Bassmaster Elite Series tournament champion Jamie Hartman was in Tulsa, OK in early 2020 to teach a bass fishing instructional seminar class on his tournament strategy. Jamie won two Elite Series tournaments in 2019, and most years he finishes near the top of the angler-of-the-year points. Jamie's tournament approach reflects his focus on consistency. Catching a random fishing, or getting lucky in a 1-day tournament might be a fluke, but you better have a plan, a backup plan and more if you're going to finish well in bass fishing tournaments consistently, or do well in multi-day tournaments. Conditions aren't always going to be the same as where you caught them in practice, and your secret area might have 15 boats in it come tournament day. In this seminar, you'll find that Jamie stresses the importance of preparing on every level, having backup plans, and even being willing to change that plan last-minute if it's proving to be unsuccessful.
- 0:07 Jamie Hartman's tournament strategy
- 1:35 Pay attention to details
- 2:19 Do what works for you, develop your own strengths and be versatile
- 6:33 Addressing your fishing weaknesses
- 8:41 Tournament tackle and gear preparation
- 9:43 Tournament lake research
- 12:20 Are you doing tournament practice correctly?
- 15:05 Bait and tackle selection
- 16:28 Making a plan. Where to start the day and why.
- 18:58 Remember to listen to the fish for tournament success
- 23:06 Put the odds in your favor by identifying high percentage areas
- 24:22 Adjust to fishing pressure and tough conditions
- 27:02 Boat control is crucial to tournament and fishing success
- 30:52 Lure presentation is key to getting bass bites
- 34:19 Change with the conditions, fish movement, etc.
- 36:55 Identifying when you caught a random fish vs identifying a pattern
- 39:22 Developing a backup pattern, or locating some spots that will be good for 1 or 2 fish for emergency purposes
- 40:38 Fish need a reason to be somewhere, don't fish areas where bass have no reason to be