I have been killing my girlfriend and daughter for the past year with bass fishing. I have read hundreds of articles and tips, and I have learned so much in so little time. I've also practiced these and have had great results. I live in Huntington, West Virginia, and I just recently joined a club. Next month will be my first tournament, and I will be on the back of the boat. I have never fished off of a boat on a major lake/river. I do have great confidence with all of my soft plastics and crankbaits, but in a pond or small creak. I am probably working myself up a little too much but I am excited and nervous. What advice can you guys give me? Is there any seasonal patterns I should follow?

 

 

 

 

Travis

First things first you have one month to prepare for this tournament. That means that prefishing today does not help you. You need to do some map studying. This website probably has map sponsors but I personally use fishidy, lake link, navionics and other websites to study maps. You also want to google search tournament results on that lake. If that lake has had elite series tournaments you will find exactly how the tournament was won. I do not fish in your area so I cannot say how the fish will be acting. For me I tend to look for the fish to be following bait into the back of coves. This can all change because as we all know the weather has been insane.  Make a few posts on the local section to see who fishes your lake.   When it comes to a week or two weeks before the tournament pre fish. Honestly if you have a boat and some free time get out on the lake with the sonar and look for points of interest.  The best advice I can give is to learn the lake before you even start fishing. Mark waypoints on the lake and take pictures.