05-07-2006, 02:15 PM
Ryan gave a couple great pieces of advice:
Study your body of water.
Enter to have fun, not to win.
Even though Walleye are not in the native waters I live near, rest assure having uncanny knowledge of the waters you intend on fishing and the fish species you're targeting is of the up most importance; no matter if your fishing salt water or fresh water, for catfish or for red snapper.
I've taken days at a time and hopped in my boat with the fish finder and my GPS, just put the boat into cruise, and chug along; watching the bottom depths and structure, marking anything that looked good on the GPS for future reference. (I.E. deep drop offs, bottom structure, underwater weed beds, etc...) This way, when my day of fishing begins, i'll have specific locations to try based on the time of year and the species i'm targeting. This is where species specific knowledge comes into play. Having all those killer waypoints saved in your GPS isn't worth 10 cents if you don't know what types of fish are going to be there, and at what times of year. That is where studying the fish species comes into play.
On the other side, if you enter a tournament, especially just for the sake of winning, you will be very
by the time it's all over with. I've done my fair share of tournaments, fresh and saltwater, big and small, and though i've placed top 3 a few times, I have never won one before. The people who win are the guys that pay their dues, know the waters they are fishing better than everyone else, and have an ESP like understanding of the fish they are targeting. The up side to tournament fishing is that it's challenging and extremely fun. Like aformentioned above by Ryan, you meet alot of great people, learn alot of info, sometimes win free prizes, and i've never entered a tourney where they didn't have a fish fry at the end, so good food is in there too. Tournament fishing is hard work, atleast i've found it to be on my end. Constantly trying new things, moving from spot to spot. Keeping fresh bait on. In the ocean, watching for birds and schooled bait fish. It's a constant process trying to find the edge that works for that day. I hope this helps. Let us know what body of water you're fishing, maybe we can dig up some info about it that will help you out.
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Study your body of water.
Enter to have fun, not to win.
Even though Walleye are not in the native waters I live near, rest assure having uncanny knowledge of the waters you intend on fishing and the fish species you're targeting is of the up most importance; no matter if your fishing salt water or fresh water, for catfish or for red snapper.
I've taken days at a time and hopped in my boat with the fish finder and my GPS, just put the boat into cruise, and chug along; watching the bottom depths and structure, marking anything that looked good on the GPS for future reference. (I.E. deep drop offs, bottom structure, underwater weed beds, etc...) This way, when my day of fishing begins, i'll have specific locations to try based on the time of year and the species i'm targeting. This is where species specific knowledge comes into play. Having all those killer waypoints saved in your GPS isn't worth 10 cents if you don't know what types of fish are going to be there, and at what times of year. That is where studying the fish species comes into play.
On the other side, if you enter a tournament, especially just for the sake of winning, you will be very
by the time it's all over with. I've done my fair share of tournaments, fresh and saltwater, big and small, and though i've placed top 3 a few times, I have never won one before. The people who win are the guys that pay their dues, know the waters they are fishing better than everyone else, and have an ESP like understanding of the fish they are targeting. The up side to tournament fishing is that it's challenging and extremely fun. Like aformentioned above by Ryan, you meet alot of great people, learn alot of info, sometimes win free prizes, and i've never entered a tourney where they didn't have a fish fry at the end, so good food is in there too. Tournament fishing is hard work, atleast i've found it to be on my end. Constantly trying new things, moving from spot to spot. Keeping fresh bait on. In the ocean, watching for birds and schooled bait fish. It's a constant process trying to find the edge that works for that day. I hope this helps. Let us know what body of water you're fishing, maybe we can dig up some info about it that will help you out.[signature]