Thoughts from Tourney Newbies

By: Levi Ladd, MooseKat Guide Service

Immediately following the weigh-in on Sunday at Wassookeag (our first bass tournament), the first questions we received were “what’d you think?”.  The answer to this question is a difficult one to answer.  Despite the lackluster fishing my boat endured, the entire tournament atmosphere made the fishing that much more enjoyable.  We were both surprised and awe-struck at how well-prepared and motivated many of the tourney fishermen were throughout the event.  The event was well organized and the other teams’ competitiveness rubs off on you, making you work that much harder for your fish.  Time is of the essence and each cast counts, unlike a normal day fishing on the water.

Regarding the tournament fishing itself, despite an array of combinations of tackle and methodologies, the fishing from our boat was slow.  Even pickerel came hard for us.  We started on the north end of the lake, where I dare to presume most of the bass were still quite lethargic in the 45 degree water.  After a few hours and a strike apiece with no hook-ups, we ventured through the thoroughfare into the small lake where the water was 10-12 degrees warmer and suitable habitat more abundant.  Despite the successes of some boats, it seemed most boats within eyesight of our boat were also struggling, making us thinking we weren’t the only ones… until weigh-in time at least. 

The conclusions my partner and I each drew were similar.  The first and foremost was that bass fishing a lake is a whole new animal than simply casting and jigging the current past the large boulders and cut banks of the Sebec or Penobscot Rivers.  The still waters of lakes and the clearness of the water bring entirely new variables to the fishing equation and truly show what skills you have or don’t have as a bass angler (particularly in our case).  Secondly, pre-fishing is very important.  We did not pre-fish, and despite a full tackle box and a lot of ambition to experiment with lures/baits/techniques, fishing a new water on a depth map alone is not going to cut it at these tournaments without a mighty stroke of luck at each one.  Lastly, if you catch fish and are having a crummy day – weigh in!  A small fish may keep you out of last place.

The tournament was a blast despite our lack of production.  To me personally, seeing the large fish weighed-in at the end of the day, experiencing the camaraderie among the participants, and getting fed a little slice of humble-pie by other fishermen as well as the fish themselves was just what I needed to rekindle my passion for bass fishing that I thought I had lost many years ago.

My personal thanks to the tournament participants for reminding me makes fishing so much fun in the first place: passion.