Of all different aspects of tournament fishing, without a doubt the least understood by the average angler is the matter of prefishing. Even the word "prefishing" itself is awfully ambiguous. Just mention that word to someone who knows nothing about bass tournaments, and you caii get some funny looks. What I am going to discuss today are the two dift'erent types of prefishing. The first being the practice or prefish that takes place a week or two prior to the event, and the second being the practice which takes place immediately prior to the competition, Both practice sessions can be an integral part of a successful tournament, but if they're improperly conducted, they can ruin your performance. I have spent as much time prefishing before tournament off limits periods as anybody in the last ten years, and I think I've learned some things that can really pay off for both pro and amateur alike. When I was starting my pro career out West, I literally lived out of my van. I would travel from lake to lake, prefish, tournament fish, and then move on to the next lake. I would say I averaged about 7 days of prefishing for each tournament. Nowadays, because of time constraints and plenty of experience, I don't prefish nearly as much. I prefish for about 1/3 of my tournaments these days. I think it's important to prefish on lakes and rivers I've never seen before, and these new bodies of water are where I spend my time. The main objective I am trying to accomplish during this advance prefish is to learn where everything is at inde lake. I want to know what the personality of the lake is. That is, where the different types of structure are, changes in water color, depths, just your basic stuff That way, when I come back for the tournament and I find bass holding on a particular type of cover, I know where I can run to find some more without wasting valuable practice time. No angler will be able to learn the whole lake in one week, so just try to become intimate with one or two areas of the lake that look like they will be good when you come back. Don't bite off more than you can chew. It is far better to spend a lot of time in just a couple of areas, than to spend a little bit of time in many areas. The one thing that can really mess you up prefishing this early is catching a lot of Rsh. I’ve seen this happen so many times I've lost count. A sherman will catch a really nice stringer a couple weeks prior to the tournament, and instantly get totally locked in to that pattern and area. They go back for the tournament and try the same stuff that worked two weeks earlier in the same area, and they fail miserably. Fish change daily, and most of the time they change a bunch in two weeks. I've learned not to be concerned with catching a lot of Gsh during this prefishing period. Sure, I want to catch a few to get a little confidence, but I'm mostly just concerned with learning the lake. I worry about how to catch them during the oflicial practice period. If you are not able to spend any time on a lake before the cutoff period, don't worry about it. Some of my best finishes have come on lakes that were new to me that I had no time to prefish. The whole key in this situation is being able to commit yourself to one part of the lake, and not being at all concerned with what goes on in the rest of the lake. It is hard to gain confidence in a part of the lake without ever seeing it before, so you'll have to rely on information from past tournaments, advice from other fishermen, or just your natural intuitions. I must comment that this is a very exciting way to fish a tournament. You just have to believe that the bass live in the area you’ve chosen, and figure out how to catch them. Let's move now to a discussion on the official days of prefish. Most tournament circuits aUow the fishermen two days of practice before the competition starts. How you spend the time should largely be determined by how many days long the tournament is. The short tournaments of one or two days require that the angler be on the fish right out of the box. There is no time for catch up in these short events. So it is important in the prefish period to determine where you are going to fish, and what you're going to throw. The longer tournaments of three or four days like we fish on the B.A.S.S. tour require a different approach during the official prefish. -En this situation,-I-am often just-seeking to-determine what the seasonal pattern is for the area of the lake I plan to fish. I want to get a few bites in prefish, but mostly I'm just looking for that comfort zone; that is an area and technique that fits the seasonal pattern. I've learned so much in these long tournaments, and really prefer them over the short ones. The Bassmaster Pro-Ams have a three day prewash period followed by a three day contest. On those prefish days, I am not thinking so much about present cir*****stances as I am about how I am going to catch fish on the third and fourth days of the tournament. I guess