The More You Learn, The Less You Know

[zewski]

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?

[starcraft1]

Frist thing is not to wear any thing that shows your there for a tourmanent. Look like Joe the weekender and walk into the best local bait shop and ask a couple of "I'm not sure about this" questions before you get into the real questions you have. You'll be surprized at all the good info you'll get. Also buy the local topo lake map. Time on the water never hurts either.

Good luck in your tourney's

[Raul]

I´ve been bass fsihing for more than 30 years, I´ve had the luck of having several ponds and a few small lakes near my home town, what´s interesting here is that in practical terms no body of water is equal, one pond has no tule, the pond 50 yards away is choked with it, both are crystal clear, another 100 yards away is muddy and so on, with the lakes the situation is similar, so for many years I could change from one environment to a completely different one even in the same day just by driving a little bit, I know where the fish will be where I´m used to fish.

 

How do I find the fish in a place I´ve never been ? by extrapolation.

 

By observation of the "new" place, the new place will have at least one environment I´m familiar with, in other words: I look for "my" lake/pond in the "new" lake, the "new" becomes "old"

[zewski]

Frist thing is not to wear any thing that shows your there for a tourmanent. Look like Joe the weekender and walk into the best local bait shop and ask a couple of "I'm not sure about this" questions before you get into the real questions you have. You'll be surprized at all the good info you'll get. Also buy the local topo lake map. Time on the water never hurts either.

Good luck in your tourney

 

Good idea! ill try it out, on the water I can't look like a guy who does'nt know what he's doing because like i said I have two talons and the boat is loaded with sponsors and a custom boat wrap. I could fish in dead water and still people would come on the spot thinking that its good because im there with a good looking boat! But i think like you said, there is always something to learn with locals!

[zewski]

 

 

How do I find the fish in a place I´ve never been ? by extrapolation.

 

By observation of the "new" place, the new place will have at least one environment I´m familiar with, in other words: I look for "my" lake/pond in the "new" lake, the "new" becomes "old"

 

Awesome thinking!