It has been said many times before you’ll get out of your goal what you put into it. Sometimes success comes by luck, but the best way to get results from something is to put the time in and work to get to the desired level. Sit down and ask yourself a few questions. Last year, when you look at your fishing season, did you have a good year, and were you happy with the results, or were you disappointed at the outcome? This is the basis of your thoughts. Were you pleased with the results, or do you want to make a change?
Sit down with a cup of coffee, a tablet, and a pen, and set some goals for the upcoming fishing season. Where do you want to end this year? This should be a question you ask yourself every year: were you happy with the outcome, and what do you want to change going into the next?
With the basis set, write your plan on paper on how and what you want to accomplish this year. Let me give you a few examples to help you through this process.
What Is Your Goal For Next Year
This will be how you start every season in the future. Review what went well this year, then list your accomplishments. Next, list what you think needs to be changed. A few examples could be how you prepare for tournaments. Did you do your homework or try to fly by the seat of your paints? We all run short of time occasionally, especially when you have work and kids in the mix.
The answer to that is to plan a little bit better. Try pre-fishing a body of water a month or a few weeks before your tournament instead of the week before. Water and bite conditions can change in a few weeks, but try to build these into your time frame when on the water. That is better than just showing up and trying to fly by the seat of your pants on tournament day. I have gotten through with flying by the seat of my pants a few times. I have also failed more times than I have succeeded with that plan.
Upgrade Your Equipment
Once you have your list made, break it down by trying to put a plan behind it. A few examples may be as follows. I want to upgrade one of my boat’s depth finders this year. All my units are 8 to 10 years old, and I would like to add a new unit this year. This will take some time and research to decide, and there will be questions along the way.
Should I expand and stay with my current brand, or is it best to go with a different one? Start to do your homework before you come up with an eventual answer. Start asking your fishing partners what they have and whether they are happy with what they are running. It’s always a good starting point. Next, go to your local sports show and see your options. The most critical point is the cost. What you want to do this year may have to be put off till next year so you can produce the funds. Start to get all these answers now so you can have your plan forward and the funds to support your choice.
You may have a bigger plan, but you have the thoughts of a new boat in your future. Sit back and determine what you want and the cost to set the basis, then work to produce a plan.
How Did You Finish In Your Club?
It’s a thought that all fishermen have at the end of each season. Did I accomplish what I set out to do this year? Yes, everyone wants to be the top fisherman year after year, but let’s be honest here: you can only win AOY sometimes. If so, you’ll consider taking on the next challenge of fishing money tournaments. If you win AOY in your club every year, it’s time to move on to bigger and better things. That is how this circle works: get good at the club level, then move on to local money tournaments, where you’ll find out quickly how good you are. This will be an eye-opening experience for many, but it will also set you on your path.
That was how I came up through the ranks. I started with a bass club. I won some tournaments in my first few years; I got into a few money tournaments the following year. The first few were small, but I can tell you the experience level of the fishermen went up. Many, if not all, were a grade or two above the competition level I had fished against at the club level. But for me, this was what I was looking for; if I wanted to get better, I had to fish against someone better than me. It took me a couple of years to break the code, but I became a better fisherman doing it.
Sit back and devise a plan and path to improve in a few years. Set some goals that you can follow as a measuring point to see how you do. Year after year, stay on this plan to reach your goal. There will be setbacks along the way, but that is called experience. No matter how hard it gets, don’t give up. Always sit back and think, what could I have changed to make the outcome different?
Pick A Few New Presentations To Learn Each Year
Have a goal each year to expand your presentations and tactics. Have you stayed up with the latest and greatest presentations and tactics each year? Are you good with a drop shot, hover rig fishing, or using a go-free rig? Tactics come and change. I was going to say go when, in reality, they take some time off. The prime example is that many years ago when I started to play this fishing game, a Texas rig was KING!!! After a few years, something else came along, and the new kid on the block seemed to be the latest and greatest thing to go to bass fishing. Yes, you must stay current, but remember what got you there in the first place. One of the things I have done in the last few years is resurrecting the Texas rig in my fishing. I can make this statement; I should have never put it down. My go-to rig is once again the old Texas-rigged plastic worm.
Pick a few tactics and presentations to put in your arsenal to stay current each year. Expand as some of these new tactics can flat-out catch bass and may save you when the bite gets difficult, and you have to depend on giving the bass something that they may not have seen a lot of lately (Like A Texas Rigged Worm).
I take 2 to 3 of the latest tactics everyone is talking about and research on the internet (Bass Resource) to determine what information I can find. I look for essential information like the equipment needed to fish this tactic/presentation. Then, I’ll find as much information as possible about this through articles, YouTube Videos, seminars, and talking to local pros.
When at your local retailers, add a few things to the mix so when you hit the water, you can give these new tactics some water time and catch a few bass along the way to better get a feel for what you need to do to get bites and bass over the side of the boat.
When fishing in a tournament, if your partner uses this tactic, pay attention to what they are doing and how they are fishing the bait. Ask questions along the way also to gain more knowledge.
Learn New Water
Always embrace new waters. I was an excellent lake fisherman, but I always struggled when I had to fish tournaments on a river system. If you want to make it in this game, you must know how to fish both bodies of water WELL!!!
Fishing the Red Man Upper Midwest division was a donation run to the river guys when we fished the river destinations, but it was catch-up time when we fished the lakes throughout the year. I could hold my own through the years, but looking at the bigger picture, what is a reservoir system, a dammed-up river system? You must be a good river fisherman to succeed and have BASS aspirations. Learn the water your tournaments are on and expand from there to be successful through the years if you plan to stay in this game.
This will set a basis for you to work off of going forward. Review last year to see where you stand and what you must put in motion to make next year better. Stay encouraged if you still need to reach your goal. That is part of learning to become a better fisherman, which is your goal.
