Preparing For A Tournament
Decmeber 12, 2008
Have you ever arrived at a lake to practice for a tournament and felt lost, unsure of where to start? Fishing the Women’s Bassmaster Tour (WBT) has taught me that good tournament preparation ahead of time can make a world of difference. Your ultimate success, or failure, may depend on what you do before you arrive at the site.
There have been many times that I have had to prepare for a tournament on a body of water that I had never set eyes on. The 2009 WBT schedule proves to be no exception. Here are my steps to having a successful practice, and more importantly, a successful tournament.
Step One
Order a map of the body of water you will be fishing. I know…with the great electronics that we have today you are asking why I even bother with a paper map. I look at a map as a reference guide. Often times there will be things such as roadbeds or humps that our electronics don’t show. Finding these features on the paper map gives us spots to investigate further once on the water. The paper map will also come in handy when you get to a few of the next steps.
Step Two
Search the Internet. As we all know the Internet provides a wealth of information on just about anything, including fishing. I start out by simply entering in the name of the body of water and seeing what I get. Usually, if it is a Corps of Engineers lake, or a lake managed by a power company, their sites will come up. These sites provide useful information such as the current water level, water temperature, and ramp locations.
Fishing reports are another great way to collect information. Most fishing forums on the Internet have a section for fishing reports. Local anglers love to brag about their recent catches. That information will give you a good idea of what techniques and baits locals are using to catch fish, and what areas of the lake are popular. It also will give you an idea if fishing has been tough.
Search for local tournaments. When I was preparing for the 2008 WBT Championship at Lake Hamilton I discovered by looking at past tournament results for October that the weights were probably going to be pretty low. That let me know that if I got on a pattern, even if it was producing smaller fish, I shouldn’t disregard it.
I also found out by looking back several years that many of the tournaments in October had experienced fog delays. Keeping this in mind during practice I wanted to make sure I didn’t depend solely on an early morning bite, just in case we had a fog delay. And sure enough on the third day of the Championship we had an hour-long fog delay.
Step Three
Call your fishing buddies. If they have never been to the lake, they may know someone that has. This is when you need that paper map with you at all times. You never know when that “friend of a friend” is going to step in to help fill the information gap. It’s funny, I have met more people through a friend of a friend of a friend when I am trying to find fishing information. Then they become my friend. too.
Step Four
Take all the facts and findings from steps one through three and hit the water while keeping a keen eye your electronics. Pre-fishing for a tournament allows you to organize your information and form a plan for a successful tournament day.
Best fishes and successful tournaments to all!