How To Pack For A
Tournament Trip
November 17, 2008
This is what should happen.
This is what could happen.
This is the worst-case scenario .
It’s early November, and Gerald Swindle is sitting on a deer stand in north Alabama. Only he’s not really thinking about whitetails; the 2004 Bass Angler of the Year is mentally packing his truck and boat for the opening event of the 2009 Bassmaster Elite Series on Lake Amistad next March.
“I probably spend more time packing, both mentally and physically, than anyone in professional fishing,” he laughs, “but I have also learned the hard way that you don’t just run out the day you’re leaving and start throwing stuff in your truck.
“To me, the bottom line is to be prepared for whatever circumstances may happen, and that can include a lot of possibilities when you might be on the road for as long as six weeks, as I have been.”
Best Speed, Better Mileage
Swindle’s long thought-out approach to packing contrasts sharply with that of fellow Elite pro Mark Menendez. The Kentucky pro concentrates on paring down every ounce of excess weight possible to make both his tow vehicle and his boat run as efficiently as possible. While Swindle easily carries 500 to 600 pounds of tackle, Menendez (who once carried that much) has reduced his total tournament tackle weight down to around 100 pounds.
“Every 100 pounds of weight equates to about 1/10th of one mile per gallon fuel loss,” he explains, “so with 500 pounds of tackle, I’d be shaving my fuel efficiency by ½ mile per gallon, but because I’m driving 60,000 miles a year, that’s a huge difference in the amount of gasoline I have to buy.
“At the same time,” continues Menendez, “every 100 pounds of weight I carry in the boat takes away one mile per hour of top end speed, and the outboard has to work that much harder, too. The less weight I’m hauling around, the better boat and engine performance I’ll get.”
Organize
Both pros agree the most difficult part of packing and traveling is trying to stay organized once tournament practice and competition begin. Swindle packs his truck from last to first, putting the last items he plans to use (or the least expected to be used) in the truck first. The tackle he expects to use the most will be the last things he packs, so they’ll be the first thing he sees when he opens the door.
“Let’s say I’m going to Florida in March,” says Swindle, “where I know from experience I’ll be flipping soft plastics in a June bug color. They’ll be the last things I put in the truck. But if the weather has been warm, prop baits may be good. I shouldn’t need them, but if I do, I’ll take some, and they’ll be in the back of the truck.
“In short, I look over where we’re going and I study how I’ve done on that lake, as well as what other lures and patterns have been successful, and I’ll make sure I have some of them. Of course, you always have to have some emergency lures, as well as some new ones, too. It adds up, but it’s part of my philosophy of packing for what should happen, what could happen, and then for a worst case scenario.”
Choices
Menendez, on the other hand, tries to concentrate on his own favorite fishing techniques, and cuts both bulk and weight wherever possible. For example, instead of carrying 20 pounds of spinnerbaits in every conceivable color, weight, and blade combination, he packs a minimum of two dozen half-ounce heads with double willowleaf blades, his favorite lure, and then adds a bag of extra skirts in various colors.
While Swindle will have 10 to 15 rods in his boat and another 20 to 25 in his truck, Menendez works hard to find rods with actions suitable for multiple tasks.
“I have chosen five basic actions that I like,” he explains, “and I’ll pack two or three of each. I want a 7’6” heavy flipping stick I can use for jigs, soft plastics, and topwater frogs. Then I want a 7’0” medium/heavy all-around rod for Texas rigs, Carolina rigs, and casting jigs. I’ll have a spinnerbait rod I can also use for lipless crankbaits; a 7’0” cranking rod I will use for all size crankbaits; and a finesse spinning rod.
“I try to keep things as simple as possible, because over the years I really have struggled with organization. After being on the water all day, then having to drive from one location to the next, my boat isn’t very pretty. Most of my lures are just lying in the bottom of the boat, so I’ve learned I really don’t need quite as much tackle as I once thought I did.”
“I used to carry one spinnerbait that I’d caught one bass on years before. I was convinced I needed that lure if I ever found those same conditions again. I had to have dozens of different colors of my favorite plastic worm, and I took every crankbait I owned with me.”
The real conflict about what to take, both pros agree, occurs when the schedule calls for fishing totally different lakes, such as a lowland reservoir in the South, for example, followed immediately by a tournament on Erie or Oneida. The solution, says Swindle, is to pack tackle separately by tournament, putting items for the last event into the truck first.
“My most important tackle box is the one I have assembled for terminal tackle,” adds Menendez, “and it goes everywhere with me. I have everything I need, from 80-pound braid and 2-ounce sinkers to ultra-light drop shots and split shots. It’s probably the heaviest box I ever pack, but it covers everything I need anywhere I go.”
When they’re packing for a tournament on a lake they’ve never been to, both Swindle and Menendez turn to the Internet for information. They’re not looking for anything specific, but rather, for long-term trends.
“When we fished Falcon Reservoir last year, everyone knew the lake would produce big bass, so it was easy to decide I wouldn’t need a lot of 4-inch worms,” says Menendez. “Basically, I eliminated all my light tackle for that trip before I ever saw the lake. Falcon was easy in that regard; packing for most new reservoirs is chancy so you usually tend to pack a lot of extra lures you might not otherwise take.
“My philosophy is basically to pack lures that suit my favorite types of fishing. It eliminates a lot of extra stuff, and so far it hasn’t hurt me, either.”
Comfortable Clothes to Comfort Food
Surprisingly, perhaps, packing clothing for a long tournament trip often poses as many problems as packing rods and lures. For Swindle, it’s a case of being prepared for the worst-case scenario, which he experienced in March, 2005 on North Carolina’s Lake Norman. It snowed the first day of competition, and the temperature climbed only to 37 degrees; Swindle did not have any cold weather clothing with him and after spending a small fortune on long underwear, gloves, wool cap, and other items, he vowed never to get caught like that again.
“Now I keep a special bag of winter clothing in my truck at all times,” he emphasizes. “It’s there if I need it, because now I know that even if it’s 90 degrees in Alabama where I live, it may not be that warm in upstate New York when I get there. Once you spend a day freezing on the water, you learn your lesson.”
Both pros also carry a supply of food – Swindle likes peanut butter and jelly while Menendez prefers roasted almonds and tuna fish. Swindle keeps a large Rubbermaid box in his vehicle just for food, and each tournament morning he prepares three PB&J sandwiches, which he eats at 9, 12 and 3, regardless of how well the bass are biting.
Both also pack along a personal pillow and comforter, which they admit has improved their sleep dramatically. His family physician made the suggestion, says Swindle, and he knows of a number of other tournament pros who do the same. In fact, most regard these items as among the most important things they pack.
“Every pro has his own method of packing,” he concludes, “but I do know everyone takes tournament packing very seriously. We have tool kits, first aid kits, extra trolling motors and engine props, almost anything you can imagine, and it can take a couple of days just to put it all in a vehicle.
“And even with all that, we still end up frantically calling our sponsors asking them to Fed Ex something to us that we think we just can live without.”