Thanks guys for the replies,

All good answers for different situations on different bodies of water.

My two answers are to first change presentations and then move to new water and look for some piece of water that worked for you earlier just in a different location. Take Potholes for example since we are all fishing it in the next month or so. On friday the 8th I found tons of willing smallies, but couldn't find the largies in the dunes to save my bacon. So what did I do, well I gave it some deep thought and changed my presentations on saturday in the same types of  water that I fished on friday and it worked. Caught over 18lbs.

Now you say that was a prefish and I agree, those fish might not be there next week, so those are the risks that I take. But with the air temps dropping this week, I believe my pattern will hold just fine anywhere that I find the conditions that I had found earlier.

Thanks again for the great discussion I believe we all learned a ton from the responses. I will post a similiar puzzling question next week so hang on.

Russ

LIMITS?  What are limits?  My limit is usually the 2 or 3 fish that I am able to catch!  "To cull or not to cull", that has never been the question in my boat.  But this year,  Look out Kirk!

Rich

Well if you only have one "really good" technique, then you shouldn't be fishing tournaments. I think this thread was for guys that are past that point and have several techniques they can use.  If not they can't answer the original question because they only can catch fish one way in the first place.....

Rob,
If your first starting I believe in getting really good at fishing 1 or 2 techniques really good. Then start working on the other techniques. Have that confidence to lay back on. You be better off fishing two techniques really well. Rather than fishing five techniques okay.

I would agree that going for a limit first is a good strategy. It takes pressure off just catching that first one. It's always great to get a couple kicker fish first thing. Then we're back to the start of this post though. If the bite dies off, what do you do? Sometimes going for broke pays off with a good fish. But that isn't going to happen all the time. Sometimes you need to scratch just a few extra pounds. We have all seen tournaments where one more pound would have made the difference. I personally think that winners put numbers of fish in the boat an a regular basis. The one that gets a good fish here and there isn't going to have as much success in the long run.

This sport is always a gamble because you can only have one rod in your hand at a time. We have all questioned our decisions and wondered if we would have been better off doing something else. That's why experience in different baits during different situations takes winners to the top regularly. It takes more guess work out of the equation.  Here's the equation..

Right bait+right time+right presentation+confidence = fish (x 5) = Consistent winning

I thought you probably suffered from "performance anxiety" Mike, now the whole world knows!

I do the same Mike....but sometimes I forget....after having fun catching 1-1-1/2 lbers when to get out and look for the kickers!

DOH!

This is a great post. I was reading some of the answers and it got me thinking about a question I always wonder about some of the members in our club.

Say it is the first day of a tourny. Everything is average. It's not cold nor hot. The water is fine. Just a OK day to fish. Do you go for a limit first? Or do you go for the win trying to boat five big kickers?

I myself am usually going for a limit first. I tend to fish better after I have a small limit in the sack. Then you will feel less pressure to perform on the larger fish.

Plus....a sponsor would rather have someone consistantly in the top ten rather than a one-time-wonder who is all over the map when placing.

The thing about being the first loser in this sport....

When you are on the tour and have a family to feed, those decisions are more critical. When you win more often and can take the gambles because you have the financial stability, then go ahead.

Rob,
this is for your scenario. Leave it all out on the line. Go for the win. 2nd only the first loser. I would go for the deeper water bite if that happened to me. But I would be looking for largemouth in deeper water. Their there you just have to find them. Plus if you do that you might mix in a couple good smallies. Or if for some reason I felt the fish are sticking shallow. Like they were on the spawn. Then I'd look for isoclated cover off the spawning flats.

I can set you up with an 18 guage i.v. drip Mr. Smith......and they faulted David Dudley with Defensive Fishing tactics.......

WHAT ABOUT OFFENSIVE TACTICS!

Dang you Danny!!!  I had almost forgotten the horrible spectacle that haunted and befouled us that day.  Now the memories of "BAD MOONS ARISING"   have come flooding back and completely engulfed my pre Clear Lake mental preparations for the upcoming tournament next week.  It WILL most likely take a large quantity of Black Velvet to purge the memories of such a horrendace view.   Think of it!  Four deathly pale pimple speckled 1/2 orbs rising above the shining rail of a glass bassboat  floating serenely on a azure blue, lightly rippled lake surface. ???  That dasturdly act perpetrated on us by Terry & Chris should rank among the foulest and most vile unsporstman like acts ever.    OH the sheer horror of it!!!

CANADIAN ME MR. SULLIVAN, YOU'RE DRIVIN TO CALIFORNIA, I CAN'T HANDLE IT!

SMITTY

Here's a scenerio for you Kirk....

Say you are fishing a big money tournement like a BASS event on Potholes. You have brought two good bags on day 1 and 2. On day 3 you brought in 3 fish for 6-7 lbs because a front came in and the shallow bite turned off a bit. You are in 3rd place.

