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Old 06-20-12, 08:43 PM   #1
fishingprodigy
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Default Critique my tournament plan for sunday

Hey guys, I'll be fishing my fourth tournament as a co-angler on Sunday at the Northeast River in North East Maryland. I've done okay in my last three tournaments but I really want to try to earn a check in my next one. I know it's possible because another co-angler has won two tournaments and received a check for big bass in the last tournament I was entered in.

Anyways, the water temp is 76 right now, but I expect the water to rise to as high as 80 by Sunday with the incoming heat wave, the high tomorrow is expected to be over 100. We launch at 5:45 am, and I expect my boater to either fish the docks 100 yards from the marina, or take us to a grassy flat in which case we'd probably fish the weedline. If we start at the docks, I plan to fish a drop-shot right up against the posts, and if we fish the weedline, I'll be starting with either a quarter ounce popper or a zara spook type bait.

Once the sun starts coming up, I am almost certain we'll be fishing an area with weeds. If the area is choked, I'll start with a frog over the weeds then proceed to pitching a beaver style bait pegged with an appropriate weight.

Let me know what you guys think of my plan, I would love to earn my first check ever in a tournament!
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Old 06-20-12, 10:16 PM   #2
carolina-rig-01
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Really it's hard for anyone to give you advice for a tournament that is on a body of water that many of us haven't seen before. With that said, it sounds like you have a pretty good game plan. Here are a few things that I would consider, but keep in mind that I am from halfway across the country. If he started on boat docks, I would think about throwing a spook around the boat docks if they are fairly deep and maybe a buzzbait if they are more shallow. Also a swim jig is something you should think about, both around docks and also around grass. Swim jigs have caught me more fish around docks in the last year than probably any other bait.

Just have a good time man, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I understand you having a goal of cashing a check but I really think you should look towards a goal that you can control. The reason I say that is because you can't control how the rest of the field does. You can have the best day of your fishing life and could still not draw a check if everyone else has a better day, and that is out of your control. I think a goal of not losing any fish and putting together a solid bag is a reasonable one and it's something that you are more able to control. The cashing check deal will take care of itself when it's your time, and hopefully that is this weekend. Being so early in your tournament career you should just focus on haing a good time and getting used to the tournament format, because as you know it's totally different than fun fishing and the pressure of it is hard to overcome and it's something that you can't duplicate any other way than being in a tournament. Soak up as much knowledge as you can from your boater and have a good time.

Good luck.
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Old 06-20-12, 11:19 PM   #3
bassboogieman
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Have your previous tx. been on tidal water? Tide will have an effect on the fish and when they feed. Best is the 2 hours just prior to the high or low tide, that's when fish will be most active. At slack tide it will be difficult to buy a bite and the fish hold tight to cover. You'll have to stick a bait right on their heads, for docks nothing much better than a wacky Senko skipped to the back or tight to the posts, other option would be a jig. If you stay in the Northeast River, there are plenty of marinas to fish, the cuts to your left as you leave Anchor Marina hold fish but get hammered hard virtually every day. If your boater takes you into Furnace Bay, fish a jig in the weeds. During active feeding don't overlook a spinnerbait, this time of year run it over weeds, or parallel to weed edges and look for stickups, corners of seawalls are also good targets. Also try casting the spinnerbait to seawall corners and letting it fall to the bottom before starting retrieve, watch the line as bass will hit it on the fall. Check your tide times - the 2 hrs before the tide I'd recommend reaction baits as the bass will be actively feeding. Slack times, jigs and plastic close to cover. Good luck!
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Old 06-20-12, 11:34 PM   #4
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You can never plan on what the boater will do as may not think alike,may draw a guy that will run 40 miles and fish a tributary,or he could be a spotted bass fisherman and fish mooring cells,wing dams etc never know.Plan try to be prepared but over all if what hes doing is boating fish do the same and if you dont have a blue flecked spotted belly bleeding something worm ask they normally will share.
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Old 06-21-12, 08:42 AM   #5
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You have a good plan, let's hope your boater follows through with it. Yes, catching a big bass and cashing a check is a great mind set, but if you are relying on a boater to put you on big fish, well that's another story.

I've heard horror stories about guys (BASS & FLW PRO's!) coming up to Michigan to fish Lake St. Clair & Erie only to fish the river and fish for large mouth. Every MI angler knows that LM will not win the tournament on those bodies of water. One reason I don't sign up and fish as a co-angler for the Opens is you don't know what boater you will get and how they fish.

Being a co, you are at the mercy of the boater and you can only hope you have an enjoyable time on the water and hopefully catch a fish, or even better a limit. Good luck!!
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Old 06-21-12, 07:39 PM   #6
fishingprodigy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by carolina-rig-01 View Post
Really it's hard for anyone to give you advice for a tournament that is on a body of water that many of us haven't seen before. With that said, it sounds like you have a pretty good game plan. Here are a few things that I would consider, but keep in mind that I am from halfway across the country. If he started on boat docks, I would think about throwing a spook around the boat docks if they are fairly deep and maybe a buzzbait if they are more shallow. Also a swim jig is something you should think about, both around docks and also around grass. Swim jigs have caught me more fish around docks in the last year than probably any other bait.

Just have a good time man, don't put too much pressure on yourself. I understand you having a goal of cashing a check but I really think you should look towards a goal that you can control. The reason I say that is because you can't control how the rest of the field does. You can have the best day of your fishing life and could still not draw a check if everyone else has a better day, and that is out of your control. I think a goal of not losing any fish and putting together a solid bag is a reasonable one and it's something that you are more able to control. The cashing check deal will take care of itself when it's your time, and hopefully that is this weekend. Being so early in your tournament career you should just focus on haing a good time and getting used to the tournament format, because as you know it's totally different than fun fishing and the pressure of it is hard to overcome and it's something that you can't duplicate any other way than being in a tournament. Soak up as much knowledge as you can from your boater and have a good time.