that is why I generally move up in the standings each day of the tournament. I am always thinking ahead. A lot of guys have a record of busting a big stringer on the first day, and then they slowly slip away as the event progresses. While on the other hand, some guys move up in the standings each day. The difference is their prefish strategy. To win a one day tournament, you have to be right on the fish from the start. But the longer tournaments require a different approach. I generally get more in tune with the Gsh with each passing day, so I don’t concern myself with catching too many during this o%cial practice period. What I’m looking for, again, is a key area and technique that should produce some quality fish for the existing seasonal pattern. One of the biggest mistakes people make during this official prefish is trying to cover too much water. Big mistake. I recommend picking an area that you like, then dropping your trolling motor and fishing the whole area. This way nothing will be overlooked, and you will find out what they want and where they are. I can't tell you how many times I was fishing too fast in practice, and passed right over a huge bunch of Gsh. The faster you fish and the more water you cover in prefish, the better chance you have of overlooking a true honey hole. I generally don't set the hook too often during prefish. It is good to catch a couple of fish to see how big they are, but then I shake off the rest of my bites. Remember, what you catch in practice doesn't count. The average weekend pro has the tendancy to spend his tournament fishing the same area where he got bit in practice. This is fine if you are truly in tune with the fish, and know exactly what time of day they are active, and what they are biting on. But if you are fishing one area for 30 minutes, then running 5 miles to another spot where you got bit in prefish, then moving again to another spot where you got bit, chances are you are just spot fishing, and not fishing the Ash. You might do 0.K. in a one day event by spot fishing, but this wont hold up for the long tournaments. When I talk about fishing the fish, I mean keeping an open mind every day to changing conditions. Bass change all the time, and the successful anglers are the ones who learn to adjust with them. Just about eery tournainent I fish, I notice the bass changing from the prefish period to the competition days. That is why your top pros aren't the ones who catch the big stringers during practice. In the longer tournaments, the prewash days should just give you an idea of where to start, then you have to simply be ready for what each new day has in store.

The high desert of the west. New Mexico ... Arizona...and lake in the country. Breathtaking scenery, wild burros, big horn sheep, coyotes, dry intense heat. The scene of this story. My Evinurde powered boat is sitting here in Texas, waiting for the next B.A.S.S. tournament. I'm at Lake Mead practicing for the U.S. OPEN in a borrowed boat. My friend, Tai Martin, is practicing with me. As we leave out of Temple Bar Marina and head up toward the Grand Canyon, we are in awe of the beauty of this desert lake. The sun starts to climb over the tops of the mountains. The lake is smooth as glass as the marina disappears, the last outpost of civilization. Our destination is the Grand Wash, the mouth of the Grand Canyon. A thirty mile run. Just enough gas on board to get there and back. We'll drive till one tank runs dry, fish for the day, and run back on the remaining tank of gas. The high canyon walls flash by as our thoughts turn to the bass to be caught, the further away from civilization the happier we are. Off in a little side canyon we see a small aluminum boat with three fisherman, brave souls indeed. Up ahead the Grand Wash comes into view, a great looking area with rocky points and brushy pockets just crying for a lure. Even before the boat glides to a stop I'm on the front deck making my first cast with a Stanley Spinnerbait. out from under the first bush comes a 22 pound bass, and then another. Meanwhile Tai is throwing a small crankbait, he quickly catches a couple of bass. The fishing is great, the company is great. The hours click by. About noon I feel it. A light southwest breeze ... just enough to ripple the water. I look to Tai and say "We're out of here". You see by the time we feel the breeze, it's had 15 miles of canyon to run, 15 miles to build waves. As we head southwest back towards Temple Bar the light breeze picks up speed. The waves pick up height... 2 foot... 3 foot 15 mph 20 mph ... 