first tourney(very excited!)

[skeeter944]

i am fishing my first tournament saturday with a local bass club and we are fishing at lake thurmond (aka clarks hill). i have never fished this lake from a REAL boat, in fact ,i have never really fished from a bass boat. there will be 3 people on the boat including myself. the weather should be sunny with a few clouds,a 20 percent rain chance, and a high of 89 degrees. in the fishing reports,plastic worms are working and thats what the club has been catching them on the past few months. i wont be able to prefish. there is a relativly large population of 14''-18'' bass. i am thinking of rigging one rod with a finesse worm on a split shot rig,another with a modified dropshot rig,and one with a texas rig. i plan on fishing points and milfoil beds near midlake. i will probably us a weighless worm early in the morning. i need some help guys,thanks in advance!

[Skeeter]

Not to rain on your parade but, you'll fish wherever the boater decides to allow you. That's the fate of the backseat boater unless of course you're frineds with him. Then you may get to have a say in where you fish.

[JB]

If ya get stuck in the middle watch out for the other anglers backswing with thier cast, you're likely to get some trebs in the face

[flbassman]

Good luck buddy. Make sure to offer to pay for gas. That's just courtesy as a nonboater and it'll help you get on his good side, and possibly get into larger tourney's if that's what you want to do.

[Captmikestarrett]

You need a fast bait and a slow bait rigged and ready.

Have fun..

Capt Mike

[bass kicker]

three people in the boat thats a bit odd

[fishin fool]

Ah yes very first tourney I was so nervous I couldn't hardly sleep. Worse than the night b/4 openin day of deer season. Like the idea of havin a finesse rig ready. I'd also have a spinnerbait or crankbait on one and a wormin rig on the other. Spinnerbait can cover alot of different situations topwater, middle of column, and deep water also. Definetly you'll be at the mercy of the boater. If your inexperienced as I was pay attention to what the fisherman you're with are doing. Learn from their successes as well as their mistakes. Also don't be afraid to ask an occasional question if they care about the sport and aren't a horses rear-end they might just share some good info with you. Treat this persons boat as if it were your very own when in doubt about something ask. When your through fishin for the day clean the trash out of the boat and help the boater get things squared away if he allows and offer to help with the cost of gas for the truck and boat if your finacially able. Main thing to remember is have fun and enjoy your day on the water regardless if you catch fish or not. Larry Nixon said some of the best days he had on the water was when he didn't catch a thing because it taught him what not to do if in that same situation again. Best of luck to ya and enjoy yourself.

[bayoufisher1]

Good luck, and remember to have FUN. Don't let the "pressure" of tournament fishing in change the way you fish. Pay attention to the guy you are fishing with and you have a great chance to learn plenty. Hope you catch a good limit.

[HOG Ranger]

Good luck and enjoy yourself.

As others have posted, treat his boat with respect and offer to at least pay for your share of gas for the day. Nothing ticks a guy off more than to have someone occupy the rear casting deck and say thanks after you dock and walk away without offering to help with the costs.

[Bender]

A question somewhat on topic since I have never been in in or around a tourney before, how much tackle is acceptable to take onto somebody else's boat? Is there a standard so that you know what to pack in how many bags?

[bass kicker]

ya i just finished fishing my first tourney and it was great i caught fish but didnt place well over all but it was a totaly new experiance that youll enjoy

i myself cant wait to fish my next

[bass kicker]

Originally Posted by Bender

A question somewhat on topic since I have never been in in or around a tourney before, how much tackle is acceptable to take onto somebody else's boat? Is there a standard so that you know what to pack in how many bags?

i would ask the boater but i was told that you should only take one tackle bag and up to 6 rods was okay and keep the area you store your gear on his boat neat

[fishin fool]

One of the best things you can do is call the boater in advance and discuss all things you can think of provided it's possible. Don't know exactly what kinda format Skeeter is fishing in but what I'm talkiing about is a club tourney. Our club always drew starting positions for boaters and the pairings for the non-boaters at the meeting for that months tourneys so you had plenty of time to discuss things. Most of the boaters I drew at the time said "ifn you got it bring it" which at the time I didn't have that much stuff to bring. Now they'd better think twice because it would take a truck to bring it No not really but as you fish more you learn that sometimes there's only so many baits and rods needed. As far as fishin as an amateur in the pro-am events I don't know never fished one and don't kknow anybody that has.

[pretjah]

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/article...toman_001.html

a great article about being the non boater in a boat!!!!

[lizardsrule]

Bring your own PFD. And have fun, but 6 rods with three people may be a bit much. Did I just say that LOL. Have fun, and depending on where you're fishing have a spinnerbait or crankbait tied on. If there are a lot of stumps and hang-ups, I would use the spinnerbait, or you may loose a few crankbaits. I rarely ever ask the boater to stop for a hung up bait. If I can't pull it loose with Braid, then it's gone, I tie on another one and keep fishing. Tourneys are much more fast paced then just a pleasent day fishing. Take drinks, and snacks(chees and peanut butter crackers, Beef Jerky, and Peanuts are my choice for tourneys) Relax and have fun.

Lizards

[wvtroutdog@aol.com]

I ws at FT Gordon last year and fished clark hill. They just had the Citgo bassmaster classic there a month ago. Your worm color here is i mportant the water is always stain to some degree. I had some luck with a 8in zoom trickworm, the color is hard to find, its watermelon pumpinseed. had some luck with black to. You need to have a setup for topwater, the forage of choice right now in the blue hearing. find you a good jerk. the citgo was won on a jerkbait I cant remember what the name was it was TV ask one of these guys. try a white Xrap thats what I would do.