Master it.

Find the style of fishing you are best at or enjoy most and put everything into mastering it. There is something to be said for being versatile and able to catch fish but you can either be good at a bunch of things or be great at one thing. There are plenty of examples on any of the pro tours that fit both of these models but the ones that master one style of fishing are normally the ones bringing home the trophies.

Even I fished in a local bass club for 10 years without winning a tournament because I wasn’t great at any one style. I spent ten years placing in the top 5 of nearly every tournament but could never win. Here in Ohio, on any lake that isn’t Lake Erie, fishing is incredibly hard. Our lakes are small and get a lot of pressure. Just getting five fish to weigh in became my goal for the following season. So I began to master finesse fishing. At this point I think I might still be able to catch a fish on a crankbait but who knows. I figured out pretty quickly that next season it is a lot easier to win when you are going to the scales with five in the bag.

That first year of mastering finesse fishing I won more than half of our tournaments and was club champion. It was the same story in year two and three. I know it is not true but all of the other guys in the club probably think I caught every fish those three years on a shaky head. The majority of the fish I caught did come on a shaky head but the drop shot and wacky rig also chipped in. I know I weighed in some jerkbait fish to of course. Being a master of one style of fishing may appear to have some disadvantages and it does to an extent. If you are a master at flipping a jig and you end up on a lake without the right cover it will be a challenge just like being a finesse fisherman on a flipping lake. While that can be a disadvantage on some lakes it will be a huge advantage on the other lakes. – Michael