Bass tournament.

[chong]

I've just entered my first bass tournament at the end of june on the st lawrence in montreal, because of the cold temperature the bass might still be spawning or close to post spawn.

 

 

 

I'm going to be throwing tubes,crank baits and spinnerbaits for smallmouth.

 

Is there something else i should try?

 

What depths should i be fishing?

 

 

thanks for the help.

Edited April 24, 2014 by chong

[aplumma]

A sinko on a jighead fished regular or wacky is a good ticket. Find the wind blown shore or the dark bottomed shallows. The fish that are eating are looking for the few extra degrees of warmth those areas provide.

 

 

Art

[OhioFisherman]

The tournament is still two months off? a lot can happen with the weather in two months? Since your location is listed as Montreal I would assume you are familiar with the water you will be fishing? Can you pre-fish? It helps to have a general idea of the bottom composition of the area? You might have better luck in an area with a sand, gravel, rocky bottom that a bottom that is just muck? especially if they are still in the spawning mode?

 

Smallies here on Lake Erie move shallow to spawn, a lot of times into the bays and tributaries off of Lake Erie, warmer, more sheltered water for nest building. It's not hard to catch them in a couple of feet of water under a dock in a marina or near rip rap in a sheltered cove. In a week or two of warm weather they can all be gone from those areas and into deeper water.

 

Lure choice? I might mix in a small jig and pork or plastic for shallower water, 1 - 10 feet, a blade bait for deeper water?

[manitoubass2]

Holy geez lol. Be prepared for anything. Lipless cranks, shakeyheads, various plastics in different colors so your prepared for different water colors. Lots of plastic craws. All sizes of wide gap hooks, bullet sinkers, drop shots etc. lots shallow/deep cranks and various stick baits, top waters etc. pre rig a lot of rods for various techniques. Study maps before pre fishing. Watch the weather closely.

[lookinforwalleye]

Forget the tournament and go have fun!!!

[mike rousseau]

Advice....

 

If you don't fish here regularity... You'll need a ton of hours prefishing to come close to the locals...

[BillM]

How does pre-fishing a season opening weekend tournament work?

[mike rousseau]

He didn't say it was opener...

 

Could be the following weekend....

 

I believe bass opens 3rd sat... There is a fourth...

 

That a week of prefishing...

[mike rousseau]

Can also visually search for bedding fish..

[Roy]

How does pre-fishing a season opening weekend tournament work?

 

It doesn't go well at all, Bill. A few years ago, a large tournament was planned for opening weekend and a lot of the pros did not show up. You can't legally pre-fish an opening weekend tourney. I don't know the dates of this one though.

[darsky]

aaaaaaaaaactually Roy-this year bass AND muskies both open on June 13. This year it may not be a great thing.

[chong]

i know the area and have a few spots but i usually fish these spots for bass in the fall.Bass opens june 13, tourney is the 21st so

with work,wife and kids I only have 3-4 days of pre-fish.

[Maverick]

When I'm fishing tournaments I usually have 6-10 rods. Usual combos are spinnerbait, tube, crankbait, topwater, jerkbait, buzzbait, drop shot senko, flipping jig and weedless frog or mouse. If I'm fishing heavy lily pads, I'm throwing the frog, mouse or buzzbait deep into them, then tossing the popper or spook along the open edges. If there are deeper rocks, a craw coloured crank or tube. Submerged weeds I'm looking at a spinnerbait or jerkbait and isolated cover I'll flip the jig to. If the water is cold or they don't want to bite, might need to slow it down.

 

Good luck!

[BillM]

 

It doesn't go well at all, Bill. A few years ago, a large tournament was planned for opening weekend and a lot of the pros did not show up. You can't legally pre-fish an opening weekend tourney. I don't know the dates of this one though.

 

I was thinking that's how it worked... I guess it's silly to put a tournament on (at least bass where pre-fishing is the norm) on opening weekend.

[mike rousseau]

Makes for a challenging tourney tho... Lol

[msp]

Im not a tournament guy but I would suggest that you cover as much water with a jerkbait and spinnerbait. Once you find some fish locations you can finesse them with a tube , grub , senko or dropshot.

Good luck

[chong]

When I'm fishing tournaments I usually have 6-10 rods. Usual combos are spinnerbait, tube, crankbait, topwater, jerkbait, buzzbait, drop shot senko, flipping jig and weedless frog or mouse. If I'm fishing heavy lily pads, I'm throwing the frog, mouse or buzzbait deep into them, then tossing the popper or spook along the open edges. If there are deeper rocks, a craw coloured crank or tube. Submerged weeds I'm looking at a spinnerbait or jerkbait and isolated cover I'll flip the jig to. If the water is cold or they don't want to bite, might need to slow it down.

 

Good luck!

 

 

I only have 5 rods....i guess i have to go get some more... Thanks everyone for there input.

Edited April 27, 2014 by chong

[Sinker]

I think asking for tourney advice on a fishing site is hilarious....

 

Id suggest scrapping the bass and targeting musky

 

S.

[manitoubass2]

I think asking for tourney advice on a fishing site is hilarious....

 

Id suggest scrapping the bass and targeting musky

 

S.

nothing wrong wit asking, maybe its his first tourny??? The only real responses he'll get though is to be prepared, so i guess it is kinda silly. The best advice is not even really about fishing. Make sure to eat/hydrate. Hit the washroom before heading out. Get lots of sleep. Be prepared to fish hard. Dont drink after the weigh ins like a lot if idiots do. I've seen a lot of guys lose many places just cause they get hammered when they get off the water

[jbailey]

Im not a tournament guy but I would suggest that you cover as much water with a jerkbait and spinnerbait. Once you find some fish locations you can finesse them with a tube , grub , senko or dropshot.

Good luck

search baits!

[dhickey]

Early summer bass are everywhere the small ones are still on beds.

What you should focus on is drop offs structure and throw everything you can think of at them.

Different depths and patterns.

 

If you can see them turn away from your lure then your in to a hard battle.

Go lite 4-6 pound mono or flouro and a slow retrieve and go back to the drops and structure.

Water temps don't mean much this time of year but extreme weather changes do factor in to the hunt.

 

Early summer bass are the best fun and challenge once you tune into them you should be able to catch them all summer and they only get easer .

 

Good luck.

Don.

[mattybculp]

In all honesty if its your first couple of tournaments being prepared and confident in the presentations is important, choose lures and bait selections in which you have had success and therefore confidence in. In my first tournament I followed a couple simple rules. Have fun, and enjoy the day. Lower expectations on final results, I looked at it as though there are many boats in the field who make a living at fishing tournaments and have so for years. Drink it all up and absorb as much information as you can, its a learning experience for sure, go to the weigh-ins, and talk to some people, there are a few friendly guys out there lol, Lastly, have a plan and just go fish! I took this outlook in to my first tournament and ended up placing second. I was expecting to come last and to struggle putting multiple quality fish in the live well, it ended up being one of the best bass days I've had in along time. Its a cool feeling heading into weigh in with a bunch of people around when you have a really good bag!