Good luck.
Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely have a swim jig in mind while I'm fishing as that is one of the baits I'm more confident in. Your right on point when you say I should try to focus on getting a good bag to weigh in rather than winning a check, my biggest bag there so far is 11.24 ounces, so this tournament I'll try to catch a 15 lb bag or so, which in most cases results in a check anyways on that river. Fortunately, I never put any pressure on myself during tournaments, and I always have a blast. Even in my last tourney, my boater only boated 1 fish and I got skunked but I still enjoyed the time in his boat and all the different areas and tips he showed me. Being a co-angler is a great learning experience and I know that I'll be a better bass fisherman due to it.
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Old 06-21-12, 07:41 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bassboogieman View Post
Have your previous tx. been on tidal water? Tide will have an effect on the fish and when they feed. Best is the 2 hours just prior to the high or low tide, that's when fish will be most active. At slack tide it will be difficult to buy a bite and the fish hold tight to cover. You'll have to stick a bait right on their heads, for docks nothing much better than a wacky Senko skipped to the back or tight to the posts, other option would be a jig. If you stay in the Northeast River, there are plenty of marinas to fish, the cuts to your left as you leave Anchor Marina hold fish but get hammered hard virtually every day. If your boater takes you into Furnace Bay, fish a jig in the weeds. During active feeding don't overlook a spinnerbait, this time of year run it over weeds, or parallel to weed edges and look for stickups, corners of seawalls are also good targets. Also try casting the spinnerbait to seawall corners and letting it fall to the bottom before starting retrieve, watch the line as bass will hit it on the fall. Check your tide times - the 2 hrs before the tide I'd recommend reaction baits as the bass will be actively feeding. Slack times, jigs and plastic close to cover. Good luck!
Yeah, the past 3 tournaments I've fished have all been on the northeast river. Thanks for the tips on the tide, I'll be sure to mark the times 2 hours before high tide and low tide, I'll probably focus on power fishing and covering water during those periods. My last tournament when I got skunked, we spent 3 hours in furnace bay and got no results. We tried spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, and an assortment of plastics but the fish were not responding. I'll definitely try a swim jig or something in the weeds if I end up there again.
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Old 06-22-12, 09:29 PM   #8
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I like the drop shot you plan to fish. depending on the bottom don't forget the shakey head jig with a good straight tail worm. I also like finesse worms on light slip sinkers where fish are pressured.

Good luck, have fun, fish like you want to and feel you have expertise in!!

Last edited by Highhawk1948; 06-22-12 at 09:29 PM. Reason: spelling
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Old 07-01-12, 10:24 PM   #9
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Hey guys, I didn't win a check my last tourney, but I did pretty decently. I ended up with 5 bass weighing 14.64 pounds, but had three dead fish due to the heat which dropped my weight to 13.14 lbs. This dropped me from 8th place to 11th. My boater did better weighing in 16.46 lbs of fish and finishing 6th. We caught a couple of fish using deep cranks along bridge pilings then the rest came fishing a huge grass flat in 3-4 feet of water. I used a baby brush hog to do my damage while he used some craws and jigs.

I missed way too many fish due to my casts being too long and having too much stretch in my line to get a good hookset. I'll be switching to braid with a leader in the future, who knows how many more lbs I would've landed if I had used the right equipment. Overall, it was still a blast and I learned a ton fun and the boater was just a great all around nice guy. He must've helped me retrieve my same crankbait 10 times when we were fishing the bridge pilings lol.
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Old 07-03-12, 04:31 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fishingprodigy View Post
Hey guys, I didn't win a check my last tourney, but I did pretty decently. I ended up with 5 bass weighing 14.64 pounds, but had three dead fish due to the heat which dropped my weight to 13.14 lbs. This dropped me from 8th place to 11th. My boater did better weighing in 16.46 lbs of fish and finishing 6th. We caught a couple of fish using deep cranks along bridge pilings then the rest came fishing a huge grass flat in 3-4 feet of water. I used a baby brush hog to do my damage while he used some craws and jigs.

I missed way too many fish due to my casts being too long and having too much stretch in my line to get a good hookset. I'll be switching to braid with a leader in the future, who knows how many more lbs I would've landed if I had used the right equipment. Overall, it was still a blast and I learned a ton fun and the boater was just a great all around nice guy. He must've helped me retrieve my same crankbait 10 times when we were fishing the bridge pilings lol.
I would focus really hard on fish care. Losing 3 fish is honestly pretty bad and is something that is preventable most of the time with a little effort. Not only will losing fish in a tournament cost you lbs and money, it will also give people a negative attitude towards the sport if it happens too often. There is a thread on here about livewells that was started a week or two back and I posted some very useful links in there about it. Not all of the information I shared in that thread will work for a co-angler because some of them require some modifications to the livewells and some are based on livewells that hold a certain amount of water and each boat you fish out of might be different, but there is certainly some information in there that will help you keep your fish healthy.

Other than that it sounds like you had a pretty descent day. Congrats on catching a pretty good bag and hopefully next time will be even better for you.
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Old 07-03-12, 08:09 PM   #11
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Yeah I was really bummed about the dead fish, I honestly never killed a fish that I knew of before this incident. This was my first hot weather tourney and I unfortunately didn't know to bring ice. Next time I'll bring a cooler full of frozen water bottles to keep my fish happy.
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