The Ultimate Guide to Preparing for a Bass Fishing Tournament
Going out and enjoying a day on the water is rewarding in and of itself, but eventually, most serious bass anglers want to try their hand at participating in a tournament.
Tournaments exemplify the term “sport” fishing, bring the fishing community together, and yes, offer the opportunity to earn money and prizes for doing what you love.
If you’re ready to start entering the more organized part of the fishing world, you’re in for a treat. However, it can also be somewhat complicated, and you want to have the best chance possible to come out on top.
Here’s a complete guide by the BassForecast team to help you prepare for your first bass tournament.
1. Make Sure Your Skills are Up to Par
First and foremost, you need to have some experience fishing before you start thinking about tournaments. You don’t want your first cast to be done when there’s something at stake.
If you’re a beginner angler, take your time, don’t think about tournaments for a while, and just focus on becoming a good fisherman.
Don’t worry. You don’t need to be a pro before you start participating in tournaments. You just need the basics under your belt.
2. Find a Tournament for Your Skill Level
As we said, you don’t have to master fishing before you start participating in tournaments. There are bass fishing tournaments for all skill levels. From small local derbies to worldwide tournaments, there’s something for everyone.
If you’re looking for tips on how to get started, you’re likely going to want to sign up for a smaller local tournament. The prizes are smaller, and sometimes, they’re just for bragging rights. However, the competition is also more accessible for beginner anglers.
You’ll want to make sure the tournament is open to your age group and the equipment you like to use before signing up, too.
You might have to pay a sign-up fee, but at this level of competition, fees are typically very affordable. These fees support the tournament operation, and they typically help build up the majority of the prize pool.
3. Understand the Rules of the Tournament Fully
Tournament rules can vary dramatically from tournament to tournament. One of the biggest beginner misconceptions is that the person with the bigger fish wins.
Some tournaments will give you a limit to catch and then add up the total weight, some look at the weight of a fish, some score points based on the weight and length, etc.
Beyond knowing how you’ll be scored and what your goal should be, you’ll also need to understand equipment restrictions, how fish are to be brought in for scoring, whether you can have teammates, etc.
Knowing the rules is the first half of the battle. Just a single minor mistake can cost you the win even if you show up with the biggest bass in the lake.
4. Practice with Your Gear Ahead of Time and Focus on What You Know
The day of the tournament is not the time to try new things. You should focus on using the rod setup, lures, and presentations that you are comfortable with.
If you haven’t thrown a crankbait before and only know how to work a Texas-rigged soft plastic, don’t suddenly decide to experiment with crankbaits.
Likewise, taking a brand-new setup you’ve only used once or twice, or not at all, is a recipe for disaster. You can’t trust it. You haven’t used it long enough to notice its flaws. A new reel might require a lot of adjustments, or it might be garbage in general. A new rod might be made poorly and lose guides after a few dozen casts, etc.
You want to know that the equipment you’re using is reliable because you won’t want to end your tournament experience early if something fails. Of course, your chosen equipment does need to meet any tournament requirements.
To wrap this section up, you should also practice extensively with that equipment before the tournament.
You might be comfortable with your chosen setup, but it doesn’t hurt to spend a few days or weeks fishing with it regularly to make sure your skills are well-honed.
5. Fish the Spot Ahead of Time
It’s not always possible, but if you can fish the water that the tournament is held ahead of time, you’ll have a major advantage. This is far easier with small local tournaments because they’re held at ponds and lakes that you probably fish in your free time, anyway.
It’s far better to enter a tournament with some knowledge of the water instead of going in blind.
When you go in blind, you have to find all the best spots, learn how the fish are migrating around the water, and more on the fly. That, or you end up winging it, and that’s rarely a good way to consistently catch good bass.
Sometimes, tournaments hold practice sessions. This is a short time when all participants are allowed to get out on the water and handle their scouting, learn where the fish are, and more before the tournament takes place. This isn’t a guaranteed luxury, but if it’s available, take advantage of it. Even if you already fish the area on your own time.
6. Plan Your Primary Spot and Get There Quickly
This goes with our previous tip. You need to know where you want to start the tournament ahead of time. You don’t want to spend the first thirty minutes racing all over the lake looking for a spot. That’s a waste of time, and the other participants likely already know where they want to go.
However, you also want to make sure you’re equipped to get to that spot as fast as possible on tournament day.
Someone else is likely going to want the same spot as you, and you don’t want them to take it first. Learn where the tournament starts, the fastest route to your spot, and how you can cut the amount of time it takes for you to get into position.
7. Understand Tournament Etiquette
There is an established, unwritten, code of ethics in the fishing community:
You don’t cross lines,
You don’t see someone getting bites and rushing to their spot,
You don’t litter, and
You don’t talk to someone while they’re trying to fish.
