Bass Tournament Etiquette

by Wayne Carpenter
Editor: Combat Fishing Newsletter

WE’RE DOOMED?
Days, weeks, months or perhaps even years went into planning for this moment. It’s the biggest tournament of the season and you’re a mile away from your biggest fish and three boats are on “your” spot. Is it over? Are you headed for a meltdown or are the opportunities just beginning?

Ever tell or hear stories about the big bite during pre-fishing? It’s tournament day and they’ve flown the coop. Fishing the same bite, during the same time of day with the same wind and sky conditions is netting nothing. Oh, a bone is thrown here or there but a limit of two pound fish won’t cut it on this lake. It was so much easier last week. It could be that we approach pre-fishing with an open mind and search for possibilities.

While the fish adjust to the current conditions a lot of times we are hung up on yesterday’s, last week’s or last year’s fish. This current opportunity where we can’t fish “our” fish may be exactly what the doctor ordered. Now a step backward is taken and a reassessment based on current conditions may lead us right into the best, big bass pattern. What if there are 4 foot waves and heavily stained water keeping you out of your top spot? We may take it personal when others have discovered the same area but with so many tournaments run on a weekly basis (particularly on big water) it seems inevitable that we must share the resource.

FIND RELATED WATER
It is not only possible, but likely that similar or bigger bass can be found nearby. If we are talking about a smallmouth bite, that can put time on our side. Very few anglers have the patience to sit on one spot for 7 or 8 hours to wait the school out. Some of the top guns have mastered that level of patience. These anglers have settled on five good bites to fill their limit and each one counts. The good news is that although it may take hours to pattern fish in an area, once their patterned, you are five bites away from a productive tournament day.

Smallies can be predictable if we expand our routine beyond spots and start thinking, "area." We may hit the mother lode if the spot we fished last was free and clear and everything is exactly as it was. Then again, maybe not. Your instincts were solid in finding the fish in the first place and you will find them again.

Most areas have a symmetry to them which will aid us in finding a spot that may be a mirror image of our honey hole. Extended shorelines are relatively easy to traverse while casting and feeling out the fish at a similar depth. Half moon or bowl shaped areas have that same easy to read structure and it’s likely you can watch your old spot being fished from a distance. Once the previous guest gives up, you will be the first to know and can finish the day there. Areas with current are also prone to having duplicate, or closely related structure.

LAKE ST. CLAIR
Some areas that fit the above descriptions are the “Mile Roads,” the “Firecracker” and the “Selfridge” area in Lake St. Clair. The “Mile Roads” provide some of the easiest fishing in the lake. You can literally pull up to the same depth where boats are lined up along the shore and start catching fish. What is not generally known is that a pattern exists where you can catch very small bass near shore, larger fish in the 3ft. to 5ft. range, smaller fish from 5ft. to 7ft., bigger fish from 7ft. to 9ft., smaller fish from 9ft. to 11ft. and larger fish from 11ft. to 15ft. These depths are relative on any given day but the pattern is pretty solid. Your chances of putting a good limit in the boat are excellent; even if the area is heavily pressured.

If you made the “Firecracker” your strategy for the day than you will almost certainly find several boats surrounding it on tournament day. I’ve documented at least 18 different spots related to the “Firecracker” that hold fish and in some cases, yield a bigger bite. If you felt good about the fish in this area, why make a long run across the lake to other fish?

The “Selfridge” bite can be short lived, lasting only through late spring but the patterns that work on one side of that bay work on the other side. There was one time in 1999 where you could fish anywhere in the lake at 12 ft. deep and the fish were there.

Perhaps if we see “spots” as the symptom of bass infestation the “area” may be the cure for a take-a-number day on the lake. Connect the spots and discover the fish that provide the foundation for the activity in certain select areas. At least on Lake St. Clair, “spots” are just the tip of the iceberg and with smallies being finicky like they are, the deeper patterns can be an ally when it seems like your best water has been made out of bounds.