A tough nut to crack

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 3:04 am

I'd like the Pro Staff to take a look at the following bass activities and put them in the order of importance as you see it starting with the most important. And be prepared to substantiate your choices.
This will be a fun exercise and there is no wrong or right. But we can all learn a lot by the description of how you arrived at your answer.
One other thing, if you see something that is missing in the list that follows, kindly note it in your post and we will ask everyone else to add it to their list.
THE LIST:
* Pre-fishing/ locating bass
* Presentation
* Mental Preparation
* Tackle Tune-ups
* Physical condition/stamina
* Discussion with other anglers
* Latest angling innovations/ new baits, new rigs, new electronics
* Catching bass- from hookset through
netting
* Care of Livewell Bass

Good luck with this. Remember, you can't be wrong! We want your opinions and we all should find benefits in your discussions and the rankings.

JoeMo

d.mcgarry · Post by **d.mcgarry** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 9:04 pm

Joe,
This is a great start your brain thinking topic!!! I will start by giving the"Readers Digest version" of my list
1 Mental Preperation and toughness!!
2 Physical Condition and Stamina
3 Presentation
4 Tackle Tune-ups
5 Execution (Catching Bass from Hooksrt to netting)
6 Pre-Fishing/Locating Bass
7 Care of Bass (this is the most important thing but if you cannot do the first six you will not have any Bass to care for)
8 Latest and Greatest in innovations
9 Discussion with other anglers is important but not if it is on line at a tournament registration or the day before a tournament.

I like to group things into catagories, first we can call variables I can control and second variables I can not control. The first catagorie is the one that most people spend the least amount of time on, many would rather complain or create excuses as to why they are not successful and uncontrlable variables fit the bill. Mental toughness and knowlege of the Bass and the water in general are what it takes to succeed. Having Good tackle ready to go is very important as is execution. we control these variables and should do a good job managing them. Good bassin Dan Bass

britchie · Post by **britchie** » Mon Jun 24, 2002 10:06 pm

Great question. I will submit these categories in order in which I would prepare for a tournament.

1. Discussion with other anglers- you can learn allot from asking local anglers what's going on. This will help when you prefish.
2. Prefishing- you need to find them before you can establish some kind of pattern.
3. Catching bass- there is a technique after you hook up.
4. Care of livewell fish- very important, not only for conservation but to obtain a check too.
5. Tackle tune ups- your tackle needs to be in top working order at all times.
6. Latest innovations- I'm not one to get caught up in all the hype, but there are a few things to keep in mind.
7. Physical condition- Although your health is of the utmost importance to live a long life, it's not that important to catch fish.
A goods night rest before hitting the water is as important.

Like you said Jo, there is no right or wrong order, it's all in personal preference.
Hope this helps everybody out before venturing out for a day on the water.

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Wed Jun 26, 2002 12:41 pm

Thanks Dan & Brian- It is always informative to listen to a well-organized angler run through his checklist of what he has to do to prepare for a successful day on the water.
Many guys just "go fishing".

Hopefully other Pro Staff Members will give their opinions on this. We all can improve our prep skills.

Thanks for taking the time to detail your plan. JoeMo

brendanc · Post by **brendanc** » Thu Jun 27, 2002 5:07 am

Joe,

Great excercise...

MOST IMPORTANT:
Care of Live-well Bass - IF WE WANT TO CONTINUE BASS FISHING, WE HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF THE BASS!

LEAST IMPORTANT -
Latest angling innovations/ new baits, new rigs, new electronics – I don’t get caught up in the fuss, unless there really is a fuss going on (i.e. Senkos)

For the remaining, I took a little bit of a different approach to this one and I broke it down into stages:

Stage one is Preparation prior to a tournament:

#1 Mental Preparation – I am a firm believer in “mind over matter”. I try to keep myself in tune mentally at ALL times. I’ll start this preparation in the off-season (Yes, winter). I keep the majority of my attention focused on the next tournament that is coming up until that tournament has come to pass. Then I shift my attention over to the next one.

#2 Tackle Tune-ups - This one goes hand and hand with Mental Preparation. I like to eliminate any distractions that can occur during a tournament. If my equipment is not up to par, then I’m going to have that one my mind during the tournament and not on the task at hand. Also, equipment failure can be a Pros worst enemy during a tournament.

