Bass Tournement Anglers

[Unicam]

Are there any tourney anglers here that would care to give some advice on Tournement Fishing? I bought good electronics, have ggood fishing gear, carry 8 rods all rigged differently, Have excellent charts and maps for wherever I fish, boat and trailer in good state of repair. What should I expect fishing tourneys from other anglers and such? Been a Bass Fishing addict most of my life and have always wanted to this and finally have my opportunity.

 

[jfarm65]

Don't worry about what everyone else is doing, concentrate on finding your own fish because its hard to catch fish that someone else is on, experience is key so fish as many as you can.

 

[All-Around-Hunter]

I know the saying is pretty generic for any outdoor sport but tournament fishing is a lot of luck most of the time haha. It seems just like deer hunting to me, you just gotta be there at the right time. Doing your homework and studying their patterns and the weather can hep you a lot but still. Prolly the best tip i have for you is that its not about how much your equipment costs or how new it is. Its about putting that time in to know what the fish are probably doing and like i said its still a little bit of luck cause one little change in the weather can change everything. Just dont be afraid to try new tactics and rigs. I know its not very new but i started fishing shaky head last year after fishing only texas for the longest and i put so many more fish in the boat on those days they are finicky. Just dont give up man cause it sure is fun. you might not win sometimes but just enjoy the fishing and do your best

 

[SilverFox]

sent you a pm

 

[pressfit]

Fish your home water.. go to a new lake and the locals will hand you your rear end at weigh in..
During a tournament things will happen that normally dont..
when you get hung up.. its 10 times worse in a tournament..
most everything you own is going to fail.. your battery, your starter,your cell phone will fall in the drink.. the biggest fish IS going to get away.. normal sized fish.. 2-4 pounds.. the ones that you can usually lead around like a puppy.. they will spit the hook.. I tournament fished for 5-6 years.. I enjoyed it but after a while it became a grind and wasnt fun anymore.. good luck!

 

[Unicam]

Thanks for the information all. I have fished a few small tourneys in the past, and enjoyed it. I plan on joining a couple clubs and just fishing some local lakes first. I spend alot of time flipping a worm or a jig and seldom pay attention to the hype..the new Alabama Rig has me interested though I will admit, but they are pricey...... I have fished all my tournements from the back of the boat thus far, though as I said not many of those.

I do believe quality durable equipment and electronics can make a difference, but lake knowledge and putting time on the water are the biggest factors for success in my mind.

 

[kdxdude]

Lot of good advice so far. You get out of it what you put in. It is an awesome feeling knowing you have fished 3 to 4 times within a week of your tournament & you are on fish. Stay after em & know where they are & what they are doing & the only way to do that is to fish quite a bit before your tournament. Nothing like knowin where they are & get there & get your limit in an hour or so, those are the days ya dream of. There will be days when it seems you can do nothing right too. hard to keep good concentration when you're in an 8 hr tournament & haven't even had a bite in the first 6 hrs, it happens.

 

[chunkandwind]

Fish the water you will be competing on as much
as possible. Have 50 different spots. Someone will
always beat you to one of your holes.

 

[AlabamaSwamper]

Tournament fishing is more of a mental game than a physical game. You have to be mentally ready for everything.

Me and my partner have won 9 of the last 12 we've fished on 5 different lakes in two different states and I wouldn't say we are "above average" fishermen. We live by simple rules and it's paid off.

1: Get a limit as quick as you can. Our goal is a limit by the end of the 2nd hour. Sometimes it comes in 20 minutes, sometimes it takes until lunch. Get it quick then go kicker hunting.

2: Once the water warms and 99% of the guys play with top water early, forget top water. You lose more fish than you catch. Yeah yeah, I know, it's fun and exciting and yes we've all caught some huge fish on the stuff but.......... if you are trying to win money, I wouldn't mess with it. We don't and it's paid off. Anywhere I can throw top water we can normally throw crankbaits and the hook up rate is much higher and so is the catch rate. We've experimented way to many times with one throwing top water and the other not.

Perfect example was last June on Pickwick. We put 20+ in the boat by 8am on crankbaits. Had the starter not quit on us costing us the ability to go anywhere (GRRRRR), we would have won that tournament by 8am as 19lb won it. All the other guys struck out on top water for whatever reason but on topwater holes, we smoked fish on 3-6' Lucky Craft and H2O cranks. Happened on Wilson also. We tried topwater and nothing. We switched to crankbaits early and a blew everyone away.

3: Learn to fish off shore as that is where the big girls roam 90% of the year but you probably already know this one. Most of our early morning stuff isn't even within 200 yards of a bank.

4: There is always fish shallow. We won a tournament on Wheeler year before last in 2-4ft in the middle of July. Everyone else stayed on those ledges but the day before we struck out and did nothing but fish water you normally wouldn't look at in June-Sept over here. We caught a bunch of fish and not many good fish but the few we did catch was enough.


5: Don't over do anything including thinking. Gut feelings are normally the way to go. If you've caught fish there before that time of year, they are probably there that day also. If your gut says leave then leave. If it says stay then stay. Keep your bait selection simple or you'll spend all day throwing crap you don't need to. 8 rods is plenty.


I learned a long time ago that it's not the days when everyone catches fish and you win that is great, it's those days in July, August, September when 10-12lb wins that is the best. When fish are biting from one end of the lake to the other anybody can win throwing cardboard. It's when those bites are 1 hour apart and nobody is catching anything and you turn it up and find a few fish and win, now that is awesome.

 

[Unicam]

Thanks again All, I knew there would be a ton of good info!!