Tournament guys only question.

[CASTnBLAST]

Was curious where you guys that also fish bass tournaments in Minnesota find winning weights most often

regardless time of year/particular lake/weather/presentation etc. I'm talking the most consistent depths to achieve a winning/placing bag of fish.

For sake of this thread let's just call 1-3 ft. very shallow,3-6 shallow,6-12 mid depth,12-18 deep and anything over 18 very deep.

Most accomplished bass anglers can catch fish deep or shallow given the time but during a tourney with limited time and fishing pressure to bag the most weight is what I thought would be an interesting subject.

[pascooter94]

I try to find the slop or reeds and go for it, if that dont work then get on the weedline and start looking from there.

[Bullwinkle]

It is one of those "all depends on the day" type questions. Holding all things steady, my theory has always been to get my five fish in the boat which is typically shallow to middle depth fish. Love to pick over docks and slop to get my five fish. After getting five, I like to head to deep water to look for the bigger fish either on weedlines or rocks. With some luck you should be able to cull a few of your smaller fish and come in with a respectable weight. With this being said, I know several guys that like to just start deep pick up good fish and then go shallow if time is running low so that they can fill out their limit. Six of these ... half dozen of those I guess.

[CanOCorn]

Hey Bullwinkle,

May want to check page 10 of the MN DNR Fishing Regs. "Once a daily possession limit of fish has been reached, no culling or livewell sorting is allowed."

For the sake of arguement, we will assume you are from a state that this is allowed.

[Superduty]

You are correct. That is why a tourney limit is always less than the daily limit. Culling is allowed by the state of MN prior to reaching a legal daily limit.

[frogtosser]

hey can,

a limit in a tournament is not the same as the state limit for fish. It is 5, 6 or 8 bass limit depending on if it is a singles tourny or partners.

[Daze Off]

I'm with Bullwinkle on the "it depends" ticket - most of the time I will try to find a shallow topwater bite to start the day with and after a limit or near limit move to whatever area a particular lake has that has the potential for kicker fish - could be deep weedline, deep water docks, milfoil slop, pads, etc.

That changes if I have a spot that might really be capable of winning from - might stay on it all day for culling and/or defensive purposes. Those spots are usually deep for me.

Daze Off

[Bullwinkle]

SuperDuty hit it right on the head. I can cull as long as my tournament bag is under the state limit. But good lookin' out dude .

[Deitz Dittrich]

Like all others, cant answer the question... Each lake has different patterns, and then each weather can change that as well.

I do my best when going to a tournament to have some deep spots, some not so deep spots and some shallow spots on the ready.

[CASTnBLAST]

Simple question really,without reading into it too much with all the variables. I would have to answer very shallow water brings home the wood most of the time for my partner and I.Not always,not every lake but most of the time especially when in the hunt for that all important kicker fish.One factor that likely has an effect is that without fail it'll be blowing white caps over that deep water spot come tournament day