WesternBass Magazine April 2011, Page 44

WesternBass Magazine April 2011, Page 44

d d d E E C E C IS C IS IO I IO S NS N IO S, NS,

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here should I start? When should I

leave? I wonder if they will bite this

bait? Sound familiar? It’s okay, we all

go through these series of questions every time we are on the water. Being able to

answer these questions and organize these exact

thoughts, through instinct and through the process

of elimination, has taken years for me. Hopefully a

few of these tips can help you out the next time you

find that you’re talking to yourself.

It’s first thing in the morning and I look no different than any other fisherman on the lake, quietly sneaking up to a spot by way of trolling motor. Typically in my boat, the only sounds that can be heard are the constant turns of my reel handle and the occasional pulse of the trolling motor, but in my

By Mike phua

head it’s a different story. The volume of the noise from thoughts running through my head remind me of a classroom full of crazy kids with a thousand different questions being asked and a million different conversations going on. Somewhere through all that chaos, I have to be able to make key decisions that will determine the outcome of my day.

Where should I start? Should I go for the limit or go to the spot where I saw the big fish? Depending on various factors such as conditions or time of year this tournament is taking place, you have to ask yourself what will be more beneficial to your success. If scratching out a limit will get you up in the top 10, I think the answer is obvious. Go for the

limit and don’t think twice about it, and

then go for a giant. Now

if this tournament is

taking place during

the pre spawn

or the spawn,

you have to ask

yourself: what

is a 15lb limit

going do for me

if the previous

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