Bass Tournament Shortcuts
By Roger Lee Brown
“The Bass Coach”
Have you ever noticed whether it be Club Tournaments, Divisional Tournaments
(B.A.S.S. Federation, Anglers Choice, etc.) and even the Pro Tournaments,
usually you will see a hand full of the same anglers consistently "In-The-Money"
most of the time? Then while you're driving home after fishing some of these
tournaments without much success you ask yourself, "What are these anglers doing
so different than me?"
There are many different reasons these anglers consistently "Cash-In" or "Place
in the money". I hope I can help you with some insight on what keeps these
anglers successful when it comes to tournament fishing.
Bass Tournament fishing is a very competitive sport in a multi-billion dollar
industry. More and more anglers every day are joining the ranks of the
Tournament competitors. With all these new competitors joining the established
ones, the competition seems to be getting tougher and tougher, making it harder
to stay on top, or consistently be "In-The-Money".
I have outlined several tactics you can use to give you the edge over a good
portion of the participants. These can stack the cards in your favor when it
comes to tournament preparation.
Understanding Bass
The better that an angler can understand his or her quarry the better or more
successful he or she will be at catching it. The most important factors when
bass fishing is understanding how a bass reacts to changing conditions and how
they use their senses (taste, feel, sight, smell, etc.). There is much to learn
about bass, especially when you have to consider water clarity and depth, water
temperature and oxygen content, vegetation, seasons, daily conditions,
barometric pressure changes, weather fronts, available forage, colors, structure
and there's more!
The first rule of thumb to ALWAYS keep in mind is that bass need three elements
to survive:
FOOD
OXYGEN
COVER
Understanding these elements and relating them to some of the situations or
conditions listed above should help prepare you for the "Pre-Fishing" period of
a tournament. This is the start of putting a "Game-Plan" together.
Familiarize Yourself With the Tournament Waters
This can be done by first obtaining a map of the waters you will be fishing. By
understanding how to read a map and relate it to bass fishing you can just about
"Pre-Fish" any body of water before launching the boat. Just by knowing where
the structures are (channels, drops, humps, shallows, flats, depth, points, etc)
and by understanding how bass relate to the seasons, daily conditions, and water
temperatures, you should be able to eliminate large amounts of water.
Understanding the long list of factors I outlined previously, you should be able
to key on the areas where bass relate.
Another way to get familiarized with the water is to hire guides or charters.
Depending on expenses I would recommend hiring at least two different guides or
charters on any given body of water. That way you can take the best of the two
days to help find areas and patterns. Being a licensed guide as well as a bass
angling instructor, I need to let the truth be known that there are very poor
and very good guides on just about every body of water that holds large-scale
bass tournaments; buyer beware.
Another way to learn the lake is to "fly the water." Go to a nearby municipal or
county airport and find a pilot to fly you over the tournament waters. This
doesn't cost very much (normally), but you'd be amazed of what you can see from
the air that you can't see while sitting on the water.
Color & Bait Patterns
Probably one of the best ways to learn the color and bait patterns of any given
body of water would be to visit as many bait and tackle retailers in the area as
possible. Peruse the shelves to see what baits and colors are the best sellers.
If you visit several of these retailers you should be able to get a very good
idea of what colors and baits to use, based on the average of all these
different places combined.
Watch The Locals
One of the best ways I've found some great Honey Holes in the past is just by
observing the locals. While you are on the water and see a boat sitting in one
spot for a while, just move off in a distance and watch. Remember some of these
locals have fished these waters all their life and are not sitting in areas just
to eat lunch!
In the morning before you hit the water, try to find the local diner where most
of the locals go eat breakfast. Many times I've found some great information
just by eating at the same place at the same time, and by sitting as close as
possible. Many anglers like to brag! Just by sitting and minding my own, you
can't help but over-hear these locals talking between themselves about the
10-pounder they caught off of Truman's Point using a Spook and so on.
Putting A Game Plan Together
Putting a game plan together for a tournament and sticking to it can make or
break most of the anglers in the field. The biggest problem many anglers have is
not sticking to a game plan.
Several years ago, I had the great pleasure and company of Shaw Grisby Jr. and
his Father (Pops) over at my home for dinner. That evening, I asked Shaw's
father (A truly great and knowledgeable man) why he thought most anglers can't
seem to stay consistent in tournaments, to which he replied, "They always leave
the fish!"
To put another way, if you are in an area where there are fish, WHY LEAVE? Give
a spot time. The biggest part of pre-fishing is locating fish right? So don't
just give a spot a few minutes then leave. I've sat on certain spots for a
couple of hours without a bite, then all of a sudden they turn on and I've
caught limits. I just had to wait them out.
When making your game plan, select an area where you won't have to run miles and
miles to secondary spots. Try to keep at least three or four alternate spots
within a few minutes of each other.
As I mentioned before, being a Pro Bass Instructor, I've had several students in
the past who attended my 3-day Bass Fishing School that just wanted to learn how
to "Pre-Fish" a tournament. By teaching them a better understanding of bass
behavior and showing them such things as how to put game plans together,
different techniques and patterns, color selection, what proper equipment to
use, and how to locate bass, these former students are now consistent money
winners.
I hope that this article will help you in all your future tournaments and make
you a more consistent angler.
If you have any questions regarding this article please feel free to Email me
at: rlbrown@capital.net or if you wish to enroll in my
3-day bass fishing school at your home lake or mine, or just wish to charter a
day of bass fishing you can call me at 518-597-4240 or visit my website at
www.capital.net/~rlbrown.
Until next time, take care and God bless you always!
“The Bass Coach” – Roger Lee Brown
