Bassin' USA - Bass Fishing Forum Archives

Johnnie,
I have a tourney coming up in a week, and i'am vvveerryy exited. I just wanted to ask you about my tackle. What kind of tackle should i use? Is there any main baits to try? the lake we are fishing is Monzingo Lake in mossouri. I'm riding in the back of the boat so I was just wondering if you have any methods to try while back there for the 8 hour tourney? I just wanted to ask you becuase it seems to me that you fish ALOT!!
(Maybe you have some info for a begginer tourney fisherman.)Sorry for so many questions, Just alot i want to now in so little time...lol.. thanks alot and good luck on the water......

Luke,

Here is a funny article written by one of our ProStaff members from Florida (Hugh Crumpler III). There are some general rules of etiquette and tips in the article that should be observed when fishing as a non-boater. Especially the ones that pertain to respecting the boat you are fishing from.
http://www.bassinusa.com/busa/articles/ ... lf_pro.asp

Try to learn as much as you can from your boater. Ask him some questions before take-off in the morning related to what type of water will you be fishing. (i.e. deep, shallow, heavy cover, rock, weeds, etc.) This will give you some time to set up a few rods prior take-off. You can also ask if he practiced for this tournament and if so, what was working. If he is not sharing information with you, then take a good look at the rods and tackle that he has put out on the deck of the boat. He has certain lures tied on for a reason. Take a look at the colors that he is using... if most of his selection is all white & Chartreuse, it may be a good idea to have something that color tied on also.

On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, just because the guy owns a bass boat, it does not mean that he is a good bass fisherman.

Do you have a favorite or confidence lure that seems to always work best for you? If so, make sure you keep that bait tied on one of your rods. If you are not catching fish, pick up your confidence bait and just focus on fishing it the way you would if you were out fun fishing.

One last tip... A big part of your success will depend on your boater's ability to put you both on active fish, so relax. The pressure should be on him, not you. Remember, you can always blame a bad day on him when you are the non-boater!

Good Luck with your first tournament...

BC

Luke,
with the limited amount of tackle a non-boater can carry here are my suggestions. 1/4 & 3/8th ounce spinnerbaits with tandem gold blades-tandem silver blades, and white/chartreuse/blue skirts and salt and pepper colors. It's rare a boater will select an area that can't be fished with spinnerbaits. Better include a couple of white-silver bladed buzzbaits as well.
Shallow diving, -0- to 3ft., medium diving-5 to 8 feet and deep diving- 10-15 feet crankbaits in Firetiger, chrome, Texas shad and green & brown crawfish colors.
Plastic worms, sinkers from 1/4 ounce to a full ounce- bass hooks-3/0-4/0. Worm colors, black-black/blue-watermelon seed, pumpkin seed and purple.
1/4 to 1/2 ounce bass jigs-colors-black-black/blue/brown/chartreuse. #1 & #11 Pork frogs-black-black/blue and brown. Salt craw trailers in black-black/blue
1/2 ounce Rat-L-Traps in shad, bleeding red or hot chartreuse.
A couple of topwater poppers-light colors-Zara Spook-light color.
Smithwick Rouge suspending minnow baits, clown color-yellow/red face. Shad scale.
A must for Missouri lakes, Storm Wiggle Warts in Spring crawfish (green/orange belly-Shad or gray, maybe even brown (fall crawfish).
This should carry you through, be sure and note everything your boater does if he or she is catching fish. Pay attention to speed of retrieve, lure color, type lure, try to match what's working, if nothing is working for the boater do everything as different as possible. Hope this helps, have fun, there are no losers in bass tournaments!!