Tournament Preparation Tips - Part 4

This will be the final part of the series but I really enjoyed putting some time into sharing this information. Based on the last part we discussed the prefishing aspect with regards to having a successful plan or a plan that requires immediate attention. If your plan has been executed with success and you are now left with a day or two days to prefish then this will give you a great opportunity to find big fish. Finding big fish is always fun to do and I am surprised every time on baits and techniques that they hit on. My experience is that big fish hang with their buddies or other species that are the same size. If you are catching something big in another species you might want to keep fishing this area until your targeted fish species decides to eat your bait. This is the case for me most of the time. Sometimes it doesn't happen. I like to fish extremely shallow for big fish because these are the fish that are feeding and are most likely to be the most aggressive. You can cover a lot of shallow water fast following this pattern. A shallow fish that is feeding will hit as soon as your bait hits the water. You can eliminate or find a hot spot area fast. Find some timber or weeds shallow adjacent to deep water and you will find big fish waiting to ambush. Take notes on your shoreline type and areas around it. These clues will help you define the big fish pattern. Usually transition areas are the best. Rock to sand to weeds to mud to creek running in offer everything, it is like a buffet. Just need to serve them up their choice for that day. Big fish win you tournaments every time. It is important to fill your live well first and sometimes you will catch big fish in your little fish spots. It is always a great feeling when you start chasing after big fish early during any tournament day on the water. Now if your prefish plan doesn't work and you are now feeling the stress of what to do next, don't panic. Go back to what you know and what you are comfortable with. Look at the information you have gathered. Start covering water fast but perhaps an area that doesn't quite match the patterns you have noted. This might expose something new to you. If not, you can at least eliminate that for sure. Sometimes the fish can just shut down and disappear. Try using your electronics to pinpoint where they are sitting. Try the deeper water off the areas you found success on. Perhaps a weather pattern drove them deep. You can still catch them deep but the numbers will be much lower. Your good spot could be a timing thing and may pickup for about 15 minutes during the day. It is important you are there at that time to capitalize on this bite. Stick with it, they will turn on. I usually try to run and gun between slow spots until I figure out that magical time. This way during the actual tournament I can repeat the same thing. I hate staying on a spot for too long. I like to move and change often. I hope these tips will help when you start thinking about your next tournament. Remember a good plan leads to a good prefish which will lead to a great tournament. You always want to give yourself a chance to win. Defining a solid pattern will help you anticipate the next move. Shane Turcotte