1St Tournament Help

[bassboy107]

Hey guys, I'm 15 years old and i'm going to be fishing in my first junior tournament this weekend. I have honestly never fished off a boat (other than a small canoe with a trolling motor). On the boat there is going to be another angler and the boat captain/ owner (since boat use is donated by parents or club members) I was wondering if there is any thing or any one bit of advice that I should know. Thanks in advance!

-Jack

[Catt]

Go to central bass fishing section, thread on learning Sam Rayburn, look up members hunterfishes & henrylewis.

They are boys your age in their first year on the tournament trail.

[hunterfishes]

Hi  Bassboy107  This is Hunterfishes dad  Hunter is 13 and is fishing a youth series and High school region here in East Texas I saw Catt told you about us.  So what would you like to know we'll help all we can.

[bassboy107]

Hi  Bassboy107  This is Hunterfishes dad  Hunter is 13 and is fishing a youth series and High school region here in East Texas I saw Catt told you about us.  So what would you like to know we'll help all we can.

Hi, So basically what i really want to know is, how should I prepare for the tournament? I did a little research on the lake in a book and on Fishidy. I also located some points and other possible places to fish. Is there anything else that I should do to prepare? Thanks!

[hunterfishes]

Well sounds like your on the right track   the first thing to do is to study the maps and become familiar with the lake. Also check with the locals or  internet sites that have information or fishing reports on the lake. We don't necessarily want someone to tell us an exxact spot. what we look to learn is  depth the fish are in  and  colors they are biting.  From this you can learn what stage  the fish are in (prespawn, post spawn ect.)  also if tournaments have been held on the lake what  weight is it taking to win (gives you an idea what size to fish for) .   once we get on the water we use the map study and dpeth to locate areas on the water that fit what were looking for.   We start with  moving baits (these will differ depending on water temp)  lipless crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerk baits  any bait you can cover water with.  Once we get bit  we will slow down and work those areas with shakey heads, senkos or carolina rigs  and jigs.   From you location  I assume you will be  fishing for smallmouth bass and  probably prespawn or spawning fish. 

tube baits are great for spawning smallmouth as well as drop shot and finess woms. 

 

The best  advise I can give is Practice, Practice, Practice  with your equipment and on the water too, dont be afraid to  just go fishing to learn you will be surprised when you just go to have fun how well you do.

[TxGator]

Good luck, Im the boat capt for Henry BTW. As they said practice all you can. Get out in the yard and cast a lot trying to hit a pie pan or some target. Being able to control your casts will help tremendously. Stand on something about a foot taller than your surroundings if possible to simulate being on the elevated deck of the boat. You dont want to waste time having to get your baits out of the bushes and scare off the fish in the area while your doing it.

 

Also, as they said, do your homework. Try finding the lures that others are having success with and stick with them once your out in the field. Its easy to spend a ton of time trying this and that when you were on the right track at the begining. Again this is wasted time. Have confidence in your lure.

 

One other thing that we always did was to discuss the day afterwards. What went right and what went wrong. Then we could focus on improving the areas that needed improving.

 

Good luck. Ohh and one other thing. Donut Sticks, very important. You can grab a bite when your moving between spots.

 

 

G