Jtelarkin08 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 OK i have two local lakes that have really good working man tourneys every week.. Last year i made a thousand or so dollars fishing one of them for the year.. The way i know how to fish these lakes is strictly flipping and throwing a hollow bodied frog.. I have been throwing only swimbaits this year so far even on these two lakes.. However they are dirty and just dont really set up well to fish swimbaits.. So my question is should i A) avoid these lakes so i dont become frustrated with my swimbaits, suck it up and learn to fish them with a swimbait and skip out on the easy tourney money or C) fish regular stuff and make money so i can buy more swimbait stuff and then fish good lakes on the weekends with swimbaits only?? I really only wanna throw big baits this year but i made a lot of money on this one lake last year and i just havent put the swimbait puzzle together on it yet!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reelfish Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I always opt for the money, but nothing is guaranteed in fishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonathando23 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 sadly i would get the money. its money i mean its the right tool for the job. ur not gonna use a knife to hammer in a nail r u? u might try but u get cut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
High Power Swimbaits Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I pretty much quit fishing tournaments for the most part a couple years back. I still will fish one here and there with a buddy who needs a partner etc. but it can't be taking up most of my fishing time. Although I win some money I am much better at catching big bass and thats what I want to do when I wake up in the morning instead of trying to catch a tournament limit. I will find myself on a tough day fishing a tournament knowing I just need five average size fish to have a shot to win but have no real intrest in catching those fish other than the money. So when you wake up in the morning do you want to be KVD or Butch Brown? For me I am going to the lake with the best bite for the biggest fish. That's just me and I try not to let money control my decisions as much as possible. If I don't have gas money I might not get there though. You have to decide what you really want to do and be careful of letting yourself try to find ways to justify what you have or need to do. If you wake up wanting to throw swimbaits for big fish then do that. If you want to flip jigs then go flip jigs. Now if you are out throwing swimbaits because that's what you want to do and have nothing but the money you could win on your mind that's a problem as well. The other question could be what do you really need more of money or time on the water throwing the swimbait? For me experience fishing for big fish with swimbaits is more valuable than having extra money for more baits. Give me a few good baits and plenty of time to fish them and I think I will do much better than I would if I spent less time fishing swimbaits with a boat load of baits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Pretty heady stuff there HPH! JT - you don't need more swimbaits, you need more swimbaits thrown and fish caught. Same as me For a while maybe do the regular tournament thing and get some keepers in the well the usual way, then go for the kicker fish using the swims. But as I learned yesterday, there are so many ways to fish each individual swimbait, some more effective than others at times, that it may just be a learning curve that you have to get past. The 9-lb I caught last April was in dirty, dirty water, less than 8" vis, so dirty water isn't a problem for the right bait in the right location. Look at how much cumulative time you have spent mastering the other techniques that you are proficient with and compare that to the time you have spent throwing big baits. I know that I have a long way to go before I feel as proficient with a swimbait as I do a jig, c-rig, or crankbait. But I really want to master the big baits, so this year I'm going to make myself throw them in every situation and try to keep the other baits in the box until I have at least made the first presentations with swimbaits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassindon69 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I pretty much quit fishing tournaments for the most part a couple years back. I still will fish one here and there with a buddy who needs a partner etc. but it can't be taking up most of my fishing time. Although I win some money I am much better at catching big bass and thats what I want to do when I wake up in the morning instead of trying to catch a tournament limit. I will find myself on a tough day fishing a tournament knowing I just need five average size fish to have a shot to win but have no real intrest in catching those fish other than the money. So when you wake up in the morning do you want to be KVD or Butch Brown? For me I am going to the lake with the best bite for the biggest fish. That's just me and I try not to let money control my decisions as much as possible. If I don't have gas money I might not get there though. You have to decide what you really want to do and be careful of letting yourself try to find ways to justify what you have or need to do. If you wake up wanting to throw swimbaits for big fish then do that. If you want to flip jigs then go flip jigs. Now if you are out throwing swimbaits because that's what you want to do and have nothing but the money you could win on your mind that's a problem as well. The other question could be what do you really need more of money or time on the water throwing the swimbait? For me experience fishing for big fish with swimbaits is more valuable than having extra money for more baits. Give me a few good baits and plenty of time to fish them and I think I will do much better than I would if I spent less time fishing swimbaits with a boat load of baits. This is so right. I'm in these same shoes. I have caught plenty of small fish and don't care to do it for money. It's not the same rush. Got plenty of tourney trophys for what I have done of them. I just like fishing. Here is why I don't fish tourneys. 