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Posts: 401
| Maybe this has been talked about and if it has I apologize.
I am interested in seeing how other folks pre-fish tournaments. I am not much of a tournament guy but I am planning on fishing the Hartman Cass/Leech tournament again this year because it is water I fish all summer.
Do you fish with hooks on your baits before the tournament?
Do you go to known spots and fish?
I might have a different look at tournaments. I see at it as a chance to fish hard for four days in a row, which I do not do in the summer being a family guy. The key to me is fishing but can I hurt my chances on tournament day by just fishing?
Any other advice for the days leading up to the tournament?
Keith |
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| Thats a loaded question and it has been beatin to death over the past few years. However I have never responded before, so here goes...
If I'm pre-fishing a community spot, basically a spot that other fisherman will definately hit, I will catch any fish that comes near my bait. If I'm fishing a out of the way spot that few if any other fisherman would even look at, I would pull my bait if possible. Why stick that fish if nobody else is going to mess with it, chances are it will be there tomorrow.
Some guys never pull baits, some guys always pull baits. I've fished about 35 tournaments and the overwhelming amount of people that catch fish pre-fishing, do NOT catch fish during the tournament.
Good luck! |
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Posts: 8863
| Guest is the first person who I've ever heard say they catch them the day before so nobody catches them the next day. I guess winning my making sure everyone else loses is still winning, right?
About the only thing I would do differently is during a tournament I would NEVER leave a fish unless I was sure it was undersized.
As for pre-fishing? I would think your main goal is twofold:
1. Establish some sort of pattern
2. Find a couple fish and hope they're still there tomorrow
I've never been organized enough months ahead of time to be anywhere near first out of the box, (more like last because we entered a week before the tournament) so I gotta figure every fish we come across has seen two dozen baits already today. I don't even bother throwing dawgs, cowgirls, etc... I figure my best shot is a smaller lure, something that stays in the strike zone a while, and is something nobody else is using.
When your boat #10 through a spot, it's only 10:30, and you're throwing the same lure as evereyone else, what are your odds of getting a fish to even follow?
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Posts: 217
Location: ladysmith, wi | I have done quite well the last couple of yrs in tournaments by staying on a spot all day that i know is holding fish or that fish will move to when its feeding time, this can be quite boring casting to the same structure all day but it has won us 3 wmts in the last 2 yrs, i would find a spot you have confidence in a stay on it, switch baits during the day to see what there hitting ,as for pre-fishing i also dont have a problem hitting all the usual spots everyones fishing and burn a fish, i like to find out what there hitting on or how there acting but i try to stay off the spot i plan on fishing during the tournament |
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Posts: 2384
Location: On the X that marks the mucky spot | I'm all for the beat the community spots. In the 2004 Tonka PMTT I POUNDED the community spots. I had one team take a pic for me and his comment was "too bad you burned your fish". My response: "I don't burn MY fish, I burned YOUR fish." with a big smile on my face. He wasn't too amused by my response.
Find your pattern on the community spots and apply it to the spots you want to fish in the tournament. |
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Posts: 719
| My rule #1 dont stick a fish you might need in the tournament
rule #2....same thing ...nothing worse than the fish you caught yesterday following the day of the event low and slow.
Cover or roll over your hooks and you can still pattern them with a chance to catch them in the event, plus you won't be giving up a spot with the net over the side etc.
This applies to a seroius event as oppossed to an outing style event like the spring metro or the F Schneider etc. then I say catch all you can whenever you can.
BT |
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