Pre Fishing strategy - when to hook em, when to leave 'em.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Eric DeLay on June 4, 2009 at 9:22am

Don't beat yourself up too badly David, you found an area that holds big LM on Wa. That is an accomplishment.
It probably is best not to hook a bunch in practice but sometimes you want to see the size of the fish on a spot so you stick some. The closer to the tournament the worse it hurts you.
The fish were probably still there but weren't eating the SB so I would recommend figuring out other ways to catch them in that area. I made the mistake of not doing that in the NW tourney and left an area that produced for someone else later in the day.
I believe that the LM on that lake have a home area and don't roam around all that much. So if you find where they live keep going back. And don't forget to PM me with some more specific info about where you caught them :-)

Permalink Reply by Mark Maderos on June 4, 2009 at 9:24am

To me, tournement fishing is about confidence. Which leads to the second part. What gives YOU confidence. Catching the fish, catching just a few, getting a bite without setting the hook, or just seeing the fish. Also, what level of angler you are. Guys who are real good (confident) probably fall into the latter categories. Guys who are not as accomplished or good fall in the earlier categories. This brings up the point of where do YOU honestly feel you are. ( A question a serious tournement guy needs to ask himself all the time ). To get better, we all have to spend TIME ON THE WATER. Under different times, conditions, etc. This will help witht he confidence.
My .02 cents

Mark

Permalink Reply by Ben Hanes on June 4, 2009 at 11:08am

David,
This is a good topic. I never under any circumstances hook any more fish than necessary. If I catch a fish that's 3+ (or if you're at Banks 2.25+!) then it's time to leave the spot alone, as it has shown there is potential for bigger fish. The thing to do at that point is to try to learn the intricacies of a particular spot, and maybe find the spot within the spot, or find a backup plan(s), which is also essential. If I'm fishing shallow and the water is relatively clear, I like to throw big swimbaits/bent over spinnerbaits to only locate fish. I also love to throw a big topwater as a locating tool, with all of the trebles bent over. I think it is wise to keep a "Pre-Fishing Box" which consists of baits with no hooks or bent hooks, in several different patterns and varieties. It has saved me time and is convenient. Make sure you have the same thing in your "live" tackle box that is fully operational come t-time.

I've become a much bigger believer in that pre-fishing is about locating fish, maybe getting one to bite to see what they're interested in. The only time you should be practicing "catching" the fish is in the tournament! On the other hand, there comes a time when you get a new depthfinder, are fishing a new lure, trying different line, etc., when you need PRACTICE. Practice is completely different from pre-fishing. It should primarily focus on weaker areas that you are going to focus on developing, and not on the body of water where your tournament is going to be the next weekend (at least not if you have to hook fish).

When determining whether or not the fish were a fluke during practice, lots of times I go with my gut. Honestly, I look at seasonal patterns and experience and determine whether or not fish will be here next week/why they're here now/if there are probably more fish around because of this spot's transitional properties, etc...A lot of it boils down to confidence. Now, no matter what, you must always realize things will be different come t-time. You will have to adjust. The fish might still be in the area, but will be relating to the cover differently; at the first drop, suspending, who knows...But things will be different, and you have to be prepared for that. If things just aren't working out during the tournament, then at that time move on, try the area later, and go to your backup spots, which are also essential to have.

Permalink Reply by BigBass Dez on June 4, 2009 at 12:15pm

This is good thread , And i also have alot of these same concerns on the lake .When we "practice" on washington two weeks prior to NWBASS we found a spot that held some nice smallies .. We didnt hit that spot the wkend prior to the tourney , but come tourney morning we went there and after geting thee smallies that went 3lbs "total weight" my partner and i looked at eachother like "holy smoke batman" ..lol now the difference between us rookies and a pros is that a pro like many guys on here are , They would have had a "back up plan " in place . This is where we struggle in pre fishn . we look for fish , we find them , we hang a few and leave. I know there is a chance that those fish are not gonna be there on t-day . so with that being said as an angler , I must develope a mind set that reagardless of what is working "that day" , what else can i resort back to if those fish dont bite. By not doing this is the #1 reason we got stuck with the same fish at the end of the day . Yeah we manage to come across two good ones , but the time , energy , effort ,expense should have got us 5 good fish that day instead of 15 dinks. Lesson learned , find back up plans to your back up plans period! too a few guys on here thats common sence , but i guess it goes into what Mark pointed out about asking yourself where we stand in regards to confidence , knowledge of lake , etc . I know for a fact that i SUCK at putting toghether back ups for backs , i find myself saying well if this doesnt work for us we can always go to community waters and keep our fingers cross .. If we continue doing this we will continue to get the same results . And im sorry about being long winded on this but it's kinda like theorpy in way .. IF I TYPE I CAN DO IT !!! lol

BBD"The Rookie"

Permalink Reply by trucknmusic on June 4, 2009 at 12:23pm

I do not have as much tourny experience as a lot of guys but I think prefishing is all about eliminating water or patterns. As soon as you caught enough in a certain area, or on a certain technique you need to leave or change. For instance if I caught a 5# in practice I know I would be thinking about that spot during the tournament so I would leave and try another area w/ the same bait. If I caught more on that bait I would not throw that any more and would look for other patterns. The key is as soon as you know you will use that spot or lure in the tourny - then save it for the tourny. I have tried removing hooks and such, but you are never sure what is biting till you see it, so I usually leave them on, unless it is a big bass bait, such as a swimbait, then I will assume that anything that hits that is big enough and I will remove the hooks.

