BlogCast #3: Prefish Puzzle - Chris Visser

This week's angler has a different approach on pre-fishing. He is living proof that there are various roads to success. How can you work a full-time job and win Angler of the Year? 

Chris Visser - Oshawa, Ontario

6 years of Kayak Fishing

Sponsors: My Wife

During the 2021 fishing season, I was fortunate enough to achieve Angler of the Year (AOY) in the Ontario Kayak Bass Trail, and place second in the AOY race for the Ontario Kayak Bassmasters. Most notably, I achieved this without pre-fishing for any of the eight qualifying events held in 2021. That said, I still believe pre-fishing is a very valuable tool in any angler's arsenal.

Pre-fishing provides the opportunity to familiarize yourself with a lake, notable features (e.g., structure and cover), potentially locate fish, and most importantly, eliminate unproductive waters. Do you need to pre-fish to perform well in an event? The short answer is no, but it will improve your opportunity for success. I am not a professional angler and like most have a regular job from Monday to Friday. Weekends are my only opportunity to fish and I do not always have the opportunity to get to a scheduled tournament lake. This requires me to invest more time in pre-tournament planning in the form of map studies (i.e., google earth, Navionics, etc.), watching lake-specific YouTube tournaments or fishing videos, and general online research about the lake area as it relates to weather and fishing.

Pre-fish starts with pre-planning and having a strategy to explore and eliminate unproductive areas. Get a general understanding of the lake, the main features (e.g. grass or rocky lake, docks, lily pads, etc.), the predominant fish species and pay attention to the time of year. This all helps in bait selection and painting a picture of how the bass should set up and react based on the time of year.
I don't believe in pre-fishing the week of a tournament, unless you are exploring to learn the body of water, or use baits with no hooks. I see too many anglers posting photos of fish they caught the day before a tournament, and then surprised when they do not find fish on tournament day. I do not have any specific bait preference. For me, the purpose of pre-fishing is to determine which baits or techniques will be successful in filling my card. This might require me to use every bait I own to figure out.
Enjoy the experience of fishing tournaments and what it has to offer, but do not make winning or being in the money a priority. Do not set unrealistic expectations because this will result in unnecessary pressure. My goal during every tournament is to catch five scoreable bass, which in my option qualifies as a successful day. Fish as much as you can, and do not limit yourself to the days that conditions are perfect. More often than not we fish tournaments when conditions are tough, and knowing how to adjust and make it work is an invaluable experience.

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