4 foot... 5 foot... 25 mph 30 mph 6 foot... 7 foot. Trim the outboard all the way up, hold the bow high and crash through the waves. Slowly we make progress down Iceberg Canyon and then into Gregg Basin. But we don't have enough fuel to battle these waves. Up ahead is Sandy Point. A big high piece of land that juts out into Gregg Basin. We decide to take refuge behind it. Did I mention it's name? Sandy Point. As we beach the boat the sands pouring off the top right down on us and in the boat. Into our eyes and ears and nose and mouths and turning the boat into a floating sand box. Tai and I climb to the top and look out into Gregg Basin. Huge waves. Looks like the ocean on a bad day. The hours pass by, no let up in wind, gonna be dark soon, it's gonna be cold at night. It always is in the desert. Nothing to retain the daytime heat. No relief from the blowing sand. Can't even keep our eyes open. Is the wind letting up? Maybe. Anything better than this sand. Back out into the lake we go. No way. The waves are to big. Tai's afraid we'll drown. Can't go back to Sandy Point. Too miserable. Let's try the other side. Maybe we can find shelter in a small pocket. Wave after Nevada, home of the largest man made lake in the U.S. My favorite about three in the Winds still blowing but out in the lake? It is! light at the boat. Must it's wake and follow it heads towards our fire. wave comes over the side of the boat as we battle our way across the basin. There's a little pocket! Not much relief from the wind but at least there's no blowing sand. We beach the boat and tie it off to a cactus. The winds howling, it's starting to get dark, we're cold and wet. Picking sand out off our ears. Looks like we're spending the night in the desert. Got to start a fire. The area we've beached in is covered with drift wood. What luck! But I don't have any matches or lighter. Neither does Tai. We search the borrowed boat throughout. A roll of toilet paper and the boats cigarette lighter will do the job. [Do boats smoke?] We warm up and dry out. The sun goes down. The wind continues to blow without let up. morning I'm looking out into the basin. not quite as hard. Is that a green light I stoke up the fire and flash my flash be a big cruiser. Maybe we can get behind in. I wake up Tai. The boat turns and Wait a minute. It can't be. Can it? The little aluminum boat with three fisherman. Are they glad to see us and our fire! They warm and dry themselves as we take turns emptying their boat with the bilge can they had been using. 4:30 AM. We decide it's now or never. Once the sun comes up the wind will increase. Two of the three ride with us while the third runs the aluminum boat behind us. I can't stay on pad for long or I outrun the aluminum. Quite the ride in the dark through 3 and 4 foot waves. Finally we turn west out of Gregg Basin. Drop them off in Burro Bay and head for Temple Bar. Fighting 3 and 4 footers all the way back. Temple Bar Marina! Take the boat off pad at the No Wake buoys, the outboard sputters and dies. Out of gas.

"Woo, Woo, Woo ..." is all you could hear from the crowd as seasoned veteran pro angler, Woo Daves, from Burrowsville, Virginia, entered Soldier Field stadium in Chicago on the final day of competition to take the World Championship BASS Masters Classic title with 27 lbs. 13 oz. "I primarily targeted exclusively smallmouth, using 6 lb. line and a Zoom tubejig around an abandoned seawall in front of Chicago’s Sears Tower. On a tournament like this, you’ve got to battle the winds and the odds with no sleep, and there are just so many things...fishing is such a mental thing, and that’s what so great about Rick Clunn, he’s a mental man. I fished my first BASS Classic in 1975...back then, we didn’t see the Timmy Horton’s, Kevin VanDam, Aaron Martens or Michael Iaconelli’s. What I’m talking about is all these young fishermen out there today....BASS has done an outstanding job over the years of promoting the sport through television and with BASS MASTERS Magazine, and it’s because of BASS that we’re seeing so many young anglers. What a great sport it is when you can tell these young fishermen that you can make a living doing this....Kids want to know what they can do to become a professional bass fisherman, that’s the number one question we get asked. The first thing we always tell them is, get a college education first, then if it is still your desire, get into professional fishing. Timmy Horton really had a tough tournament this week...but I told him he had nothing to be ashamed of, taking the Angler of the Year title in the 1999-2000 season is a major accomplishment, and something in which he could be very proud." In prior BASS classics, Woo has had a 2nd and a 3rd place finish on his home waters in Virginia, but the 1st place victory kept slipping past by mere ounces, but not this year. He goes home with $100,000 as first place prize money; and, with additional endorsements, his victory in 2000 could easily amass to over $1,000,000. Not bad for a 25-year BASS veteran who already had two national championships and 15 classics under his belt. This hard work and dedication proved his strength and abilities are only getting better every year. Woo’s sponsors going into this event were: Tracker Marine, Mercury, Zebco, Quantum, MotorGuide, Hendrick Motor Sports, Flowmaster, Diehard Batteries, Zoom Bait Co., Stren, Strike Zone Lures, Gator Grip Measuring