2013 is here, the world didn't end and holiday fun is over. Now its time to get back in gear and focus on the remainder of the tournament season. With lots of local tourneys scheduled and the EverStart Western Division tournament at Roosevelt Lake in late February, its time to start preparing. Time to get on the computer, pull out the maps and previous years notes and results, dig in hook up the boat and hit the water. But first...don't forget to inspect and preform whatever maintenance is needed on the boat, motor, trailer and tires to ensure all are road and lake safe and ready!
Sound familiar? Some events might be months away like the FLW EverStart and some may say that its to early... and whatever pattern/bite I might find now won't be there two months from now. Well, while there is some truth to that statement, having not fished the Roosevelt Lake, or any lake for that matter in the last few months its time to start locating fish and following their movements over then next few months to monitor any changes they make. However, I have found that, in some cases the fish don't always, at least all of the fish, make as much change as many anglers believe. And just by spending time on the water can provide valuable information about their activities and how to plan your strategy for tournament day.
One of the biggest problems I see is anglers getting wrapped around the axle with what everyone is doing on the water and some who wait until the day before to pre-fish for a tournament. While having some insight to what others are using for lures, etc., it doesn't mean it will work for you right out of the box. We all have go to lures. Why, because they work for us. We have established a confidence in them for locating and catching fish. Stick with them! Getting into that wrapped up in the dock talk will almost always produce less than expected results, specially on tournament day. On tournament day, stick to your plan, and blow all of the dock talk out of your head!
Remember, time of the year, weather and water conditions, just to mention a few variables, do play heavily in to the formula but, bass are predators and are creatures of habit thus making them highly predictable no matter where you're fishing. I have caught countless fish up shallow when all the typical signs tell me to fish deeper secondary areas and, just the opposite at other times.
Time on the water is key!
Good Luck in 2013 and tight lines!
Fred
