I am interested in getting into local tournament fishing. Nothing serious, just looking for a little challenge and something fun to do. I have done a good bit of bass fishing in the past, but was never seriously into it. At the present I do not plan on doing any big water fishing. I will fish the marshes and rivers of coastal MS, LA and AL. I just bought a Procraft 165 with a 90 Mercury. It should do just fine.

Here's my background. I have spent a lot of time fishing these coastal waters, but here's the hitch. I normally fished from a canoe or kayak. The places I fished were small steams and bayous off of the main rivers and bays. If the water conditions were good I could almost always find fish. Small water is what I know best. When I say small, I mean sometimes I fished in waters I couldn't turn my 12' kayak around in.

Local tournament winning stringers rarely top 10 pound by much. A five pound stringer will typically land you in the top 10. If I fish the waters with which I am most familiar, it will involve a very long run to get to where I'm going. If I get there and it's not happening, I might be able to hit one more of the spots I know about before time would force me to head back to the scales.

As it relates to the tournaments should I try bigger waters or should I put all my eggs in one basket and take off for the headwaters and backwaters that I am familiar with? Dance with the one that brung me or branch out and try new and different strategies? A follow on to that is how should I approach a new body of water? Let's say a small lake maybe 4 miles long by 2 miles wide. My natural inclination would be to head directly to coves and cuts. I will not have a GPS with advanced charting capabilities, so how would you recommend I study the features of any given lake ahead of time.

I have an unlimited number of questions, so if you have any useful suggestions, I'm all ears. I know I could do the co-angler thing, but I think it would be more satisfying to try my own approach.

Thanks,

Paul

I don't run more than 45 min from the ramp and I only do that to go after big fish that I'm "sure" are there.  It has been my experience that I have caught more fish within 10 min of the ramp than anywhere else.

Study your new waters on goolge earth and find some areas similar to what you are used to nearer to the launch.  You want to spend as much time with a bait in the water as you can.

First, don't fish with any Tulane people.  Go to the tournaments where the guys wear SEC school tee shirts.

Second, consider purchasing Ike's Rules for Better Fishing DVD, Volume 1: Taking the Luck Out of the Equation.

Ike has some great tips on finding places to fish.

Them, for good luck, hit New Orleans for Mardi Gras on March 5 but if any beautiful young lady comes up to you and starts talking to you please check their Adams apple.  You could really be in for a big surprise if you don't.

Get a map and look for places that are similiar to the places you are familiar with, but closer to takeoff. If you find them, go and check them out to see if they fish the same as your old spots