Practice....

Many people laugh when they hear I refer to fishing as "practice," or better known as pre-fishing by many touring anglers. They only laugh because they simply do not understand the amount of time and energy it takes to stay dialed in on the fish. It is not a bad thing to laugh or not understand. Here is a small glimpse into what practice means to a pro-fisherman:

This "practice" is the period of time we spend locating and attempting to catch bass on a specific body of water shortly before the tournament. Sometimes we will pre-fish for 2-3 weeks leading up to an event. In this case that body of water happens to be the mighty Mississippi River pools 4 and 5. The event I am fishing is the St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital Tournament next weekend.

The pre-fishing gives me the chance to try and build a pattern as to what the fish are doing. Once I gauge what they are doing I am able to start pinpointing the areas they are. All of this would not be possible without being on the water. So what it really comes down to is fishing as much as possible;especially on the River. Every corner you go around brings a new adventure and tons more water. Last night we shared dinner with a few of our competitors/friends who made a statement that hits close to home for us all: "There is so much good looking water down here, but none of it produces."  

So this weekend we spent time trying to eliminate water that the fish are not using and key in on the areas they are using. Gunner and I fished through some of the nastiest weather conditions over the past two days but had decent success finding both largemouth and smallmouth.   

Practice also allows me a chance to knock the rust off my casting and flipping after a long MN winter. A good flip is the difference between getting a bite or just wishing they would bite. Needless to say, practice is a very important part of tournament fishing.   

Some of the fish we caught today were holding so tight to stumps that you had to place your bait perfectly with a good flip. 

I am still looking to raise more pledges for this great event. For those of you that have already made a pledge I much appreciate it. For information on pledging to this great cause please contact me either by email or phone. I promise to not let any of you down, I am going to fish my butt off for the next six days for this great cause, no matter how tough the conditions might get.      

Comments

[Travis Frank]

Good Luck Buddy! I know you will do great and give it your all!