Tournament Approach

There are a lot of folks fishing bass tournaments these days at all different levels.  I started back in the 80s and though I don't fish as many or the big tournaments much these days my approach stays pretty much the same.  When I first started fishing them I would fish for big bass all day long using big bass baits.  Let me tell you it didn't take too many tournaments of only catching one or two fish for me to change that tactic.  When you show up to weigh-in with two 5 pounders and get beat by folks with five fish limits of all 2-3 pounders something has got to change if you are going to win.

So what did I do to change my approach?  I started fishing for a limit first then looking for big bass.  I would find spots on the lake that were holding schoolie bass and hit them fast and hard with crankbaits for my limit.  Then I'd switch to my jigs and worms and move to the locations I'd found some bigger bass.  The first tournament I used this tactic I won my first tournament.  I caught my five fish limit in about 30 minutes and then spent the rest of the day looking for bigger bass.  I was lucky to catch a 4 and a 7 pounder and ended up with a little over 17lbs and Big Bass.  No that isn't a great weigh-in by today's standards but in the 80s that would win a lot of tournament and put you in the money in almost all the others.

Does this approach always work out the way it is planned, well no.  Heck it is fishing and things go bad even on the best day on the water.  I've had days when I'd have to catch 50 schoolie bass to get my 5 keepers and it would take hours.  Then there are the days when you can't get the bigger bass to bite so you don't have a good anchor for your stringer.  So I'm not telling you this is the way to go out and fish your next tournament.  All I'm doing is giving you something to think about before your next tournament.  The way I see it five 1 pound bass are better than showing up at weigh-in with an empty bag.

Until next time, Tight Lines and Take a Kid Fishing.