Main Topics in this Winning Bass Tournaments Class
- 1:15 Approaching a lake
- 4:20 The tournament-winning 1-2 punch
- 10:10 Spring examples
- 11:00 Summer examples
- 12:15 Fall examples
- 14:50 Winter examples
- 17:20 Multi-species lakes
- 19:05 Fishing resident fish vs. pattern fish
- 24:20 Weather
- 27:05 Following fish
- 27:40 Lure color selection
- 28:20 Multi-day tournaments
- 28:40 Milk run
- 29:45 Winning bass fishing tournaments question & answer
Bassmaster tournament angler James Elam has competed on the Elite Series since 2013. He's qualified for 3 Bassmaster Classics, won 2 Open Championships and even finished 2nd and 4th in his Bassmaster Classic appearances. In this seminar, he speaks to a class in his hometown of Tulsa, OK. With so much success in a relatively short career, one thing is certain, James Elam knows how to prepare for a bass fishing tournament. James has developed a 1-2 punch approach for increasing tournament success. It's important to know things like: where the fish be holding, why they will be there and what species you will be targeting in a tournament.
What is a 'Bass Fishing Tournament Prepartion 1-2 Punch'?
You need multiple backup plans. As we all know, fishing changes hourly, if not more often. Your goal is to catch fish all day! Particularly at certain times of the year, fishing may be hot at some time of the day, but you also need a plan for catching them the rest of the day. You might win a single day tournament on a hot spot, or heavy feeding time, but most tournaments still require a 1-2 punch, whether that's a second species that bite better at a different time, another technique or bait, or just being prepared to adjust to changing weather/water conditions. While the majority of the winning angler's weight in a multi-day bass fishing tournament may be caught using one technique, pattern or area, some portion of their winning weight is almost always from some "backup plan". James provides some great examples of bass fishing tournament backup plans for every season.
Tournament Success on Multi-Species Lakes
When it's an option, you can often use multiple species to your advantage. James talks about how you can analyze a lake to determine if it's viable to target 2 species and some of the best approaches if your tournament is on a body of water with largemouth and one or more other species, like spotted bass or smallmouth. Because these species are unique in some ways, you can use their feeding patterns, locations and other characteristics to your advantage when approached with different conditions or moods of the bass.
Pattern Fishing vs. Spot Fishing to Win Tournaments
James Elam breaks down how pattern fishing contrasts/compliments spot fishing to win different types of tournaments and different bodies of water. Learn how to determine what your approach should be for tournament success.
Other Tournament Conditions
James Elam talks about other reasons or ways to have a 1-2 punch. He addresses how weather changes sometimes even in the same day, and how to adjust. He talks about how fish may move or change behavior througout the day and how you can "follow" them, depending on seasons. Learn how you may make color changes to be more effective as weather and time of day change.
Student Bass Fishing Tournament Success Q&A
James answers loads of student questions: What is your fishing line choice for fishing jigs and topwaters? Can you activate schools of fish (trigger a school to bite)? What kind of research do you do for upcoming bass fishing touraments, including interner searches? How do you practice for tournaments that have off-limits times?
