Tournament fishing is not for the faint of heart. It’s better suited for the competitive-natured person; you know whom I’m talking about. It’s for that high school jock that couldn’t wait for game day. It’s for that person who strives to be the very best that they can be in anything they pursue; and it doesn’t hurt to have a love for the outdoors and a little understanding of it.

If you have been going out with your buddies having fun fishing from the bank or that little flat bottom boat and then decided one day to try your hand at tournament fishing, this is what I would recommend. Start by fishing the open buddy tournaments. Most of them are fairly cheap and you can have your buddy with you to ease the pressure of the day.

The next move would be to join a local bass club. Most club tournaments are inexpensive and this is where you can learn from the other tournament anglers. A lot of your club fishermen either currently are or have fished bigger money tournaments and you can gather information about tournaments from them.

The club tournaments will lead you to fish for the top six spots. The top six in the club will go on to fish the regional tournament within the state. Along with your club affiliation, you can fish in the district tournaments with a chance at the state championship. After all of this if you still feel the need and have developed confidence in your tournament fishing skills, consider fishing bigger money tournaments like the BFL or BASS Weekend Series Tournaments.

There is more to tournament fishing than paying fees and showing up to fish. You have to do your homework, especially if you are fishing on a body of water you haven’t been on before. When I say homework, I’m talking about studying your maps taking into account what time of the year it is, what the fish are doing or supposed to be doing that time of the year, what kind of structure is in the body of water, and what the main forage is.

Talk with the local anglers, bait shop owners, and guides. These people will offer a lot of information and advice on how to get started. But there is no substitute for time on the water. By this I mean pre-fishing. During the pre-fishing time you can take all of the information you have gathered and anything you have learned from previous outings and put them to work. Pre-fishing does a whole lot more than defining a pattern. It helps you to eliminate unproductive water. It builds confidence so you will not be scrambling to find something on tournament morning. Another key objective of pre-fishing is to become familiar with navigation and run times to the locations that you plan to fish.

During the pre-fishing phase of the tournament, pay attention to details. If you’re fishing an area and get a strike pay close attention where that fish came from; was it a stump, was it a change in depth, was it in the shade, was it where two different types of grass come together? These answers along with the time of day, water temperature, sun or clouds, and wind will help you pinpoint hopefully the winning pattern.

Don’t try to keep all this in your head, write notes on your maps or on a tablet. If you think you can remember everything about every fish you catch, think again. It’s not an easy task. If you write it down, you can keep these notes for seasons to come.

When pre-fishing don’t waste time trying to learn completely new techniques. You have a lot of water to cover so stick with your strengths. Find enough locations on that body of water that you can run to if conditions change. Also, find a couple of big fish spots so you can land that kicker fisher that every tournament angler needs.

 Never over fish an area. Get a couple of bites and move on. You don’t want to educate the fish. You might consider landing a couple of fish to get an idea as to the size of fish you’re catching. To get the bites without catching the fish, either bend the hooks down or cut the hook off. You can even cover the hook with some surgical tubing; the tubing that comes with that pack of trailer hooks you bought for your buzzbaits or spinnerbaits. By now you should know where you want to start, what lures you will be using, and what type of cover you are concentrating on.

Now comes the best part of everything you have done so far. "The Tournament." To me there is nothing like watching the sun come up with all the other tournament boats around, the smell of those outboards, the tournament director calling out the official time and calling out boat numbers and watching them take off. Everyone’s expectations are high especially yours because you have done your homework and you are going to cash a check at this one.

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