Tournament off limits days

[Jim Conlow Sr.]

If haveing time to prefish during the weekdays proceeding a tournament was not a tremendous advantage to those who are able to do it, they would not be arguing so strongly in opposition to making weekdays off limits.
As Shakespear said: "Methinks the lady protests too much."

Jim

[rickyshabazz]

Jim buy know, most seasoned tournament angler has fished every tournament lake in the Western US under evaring seasons and conditions.

I would say that most guys could care less. Personally, I've spent the last 12 years and wind up fishing the same spots anyway. As a matter of fact, I spend most practice periods fishing water that I have no intention on fishing in the tournament.

It's about expereince and time on the water. But, guys who have been at it a while have seen these lakes enough-under tournament conditions that it wouldn't matter as much as you may think.

[gt5bass]

all you that can't or don't want to...tilt the scales in your favor.

Why handicap those who are out to become the best they can?

How many pros say the secret of success is "Time on the Water"?

There is no such thing as a level playing field in Bass Fishing. By setting off limits you are only tipping the scales in favor of someone else...the person who can't or doesn't choose to prefish or who has fished that body for years. What about the guy that can't get to the lake the weekend before but can get the couple of days before an event off? Does having weekdays off level the playing field for him?

I say let those that wish to pre-fish have at it, if you don't think you can compete against them because they have put in the effort to beat you...stay home!

Who has factual proof that proves that removing the off limits they had way back when caused the decline in turn outs...it couldn't be that society has changed? or that financial demands are different now? Remember when only one spouse had to work to support a household? Could it be the increased number of available circuits.

I believe many things have caused reduced event turnouts, but removing off limits is not the primary reason and putting them in place won't solve the problem either.

I can flat out tell you if a circuit install an pre-fish off limits for a regular season event, you won't see me fishing it. I can see the justification for championship where you are drawing players from out of the region, but otherwise Forget about it!

If you want a level playing field better find a lake that no one has fished, find guys that have the same exact fishing experiences, give them the exact same equipment, etc...etc.

Since that is impossible, lets just fish and may the best man on that day weigh the biggest sack!

[rickyshabazz]

What he said!

[swimbait]

I think you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. The only time pre-fishing weekdays extensively is going to benefit you IMO is on bed fishing or looking at fish on the graph. It doesn't affect those fish to go and look at them.

If you're prefishing and you're casting, you're affecting the fish whether you use hooks or not. Fish see a lure, they feel the resistance when they strike it, maybe they see the boat, etc. A 2lb fish may bite again the next day but a 10lb fish won't 99% of the time.

I'll prefish weekdays to look at beds next year if I feel like it, but I won't stress over it. I just fish teams so I don't know how it all plays out in pro/ams but when I go to that level, I think I'll do it a lot more like Dewayne was saying and fish way ahead of time. You gotta know where they are coming from to know where they're going. And overall, if you're worried about that kind of stuff, you're already putting yourself out of the game in a lot of ways anyway. Its just fishing, anyone can win.

[gt5bass]

This year for the EverStart at Clear Lake...

When I arrived to start my pre-fish 9 days before the tourney, the surface temp was 50 deg. and the fish were on what I call their winter rock pile pattern. The weather was nasty - rainy, windy and cold. By the weekend before the tournament the weather had gotten extremely nice and warm and the surface temp jump up to the high 50's. The fish I was monitoring left the rock piles (where I could catch a 20+ limit at will) and moved to 6-12 breaks off. I met alot of guys that were sucked in by the 60 deg temps and started thinking spawn while I knew the fish were pre pre-spawn and were moving up to start gorging and had virtually no interest in spawning as the water they were still in, 6-12 feet, was still in the low 50's

I had a buddy who pre-fished in advance and dialed in the same pattern I found when I first arrived and died on it the tourney as he did not accurately follow the fish. I also had several guys I know that died looking for spawning fish as they were fooled by the surface water temp.

I pre-fish as much as I feel necessary. Though I do believe there were a couple of events this year I did over pre-fish as by tourney time I had too many things going.

Lake Cumberland for last year's EverStart Championship I practiced for 17 consecutive days and then took the Tuesday, the day before the tourney started to prep my gear. My long pre-fish allowed to thoroughly understand a new body of water and the various patterns I would be exposed to in the tourney which in turn allowed me to finish 3rd and seal the deal on winning the National Co-Angler of the Year title and my Ranger Boat.

Pre-fishing this much is an expensive proposition, but I was fishing to win. I had to learn how to catch larger "Boater" size fish, not the smaller limits that co-anglers survive on.

My first season as Boater/Pro I believe was expensive but a successful one as I learned an unbelieveable amount of info from the time I put in and finished 45th overall after weathering mechanical breakdowns at the last two events. Next year I will shorten my pre-fish times as I now have a better understanding of 3 of the bodies of water we will be fishing next year...like they say Time on the Water is the secret of success.