First tourney

ILfishinman · 08-11-06, 12:07 AM

hey i am participating in my first fishing tournament in the C-U juinor bass club september 9th. wondering if you could point out some good looking areas or any tips based on the time of year and lake info. also there is a map ther that shows the bottom makeup and stuf. here is a link to a page with a map and other info on it, i have never fished the lake but i ifsh the smaller ponds in the park. also we will be borrowing boats from either the lake or the sr. bass club.
http://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/lakes/mingo.htm

lizardsrule · 08-11-06, 11:31 AM

Who decides on where you are fishing? If it's you and you are in control of the boat, then my suggestion is get you a$$ out to the lake and prefish it. However use hookless stuff, especially the closer to the tourney you get. If you are going with someone else who is controlling the boat, if you know who it is, touch base with them and figure it out. Borrowing a boat, not really sure what that means, as in someone else drives, you tell them where, or what. Also especially in your first tourney, fish to your strenghts, if you are better at plastics, then use those mostly, unless someone else is loading the boat with something else. Same for spinners/carnks/jig whatever. Secondly it is summer, so based on that, you need to find points/humps/channels/heavy-heavy-heavy cover IMO. There is just to much for everyone to tell you about tourney fishing, but the main thing is have fun. It's usually tougher as you probably already know, fishing the hot months, and a new body of water. You probably won't sleep much the night before, so try to get a really good night sleep, 2 nights before LOL. If you fish with another guy, watch what he's doing, and learn what either not to do or how to do it. Just realize that you're fishing a weekend, usually on a bigger body of water, so the fishing presure/heat can make it real tough. I would definately have a c-rig ready, or even a drop shot. I could go on and on about all the little itty bitty things, but just remember, it's still just fishing, so fish and have fun. The only pressure you have is the pressure you put on yourself. I will say my first tourney ever I got 0 bass, and 1 crappie LOL. And boy did I fish hard all day. I learned a lot from the guy up front though, even though he didn't really try to help me, just watching and paying attention to where/how he placed his baits. He came in 6th out of 175 boaters. Just take it as a learning experience, and if you do well in the tourney, that's just a bonus. Many folks I have fished with fish way to fast IMO. But they get in the panic mode, and think they gotta go to 6-7 different places, and power fish. My suggestion goes back to the time of year, and conditions. I'm betting there won't be a lot of really active fish, so slower would be my choice, and thoroughly work over areas that you feel the fish are at, and don't fly around all day. Good fishing, and be prepared to get addicted to it.

Lizards

PowerBass · 08-11-06, 11:54 AM

What is the motor restriction?

I have competed in 3 tournies this year already, placing 6th, 7th and another 6th. One thign I will say have a solid gameplan, and stick to it, even if the weather goes complelety opposite of what you planned it for. More times than not, straying from your main plan, will kill you. Thats what got me 7th place on my 2nd T out of 9 boats. I was the last guy to weigh in the others didnt. Also since it is summer, capitialize ont he morning bite. Topwater, Spinnerbaits, Shallow Cranks. As the sun rises the bite will slow. Main lake points, humps, shelves, will be key. What is water clarity? Clear water, look deeper than stained or muddy. In clear water around here 20-35ft is not uncommon. Other than this have fun!

ILfishinman · 08-11-06, 04:11 PM

i dont have a boat so i will try to rent one to prefish. clarity is about 3 ft. i dont know if i will be controlling it or not, i will have to ask jim. ok so it looks like i will have a spinnerbait on and a c-rig and a topwater ready in the morning. i think motor redstriction islike 10 hp. thank you so much lizards, and powerbass

bassking22 · 08-11-06, 04:16 PM

Try deep firetiger cranks when you prefish, thats whats producing in stained water around here, but most of the water I fish right now, is 20+ feet clarity. I would reccomend maybe using a bigger bait like a 7 or 8 inch worm, maybe even a 10 incher, but I don't know about one of those, never used 'em. Have fun, and good luck.

officerhoyt · 08-11-06, 07:22 PM

I cant give you any advice, but best of look to you in the tourney.