#3 Pre-fishing / locating bass –
a) Locating bass: This is truly the key to winning tournaments in my mind. If I can’t find them, how can I catch them?
b) Pre-fishing: This starts at the house with map study and reviewing my notes from previous tournaments and fishing trips to a particular body of water. The next step is to pre-fish intelligently. I love hearing guys tell me how they “Knocked em’ dead in practice” or they “Caught 30 bass” … That’s nice, how many of those fish do you think you are going to catch again on tournament day? I try not to stick fish in practice, but you need to know the quality of bass you’ve located. If I am looking to locate school fish, then I use the 2 fish rule, if I catch 2 bass that are of quality size for that lake, I’m gone… If I find isolated cover that looks good and I know there are other fish in the area, I “WILL NOT” cast to that piece of cover until tournament day. (That applies to junk fishing trees, docs, etc.)
c) Discussion with other anglers: I felt that this belongs here. If you have access to a good network of reliable anglers, it can sometimes pay off for you. I will only take advise from a select few people that I have learned to trust over the years.

#4 Presentation – I practice flippin’, pitchin’ & castin’ all year round. You have to be able to present you bait accurately in most of the situations we encounter on the water.

#5 Physical condition/stamina – I fish very aggressively. I make more casts in a day then I could even hope to count. Strength and endurance are important if you are going to fish with high intensity for every last minute during a tournament.

Stage two is during the tournament:

#1 Mental Preparation becomes “Focus & Confidence”: When I get to the lake, everything else going on in my life has been left behind. If I cannot leave these things behind, then I should not be at the lake that day. I keep my mind completely focused on the task at hand and have complete confidence that I WILL win that day. I re-enforce this mindset minute-to-minute and hour-to-hour throughout the tournament. I know that keeping this intense focus throughout a tournament has been a major factor in every tournament I have won.

#2 Presentation – Again, you have to be able to present you bait accurately in most of the situations we encounter on the water. Since a practice my presentation during stage one, I am able to execute the various techniques needed for that day with little to NO warming up.

#3 Catching bass- from hook-set through netting: You don’t get to this part often enough to win tournaments without all of the fore-mentioned things. (Well, I guess some people do, but not me) For this one, I would have to say “each time it’s a new adventure”. When you hook a bass, you never really know what they are going to try to do to get off. Under most circumstances, I try to hit them hard and get them headed towards the boat as quick as possible. If they put up a struggle, I take my time and play them out. If your equipment has been properly taken care of, hooks sharpened, rods and reels in top working order, then you have nothing to worry about. If they get off, then it is important to not get caught up in the frustration and move on to the next cast. If I get upset about losing a fish, a take a minute to gain my composure before I make the next cast. Netting a fish if I am alone is only done if a fish is 3lbs or better.

Stage three is reflection and documentation:

#1 Mental re-enforcement (Win, lose or draw) – What things did I do well in this tournament? What things can I do better next time? How did I measure up to myself? I choose “myself” because as long as I have bettered my own abilities, than I am moving forward and can keep a positive mindset. I’ll never stop trying to outshine myself, but, if I picked someone else to measure up to, then I’d stop once I had surpassed that individual.

#2 Documentation: I try to record as much detail as I can about EVERY tournament and/or day on the water.

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Fri Jun 28, 2002 3:05 am

Wow- Three of you guys have me saying "Why didn't I think of that?"
I realize, too that I should have numbered these items so that you all wouldn't have to re-type everything.
I was going to say I should have studied speedreading, except that I don't think speedreading specifics would work for me.

Keep 'em coming, guys. As Roland would say
"I love it, sonnnnn!"
JoeMo

d.mcgarry · Post by **d.mcgarry** » Sat Jun 29, 2002 8:04 pm

joe, Brendan hit the nail on the head with his catagories. Excellant job I just printed it to keep it in my book!!!!! Good Bassin Dan Bass

mofish · Post by **mofish** » Sun Jun 30, 2002 1:29 pm

Well as I was trying to get the my stuff in order to answer this question along comes Brendan and says it better than I could. Great JOB Brendan. I agree with you. Thanks.

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Mon Jul 01, 2002 4:45 pm

Conley- We will try to have one of these type of exercises a week. As I wrote earlier, I will number the choices in the future so that it will be easier on you fellas to answer without typing out "War and Peace"!

At this point I would like to mention that these posts remain here on file. Just because we discussed something back in May, doesn't mean you can't go back and read it in September (or next May!). This way it is possible to use BassinUSA as your own notebook. And it is only as far as your computer.

Try it; you'll like it! JoeMo