Boards, Plano, Jack’s Juice and Striker Jigs. Woo’s final weight of 27 lbs. 13 oz. eased out 2nd place pro angler, Mark Rizk, from Antelope, California, who finished with 26 lbs. 11 oz. At 37, Mark Rizk has only fished the BASS Western Invitationals for three years and has qualified for the Classic twice. Mark said his usual style of fishing is a very aggressive "assault pattern" but, due to conditions, he had to switch over to the new "drop-shot" finesse fishing pattern in order to find his fish. Amazingly, he had only used the drop-shot rig in one other prior tournament. He had the heaviest five-fish limit the last day of 10.1 lbs. which propelled him from third place to a second place finish. Mark learned to fish from his dad when he was only 8. He gave up being a marine technician to follow his dream along the tournament trail and finished 7th in his first Classic. In the ‘99-2000 season, he finished in the top 25 and placed in the money in each of the BASS events he fished. His sponsors are: ProCraft Boats, Mercury, Snag Proof Lures, Worldwaters.com, Revolver Rods, VPR-Pro Team Magic, Wacko Tackle, Assault Lures, Phil’s Props and Value Plumbing. Shaw Grigsby, who was in second before the final round of competition on Saturday, was bumped down into third place, with a total weight of 24 lbs. 7 oz. Shaw, being another seasoned veteran and truly the showman, struggled the last day to come in with just four bass, dropping him into third place. He caught both largemouth and smallmouth bass on a Luck ‘E’ Strike G4 tubejig. Shaw, at 44, has won over $1,000,000 on the BASSMASTER Tournament Trail and has his own TV Show, One More Cast With Shaw Grigsby. He is no stranger to the limelight and the promotional end of the business and his sponsors include: Triton Boats, Mercury, Zebco/Quantum, MotorGuide, Stren, Strike King, Lowrance, Luck "E" Strike Lures, Ocean Waves, Flowmaster, Hawker Energy, Ford and Team Joe Smith. Tied for fourth place was Rick Clunn and Kotaro Kiriyama with 23 lbs. 14 oz. each. Rick was also fishing on Lake Calumet in shallow water with broken rocks. He primarily used a Bill Norman Tiny N and a Balsa BII crankbait. Being the true sportsman that he is, he admitted to two mistakes during the tournament. The first was not using enough light line and the second was not spending enough time on the main lake, obviously, he was disappointed. Rick Clunn is one of the best anglers to ever compete in BASS tournaments. He has won over $2,000,000 on the tournament trails, and at age 53 is still going strong. He has won 12 BASSMASTER tournaments and four BASS Masters Classics. He has finished in the money 71% of the 250 tournaments he has fished with BASS. His sponsors include Tracker Boats, Bass Pro Shops, Stanley Jigs, Lunker Lure, Costa Del Mar Sunglasses, Luck "E" Strike Lures, and Rick Clunn Signature Rods and Reels. Kotaro Kiriyama is a native of Japan but spends half of his time in California competing in the Western Invitationals. He has only fished the BASS circuit for two years. He has earned a paycheck in six of the nine events he has fished and at 29, he is moving up in the ranks at an amazingly fast pace. Kotaro also used light 6 lb. line with zipper worms in either watermellon or chartreuse colors and he used a popper by Lake Police and jerkbaits in the main lake. He also used the drop-shot rig on a 6-inch leader. Kotaro’s sponsors are: Skeeter Boats, Yamaha Outbords, Restaffine Custom Rods, Zipper Worms, Shimano, Zappu, Varivas Line and Nogales Hooks. "Winning the Classic is the dream of every bass fisherman in the world...and my dream came true today," commented Woo Daves. And during the opening comments following the Classic, Woo went on to say, "I have a son who is involved in fishing...He is a super fisherman and I’m really proud of him. Probably one of the most exciting days of my career, aside from winning this Classic, was when my son made the Classic. Now, with the help of all this money, I’ll be able to back my son and get him up here fishing with me. These young anglers come along and it takes four or five years of hard work on the tournament trail to make it, and it’s really hard to get sponsors. For some reason, a lot of company’s in this industry won’t take a chance on young anglers; and, these young fishermen really have to struggle for years to compete. These young fishermen look up to us as being old pros, but I look up to them to come out here and compete against the old pros and do the job that they do. In my first Classic, in 1975, there was a high-school band and maybe three people who met us when we got off the airplane. There probably wasn’t 180 people at weigh-in and 150 of them were kin to me. BASS has come a long way since those days and taken the Classic to new levels. Back then, I was one of the youngest competitors, now I’m almost the oldest. It [the Classic] means a lot more to me now, because I’m no spring chicken, I’m 54 years old. One thing about it, an old guy can still catch fish!"

