Diawa, Quantum and others. For those of us working hard for our
Photo by Tunaman
money, some financial advice is to start off with three versatile quality rods and reels—two bait casters and one spin caster. By versatile I mean you can use one rod to fish several techniques. For example, a stiff enough rod can be used for a jig, Carolina rig, topwater, etc. A spinning outfit will be used for finesse techniques, such as drop shotting, split shot, and the light Texas rig or any other light lures, to light for a bait caster. For the bait casting outfits I recommend a med-heavy action and on the spin casting outfit I recommend a medium action which will allow for more versatility.
One more thing to address on the equipment side is the need for premium fluorocarbon and braided lines in several pound tests. Premium fluoro lines are invisible and offer less stretch than mono lines thus allowing better hook sets and sensitivity. There are many brands available, but I prefer to use Trilene 100% Fluorocarbon and Seaguar for my fluoro lines, ranging from 6 lb. to 20 lb. tests. Braided line is for topwater and reaction baits and for flipping and pitching into heavy cover. For braided line, I use SpiderWire in 30 lb., 50 lb., and 65 lb. tests.
I am not going into detail regarding bait and techniques since in Pro-AM tournaments you can discuss that with your Pro and hopefully you have done your homework so you will already have a general idea of what the fish are doing.
There is no substitute and nothing as important as T.O.W.—Time On the Water. It doesn’t matter how you get on the water as long as you get on the water. Buy a float tube, canoe, small aluminum boat with an electric trolling motor, or offer to pay expenses to fish off the backseat of someone’s bass boat. My first boat was a 7’ Livingston fiberglass with an electric trolling motor. My second boat was a 12’ aluminum Valco with a 9 hp Merc outboard and a trolling motor. These two small watercraft helped me hone my fishing skills and apply the knowledge I was learning. I couldn’t run and gun all over a body of water. It made
ISSUE 2 June 2011
me limited to how much
surface I could cover and
because of this limitation
I was forced to bear down
and concentrate on a
small area. It forced me
to dissect every nook
and cranny and piece
of structure in the area
which enabled me to
“figure the fish out” by
using several techniques
and presentations to
catch the object of my desire, BASS. If you already own a fast boat, try not to run and gun, but rather spend your time dissecting a particular section of the body of water that fits the seasonal pattern.
Some tournament bodies of water, such as the Delta, require a pitching skill with pinpoint accuracy and quiet entry of your bait. What has helped me to hone my casting, especially my pitching skill, is setting up a series of targets in my backyard to pitch and cast toward. Most professional anglers can pitch their bait into a coffee cup from 15’ to 20’ away, quietly. That should be your goal too! When fishing shallow on any body of water, a quiet entry is a must. With only 2’ to 4’ of water over a bass’ head, a big splash will undoubtedly spook the bass so practice, practice, practice!
So you want to be a tournament angler. What does it take? Join a local bass club, read, read and read some more, T.O.W., versatile, quality rods and reels, and practice pitching and casting skills. But what separates the anglers cashing checks to the ones who donate is their mental fortitude to execute their game plan and adapt by fishing in the now. Your game face is on. In other words, you must focus and concentrate on the task at hand, Do not allow interference from the outside break your concentration---no daydreaming, no worrying about what other competitors are doing. Fish in the now and focus, focus, focus. Practice developing this mental fortitude.
I would like to thank my sponsors, Lobina Lures, home of the Rico, IRODS, Canyon Plastics, D&M Custom Baits, Bayou tackle, Pro Worms, Big Bite, Solar Bats, Fat Bass Custom Baits, Al-E-BABY Swim Baits.
Feel free to contact me with any questions via my website www.chris-ricci.com or my e-mail chrisbassricci@aol.com. Tight Lines to all.
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