When you are 'off your game' in a tournament.

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Texas Transplant

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On Saturday night, I got sidetracked off of my 'plan' from the get-go. I never could seem to get back on track, and I let it affect my overall attitude and subsequently my fishing. The storms that we had wound up contributing, but overall, the damage was already done.



Here's the situation.



Originally, I was to be a single boater fishing alone. Accordingly, I planned my evening/night of fishing based upon this. Got all my gear together, and the boat outfitted. Pulled out of the driveway and headed towards the ramp.



About half way there, I got a call from our President. He wanted to make a change to the boating assignments, so that we would maximize the boater/non-boater seating (we score both team and individual in our tourneys). I agreed to take one of our newer members (young guy who has a decent attitude and fishing ability). However, having agreeded to do this, it changed my plan completely.



I had planned to spend the first hour doing nothing but re-tracing my previous Saturday (federation tourney), making sure I knew what areas had brushpiles and blowdowns in them. I wanted to be certain, for those areas would likely hold fish after dark when they came up to feed.



I was going to follow that with a couple of hours drop shotting some deeper structure, waiting for it to get dark.



My partner for the evening, said those immmortal words that we all dread hearing:



'I've got a spot only 10 minutes from here that will put two limits in the boat in 30 minutes, and I haven't fished it for the last 10 days'. He was excited. You can just guess what happened. Not even a bite.



What suggestions might you have for woking on my physche? I just simply seem to 'get off my plan', and then suffer afterward.



What do you do, to help adjust to this type of situation?



Tex
 
You took a shot and missed. If you had boated a limit then the story would be different. The gamble could have paid off. Always have a plan "B". I would have gone as close to my original plan as possible to see if it produced. Obviously neither one of you had the pattern?



TOXIC
 
Tex, I know exactly what your sayin, seems like every time I go off my plan the morining of the tourney. Especially when it comes to what type of tactics I plan on using. Such as using lizards in weeds and pads, never took them out of the taclke box in the last two tourneys. Or how your non-boater can affect your attitude and tactics.



For this weekends tourney, I am going to do this.



Get a ziploc bag the night before and put the lures I plan on using in there, then rig all my poles with my planned attack. When I get to the lake I only take out the ziploc bag and leave all the "Confidence" or "Panic" baits in the storage bin. I am going to try and force myself to use what I planned. As far as location, the lake I am going to I fished three times this year and did well in some spots. Instead of going crazy and circling the whole lake, I will pound those spots, hour on, then an hour off. Keep moving back to each spot. I was reading in Bassmaster how spots can replensih themselves within an hour, take a bass from a nice shaded falldown and another will move in. If someone else is in my "go to" spots I will try and present an alternate bait to what they were using after they leave.



I know that's not an answer but that's my plan anyway.
 
as the boater i would have gone with my origanal plan and saved the non boaters as a back up. i would have shown intrest in his spot so not to dicourage him.

some times no matter how much you plan your attack for that day or night it just might not pay off.

i also agree with CJL. i will lay off a go to spot and come back and at a differant time of the day and pull fish off it, my partner on sundays tourny was concerned about another boat on one of our second spots. i told him it was all about confidence, just because they beat us to the spot does not mean they will catch the fish.

like Toxic said you gave it a shot and it didn't work out.



GRegD
 
Greg I agree with you completely, two tourneys ago me and another boat are at the same speed going to the same spot in an electric only lake, I ask him if that's where he itneds to go, I get a yup, I stay close to his boat, but not to close for a rules issue. We agree he takes first shot at it. When he leaves the spot after not landing a fish, I move over there and get a small keeper in the same exact spot he was in. Hey at least it got my confidence up for the rest of the day. To bad it waqs my last fish of the day.
 
Thanks guys. Appreciate the insight and recommendations.



I need to work on my own 'psyche' as much or more than anything. I seem to let 'politics' get in the way too much. On some fronts, just too much of a nice guy. Self improvement needed.



Tex
 
Tex - same for me on the nice guy, people take advantage.



My game plan for this weekend's tourney is simple, stay in the shade as much as possible. Medication and sun don't mix.

I'm jig fishin allllll day, except for the pads when I will toss the occasional scum-frog, so my non-boater needs to adjust to me and I might need to write that one down on my hand or something. I might even take the jerkbaits and Senkos out of the boat! Well, that my be goin overboard.



Good luck Bro.
 
Whoa Whoa Whoa there CJL.....Take the senkos out of the boat with Lilly pads on that lake? Are you nuts? Senkos produce bast for me in Lilly pads. Just give it a shot once and you will see.





T.S.
 
Both work for me but the biggest bass seem to come on the Wacky Rigged green pumpkin with a 3/0 off-set hook.







T.S.
 
CJL,

took 3rd in my club tourny sunday fishing texas rigged senkos in the pads all day.

by 3:00 i was so sick of fishing lilly pads i don't care if i see them again all yr.

i like to use #2 owner extra wide gap hooks, and greenpumkin with a chartruse tail 6" senko. i used 2 bags of them and caught every fish that day with them. i coud get a bite on anything else.

my partner is only in his second yr of fishing. first yr of tourny fishing. he coudn't get the feel for the bite, i was culling by 11:00 and he got his first fish at 1:30.

it goes back to confidence, i feel i can catch fish on any lake with that color senko or a drop shot rig with anything greenpumpkin.



GregD
 
GregD,

I have the Greenpupmkin with black flake, 4",5" & 6". I might give the 6" a try, seems like a huge bait, but just might get me a huge Bass for the tourney.

I agree on green pumpkin,my best color in the hula grub as well.
 
Tox, I would assume Tex rigged right? They seem real heavy to wacky rig and would loose them quickly.

I'm thinkin about the size of the fish going after them! Could be awesome.



I Texpose my senko's "I think" meaning I let just the very point of the hook be exposed.
 
See....there you go CJL..letting travis influence your game plan. Be strong....Stay the course....LOL





Wolf
 
Wolf,

When your right your right and your right.

Like I said before JIGS, everyone will be chuckin Senkos, but maybe if I get a limit in the boat I switch to BIG BAITS, to get the lunker prize.

Besides nobody chucks those 6" around here. I still need those 6" Hula Jigs before Sunday.
 
Skin hooked TX style. Also get the finest wire hooks you can. They penetrate better and if you buy quality like Gamakatsu you do not have to worry about them bending or breaking. To me a Senko is a finess type of jig.



TOXIC
 

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