4 hours into the final day and you have nothing in the boat. Do you ...?

A-

Stick with it and hope the bite turns on or you get a good shallow fish?

or B-

Try some deeper water where smallmouth may be less effected by the weather?

Now the difference in a few lbs could mean several thousand dollars or the win.....What do you do?

Others can answer too...

Just checked my email, and would you believe it? The answer to Russ' question was right there, in Gary Yamamoto's "Inside Line" eNewsletter. If you guys haven't gotten signed up to receive this in your email, it's a good thing to do, and it's free!    http://www.insideline.net 


GARY YAMAMOTO WINS TOYOTA HORIZON AWARD

Gary Yamamoto finished 36th out of the top 158 BASS anglers on the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Tour, which ended last week.

Gary jumped up 115 places from year-end 2004. In doing so, Gary Yamamoto has earned the prestigious Toyota Horizon Award.

Toyota presents this award plus a $25,000 bonus to the
angler who increases their BASS Angler of the Year standing the most from the prior year. Congratulations, Gary Yamamoto.

HOT AND COLD RUNNING PROS

It is a fairly common phenomenon for top BASS pros to
flip-flop in the rankings, go from hot to cold one year to
the next. In 2001, 2002, 2003, Gary Yamamoto finished high on the Bassmaster Tour. In 2004, he did not finish as high (151st), and rebounded back to 36th in 2005.
"I think what happens is we get into our niches. As for me, I get geared toward flipping with soft baits. When the fish want that, I do well, " says Gary.

Many pro anglers harbor such niches, says Gary. "My friend Takahiro Omori's niche is reaction type fishing. Takahiro usually does well that way. But when fish are not acting exactly the way he wants, Takahiro does poorly," says Gary.

The rollercoaster ups and downs of pro angling can also be due to emotional attitude, says Yamamoto. "Your family, health concerns, financial worries, emotional or
psychological attitude can affect performance," believes
Gary.

BAIT AND SWITCH - OR JUST SWITCH BAITS?

"In 2005, I basically went out and did what I do best. I
flip most of the time. I depended on my new Fat Baby Craw for a lot of my flipping success this season," says Gary.

"So in 2005, I concentrated on what I do best, but I also
maintained a more open mind, to be more versatile. I stayed conscious of being able to switch - if I had to - to
crankbaits, jerkbaits or whatever it takes," says Gary.

"In the next to last event, I switched mid-tournament to a jerkbait, which was beneficial to me. In the final
tournament, I heard there was a crankbait bite. I was
mentally prepared to switch, and did indeed cut over to
crankbaits mid-tournament with good results," says Gary.

Being open-minded is a lot harder than it sounds, even for our sport's top pros, says Gary. "How can I put down a soft bait that I like fishing so much, and switch to a crankbait that I don't like fishing as much?," muses Gary. This is a preference problem that all anglers, even top pros, can find hard to break out of their  routine.  "Think of most any top pro. More often than not, you can name their preference bait too," says Gary.

GAIN A SOLID BASE FOUNDATION FIRST

Part of being able to switch tactics and be versatile
depends on having years of experience, says Yamamoto. I have been fishing crankbaits, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits for over twenty years, says Yamamoto, who has even custom-designed rods he desired for these particular applications. But first and always, I depend on my core competencies with my soft baits, says Gary. Still, I have learned to recognize - based on many years of observation - when to switch.

"It wouldn't be that easy for a less-experienced angler to switch. There are different rods, reels, lines, mindsets and mechanics for different tactics. What I mean is, cutting a heavy jig off a flipping stick and tying on a lightweight jerkbait won't produce results. Knowing when and how to switch is only gained with experience.

For a starting angler, or for a less-experienced angler who vows that 2005 is going to be his or her year for dramatic self-improvement? Gary suggests to improve your singlemost main strengths first and foremost.

"A person needs a solid foundation first, or must develop
enough experience with a singular approach to fishing first. Pick what you like, what you do well with, how you enjoy fishing most. Develop that into your main strength first," says Gary. By developing a main strength, sometimes you will do extremely well (when fish favor you). Sometimes you will not do well (when fish don't favor your strengths).

"Doing extremely well some of the time, and not doing so well some of the time - ask yourself if that is better than doing average all of the time," ponders Yamamoto who suggests for anglers to build their strengths first, then become versatile later.

GARY HAS A FAIR CHANCE TO MAKE THE CLASSIC

Finishing 2005 in 36th place, Gary Yamamoto is within reach of qualifying for his third Bassmaster Classic. Gary
Yamamoto has qualified for the Classic twice earlier - in
2001 and 2002.

"Last year, my good friend Ben Matsubu qualified for the
Classic from around 36th place, which is where I am now. So there is a fair chance I may get a Classic berth this year," says Gary hopefully.

We wish you luck in possibly making your third Classic this year, Gary, and congratulations on winning the Toyota Horizon Award for the most greatly improved finish of 2005.