IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS
by Tommy Biffle
How many of you guys out there keep all of your tackle – regardless of the season, or application – in your boat or tackle box year round? I’ve seen a lot of guys over the years who think that on any given day, a bass could bite on anything. So their plan is to have anything available…just in case.
Too often it’s the little things that are overlooked, and what happens as a result is that you spend too much time wading through all of choices you’ve given yourself. A huge key in tournament fishing, or fishing in general, is to keep things simple. By doing so, you’ve removed two-thirds of the guess-work. Through bait selection, organization, and efficient practice, you’re going to put yourself in a position to win every time.
Picking the right tackle
If I were only given a single bait to take with me at any time or any
condition of the year, it would be a black and yellow jig. For me, it’s
my go to bait and one that I have absolute confidence in. Yours is most
likely different, but my point is that any time you’re starting to
prepare for a tournament, you need to start with your strengths.
When you’re planning around your strengths – how you like to fish – you’re able to find that in nearly any kind of lake there is water that’s agreeable to you. For starters, you need to have a good idea of what the lake is like and what the current conditions are – whether you’ve been there before or not. For instance, you need to know what the lake-level is, what sort of cover and structure the lake has, and what the general water clarity is.
Once you’ve determined those three things, picking baits that suit your strengths become very basic. As an example, since my strength is flipping and pitching, I’m always looking for the type of water that gives me the greatest advantage in utilizing that technique. I’m always going to start with a jig, but I’ll carry an array of tackle geared towards flipping and pitching…like a spinnerbait or worm.
Now that you have a good idea of the conditions and a working selection of tackle that best suits your strengths and the conditions you’re expecting to find, you need to get your tackle and equipment organized in a way that’s going to maximize your efficiency.
Organization
You can easily add a couple hundred pounds, or more, to your boat just
in tackle alone. If you’re fishing a tournament, you want to keep
your tackle and equipment limited to only those things that you’ll
need for the sake of efficiency. Too many choices means too much time digging
around in the bottom of the boat trying to decide what to throw next.
You want to make sure that you have your baits organized in such a way that they’re easy to access. I’ll always make sure that each box I’m going to be using is full so that I won’t run out.
I want to make sure you’re following me here – make sure that you have enough of the baits that you’re going to use. Keep in mind that the point isn’t to pack your boat to the gills with tackle that won’t see the light of day. What I’ll do to avoid over packing is keep any extra baits that I might need in the truck or hotel room so that if I find something during practice, I have access to them without running all over town – that’s a confidence killer for sure!