1st I don't like getting up at 3 am , 2nd I don't like getting off the water at 3:30 pm (this is why I like night tourneys) 3rd I don't want to Gamble on my fun fishing. Lets say I get to go once a week to fun fish. If I do a tournament and lose, I now lost the money to fun fish about two times. I don't want to take that chance HAHA! Also, swimbaits and tourneys don't mix well. You may get big fish you may get a big limit. But you may walk away with nothing. Look at the online tourney we just had. How many did well? How many caught big limits? Just one, that would be BUTCH haha! So it is better to catch a limit in a tourney. I don't have the drive to catch those small fish anymore for a buck. Also from what I have seen Muddy water (like 3 or 4" visibility) means NOTHING. They have a lateral line remember? If it's muddy a lot they are used to it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassindon69 Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 so this year I'm going to make myself throw them in every situation and try to keep the other baits in the box until I have at least made the first presentations with swimbaits. Every time you put them down , you WONT get that big one (unless you're real lucky) If you fish them right you will only get to fish a few places all day long and would not have time to use other baits anyway. So if you have time to use other baits then you are not fishing them right in the 1st place Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 so this year I'm going to make myself throw them in every situation and try to keep the other baits in the box until I have at least made the first presentations with swimbaits. Every time you put them down , you WONT get that big one (unless you're real lucky) If you fish them right you will only get to fish a few places all day long and would not have time to use other baits anyway. So if you have time to use other baits then you are not fishing them right in the 1st place Hmmm, methinks I need to print this out and tape it on the front of my boat so that everytime I'm tempted to put the swimbait rod down I'll have Don slapping me upside the head... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Baiter Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Man, its good to have Don back!! Excellent stuff!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtelarkin08 Posted April 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 I really and truly could care less about catching limit size fish ever again. With that being said I think the best move for me will be to not fish any of these working man tourneys. At the beginning of the year I told myself I would only take swimbait rods and fish no tourneys. Well so far I have held up the swimbait side of thing. I have only fished one little working man deal just bc I was helping them get things going. That will open up a few more days in the week I will be able to fish too. The lake that is 10 min from my house has some big fish in it. Some sandbass guys caught a 10-13 yesterday trolling. I am just going to have to learn to fish it with my big stuff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassgambler Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Man this is an easy one for me, or at least for my opinion. I say do what you like and enjoy, if that is throwing big baits only, then I say only throw them. As for the working man tourney, if you really enjoy them, fish them but only throw big baits, you will stick fish and you know you will, so if you enjoy them then go for it. Just figure out what baits are going to work best for you and the situation and type of water that you are in. Good luck JT. Just don't forget fishing is all about the fun and the rush that it gives you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG HUNGRY Posted April 1, 2011 Report Share Posted April 1, 2011 Also from what I have seen Muddy water (like 3 or 4" visibility) means NOTHING. They have a lateral line remember? If it's muddy a lot they are used to it anyway. This is very true. How do you think fish that live in muddy water catch their prey? If they can catch a real live shad in muddy water, they can also catch your freestyle shad. I say fish your swimbaits. You said you already won this tourney before using jigs. So, why not try swimbaits? Think about it...if you win this tourney with a 8 in freestyle, it will be legendary. If you win flipping a jig, nobody will remember or care. ...I say go for glory. Good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jtelarkin08 Posted April 2, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I went out fun fishing to my local lake today.. I took 3 rods.. one had a 7 inch mission fish, one had a rising son and the other had a hudd.. I broke one off on my mission fish.. then missed one on the hudd and then finally put one in the boat on a mission fish. Not bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassindon69 Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 I went out fun fishing to my local lake today.. I took 3 rods.. one had a 7 inch mission fish, one had a rising son and the other had a hudd.. I broke one off on my mission fish.. then missed one on the hudd and then finally put one in the boat on a mission fish. Not bad HAHA! That's SICK! WTG Bro! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimbaitrookie Posted April 2, 2011 Report Share Posted April 2, 2011 Nice JT! When I got your text about the break-off I knew you were on a mission That's a good Aggie too - showing the colors AND the ring Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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