It's Prep Time!

We are very fortunate in southern Ontario to have an abundance of fish species, rivers, and lakes to choose from. This provides us with the opportunity to always find something to target with an open season. However, this luxury also makes it difficult to find the time to properly prepare for the upcoming tournament season. The transition from hard water to soft water is my least busy and is when my prep time takes place. I have prepared a list below of some of the most overlooked items to ensure you are not caught short changed out on the water. 1. Waypoints - Make sure your chips have been sorted properly and contain your most important waypoints. Humminbird pc allows you to easily sort your waypoints by whichever region or lake you choose and store them on your computer. If you haven't backed them up from your chip yet, make sure you do! 2. Scent and live release formula - If your a believer in scent on your baits and live release in your livewell, make sure you are stocked up on both of these items. The last thing you want to be doing the night before a tournament is trying to find your preferred scent or formula of choice before hitting the lake. It's not like I am talking from experience or anything either. 3. Mariners choice wax n'shine - This stuff is invaluable for keeping your boat looking and feeling great. I am a big believer in protecting my investment, and this product is extremely effective at doing so. If you haven't tried it before, do yourself a favour and pick a bottle up this year. Dave Chong can point you in the direction of your nearest retailer. 4. Pliers, hook file, super glue, tie wraps, prop wrench, electrical tape, non expired flares and all required safety equipment, are all a must have on your next trip. 5. Batteries for your scale - I rarely use a scale anymore as a balance beam with fish care bags is my preference for culling however, a scale is still needed for weighing that fish of a lifetime. Make sure you have a fresh battery in your scale and that you carry a spare in a ziplock bag, because you just might need it when you hook up with your next trophy fish. Been there done that, never again. Hope these tips help prepare you for the upcoming season. By the way, the other thing I do between ice out and the open water season is rainbow fish, so I have attached some pictures of my success over the past couple of weeks. Enjoy!