08-11-06, 12:07 AM	#1
ILfishinman BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Champaign, Illinois Posts: 706	First tourney hey i am participating in my first fishing tournament in the C-U juinor bass club september 9th. wondering if you could point out some good looking areas or any tips based on the time of year and lake info. also there is a map ther that shows the bottom makeup and stuf. here is a link to a page with a map and other info on it, i have never fished the lake but i ifsh the smaller ponds in the park. also we will be borrowing boats from either the lake or the sr. bass club. http://www.ifishillinois.org/profiles/lakes/mingo.htm __________________ If light moves at 670616629 MPH, how fast is Dark? Bass count 07: lost count

08-11-06, 11:31 AM	#2
lizardsrule BassFishin.Com Premier Elite Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Saint Augustine, FL Posts: 7,374	Who decides on where you are fishing? If it's you and you are in control of the boat, then my suggestion is get you a$$ out to the lake and prefish it. However use hookless stuff, especially the closer to the tourney you get. If you are going with someone else who is controlling the boat, if you know who it is, touch base with them and figure it out. Borrowing a boat, not really sure what that means, as in someone else drives, you tell them where, or what. Also especially in your first tourney, fish to your strenghts, if you are better at plastics, then use those mostly, unless someone else is loading the boat with something else. Same for spinners/carnks/jig whatever. Secondly it is summer, so based on that, you need to find points/humps/channels/heavy-heavy-heavy cover IMO. There is just to much for everyone to tell you about tourney fishing, but the main thing is have fun. It's usually tougher as you probably already know, fishing the hot months, and a new body of water. You probably won't sleep much the night before, so try to get a really good night sleep, 2 nights before LOL. If you fish with another guy, watch what he's doing, and learn what either not to do or how to do it. Just realize that you're fishing a weekend, usually on a bigger body of water, so the fishing presure/heat can make it real tough. I would definately have a c-rig ready, or even a drop shot. I could go on and on about all the little itty bitty things, but just remember, it's still just fishing, so fish and have fun. The only pressure you have is the pressure you put on yourself. I will say my first tourney ever I got 0 bass, and 1 crappie LOL. And boy did I fish hard all day. I learned a lot from the guy up front though, even though he didn't really try to help me, just watching and paying attention to where/how he placed his baits. He came in 6th out of 175 boaters. Just take it as a learning experience, and if you do well in the tourney, that's just a bonus. Many folks I have fished with fish way to fast IMO. But they get in the panic mode, and think they gotta go to 6-7 different places, and power fish. My suggestion goes back to the time of year, and conditions. I'm betting there won't be a lot of really active fish, so slower would be my choice, and thoroughly work over areas that you feel the fish are at, and don't fly around all day. Good fishing, and be prepared to get addicted to it. Lizards __________________ There are three types of Snakes I hate 1. Live Snakes 2. Dead Snakes 3. Sticks that look like Snakes. And Gators too!

08-11-06, 11:54 AM	#3
PowerBass BassFishin.Com Super Veteran Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,638	What is the motor restriction? I have competed in 3 tournies this year already, placing 6th, 7th and another 6th. One thign I will say have a solid gameplan, and stick to it, even if the weather goes complelety opposite of what you planned it for. More times than not, straying from your main plan, will kill you. Thats what got me 7th place on my 2nd T out of 9 boats. I was the last guy to weigh in the others didnt. Also since it is summer, capitialize ont he morning bite. Topwater, Spinnerbaits, Shallow Cranks. As the sun rises the bite will slow. Main lake points, humps, shelves, will be key. What is water clarity? Clear water, look deeper than stained or muddy. In clear water around here 20-35ft is not uncommon. Other than this have fun! __________________ fivealivebassmasters.com

08-11-06, 04:11 PM	#4
ILfishinman BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Champaign, Illinois Posts: 706	i dont have a boat so i will try to rent one to prefish. clarity is about 3 ft. i dont know if i will be controlling it or not, i will have to ask jim. ok so it looks like i will have a spinnerbait on and a c-rig and a topwater ready in the morning. i think motor redstriction islike 10 hp. thank you so much lizards, and powerbass __________________ If light moves at 670616629 MPH, how fast is Dark? Bass count 07: lost count

08-11-06, 04:16 PM	#5
bassking22 BassFishin.Com Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Virginia Posts: 630	Try deep firetiger cranks when you prefish, thats whats producing in stained water around here, but most of the water I fish right now, is 20+ feet clarity. I would reccomend maybe using a bigger bait like a 7 or 8 inch worm, maybe even a 10 incher, but I don't know about one of those, never used 'em. Have fun, and good luck. __________________ Does anyone know of a fishing addictions program? Cause I need one.

08-11-06, 07:22 PM	#6
officerhoyt BassFishin.Com Active Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Dubuque, IA Posts: 108	I cant give you any advice, but best of look to you in the tourney.

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