Planning Before the Tournament: Simple Pointers to Make you a More Efficient Tournament Angler. 

by Ritch Taylor

 

One of the first things to learn about tournament fishing is to be prepared.  There is nothing worse than arriving at your fishing hole only to discover you forgot the most important thing, your favorite pole or the right test line on your favorite pole.  The object is to spend as much time fishing and reduce wasted time to a minimum. Those who are successful tournament anglers and those considered professionals tend to maximize fishing time; the key seems to be increasing efficient angling time, reducing costly errors, and eliminating wasted time.  Wasted time also seems to be the most costly error.

To avoid time being lost on the water, here are a few good planning pointers that will help you along on your quest into tournament bass fishing.  The goal is to be catching fish, as the picture shows, and not missing fish or not fishing.

Key planning pointers for tournament anglers:

1.   Make a list of all your necessary equipment.  Check this list the night before the tournament.  Once I forgot my net and it cost a tournament win and big fish for the tournament, I lost about a 6.0-pound largemouth.

2.   Make a list of your fishing reels, include a description of the test line on each reel, and describe the technique(s) each reel is prepared for.

3.   List all your proposed fishing sites for the next day and code a map with these sites.

4.   Make a game plan with times, details, and conditions.  You may want to go as far as assigning the techniques you will use.

5.   Make a plan to be efficient.  Plan everything out.  You may have to adjust, but cut down on wasted time.  For example, don’t stop to eat.  Eat while you are on the move to the next fishing location.

These are just a few planning pointers.  With experience tournament angling becomes more and more exciting, challenging, and hopefully more fun.