However, tournaments take etiquette more seriously, and since there is something at stake, people will not take kindly to someone who doesn’t follow the unwritten rules.
Most fisherman etiquette is common sense, and it’s the same stuff you do when you’re casually fishing. Just make sure that you are being courteous, because it’s easy to get out of hand in a competition, and it’s a lot harder to express a mistake and move on from it when something is at stake.
8. Make Sure You’re Stocked on Your Go-To Lures and Terminal Tackle
Before the tournament, you need to go through your tacklebox, pick what you’re going to be using, and then stock up on that gear.
Again, it needs to be stuff you’re comfortable with, but you need to have backups. Hitting the water without a spare line, a bunch of spare lures, and a basic terminal tackle can end your tournament experience quickly.
If you only have one of the crankbait designs you want to use, get caught on a stump first cast, and lose it, there goes your entire plan.
Lines break, hooks bend out, bass tear up lures, and in general, you need to have spares to keep you fishing.
It’s even better if you can pre-load some rigs and spools. If you have a second spool full of lines, you can pop that on in an instant if you run out of line. If you use rigs that are tied on with leaders, you can set up several of your rigs, and when one snaps off, just tie on another one.
Those tips can help you spend more time fishing instead of messing around with rigs and equipment.
9. Do a Gear Check
At least a day before the tournament, you need to sit down and check every piece of fishing gear you’re going to use. Is your reel operating smoothly? Are there any cracks in your rod? Do you need to put on a fresh line?
You don’t want to get to the water and realize your rod is about to snap, your reel is giving out, or your line is old and snap-prone.
As long as you have a day of prep time, you can replace or fix things as needed and trust that you’re using reliable equipment. Just make sure you’re buying exact copies of anything you’re replacing so your setup works the same.
10. Monitor the Weather A Week Ahead
Weather impacts how the fish will bite dramatically.
Start monitoring the weather a week out, and monitor it every single day so you can get an idea of what you’re dealing with on tournament day.
To streamline this process, consider downloading the BassForecast fishing app, which offers detailed weather forecasts and a spot-on solunar.
Of course, on the way to the tournament, make sure you check the weather in real time to figure out whether your plans are going to work or not. You might need to adjust if a sudden overcast or slight rain happens that you didn’t expect.
11. Arrive Early
On tournament day, don’t show up right on time. You won’t be allowed to get out on the water and start fishing until the tournament hosts say so, but you can have a little time to get your gear organized, get your boat in the water if it’s allowed, etc.
The short amount of time you save by getting prepped in advance might mean the difference between getting to your favorite spot first or losing it to someone else.
This also ensures that you can handle any issues before the tournament starts. Maybe you forgot to pay your sign-up fee, misinterpreted an equipment restriction, or need to change your rig. You can’t do any of that if you show up just in time to check in and get on the water.
12. Eat and Sleep Well
Tournaments are supposed to be fun, but they can be stressful just like any competition. One of the best preparations you can make is to get a good night’s sleep the night before. This will leave you energetic and well-rested, and you’ll focus better on the water.
Making sure you eat a healthy, filling diet the night before can help, too. While you’ll probably want to eat right before you go out on the water for the day or bring snacks with you, you should also ensure that anything you eat right beforehand is going to agree with your stomach. You don’t want to get on the water and suddenly suffer stomach problems.
13: Prep Your Boat
If you’re using a boat for the tournament, you want to make sure everything is in working order. Get the boat out on the water the day before, run the engine, see if there are any mechanical problems, clean it up, and make sure all your required safety equipment is on board.
Boat mishaps can ruin your tournament experience, and sometimes you might have to prove your boat is properly equipped with the boat accessories to the tournament hosts or a Fish and Wildlife officer.
It’s best to have everything as it should be before the tournament.
14. Get to Know the Competition
This typically isn’t as big of a deal in smaller local tournaments, but the pros at the Major League certainly know each other and know how each one operates.
There’s a good reason to build relationships beforehand even on the smaller levels.
While you’ll be competing against each other, a sense of comradery and sportsmanship can go a long way on tournament day. It can help you avoid arguments over spots, maybe garner you a few tips, and of course, the competition is only temporary.
A friend who can help you out afterward is a long-term resource that might get you new opportunities, help you improve, and expand your fishing network.
Sign Up for Your First Tournament This Season
Tournament fishing isn’t just something for sponsored pros to do on TV for million-dollar prizes. It’s something everyone can enjoy at all levels, and it adds a new layer to your fishing experience.
Get out there and sign up for your first tournament, as soon as possible.
Not ready yet? Make sure to check out our ultimate guide on how to fish for bass and other helpful resources for the best fishing experience.