trim knows what he’s good at.

“Two of my four BFL wins have been during the spawn,” said Trim. “I really have the spawn dialed-in, as far as smallmouth go, and both of these tournaments fell during the spawn. Outside the spawn I don’t have as much success, but in both of these tournaments I got to do what I love to do and that’s catch spawning smallmouth.”

‘Both of these tournaments’ would be the recent MLF Bass Fishing League event that Trim won with a weight of over 20 pounds and, earlier in May, the B.A.S.S. Nation Qualifier that he led all 3 days before sealing the victory by a margin of nearly 6 pounds. In addition to their similar timing, both events took place on the upper Mississippi River where the Galesville, Wisconsin angler is a force to be reckoned with, especially in the spring of the year.

But it’s not just the fish that Trim has a mastery over.

An early adopter of technology, Trim has been picking the pockets of fellow competitors by catching hard-to-see spawners for a long time. “I started doing this about 4 years ago, 5 years ago. I was the only one doing it – I know that for a fact – doing it all with my Humminbird Mega 360.” Lately Trim has added Garmin LiveScope to his arsenal. “Since LiveScope came out I’ve been able to really dial it in. Between the 360 and the LiveScope I can tell you when the fish picks up my bait without even feeling it bite.”

Sometimes, one plus one equals more than a simple doubling of values. In Trim’s case, the combination of two types of electronics has improved his game exponentially. “With 360 you can see them in the bed, but with LiveScope you can see how she reacts to your bait, when she bites it. And I can tell how big the fish is. With 360 I could never tell how big the fish was, so I wasn’t as efficient because I had to catch all of them. Now I can pick and choose which fish I’m going to catch with the LiveScope, just like I was looking at them with my eyes.”

While the technology is available to all, not all anglers have taken the time to master it. Trim knows how to get the most from his units and that, he says, has made all the difference.

“I know a lot of guys around here that have it but just don’t know what they’re doing. They maybe think they do, but if they did, I wouldn’t be winning. I think it’s time,” said Trim of his secret ingredient to the winning formula. “I was one of the first to learn it. There will be guys catching on. I’m going to enjoy it as long as I can, but I know guys are coming and they’re gonna be way better at it than I am, but I’ve been doing it consistently for so long. I’ve put in hours and hours and hours on it and did nothing else for four seasons, so I know if fish are on beds, I have perfected the ability to catch them.

“And I also think a lot of guys don’t have dual technology. I wouldn’t be comfortable without one or the other. My 360 and my LiveScope are both key players.”

Trim also knows what he’s not good at.

“I’ve fished against Tristan McCormick, for instance. Tristan is known for LiveScoping. That’s what he does, but me going out in 40 feet of water and doing what he does, I’m no good at it. I’m terrible at it. I proved that at Ouachita, but you put me in 3-to-5 feet of dirty water where you can’t see fish and give me Perspective Mode, I can do it.”

Trim is no stranger to high level competition. He placed in the Top 5 at a MLF Invitational last year on the upper Mississippi. He laughs now about being stuck in a lock with the other four top finishers including Jared Lintner, Steve Lopez, Tom Monsoor and eventual winner Matt Stefan. “We all thought we were going to get locked out and not weigh our fish. We all made it back with about two minutes to spare.”

Trim hopes to continue rubbing shoulders with Tour level pros as he tries to qualify for the Bassmaster Elite series via the Opens EQ. “We’re four derbies in on that one and I think I’m sitting in 78^th. It’s got to be the hardest circuit you could put yourself through. I enjoy the heck out of it. It’s been so much fun but they’re going to start the northern swing here after we get done at Eufaula, toward the end of June, and hopefully I can climb the ladder, but hopefully the B.A.S.S. Nation National Championship goes my way and I don’t have to worry about it.”

As do most anglers, Trim works a regular job when not fishing tournaments and the company he works with is also his title sponsor, River Valley Remodelers. Other sponsors include “Motor Socks. Local company here that makes neoprene covers for your trolling motor, rigging tubes and Power-Poles, stuff like that, keeps everything looking nice and fancy and neat. Blaises Repair, TLC Therapy, T&T Tackle, Power-Pole, Mercury, Pheonix – they’re all a huge part of what I do. The Opens are an expensive venture, and I couldn’t do it without support from any of these.”