BlogCast #1 : prefish puzzle - Rob Baginski

Pre fishing for kayak tournaments is an essential part of being a successful competitive angler. It has undoubtedly contributed to my success over the years including various Michigan event wins, thousands of dollars in cash and prizes, and even a couple AOY's, not to mention some good results on the Ontario kayak bass scene.

  

However, the term "pre-fishing" can be misleading and hardly that alone. The homework begins long before any given tournament takes place, even months in advance. Studying Google imagery and lake topography charts such as Navionics aids in developing a game plan. Combining knowledge of bass behavior and how it pertains to seasonal movements and habits (ie: feeding, the period surrounding the spawning cycle, relationship to cover/structure, etc.) along with lake map studies provides a great starting point for when the time comes to hit the water and pre-fish for an event.

The term "pre-fishing" will vary from angler to angler and their approach will be different, but it is an important element to maintain consistency in kayak tournament outcomes. Of course, there have been anglers who have entered a tournament and won an event without pre-fishing, but to do that consistently is rare, if not impossible. I feel 2-3 days of pre-fishing leading up to the day before the event is ideal, depending on the caliber of the event and the size of a given body of water. I have found too many pre-fish days are rarely beneficial as conditions tend to change and too much time on the water can play with your head in the wrong way. If you've been in this situation, you know exactly what I mean.

With that being said, I do not do a whole lot of actual fishing during pre-fishing. Once a game plan is established by examining maps, studying lakes online, and identifying environmental conditions leading up to an event, it is time to go out on the water and gather even more information. Navionics is great for lake contours, but using electronics and just covering water to find structure and cover that holds fish is crucial. I employ side-scan and cruise around what I believe are high percentage areas to find structure first. I'll often go over the area with my 2D and down imaging to see if I can identify any actual fish. Once I find an area that looks like it might hold fish given the conditions, or if I mark fish on my electronics, I will then make a few casts. Lure selection varies given the circumstances, but in general, I prefer techniques that allow me to cover more water quickly. I'll typically try a moving search bait first, and then slow down to a finesse presentation or two for a few casts if power fishing isn't working. I try not to spend too much time in any given area trying to "figure them out". The more water one can cover in practice the better. Pre-fishing is more about eliminating unproductive water. 

Hopefully, after the first day of pre-fishing, I have identified a few key areas that might produce on tournament day, and I've ruled out unproductive water that I may have initially thought was productive or looked good, but wasn't. Depending on the size of the waterbody for an event, the next day I will typically explore new water and even go back to spots I located the previous day and see if I can replicate a pattern to get a bite. Here's a little common sense; don't sting all the fish! Catch one, maybe two, but no more! Leave that spot alone. As fun as it is to catch em, you don't want to sting them all and spook them for tournament day. I'll often use a dummy bait with no hook, or use a soft plastic and shake the fish off in pre-fishing. If I'm pre-fishing on a Friday and the tournament is on Saturday, rarely ever do I set the hook on a fish.

To summarize, pre-fishing is important to consistently do well in tournaments. It's not so much the actual fishing, but more like a reconnaissance mission that involves gathering information and eliminating water. Once tournament day comes, hopefully, the areas identified in practice will still hold the fish. You might be able to catch them the same way as in practice, or you might have to adapt and make some key decisions. That's the great part of this sport, nothing is ever 100% certain and we are always learning to improve our angling abilities and put together the puzzle that is fishing!