So you want to fish as an amateur (co-angler) in a big-time bass tournament? In Part I of this article, we explored the do’s and don’ts of selecting the right event to fish and setting your goals and objectives for the experience. In Part II, we examine preparation for the tournament and the official practice period.

1. Preparing for the Tournament.
So you’ve taken my advice and applied for entry into a BASS Tour event and, because you’re a BASS Federation member, you’ve been selected for the event of your choice (preferably a grass lake or river). What happens next?

Once you receive the good news of your acceptance, you will receive a package from BASS that contains, among other things, a copy of the tournament rules. Read them! And once you have finished, read them again. Even if you fish Federation events and other bass circuits, several of the BASS Tour rules will be new to you and you must be familiar with them to avoid embarrassment and, worse, disqualification from the tournament. For example, the BASS tour rules apply to the competition days and the official three-day practice period. So if you are caught riding around in a boat during the official three-day practice period without your life jacket on, you will be disqualified. Also, once the tournament starts, don’t expect your pro to inform you that you may be engaging in a rules violation. Know the rules, plain and simple.

In preparing to leave your home for the event, there are three things you need to consider. First is you travel and lodging arrangements. I would suggest that when entering an event you give strong consideration to talking a buddy or acquaintance into entering the event as well. If it’s a BASS Tour event, get another Federation member to enter because he or she will have just as good a chance of getting in as you will. Going with a friend or someone you know helps in many ways. It costs down on the costs of travel and gives you a roommate to share expenses with while you’re at the tournament. Furthermore, it gives you someone to share your experiences with and will increase your overall enjoyment of the tournament. A BASS Tour event is a week-long proposition and it can get pretty lonely after awhile if you go by yourself.

Second, you need to decide what, and how much, tackle that you’re going to take. Obviously, if you’re flying to the event and renting a car, it is far more difficult to bring a lot of gear. I would suggest driving, if at all possible, so that you avoid the hassles of current-day air travel and can bring the amount of gear that you feel is necessary. With respect to tackle, you must consider the type of lake or river that you will be fishing. If it’s a grass lake, then clearly you’ll need a rod to throw a Rat’l Trap and a crankbait, a rod to throw a spinnerbait and Carolina rig rod. Remember, however, that you may draw a pro who will be using techniques that you are not familiar with. You may be drop-shotting in 30 feet of water, so you’ll need a spinning rod that will handle light line. Or you may be flipping heavy cover and need a flipping stick and 25lb test line.

If you look at the BASS Tour tournament rules, you will see that one of the rules suggests (but does not require) that you bring no more than six rods each day of the tournament. I agree with that number, and I’ve never found myself wishing that I had brought more rods along for the tournament day. However, you should bring more than six rods with you when you leave for the tournament. My suggestion is ten. Ten rods, wisely chosen, should enable you to do everything from throwing trick worms in one foot of water to spoon-jigging in 40 feet. Ten rods and reels also allow you to accommodate for any breakage or mechanical failure once you arrive at the tournament site. If you feel more comfortable bringing more than ten rods, then by all means do it. But ten should be plenty.

The third consideration is: should I bring my boat to use during the tournament practice? I would strongly advise against this for three reasons. First, if you enter an event at a lake such as Toledo Bend or Santee Cooper, they are chock-full of underwater obstacles, and you may head home with a bent prop shaft or a damaged boat. Second, while in theory you might find the mother lode of bass, the chances of that happening on a strange lake are slim to none. Furthermore, even if you do get on fish during practice, your pro partners will be skeptical of your claims, particularly if its your first time fishing the lake. Since the rules permit the pro to choose the water, you’re not likely to accomplish much fishing the practice period out of your own boat.

Finally, you want to do what you can to make your experience a learning one. Fishing out of your own boat, albeit on a new body of water, is not going to contribute that much to your knowledge of fishing. For that reason alone, you want to do what you can to fish with a pro for each of the official practice days.

2. Fishing the Practice Days
So how do you get to fish with a pro or pros during the official three-day practice period? If you’re fortunate enough to already know some pros who will be fishing the event, or you have some friends or connections who do, you can make phone calls ahead of time and make arrangements. After you have fished more than one pro-am, you undoubtedly will get to know some of the pros, and you can call those whom you fished the competition days with in previous events. But if you’re a first-timer, how do you make contacts?

There are two ways of fishing a practice day with a pro that you don’t know. First is to arrive the day before first practice day and hang out around the hotels that most of the fishermen are staying at. If you see someone you recognize in the parking lot, go up to them and politely ask if you could fish the next day with them. Most of the pros that I have met are very cordial and are willing to fish a practice day with someone they don’t know. Some may already have a partner for the next day, and you may get turned down several times. Don’t get discouraged. Just because a Kevin Van Dam, Roland Martin or Rick Clunn says no doesn’t mean that a Ray Sedgewick or a Terry Baksay won’t say yes. If your persistent, you’ll find someone to fish with every day of the practice period.

The second way to get a pro partner is to get up early the first morning of practice and go to the ramp that will be used for the tournament. Many of the pros will launch there the first morning. Bring your rods and life vest with you and stand next to the ramp. As the boats go in the water, you’ll be able to readily see who has a partner for the day and who doesn’t. If you’re standing there ready to go, it makes it very easy for a pro without a partner to tell you to hop in. Many pros are relieved to have someone help them launch their boat when they’re alone and are very inclined to fish with you for the day.

You may end up fishing all three practice days with the pro you joined the first morning. Personally, I would advise against that. Once again, learning is your goal. I want to see how more than one pro approaches the body of water and what techniques he’s going to employ. Once you’re out on the water that first morning, you may want to ask your pro if he knows another pro who has an open seat on the next practice day. If you doesn’t, go back to the parking lot or the ramp the next morning and get another partner.

Once you have a pro to fish with for the practice day, remember to be friendly and courteous on the water. After all, in many ways he is doing you a favor by letting you ride with him. Pack some extra drinks and snacks and offer him some. And at the end of the day, don’t just offer to pay for his gas. Insist on it. Not only is this the right thing to do, but you will greatly increase the likelihood of the two of you becoming friends.

Finally, if you fish all three of the practice days, take it easy on third day. Most of us, unlike the pros, are not used to fishing three long days in a row. The competition days are still to come and you want to be at your best. So on the third day, don’t push yourself too hard. That doesn’t mean laying down on the back deck an going to sleep, but you might want to consider sitting more during the third practice day while fishing and bringing plenty of food and drink to keep yourself feeling well throughout the day. The third practice day will already be a shorter day because you must register with the tournament officials by 5:30 p.m. that evening and attend the partner draw. So take it a little easier on the third practice day so that you ready to go the next morning, the first day of competition.

In Part III, we’ll discuss the partner drawing meeting and the competition days.

The featured column section is a mix of different articles written by different authors every month. If there is a topic you would like to see a column written about or you would like to submit an article for consideration, please contact me at pete@vabass.com

Thank You.
Pete Herbst, Webmaster

Please Note: The featured columns do not necessarily represent the opinion of the Virginia Bass Federation.