Everyone has fished a tournament thinking the bite was tough; only to see anglers weighing in quality sacks of bass at the scales.  The feeling is unbelievably draining on your confidence.  After a tough tournament you ask yourself, “How do they catch quality sacks of bass like that?”  The secret is PRACTICE, PREPARING, and PRE-FISHING.  Anglers don’t become champions after the weigh-in; they are merely recognized there. 

            Practicing is one of the most important ingredients for success in any sport.  Athletes work feverishly during the off-season tuning their skills to be the best they can be.  Tournament bass anglers should have the same work ethic.  During winter months in Michigan it’s important to practice casting mechanics.  The most important cast to practice and master is the flip and pitch.  It is important to become proficient at flipping and pitching to effectively fish shallow cover, or beds in the spring.  You can’t afford to be rusty when you’re flipping or pitching your lure to a bass on a bed.  One bad cast and the bass will spook and become hard to catch.

            Seven years ago I learned an effective way to practice flipping and pitching from one of the best jig fisherman in the mid-west.  My partner Rich Charleston bought Mark Zona’s 21 ft Stratos Extreme from West Lake Marine.  After having his trolling motor ripped off by an 8 ft wave during the 2001 NBAA Classic at Lake Charlevoix Rich had to get it fixed.  I rode with Rich to Rome City, Indiana to drop off his boat to be serviced.  When we walked into the Marina I noticed Greg Mangus pitching a jig across the showroom floor into a cup.  I don’t think he missed the cup one time while I was watching.

Since that day I flip and pitch a jig around my house all winter long.  I set up obstacles that resemble what I might face on the water.  I’ll put cups under the coffee table, dinner table, chairs, and behind plants, and shoes.  I also adjust the distance that I’m flipping and pitching.  When spring comes I want to be accurate and efficient at flipping and pitching.  There are other mechanical, physical, and mental aspects of fishing to practice but I’ll let you think of those.

            Being prepared is another important quality successful tournament anglers embody.  Tournament anglers prepare by doing their homework and getting their equipment ready before a tournament ever begins.  I study lake maps religiously looking at bottom contours and other structure.  If possible I’ll get more than one map for each lake because there are differences between them.  Then I choose areas of the lake I think bass will be holding according to seasonal patterns.  If I’m looking for pre-spawn bass I look for secondary points, weed beds, or other structure leading to protected bays, coves, and channels.  If I think the bass will be spawning then I look for protected bays, coves, and channels with hard bottoms and abundant structure.  During the Post-spawn, bass will relate to main lake points, humps, and weed beds, so I look for those on the map.  I study lake maps to find general areas I want to check out so I don’t waste any time when I’m pre-fishing.      

            Tackle preparation is another critical link to tournament success.  I organize my lures into Plano tackle boxes that make them easy to find and get out.  I use a different Plano tackle organizer for each type of lure.  I put all of my terminal tackle into labeled prescription bottles so my hooks don’t rust.  I also put fresh Gamma line on all of my reels and make sure my hooks are extremely sharp.  Next, I rig 7-10 rods with different lures to maximize my time fishing and not tying lures on all day.  Lastly, I fully charge my trolling motor batteries and make sure everything on my boat is in working order.  Hopefully the extra preparation I’ve done will payoff while I’m pre-fishing.

           Pre-fishing is the single most important practice that tournament winners have in common.  Nothing can compare to quality time on the water.  It may be hard to find time but if you want to win consistently then pre-fishing is crucial.  Pre-fishing is when practice and preparation comes together and a tournament plan evolves.  When I pre-fish I’m constantly eliminating unproductive areas and finding spots that are productive to visit during the tournament. 

            I always pre-fish 2-3 days before a tournament to establish a plan.  I start my day casting a popper over flats and weed beds looking for an early morning top water bite.  With my trolling motor on high I cover as much water as I can.  If I get a bass to rise on my popper then I’ll return to that area to start the tournament.  As the day goes on I continue speeding around the lake eliminating spots I marked on my map.  If a spot is hot then I save the waypoint on my GPS and move on.  I never catch more than two bass off a spot because it’s possible to sting the bass that might bite during the tournament.  Sometimes I take the hooks of my baits when I pre-fish so I don’t sting fish.  Hopefully I can find six to ten productive points, humps, flats, or drop-offs to bank on during the tournament. 

            As the sun climbs higher in the sky I start looking for spawning bass in the spring.  If I can find 10-15 beds with quality bass locked on then targeting spawning bass will be my main pattern.  If I can’t find any quality spawning bass then I start skipping docks with tubes that have the hooks clipped.  If a bass grabs it I wont hook them and maybe the bass will still be there during the tournament.  I end my pre-fishing day looking for new areas and structure while trying patterns I usually don’t try.  Sometimes I’ll stumble into something that will come up huge during the tournament.

            The night before a big tournament I draw up my final game plan.  I want my plan to be specific yet flexible and I want to be confident with it.  I want my plan to include spots that I can catch a quick limit and spots that hold kicker fish. During the tournament if a spot is on I’ll milk it until it runs dry.  Then I’ll move on to the next portion of my game plan.  If nothing is working I try my best to stay mentally tough.  Mental toughness is the decision to stay with your approach and game plan regardless of circumstances.

            In a perfect world my game plan would always work and I would cash a check every tournament, but it’s not a perfect world and I don’t always cash a check.  There have been more than a handful of times I’ve practiced, prepared, and pre-fished then bombed the day of a tournament.  I guess that’s why they call it fishing and not catching.