6 Essential Tips for Your First Bass Tournament

Advice from a Lifetime of Bass Fishing to Help You Dominate Your First Competition

I would never trade the journey, but I could have used a few tips before my first tournament. / Kurt Mazurek

Table of Contents

1. My Thoughts Before Tournament Time
2. My First Tournament Results
3. My Top 6 Tips

My first tournament was a team event with my brother, Craig. He is two-years younger than me and was way more dedicated to fishing before I ever was. He bought his first new boat before he was 18—a Bass Pro Shops, Tracker TX-17. At the time, it was a mind blowing, bass fishing machine. That is, until we pulled into the launch ramp parking lot that first tournament morning.

My Thoughts Before Tournament Time

I had never seen so many glittery, fiberglass, bass boats in one place—honestly, more than two would have qualified at the time. There were even a couple guys with motors as big as 150-horsepower. Insane! I don’t think I was nervous, but I was definitely awestruck. I started to wonder if we were in over our heads. I probably shouldn’t say we. I have no idea if Craig shared any of these feelings. My immediate assumption was these other guys were fishing at a much higher level than us. If they could travel between spots at speeds approaching 55 m.p.h., then how could we compete? I wondered what kind of gear they were using. And even more, what lures did they use? Surely, they knew the secret lures that the fish here couldn’t resist. Of course, I thought, they also know all the secret spots just loaded with giants. I pictured the mantel full of trophies most of them probably had at home.

My brother's friend from work, John, and I believe his cousin, maybe Vince, had a Skeeter--a sparkly, fiberglass Skeeter. I was blown away! / Kurt Mazurek

I wasn’t ready to give up, but I may have adjusted my expectations about the day’s outcome. If I was placing a bet, I believed we were a long shot. My focus, encouraged by my ego, turned to making sure we didn’t embarrass ourselves.

My First Tournament Results

I wish I could remember for sure, but I believe that tournament was on Lake Clinton, a medium-sized impoundment in Central Illinois with a medium-sized population of bass—definitely not a bass factory. The one specific memory I have is that at sometime in the late morning, after several hours with zero bites, Craig hooked up using something called a Carolina-rig. I had heard of it, but wasn’t sure how to tie one on. I netted the fish and was thrilled to see it wasn’t a dink. But it also wasn’t a keeper—13-1/2-inches, with a 14-inch minimum size. But instead of feeling devastated, I was relieved. Even though that was the only fish in our boat that day, now, at least we had a fish story, said my ego.

This scene from the early-1990s was a lot for my inexperienced tournament mind to take in. I was incredibly excited and pretty intimidated. / Kurt Mazurek

My Top 6 Tips

And now, with everything I’ve learned since then, this is the advice I’d give myself. Literally, none of the things I remember thinking that day, were of any help to our tournament cause. In fact, all of that hurt our chances.

1. Shiny boats, horsepower stats, and sponsor logos don’t catch fish.
2. Your ego will never help you catch more fish.
3. Assuming the competition, whom you’ve never met or never seen fish, is better at this than you, is not helpful and in many or most cases, not true.
4. Focus on your fishing, not on your competitors.
5. If you haven’t had any actual tournament success yet, imagine what it will look and feel like. Picture the trophies on YOUR mantel, not on the competition’s mantel. Visualize how it feels to make your way to the scale with a bag of fish so heavy it’s difficult to carry. Imagine what that all feels like. And then, make a regular habit of imagining that again and again, until it happens.
6. Go back and re-read number 2.).

And, while these ideas have helped me to dramatically improve my tournament fishing success over the years, most of this applies pretty directly to almost anything you’re trying to accomplish in life. If you’re new to tournament bass fishing, or not so new, but struggling to get the results you desire, I hope this little story and this list of points can help you find what you’re looking for.