Page 63 - Lady Bass Anglers Digital Magazine July 2023

other ways you can catch them? Think about it for a minute. Have you every listened to anglers on stage
talking about how they caught fish where the successful anglers all used the same techniques? Very seldom
is this the case. More often than not, there are multiple ways in which each caught their fish. Granted,
some of these differences in techniques used to catch fish can be tied to the strengths/techniques that
the different anglers use. If you have watched any MLF events, you will hear anglers express how certain
anglers are likely catching fish. Certain anglers are known for being good at certain techniques and
types of waters.

Because conditions change, anglers have to be able to adapt throughout each day of the tournament. If
you are fishing a multi-day tournament, will your fish hold up for you, or do you need to find and have
several locations and patterns in order to be consistent and successful for the duration. If it is a
one day event, it can still be helpful to have multiple patterns you can utilize to catch fish. But
for multi-day events, multiple patterns become even more important and helpful in being consistently
successful for the duration of the tournament. Fish getting lots of pressure from multiple day events

and or multiple anglers can impact if your fish will hold up for the duration. Anglers who have found
more than one way to catch fish stand a better chance of winning and adapting than anglers who only have
one pattern to utilize in most cases.

If on tournament days, your pattern or patterns fall apart, be flexible and just go fishing. Are there
other areas similar to where you caught fish in practice that you can run to and check out? Stop and
consider the conditions, the time of year and look for food sources and cover on structure. Successful
anglers find a way to adapt. They put their heads down and try different things in order to get bites and
get fish in the boat. Of course, we all want to bring big limits to the scales. In reality sometimes, the
bite is tough for everyone and one or two fish can
be the difference. I have heard countless stories of
anglers who only had a couple of fish and decided to
not weigh them in because they ware sure they didn’t
have any hope of getting a check only to find out
later that the winner didn’t have a limit or their
weight was small. Let the scales tell the tail, and
not your assumptions.

All of these things do not guarantee you winning,
but they do set you up to have a better chance.
Success is where opportunity and preparation
intersect.

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