Tips and Reviews

Tourney Prep: Reports

If you’re like most bass fisherman, trying to come up with the winning pattern for an upcoming tournament can be the most overwhelming part of being a competitive angler. Here’s some tips to break down how to make the most of the time you have to get ready for the big event.

Search for fishing reports

Fishing reports can be found online for just about any body of water. Fishing reports I define as any online information regarding the bite that includes:

• The time of year
  
• The weather conditions
  
• Successful patterns
  

When doing a search for information, don’t get too specific to start and when the options coming back are numerous, tweak the search terms to dial it in a little tighter. For instance, not all bodies of water will have a report for a rainy June 15th during the full moon in a specific creek. But then maybe there is a June tournament in mid June that was won during the moon phase you will be fishing. I have never gone that specific myself, this is just an extreme example of course!

Some types of places you can find information include:

• Guide websites
  
• Facebook groups
  
• Fishing forums (old school social media)
  
• Professional angler blogs
  
• Bass fishing news sites (including Bassmaster, FLW)
  

Guide websites are the most reliable resource, they keep things up to date so their clients or future clients can see how the fishing is to better decide on booking trips, etc. You can also find groups on Facebook for the local area and peruse through all the posts and comments. You can figure out who is the local guy to trust, and who the less experienced guys are pretty quick in most cases.

Also keep in mind that Spring can be a relative term depending on what part of the country you are in. “Technically” Summer doesn’t start until the end of June, but you will hear southern fisherman talking about “Summer Patterns” as early as the end of May. This also is something to consider when thinking about spawning season, all of which will be part of your research learning what stage the fish in the lake are in.

Common initial search terms:

• Lake Name
• Time of year
• Bass Fishing

Example: Kentucky Lake Summer Bass Fishing

From there you can get more specific if needed, replacing summer with “July” or maybe you already know that ledge fishing is popular on Kentucky Lake.

Don’t stop on the first page of you search results, and don’t discount older posts from 10 years ago, it may be the hidden gem nobody else is digging deep enough for.

Searching for Public Boat Access

Knowing where.the boat launches can save you tons of time, and if you’re running a fully riigged beast with a high HP engine, this could save you some gas money. Kayak fisherman will get the most of the ramp knowledge however. Most kayak tournaments are multi-launch, meaning you can use any publicly accessible boat access point on the body of water.

There are some you can find with basic searches, there are also specific sites that are dedicated to this including:

• The state’s wildlife and recreation department
• Paddling.com (they also have an app)
• Lake specific information sites

Finding these resources can shed light on getting into an area that doesn’t show up on all charts, and can show what chart boat access ramps are no available to the public.

As a kayak angler, another pro tip is to have a set range you are willing to go on tournament day. You can then eliminate water this way knowing what areas are reachable. You can even sketch a range circle from each ramp on your paper chart, and then immediately eliminate large amounts of water from the equation.

Putting it all together

Now you are loaded with information that used to take anglers days of on the water practice to gather, and you are still sitting on your couch, with your legs up. At this point you should know:

• Lake structure, cover and depth ranges
• Boat access locations
• Fishing reports for the time of year you will be at the lake
• What water is out of reach if you are in a kayak or other small craft

You can now make a game plan on how you want to attack the lake. My suggestion is start out with your strengths, and have a new technique or two that you picked up from your research. If you normally don’t throw crank baits, and you are going to try the ledges at Kentucky Lake, some would say that’s the perfect time not to discount that technique, even if its not your favorite technique. Keep an open mind, confidence baits are a good approach, but being versatile can prove vital when testing new water.

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Eric Nelson
Professional Kayak Bass Angler

Biography

I was born in Southeastern Massachusetts, where I began fishing for bass when I was in my early teenage years, graduating to competitive bass tournaments in my late 20’s. I moved to North Carolina in 2015 and found the passion for bass fishing from a kayak, and quickly became involved in both the local and national kayak bass tournament scenes. My fishing skills have allowed me to qualify for almost every major event since joining the clubs, be it at a club, state and even national level.

Being a professional in the online web development and design field for publications, I have always used my skills to help promote the clubs and the sport as a whole in my spare time.  I have been a part of the club directors for Cape Cod Bass, and now for Carolina Kayak Anglers, one of the larger kayak clubs in the country. I am also a part of the national KBF tournament advisory board.

The Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF) format has allowed me to travel across the United States, fishing against the best fisherman in the country. Now with the KBF Pro format, and the merging with the FLW organization, I am looking forward to where this adventure takes me in the future.

Highlights

Total Career Earnings - $3,250

Competition Highlights
Inaugural FLW / KBF Cup Championship Qualified 2019 - Hot Springs, AK
KBF National Championship Qualified 2020 - Lake Guntersville, AL
KBF Challenge Championship 2018 - Toledo Bend, LA
2019 KBF National Championship - 57th overall out of 462 anglers - Shreveport, LA
KBF Regional Trail Championship Qualified 2019 - Lake Wheeler, AL
KBF National Trail Championship Qualified 2019 - La Crosse, WI
2nd Place 2018 KBF National Trail - High Rock Lake, NC
2nd Place 2019 - Plastic Pirates - Randleman Lake, NC
11th Place - 2019 KBF Southeastern Region Trail - Santee Cooper Lakes, SC
13th Place - 2019 KBF Southeastern Region Trail - Chickamauga Lake, TN
46th Place 2019 FLW / KBF Cup Qualifier - Nickajack Lake, TN
2nd Place - Plastic Pirates - Randleman Lake 2019
1st Place - Cape Cod Bass,  2002 - Lake Winnipesaukee, NH
1st Place - Cape Cod Bass, 2008 - Glenn Charlie Pond, MA