I'm now into my second year of tournaments for bass fishing, last year at this period I had 2 rods, no boat , no experience, no knowledge. Now I have 11 rods (not enough yet) , a 19 foot nitro with a 150, 112lbs minn kota trolling, twin 10' Talons and good humminbird electronics, i have quite a bit of knowledge because i study so much, but i still have no experience. After studying so much, watching videos, reading books, reading bassressources and talking to other tournaments anglers... I feel that the more I learn, the more I realize that I dont know anything. Last week I was in a tournament on a lake I did'nt know much, i caught 50 fish in the day in the same area while other boats around us had trouble landing 2-3 fish. I tought we had a pretty good day according to the conditions that were very tough, i was confident walking to the weigh-in, but after talking to some of the guys that lived near this lake and fished this tournament I realized that most of the fish were still spawning in the other side of the lake where the water is way clearer than this part I fished with mudd water. I was so mad at myself, i felt like i had not dialed in at all afterall. But then i tought, these guys know the lake, they caught 5 good ones, i caught 50 small ones (2,8 to 3 lbs). that day I learned that even if you know alot about bass fishing, you need to talk to the locals BEFORE pre fishing a tournament. On such big lakes, there can be alot hapenning at the same time, we ranked 16th, i was targeting the top 5.
I think that knowledge and knowing a lake goes hand to hand together. Knowledge will help you catch fish anywhere while knowing the lake will help you catch those 2-3 big fish you need to stand out.
How do you guys approach fishing a lake you never fished?
