I am 13 years old and have been fishing since i was very little.

last year was my first time to fish in a tournament

it was kind of like a tournament trail i gues, we fished 5 tournaments, i placed 1 in 2 of them and 3 in one of them out of about 30 kids. we fished the state tournament and i placed third.

I was woundering if any of you could give me some tips on fishing tournaments. so that next year i am sure to win.

well i guess i need to be more specific or something

I am going to be fishing on lake limestone,teledo bend,sam rayburn,conroe,and lake livingston.

i would very much like to know some things about those lakes

Welcome aboard, Zack. There are members aboard who would be glad to help you. Just watch out for a moderator called "Low Budget Hookers," and a member called "Muddy Man.".

ty for the tips but why do i look out for them

ty for the tips but why do i look out for them

Lol ;D  He didn't mean watch out for them because they are dangerous or something, but because they are extremely helpful and know the ins and outs of bass fishing.

Also, welcome aboard!

lol i know i talked to him and didnt figure that he would be jokeing because most of the adults i know dont joke around but thats cool because now i know that yall joke around to. :-[

Zack, I am involved quite a bit when it comes to youth and fishing.  So is Muddy man, we just also have an aversion to bustin' peoples chops!

My suggestion to you would be to just take your time and learn new techniques.

You are very young, you have lots of time ahead of you and time is the big factor.  Time on water to be specific.

Fish as much as you can, keep your eyes and ears open, every cast you make is a learning experience, even if you learn where they are NOT, you still learned somthing.

Try new techniques, get involved with our "members challenge" this spring.

Read, read, read, then go fish, fish, fish!!!

Zack, I can answer any questions you have on Toledo Bend, so just ask away

Ha, Zack knows I'm joking.  We talked via PM and I pointed out some helpful areas in the site.  

well that is the first tournament i will be fishing on in the junior bass masters and we will be putting in at frontier park. would you know anything about that marina?

frontier park

but what lake?  

toledo bend. 8-)

Welcome Aboard man.

don't get too focused on one technique.  learn skills while you are ya young pup so you don't have to be the old dog later.

thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, for all of the tips it is so very helpful.

Welcome!

I'm 14 and have been bass fishing seriusly for a few years now. I've never fished in a real tourny, becuase I'm the only fisherperson in my family and dont have accsess to a boat and bla bla bla. But I have spent alot of time on the water, maybe too much. My best advice to you would be this: Stay active on these forums! You will learn more than you could possibley think you can, and there are a whole slewth of down-right helpful and extreamly funny members. This site is a bunch of people who can't get bass fishing out of their brains, young and old alike.

Oh, one other inportant tip: If you see a post written by The Muddy Man or avid, swallow your soda before you read. If you don't undstand, you will soon.

Toodle loo

Matt

Ha, I forgot to warn you about Avid, already warned you about Muddy.  ;D  ;D  ;D

Seriously though, staying active in the forums will help you tremendously with bass fishing, trout fishing, and other fishing.

Sorry Zack but a personal emergency came up last night; I've made some phone calls and will put you together some information about Frontier Park along with fishing that area of the lake.

Tommy T

Zack,

First here is a web link to some aerial photos of the Texas side of Toledo Bend including Frontier Park. Frontier Park is fifty acres on beautiful Carrice Creek. Shaded sites, pool, paddle boat and canoe rental, club house, pavilion, bank fishing, boat ramps and slips.  Carrice is where Tommy Martin lives and it would be a excellent place to start fishing for someone who doesn't know the lake. Located just south of Carrice is Palo Gaucho Creek another outstanding big fish area.

Let me know when you will be fishing the lake so I can give you some techniques to use

http://www.toledo-bend.us/index.shtml?aerial2

Best tip is to take care of the fish, and keeping yourself safe.

Zack, as with anything you want to get good at, the best thing you can do is practice.  Learn all techniques and try as many different things you can.  Fish different times, temps, lures, and even species.  When I go out I always bring my notebook, I take notes of the weather, time, water clarity, and water temp.  I also keep a log of the fish I catch and how they were caught.  When I go home that night I can look back at my notebook and see what worked.  No matter how good you are, experience still enhances skill.

HI Zack,

Welcome to the forum.

Based on your record in the tournaments it seems that you have some skills and talent.

You have come to the right place to learn, contribute, and have a few laughs.

I am not a tournament angler, but it seems pretty clear that the formula used by virtually all of the pros is to use crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or other quick moving baits to located the fish, then slow down and fish the area and other similar area's carefully with jigs, worms, or t-rigged soft plastics.

good luck and have fun.

Welcome to the board.

Do a search on this board about fishing journals, there several good ideas, Find what works for you and use it faithfully. Knowing what did or did not work, water and weather, bait type,  structure type and season will greatly improve your fishing. Like LBH said, takes time and time is on your side. Remember a short pencil is way better than a long memory.

I have often heard of going to the lake with only spiners or something to train you on how to fish them. Is that a good idea?

and also is their another good way of training yourself for those things

yes, that is a great idea. It helps you learn a certian lure, and you can concentrait on all the different tecniques of that lure.