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to fish with a Nationally Ranked Professional Angler? Judy Wong is a full time guide on Fayette County Lake when she's not fishing the Bass'n Gals Pro circuit. She lives in west Houston with husband, Glenn and son, Scott, who is currently attending college. She has enjoyed fishing all her life and started when her father took her fishing as a young girl. Three years ago Judy started fishing professionally and fished the Bass'n Gals circuit, qualifying for the Classic in her first year. In 78 and 89 she won two boats and has qualified for the Classic every year since fishing Bass'n Gals. Last year she finished in 5th place in the Angler of the Year race and is currently in 12th this year. Judy is sponsored by Red Wing Boat Company, Champion Boats, Zebco/Motorguide, Pradco, Culprit, Limberneck Spinner Baits and Gamagatsu. When she's not fishing in a Bass n Gals tournament or practicing for one she is guiding on Fayette County Lake, working a Boat Show for sponsor, Red Wing Boat Company, giving corporate seminars on Bass Fishing, and as if that's not enough she gives of her time for charity work like the "Get Hooked on Fishing Not Drugs" program and the "Make a Wish Foundation". Judy also volunteers her time for the "Sunshine Kids Tournament" sponsored by Houston Fish. Fulfilling such a demanding schedule would not be possible, Judy says, without the support of her husband Glenn. When she talks about her guide business her face lights up and you can tell she really enjoys this part of her profession. She especially enjoys mothers with children type trips where she gets to teach fishing. She is probably better suited for this kind of fishing because of her patience. A crusty old fishing guide might have less patience to deal with children. Don't be mislead though, this lady can hold her own with any guide when it come to catching fish. Recently I called Judy to see if she was available for a photo session for one of her sponsors. I explained that I would prefer to get some photos of her on the water and ideally with a big fish. When faced with this challenge myself I usually think, "yeah right like I can go out any time I want and catch a big fish", but she said OK and told me to meet her at Emmett's and Velma's Store on Hwy 159 near the Lake at 6:00 am later that week. At 6:00 am later that week I'm setting in Emmett's store solving world problems, with Emmett, over a cup of coffee and in walks this good looking lady dressed like a bass fisherman, Judy Wong. After chatting with Emmett awhile we headed for the Lake. I followed Judy in my boat so I could get some pictures. She started fishing shallow vegetation along the shoreline with various shallow running jerk baits. I'm staying close behind concentrating on getting some good pictures and enjoying the morning. After about an hour and only a couple of misses on the jerk baits I'm beginning to think that I'm glad I'm not in her position because I'd be getting awfully nervous without a fish by now, but Judy seemed quite relaxed and confident and continued to patiently and methodically work the shoreline cover that she had set out to fish. When she had finished the shoreline of that cove she moved out to deeper water to try some deep water structure. Not long after, she bowed up on what appeared to be a pretty good fish. I'm in a panic thinking this may be the only fish we get on and want to get some good pictures. Finally the fish blows up and it's a five pounder. As though she was in a tournament Judy coolly played the fish to the boat, lands it and we get a few posed pictures then release the fish. Nice way to break the ice. About fifteen minutes later her rod doubles over again. Another fish close to 5 pounds. With a big smile, Judy says, why don't you do some fishing Pat? I've never been able to refuse a good challenge, and besides she had just boated two 5 pounders in the past fifteen minutes and I should easily be able to get a few good fish real quick. An hour and a half later the score was Lady Angler 6, Photographer 2. I had just