Tournament Fishing
" What does successful really mean? "
By: Crash Mullins © 2003
Field Editor Musky Hunter Magazine
As Featured In Musy Hunter Magazine June 2004
Who would have ever thought there would be as many musky tournaments as there are today? Twenty years ago; when I got started, you didn’t hear a lot about big money tournaments. Here at Cave Run Lake where I live, tournament fishing has always been very popular. But the tournaments for money were bass tournaments. We had the Kentucky Silver Muskie Club outings, but they were more for enjoyment and bragging rights and not for cash.
It’s hard for me to believe that we have these big money muskie tournaments and that they are very successful. Rollie and Helen’s, The Eagle River Spring Classic, and The Frame Paul’s Pro- Am. These are some of Northern Wisconsin’s biggies. I enjoy fishing these tournaments, but with every tournament there is always controversy. Some people like them, some people don’t. Just like in politics, everyone has his or her own opinion. Is this good for the sport or not? I personally think they are good. It’s really hard for me to believe that we actually have a professional musky tournament trail. I never thought I would see this day. The PMTT has already proven that the timing was right for a professional musky circuit. If you had told me that they would have on average of 75 trail teams in just five years, I would have probably told you that you were crazy. In my opinion, the PMTT has been a big boost to all musky tournaments and a plus for the sport of musky fishing.
Are there Pro’s in musky fishing?
Most certainly there are pro’s in musky fishing. This has always been a major topic of discussion with a lot of musky fisherman. What classifies pro status? Well lets look at being a professional car driver. Most think of a race car driver; but what about a truck driver or a taxi cab driver. Aren’t these professionals? Any person that makes money or a living doing something is a professional. Now, I will be the first to tell you, yes there are definitely different levels of pro status. Some are going to be better known than others, and more experienced, but if you make money doing it you are a professional.
What does being successful really mean?
We all know if you win or place in a tournament and receive cash or a check that is being successful. That’s just common sense. Musky tournaments are so different from bass or walleye tourneys. A lot of times in musky tournaments you are fishing for one fish. Luck is always a factor in tournaments, especially musky tournaments. I don’t mean this in a negative way. Right place at the right time has a lot to do with it. This is why I like fishing a circuit like the PMTT. The trail is run on a point system. With multiple tournaments you have to be consistent. To me being successful is having the opportunities to win or place in a tournament. So many tournament fishermen never have the opportunities to win or place in a tournament. Let me explain. Last year my 2002 tournament partner Joe McCartin and I had the chance to win four of the five tournaments. No, we did not win them; but we had our opportunities. An example of this was at the Cave Run tourney. On the first day we had two fish. Our first stop on the second day, I had a 36” er miss my spinner bait. With this fish we would have won.
How many anglers out of 150 teams actually had an opportunity like that?
If you don’t have these opportunities, then this is when you need to evaluate how and where you are fishing (structure, lures, time of day, etc…). One more example of this is when Joe and I were at Eagle River last year for the PMTT. We caught four muskies within one inch of being legal, plus we had two more fish get off. What would have been the outcome if the fish were an inch longer and the two others were boated? With a little bit of luck these fish would have been legal and we should have had the other two that got off. The point I am making, in tournaments you have to be on fish. So were we successful in that tournament? To most people probably not, but to most tournament fisherman that understand muskies, we were successful to a point. If you have opportunities or have the opportunity to win, you are successful.
" Time: is it a major factor "
A lot of us tournament anglers know how important time is. “ Thirty minutes left in the tournament, should I leave with fifteen minutes to go or five minutes left to get back for check in? “ One thing you have to remember about muskies, you can go from zero to a hero in one cast. I recall the 2000 PMTT event at Cave Run. We had thirty minutes left on the last day. My tournament partner Bill Burns and I had to make a quick decision to move to another spot or stay put. We were in third place at that time. We decided to make a move and with twenty minutes left we caught a thirty pounder that won the tournament for us. This past spring while fishing in the Eagle River Spring Classic, I saw it won with five minutes to go on the last day. You have to learn to make use of every minute possible when you are fishing in a tournament. Each tournament can be a little different on time. What I mean by this is how are the fish being judged? Can you transport or do you have to wait for a judge boat. In the PMTT you have to have your fished judged then back for check in at a designated time. So if you can transport, you should be able to fish a bit longer.
