I've recently posted my bio and background in the newcomers forum and promised a follow up thread for my first tournament. I. Got. Skunked. Not one bite. Water looked like chocolate milk, threw chatterbait, cranks, spinners, jigs, shakyheads, you name it. I went from Dover, TN up to Lake Barkley, KY. Water was 65 (we recently had rain and couldn't be released for the tournament until fog lifted at 8). I was flipping brush, hit frogs in the lilly-pads and they just weren't there. Does anyone have any advice for a fairly new angler to prevent him from getting discouraged?

That's why they call it fishing and not catching.  Honestly muddy water can be tough and you had flooded brush.  My advice would have been to fish tight to cover.  But then if they released water, now you have possible falling conditions which would pull the fish off the bank.  My best advice would have been to try and find cleaner water if possible and take each day as a learning experience, good or bad.

I blanked my first tournament too. Never even had anything I'm 100% sure was a bite. Followed that up with a 4th and 2nd place the next 2 tournaments (I was 16 fishing in an adult club). 

 

Learn what you can from the experience, even if it's to simply try something/somewhere different if you run into the same conditions down the road. 

Muddy water normally pushes bass up in water column and puts them very tight to cover. I like to throw black and chartreuse Davis night spinnerbaits with big Colorado blade, chartreuse with silver glitter zoom super flukes are real visible and work twice as good on a scrounger. or chatterbait. Other than that black black black and bulky jigs bulky plastics. Yum makes everything bulky. Fish whatever black plastic u have confidence in. I would definitely try moving baits up in water column tight to any cover first. I dont mind it at all unless water is cold.Then stay home.