The other key (problem) with prefishing is remembering to change if the fishing changes (let the bass tell you what they want). In my last tourny I did well prefishing and tried that in the tourny and did not realize till after waisting the day that my prefishing pattern was for overcast days and it was sunny in the tournament - and I did not adjust bc I thought I was on a good pattern.

Permalink Reply by Ben Hanes on June 4, 2009 at 1:12pm

In the interviews that I did with Mike Wolsky and Dave Hendrickson, in the NWB articles, Mike was insistent on always learning, always finding, always searching. The key to their pre-fishing was banging their heads against the wall in order to find as many patterns and locations as possible. Persistence and never settling. Paul Hall, another stick, said his goal during every pre-fish is to find a new spot. That's probably pretty hard to do, knowing that Hall has a ton of spots....A lot of us get stuck staying with the same stuff we 'used' to fish. I know when I started NWB five years ago I thought there would be a learning curve of a few years then I would have some good spots down. HA! Yeah right! Every spot changes and every body of water almost always significantly changes from year to year, whether it be from water levels, weeds, channel changes, bottom composition, etc.

I'm off the subject a little bit, but I'd just say don't overcatch your fish...Try and find different patterns/locations but once you catch a good fish, move on, keep working, keep trying. Be willing to adjust and listen to the fish when t-time rolls around.

Permalink Reply by David Watkins on June 5, 2009 at 8:39pm

Thanks for all of the input guys! Appreciate you sharing your own personal approaches and techniques! Can't make Tri-Cities this weekend but good luck to all the guys fishing down there! be safe! -Dave

Permalink Reply by Eric DeLay on June 6, 2009 at 12:00am

Great post Ben. I think that is some super advice.

Ben Hanes said:

In the interviews that I did with Mike Wolsky and Dave Hendrickson, in the NWB articles, Mike was insistent on always learning, always finding, always searching. The key to their pre-fishing was banging their heads against the wall in order to find as many patterns and locations as possible. Persistence and never settling. Paul Hall, another stick, said his goal during every pre-fish is to find a new spot. That's probably pretty hard to do, knowing that Hall has a ton of spots....A lot of us get stuck staying with the same stuff we 'used' to fish. I know when I started NWB five years ago I thought there would be a learning curve of a few years then I would have some good spots down. HA! Yeah right! Every spot changes and every body of water almost always significantly changes from year to year, whether it be from water levels, weeds, channel changes, bottom composition, etc.

I'm off the subject a little bit, but I'd just say don't overcatch your fish...Try and find different patterns/locations but once you catch a good fish, move on, keep working, keep trying. Be willing to adjust and listen to the fish when t-time rolls around.

Permalink Reply by David Watkins on June 7, 2009 at 9:30am

Totally agree Eric! And Ben for what it's worth, I really felt you did an awesome job with those post tourney interviews, and I really enjoyed reading the articles you wrote up in the News Room on NW Bass. Any chance you'll be doing those again in the future?

Eric DeLay said:

Great post Ben. I think that is some super advice.

Ben Hanes said:

In the interviews that I did with Mike Wolsky and Dave Hendrickson, in the NWB articles, Mike was insistent on always learning, always finding, always searching. The key to their pre-fishing was banging their heads against the wall in order to find as many patterns and locations as possible. Persistence and never settling. Paul Hall, another stick, said his goal during every pre-fish is to find a new spot. That's probably pretty hard to do, knowing that Hall has a ton of spots....A lot of us get stuck staying with the same stuff we 'used' to fish. I know when I started NWB five years ago I thought there would be a learning curve of a few years then I would have some good spots down. HA! Yeah right! Every spot changes and every body of water almost always significantly changes from year to year, whether it be from water levels, weeds, channel changes, bottom composition, etc.

I'm off the subject a little bit, but I'd just say don't overcatch your fish...Try and find different patterns/locations but once you catch a good fish, move on, keep working, keep trying. Be willing to adjust and listen to the fish when t-time rolls around.

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on June 7, 2009 at 1:59pm

I like to catch during Pre-Fish, Honestly the prefish the weekend before is not really going to hurt you chances the week following. The fish will recoupe maybe they won't be biting the same thing, the fish's moods change from minute to minute. It is all about finding the areas the fish use and not use. Ben mentioned spots, I don't really go with this verbage, mostly because I see a spot as a particular bush, rock, tree. I think the idea is that they move off these "spots" and use the whole area not just those single spots. Going with this area theory instead of spot theory sets you up for a better tournament when things change.
Lets face it they always do change and if you just learn spots and not your areas, you won't know where the fish move if they do change. So what i say is fish the whole area mostly as a scouting trip, while fishing you shouldn't always be concerned with catching them but scouting the areas that if they move they might go to.
I like to have confidence in my areas and like Maderos said you have to catch them in order for the confidence needed.

sorry long winded

Permalink Reply by Abbottola on June 7, 2009 at 5:09pm

A week prior to a tournament is a great time to hit community areas and wack the tar out of em. Make it tough on as many competitors as possible, while dialing in your baits for your own area! Sorry fellas...

Permalink Reply by Ronald Hobbs, Jr. on June 7, 2009 at 5:33pm

I thought the community areas were your areas?


Abbottola said:

A week prior to a tournament is a great time to hit community areas and wack the tar out of em. Make it tough on as many competitors as possible, while dialing in your baits for your own area! Sorry fellas...

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