It’s always critical for me to know where I am in the standings of the tournament. If I have caught a fish, I’m not going to risk pushing it to the wire and take a chance of losing points by being late for the check in. However; if you are fishing a tournament were points are not that crucial it’s a little different. I always like to try and be within a ten-minute run of the check in. It’s always good to spend some time pre-fishing close to the check in point. Another way to save valuable time is to eat when you are on the run from spot to spot or through no wake zones. Remember that one cast can make a difference.
Pre-Fishing:
I’ve heard a lot of anglers in the musky world ask the question “ Is it really necessary to pre-fish? To any serious tournament fishermen, or me they will tell you pre-fishing is an absolute must. There are always stories about a team that won and didn’t pre-fish or had never been on the lake before. This does happen. But like I always preach in my seminars, musky schools and guiding is consistency. To me, consistency is the most important part of musky fishing and especially in tournaments. Spending quality time pre-fishing will make you more consistent. I personally like to make at least two trips pre-fishing, do my homework, and gather information before a tournament on a new lake. If I have a tournament in September; my first trip if possible, would be either July or August. I would spend at least three days to a week on that lake. I will even hire a guide for a day. Hopefully someone that will not be fishing the tournament. I will also spend time looking around and exploring. Some people might think that I’m crazy for going that early. The bite will be totally different in September than in July or August. The biggest thing is to study your map, learn your way around and know the names of the spots. You can also find out what are typically the hot lures and colors. This is were your guide or contact person will help you. To me, one of the most important things about pre-fishing is to be able to run from spot to spot without hesitation regardless of where you are on the lake. When I go back in September it will just take me a couple of days refresh my memory. I will also have touched base with my contact person and find out what the fish are hitting on and where the hot spots are at this time. I don’t like to pre-fish the day before a tournament. I will try to fish two or three days before the tournament. This gives a good handle and plenty of time to have all the groundwork laid on what is going on.
In 1999 the PMTT had a tournament on Lake St. Clair the last part of July. Bill Burns was my partner at the time and we arrived the last couple days of June and fished through the first week of July. Now, I had fished lakes in Canada, Northern Wisconsin and Minnesota, but nothing like this. This was big water for two country boys, not to mention that St.Clair is normally a trolling bite and I am not much on the trolling scene. We learned how to troll. I had never seen a two-foot plainer board much less knew how to use one. We went back at the end of July and placed fifth, which to me was like winning. This is part of what I have been talking about on being consistent. This system of pre-fishing will work if you do your homework
Dependable Equipment:
Yes, this means all reels are working, you have good line and check all your leaders and snaps. This is a must. But the one thing a lot of fishermen take for granted is their boat and motor. A good example of this happened at Lake St. Clair during the 1999 PMTT event. One teams bilge pump did not work. With the big waves, he was taking on water and it cost him a lot o fishing time and almost his life. You don’t need your motor breaking down, so make sure everything is working like it should. One of the most important pieces of equipment is your trolling motor. Make sure your batteries are in good shape and charged. You should always carry spare props for your trolling motor and outboard. Never take your equipment for granted. Always make sure everything works before you go. One other piece of advice; always make sure your net handle is extended. Seconds can be valuable in a tournament.
