Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

I fish only Wednesday night tourneys currently. These events last 2.5 to 3 hours and challenge you very much. Produce fish and do so quickly as the clock is ticking! My questions is: Given the short time-frame would you power fish or slow down? Last year I won with flukes, frogs, and worms. This year thus far Ive blanked! Given your personal history(s) which would you most likely choose? Power or the slow approach to a quick tournament?

Bassin Butch

Hi Butch,

Usually for me, it would depend on the lake, but 90% of the time, I would be power fishing. The past couple of years I have also been fishing 3 hour Wednesday night tournaments and have done well by power fishing.

You want to find active fish quickly and then slow down and work the area thoroughly. Set time limits for yourself too. If you catch a fish in an area, or on a specific type of cover don't get hung up on that one area, there are always other fish feeding somewhere else. For a 3 hour tournament, I would say 5 minutes max, or go by cast, say 15 casts and if you don't hook another fish, move on.

This is where the question of knowing the lake becomes more important. There are some lakes I fish, where the bite is always slow. These lakes require a slow presentation and I try to keep that in mind while I'm fishing.

Here are a few questions for you to consider (for all I know, you have already gone through these already, but I figure it can't hurt):

How prepared are you for these tournaments?

Are you getting everything ready for the tournament the night of the tournament, or has everything been taken care of the day/night before?

When do you start putting your game plan together?

What has "NOT" been working for you in the prior tournaments?

Are you willing to drop what you have been doing and try something completely different?

The last question is really the one that might turn things around for you. If you have blanked at the previous tournaments, you only stand to improve, so it can't really hurt to get away from what you normally do.

If you've been fishing slowly, fish fast.

If you've been fishing shallow, try deep.

If you've been focused on one type of cover or structure, try something different.

If you have been fishing old "spots" that you are used to catching fish on, leave them behind and try new water.

Just some food for thought Butch, I hope you can find some of it useful...

BC

Brendan: I prepare all equipment at least 3 days prior, and pre-fish prior. I go to web pages to check fishing reports. Mentally I'M always prepared with total confidence. Some may take this as ****yness, its not I beleave that confidence is key to keeping your edge. When I say I blanked its not that I didnt catch fish, it's just the wrong size and was unable to bring them to weigh-in. The group fishes 3 lakes with 18 inche size limits, and every lake receives hard fishing pressure. I won a tourney last year on a highly pressured by using my head, I wacky wormed all the way to the top. The winners in 2003 are fishing soft plastics slowly. Being a power fisherman I must admit hurts me on some of the lakes. But I will slow down if I need to. I think limiting myself to an amout of casts would help as well.

Bassin
Butch

Bassinbutch,
I too fish Weds. night events, we fish 5:30 p.m. to dusk. It does have some pressure involved due to time restraints. I have won several of these mini-tournaments by fishing fast, covering a lot of water with shallow diving crankbaits, usually a Worden's DC 1 or 2 series. Should during the first hour I don't get bit or catch only small fish I go back over the area with a 1/4 ounce black/blue jig with a brown pork #11 pork frog. This has always worked for me. Hope this helps, Johnnie

Butch, its always smart to have a gameplan. For a three hour event, if you know the water, break it down into areas based on productivity or spots that have good cover the fish should be on. It should not take long to figure out where they are. Then , choose the baits you want to use. I would keep my selection small. The wacky rig is a great choice, maybe a spinnerbait or a buzzbait also. Then make milk runs to the pre selected spots.

Butch,

Glad to hear that you take the time to get prepared prior to the tournament... you'd be supprised how many people don't.

I agree with you 100% on the confidence factor... it really gives you the edge in tournaments when you go out there and "know" you are going to do well.

That 18" size limit must be a pain in the butt?

BC