Big Bass Tournaments by John Kruse

A GREAT WAY TO BREAK INTO THE WORLD OF TOURNAMENT FISHING

Tournament bass fishing can be an intimidating experience, but it can also be a whole lot of fun and if you want to dip your toes into the world of competitive fishing, a Big Bass tournament is a terrific way to start!

THE STANDARD TOURNAMENT FORMAT

For decades, the standard tournament format involves either an individual angler or a two-person team on board a bass boat fishing for anywhere from one to three days. The goal is to catch five big bass, put them into your livewell, and at the end of the day bring them to the dock where a weigh-in takes place. The team with the heaviest bag wins. After the weigh-in, the bass are released into the lake. If anglers submit a dead bass to be weighed in it is subject to a penalty with a certain amount of the weight being subtracted. In some cases, dead bass are not allowed to be weighed in at all.

There is usually an 80-20 rule when it comes to these bass tournaments, especially the opens where anyone can fish the event. The top twenty percent of anglers tend to end up at the top of the leaderboard while the other 80 percent of the anglers essentially donate their entry fees to the winners.

It’s a tough way to break in because there is invariably a huge learning curve when it comes to tournament fishing that improves with on-the-water experience. It is something that can’t be overcome by watching YouTube videos about bass fishing.

Another barrier to anglers wanting to get into the tournament scene is the best anglers also have the best electronics, boats, 250 HP outboards, Power Poles, forward-facing sonar, and more. In other words, they spend a bunch of money on equipment that may give them an edge over their competition.

HOW A BIG BASS TOURNAMENT WORKS

Big Bass tournaments are a completely different animal from a standard bass tournament. They are almost always open vs. club tournaments, meaning any angler can compete and you don’t have to be a member of the specific club putting on the tournament.

The goal of a Big Bass tournament is to catch the biggest bass and the payouts can be huge. Northwest Bass and Nixon’s Marine team up to give away a new bass boat to one of the hourly winners. What is an hourly winner? That would be the biggest bass caught over an hour-long period throughout the tournament. During the Northwest Bass tournament I participated in, some 100 teams were competing, and seven hourly winners. Each hourly winner was given a key and one by one, the team would get into the giveaway boat and turn the key to start the engine. One of the seven keys works, the other six do not and it’s an exciting event to watch at the end of the day.

Other tournaments I’ve participated in with Limit Out Marine and the Mount Saint Helens Bass Masters also had hourly payouts for the biggest bass weighed in each hour and a big check (up to $10,000) for the biggest bass weighed in during the event.

Big Bass tournaments draw big crowds fishing from a variety of different boats. Unlike the upper-level tournament anglers who routinely catch three to four-pound fish over the course of the day, a Big Bass contestant only needs to catch one good fish to cash a check. This really helps level the playing field, giving even the casual bass angler a shot and being a winner.

CONSERVATION

Tournament bass anglers pride themselves on their catch and release ethic of letting all bass go at the end of the tournament. However, catching bass in the morning and driving around the lake all day can really beat the fish up, especially on a windy day. In some cases, bass don’t make it alive to the weigh-in and in other cases, while they may be alive when they are released back into the lake they may not survive over the long term.

That’s why Big Bass tournaments are much easier on the fish. You generally know what it is going to take to have a chance to win an hourly weigh-in. So, let’s say that weight is four pounds. You might catch five fish that are all three-pounders you would normally have in the livewell all day but in a Big Bass tournament, knowing you need at least a four-pounder, you release them immediately right where you caught them.

If you do have a four-pound or bigger fish in this scenario, you race back to the weigh-in site within the hour, get it weighed, and then release it back in the general area where you caught it. By doing these things, you are really helping the overall fishery by keeping the bass healthy and back in the water as soon as possible.

STRATEGIES

The best thing about a Big Bass tournament is that no matter what your skill level, you know that even a blind squirrel can find a nut sometimes and the same goes for you as a Big Bass tournament angler! However, if you want to increase the odds there are a few things you can do.

Do your research and find out, historically, where the bass are usually found in the body of water you are fishing at the time of year the tournament takes place. Ask the local bait shop employees what the hot lures and offerings are for the time of year you are fishing. And most importantly, fish the lake or river before the event.

Many tournaments will have a cut-off date where you cannot be on the water for several days before the tournament begins. That’s okay. Just get on the water as close to the cut-off as you can. Explore the lake. Figure out the places where the fish are not and narrow it down to where they are in terms of depth and orienting around structures; whether it be trees, submerged vegetation, beaver huts, rocks, points, etc.

Oh, and don’t go crazy and win the pre-fish! You don’t want to catch 30 fish at one place because you’ll likely find those fish wise up to what you are trying to sell them come tournament day. Instead, just hook a couple and shake them off so that the majority of the fish in the area you want to be on your big day are undisturbed.