Learning to Be a Tournament Angler (Part 1 of 3)

[josh]

I have been trying this year at becoming a tournament angler. I am a FLW menber and fishing the LBL Division. Standing around at the Pre-tournament meeting waiting for it to start I noticed all the others tallking to each other. This made me uneasy and happy at the same time. This made me happy to know I have joined a great club. The uneasy part is these guys have been fishing these lakes alot and maybe I'm out of my element. Once the meeting started and I met my partner. We walked off to discuss our plan. I expected the BOATER to have a vast knowledge of fishing of the lake we where on or at least a plan. The first words out of his mouth was "Where are the Fish". The man had only lived in the area for about 2 years. So on Tournament Day I put him on a stump row about 200 yards long. He missed 2 big fish in the first hour. We then did not move from this spot all day until it was time to head back for way in. The only thing that I learned out of this was the boater does what he wants with his boat.
I have another tournament on 12 Apr. Any help or suggestions with this type of tournament angling please respond.

[basscop]

Josh-

I started fishing club tournaments then moved to open tournaments then the BFL's and now the STRENS. The problem when you go as a co angler is that you are at the mercy of the boater, if you are new to tournaments then club fishing I feel is the way to go you fish in a low stress enviroment low entry fees etc, the draw back is that the payouts are pretty low but you can learn. If you are looking to make some money then you need to take steps and start at the bottom and work your way to top level of fishing. Hope this helps.

[josh]

Thanks for the help. I have a club that I am looking at right now. I am giving the BFL one more shot this upcoming weekend to see if it was just the first time out. Thannks for the help again.

[Will_fishes_Kistler]

you wouldnt happen to be fishing the LA/TX tourney launching out of Clarks would ya??? on the 12th April

[josh]

no I am fishing the LBL out of KY