Lure Selection:
Lure selection has always been a loaded question for tournaments. Anglers always want a secret lure and that edge. We all know that most lures will catch fish at one time or another. I personally like to use what I call high percentage lures. These lures will consist of crank baits, bucktails, and rubber creations. Don’t take me wrong, I do use top waters and jerkbaits. They are excellent search lures, but a lot of times these lures are not the best hook up lures. The problem with tournaments is that if you hook or sting a musky, you usually don’t get a second chance. Crankbaits and bucktails always seem to work in just about every tournament. When I started looking at a lot of tournament results, not just the PMTT, there are always fish caught on these lures. Remember one thing on lure selection, you have to have confidence what you are using. Here are a few that I use and have great confidence in. I prefer Dinner Spinnerbaits and Muskybuster bucktails for my bucktails. For Crankbaits I like Super Stalkers, Jake Minnows and Depth Raiders. I do occasionally use top waters. Musky Buster Stompers and Top Raiders are tough to beat. As for jerkbaits, Bull Dawgs, Manta’s, and Burts are a few of my favorites. The design of the Manta and the Burt being round and a hard plastic allows this bait to slide through the musky’s mouth and enables a better hook up. These are just a few of the lures that I always keep close by. Always make sure your keep your hooks as sharp as possible.
Tournament Etiquette:
When fishing in tournaments, it is your responsibility to know all of the rules and regulations of the tournament. No one else is responsible but you. Make sure you and your partner or both of you are at the sign in and rules meeting. There will always be something that is not clear or will change at the last minute. An example of this could be cut off location or time change. So it’s very important to be at the rules meeting. In every tournament that I have ever fished in, there were always written rules. To me some of the most important rules are the unwritten ones, the so-called rules of the water so to speak. This is referred to as Tournament Etiquette or plain old common courtesy whether you are in a tournament or just out fishing. This should start before the tournament begins at the line up. I never have understood that if you have a 150 boat field and you are boat # 125, why you would even be close to the front of the line. You should back off and look for the boat that is # 124 that you are following.
There are always going to be disagreements on so and so got to close or cut me off on a fishing a spot. This should be common sense. If someone is only a cast away, they are too close. Some anglers think that they should be allowed 100 yards or more. Again, use common sense. As for trollers, if they are within a cast length, they are too close. Treat people like you want to be treated.
One problem I see in a lot of tournaments is that we tend to forget about the everyday fishermen or the guy on vacation. Just because we are fishing in a tournament for money doesn’t give us the right to put ourselves above the other people fishing. Give them as much respect as you would another tournament angler. If you do this, many times you will benefit because he will work with you and let you know what has been going on. Never just blast in and sit down on a non-tournament angler. This is just bad etiquette.
Last but not least, " Your Partner "
There are many tournaments each year, bass, walleye, crappie, you name it and someone is having a tournament. Bass and walleye tournaments allow you to fish with different partners each day or each tournament. The big advantage in the musky world is most of the tournaments are buddy or team tournaments. The PMTT is a good example. The same person you start the trail or circuit with, you have to finish with. To me this is an advantage, however it is very important to pick the right partner. Just because two people like to musky fish doesn’t mean they will be good tournament partners. Your partner can and will play a big role if you are successful in tournaments. You have to know and have confidence in each other. Many times it takes two people to figure out the patterns. I’ve been very lucky. Since I have been fishing the PMTT, I have had two totally different partners. As far as I am concerned I could not ask for two better people to fish with. The first three years I fished with Bill Burns. Bill guides for me on a regular basis and he and I grew up fishing together. Bill is absolutely one of the best at catching big muskies on small lures and his ability to find fish just by looking at the water is second to none.
Joe McCartin, my current partner is one of the best on electronics and navigation that I have ever fished with. He is also a very good crankbait fisherman and an excellent troller. Joe is one of the few that have made the PMTT Invitational Championship every year. Remember that earlier I talked about the importance of being consistent. To me the key with both of these guys is not only their ability to catch fish, but we get along so well together. We don’t argue or get mad, we work together. Without working together you can’t be consistent. Having a good partner is a big key in being successful.
Fishing tournaments can be fun experience and a profitable one and you don’t have to be a so-called pro to be in tournaments. Many times people blow these events out of proportion. In general, fishing tournaments can make you a better fisherman by learning how to adapt to different situations and it really makes you think about what you are doing. I certainly feel like it has helped me. Many anglers that I know seem to get very frustrated when they don’t win. Always remember when fishing a musky tournament, being successful many times is having the opportunity to score. This is the big key to tournament fishing.