I have been fishing a few Tournaments lately and have really enjoyed it. So, now I have the bug to turn up my game. I am signing the deed tomorrow to a lake to help hone my skills. So what I  would like to know, is it better to go out and practice with one setup (ie. cranking, flipping, finesse) until I learn how to fish that technique or bring multiple setup and learn to read the water. I mostly just throw worms or spinner baits now, and with the summertime bite turning on I not sure how to get the the most out of my time on the water. 

If you're just throwing worms and spinnerbaits, you need to expand your skills with other techniques and lures.  Focus on that first. 

 

Reading the water is great.  But if the conditions merit flipping/pitching, what good is it to know that you need to do it if you can't do it?

I started cranking a lot late last summer. This year I have decided to spend the vast majority of my time cranking. Clear warer, dirty water, early spring, now up to summer. It may not be the ideal bait but I want to get good at it and I believe that takes practice in all conditions.

For example, if you want to learn music, I don't play guitar then drums then sing. I do one thing at a time. When I learn IT related skills, I focus on Cisco routers or Windows servers. I don't bounce between the learning material.