been given a first class fishing lesson. Out of eight fish or so in about two and a half hours Judy had put us on a couple three pounders, 2 fish between 3 and 4 pounds, four fish in the 5 pound range and a 7.5 pounder. That's what I call producing under pressure. It's easy to see why Judy has made the Classic all three years she has fished Bass'n Gals. In about three hours she had patterned the fish and produced the big fish I had asked for. This Lady is not just another pretty face but a very good professional angler. For a great guide trip, with a Nationally Ranked Professional Angler, call Judy Wong at 713-933-9724

Team bass fishing tournaments are a dime a dozen these days but a “new Kid On The Block” is really worth a closer look. Pro Team Trail was organized this year by some Ft. Worth area anglers that will be recognized by most of you readers of my regular tournament column. K. D. Moore, Jerry Nichols and John Nichols have fished the Angler’s Choice circuits for a number of years and take home their share of checks. They are all very well liked and have top notch reputations as competitive tournament anglers. Anyone in bass fishing tournaments in Texas for a few years will have nothing but good things to say about these guys. Last year they got their heads together and came up with a plan that will allow team tournament contestants in Texas to make some real money. Their plan is simple, a one day tournament with no practice days. The idea being to hold down expenses. With most team tournaments you have to figure a least one night and probably two stays in a motel. With meals figured in the average cost per team, with entry fee, is around $450.00, including fuel. Even if you place in the top ten in many team events you won’t even make back all of your expenses for the weekend. Pro Team’s concept is that you drive to the tournament lake the morning of the event, enjoy a good tournament and even with the $500.00 entry fee you have 20 chances of breaking even on money and if you’re lucky and stick a big fish you could be taking home a fully rigged Ranger. You haven’t spent any more money than you would have fishing any other team event. You don’t have to take any extra days off work and you get to spend more time with your family, an important concern of the Pro Team organizers. Winners of the first three events, in each division, take home a fully rigged Ranger boat, motor and trailer equipped with Lowrance Electronics. The winners of the last two qualifying events, in each division, will get a check for $15,000.00. The rest of the field doesn’t go home empty handed either. With a field of 125 you will have a chance to win back your entry fee at 20th place. Second place, based on 125 teams, is $5,000.00, third is $3,500.00, fourth is $2,500.00, fifth is $2,000.00 and tenth is $1,200.00. A full field of 200 teams almost doubles the payback. Traditionally tournaments held in Texas that have a fully rigged boat for first place draw a full field. Pro Team will very likely follow that trend. 200 teams will be the cut off for this trail. This trail will allow team tournament anglers to take home the kind of money the national touring pro’s make. There will be two divisions the first year, a North Texas and South Texas Division. There will be 5 qualifying events in each division with the top 40 in each division and 10 “Wild Card” teams from each division going to the Classic. There will be no entry fee for the Classic and first place will be a fully rigged 400 series Ranger Boat. The North Division schedule is March 23rd - Palestine, April 27th - Cedar Creek, May 18th - Texoma, June 29th - Richland Chambers and September 14th - Lewisville. The South Division schedule is March 9th - Rayburn, April 13th - Toledo Bend, May 11th - Livingston, June 8th - Richland Chambers and September 7th - Rayburn. In addition to Ranger Boats Pro Team is also sponsored by Mercury, Ranger Trail, MotorGuide, Lowrance Electronics, Boat Buddy, CastAway Rods, Bumper Stumper and CAF Props. For more information or to join the trail call John Nichols at 817-285-0405.