Back in 1990 when I started fishing bass tournaments, I had a great partner, Randy Farrar, who helped teach me a few things about how to pre-fish before a tournament — pre-fishing techniques like how to find bass but not catch them right before a tournament. You always want to catch them on tournament day and not so much in practice.
So many guys go out and catch bass right before the tournament and take them home for a good fish fry. One thing I know for sure, you will not be able to catch them on tournament day after you’ve eaten them!
I learned a lot from my first fishing buddy. One thing he taught me was how to “shake fish off” and not hook bass during practice since you want to catch them on tournament day.
“Shaking” refers to when a bass bites your lure, you shake the tip of the rod and hopefully the bass will let it go. Close to tournament day, the last thing you want to do is set the hook and sore mouth bass you’re wanting to catch when it counts.
However, during pre-fishing when the bass are in spawning mode, you don’t have to worry if you hook a fish. Because during spawning, bass are very aggressive and will strike a lure multiple times if it comes anywhere close to their spawning bed.
But over the years, I have learned on my own that bass might be the most unpredictable creatures on earth. So many times during practice, I have gone through a particular area and shook off a lot of bass thinking they will be there on tournament day. Well guess what? For whatever reason, the bass have either left or will not bite.
This is when fishing gets very frustrating! But then there are times when finding those bass, a day or two before tournament day, actually pays off.
Another pre-fishing technique that I now employ is fishing without a hook and using what is called a screw lock. I use this when I’m fishing with any type of soft plastic worms. This is where you tie on a screw lock and use it to hold your worm or soft plastic bait instead of using a hook.
This way you never have to worry about hooking any fish you want to catch on tournament day. This is a pre-fishing technique I always use, especially the day before the tournament.
In today’s bass tournament world, if you don’t pre-fish several days in a row before a tournament, you’re probably not going to win. The anglers winning today are guys who are on the water at least three days before the tournament.
The days of showing up and winning or even getting a check are gone, as there are too many anglers putting in 8-10 hours a day locating bass. Even fishing on a lake that you know very well is not good enough to beat the guys putting in hours of pre-fishing.
There are a lot of variables that can affect your ability to locate bass and catch them on tournament day. The first and foremost is the weather. This is something an angler has no control over, but you must understand bass behavior well enough to know how the weather affects them.
Another factor you can’t control is the movement of baitfish they like to feed on. Bass will always be close to wherever the bait fish are. It’s their buffet; it’s their grocery store. Wherever the baitfish go, the bass will follow.
So, if you want to compete and have a shot at winning or even getting a check in today’s bass tournaments, you better pre-fish and find as many schools of bass as you can during practice. Otherwise, you’re just donating your entry fee.
Contact Steve at sgraf26@yahoo.com