Entry 286-1
Shaw Grigsby – How I Prepare for a Tournament
Editor’s Note: Whether you’re fishing a national tournament like Shaw Grigsby, a local tournament, a club tournament or just going fishing, you want to catch as many bass as you can for the amount of time you have to spend on the water. This week Grigsby, who’s fishing the 2009 Bassmaster Classic on Shreveport, Louisiana’s Red River, will tell us how he prepares for a tournament. You’ll be able to see from his tournament preparation ways you can improve your bass fishing and catch more bass each time you go to the lake or the river.
Part 1: Pack Right
Question: Shaw, what’s the first thing you do to prepare for a tournament and/or going fishing?
Grigsby: My tournament preparation can begin as much as 6 months before I go to a lake I’m going to fish. I go to school on the body of water where I plan to fish, and I do my homework and study my lessons. I study maps and get on the internet to study reports on what the lake levels have been, what the water and air temperatures have been lately and what the temperatures are at the time of my research, and how, where and on what bass have been caught in past tournaments, especially during the month I’ll be fishing.
The Internet really has sped-up my research and enabled me to learn a lot about a lake before I arrive get there. 
I’ll often start my research at the end of the last tournament for the lakes I know I’ll fish on the BASS circuit, even though we’ll have several months before we start fishing again. As the date of the tournament draws closer, I’ll continue to gather more recent data on the lake.
Question: Ok, Shaw, once you think you’ve learned what you need to know about the lake, what’s your next step?
Grigsby: I start thinking about my equipment. I start off by making sure that I get an oil change on my Ford 250. I may be gone to two or three tournaments and be away from home for a month, and I don’t want to worry about having my oil changed for a month. 
Next I want to make sure my boat has oil in it, and that I packed a sufficient amount of oil. Then if the engine burns oil, I can replace it.
Next I check my fishing line to make sure I have lines from 6-pound-test line up to 80-pound braided line and monofilament up to 30-pounds test packed. Depending on what the water and weather conditions are at any tournament, I may need any or all of those lines. I check every rod and every reel to make sure it’s functioning properly and is ready to fish. Then I charge my batteries and make sure my trolling motor and electronics are getting plenty of power to them.
Question: What comes next, Shaw?
Grigsby: At the beginning of the season, I pack my truck with all the lures I think I’ll need for the entire season. Then I can make minor adjustments to the lures I have in my truck at any time. If I’m traveling to Buffalo, New York, where I know I’ll be fishing a lot of drop-shot baits, I make sure I have plenty of drop-shot lures in my boat. If I’m going to Kentucky Lake where I know I’ll be fishing crankbaits and Football Head jigs, I may overstock my truck with those lures. 
Then I make sure that I have everything that I need in my boat for the first tournament in which I’ll be competing. I keep backups and options in my truck.
Then if I’m at a tournament and I decide I need a particular lure, I’ll have it with me. I don’t have to depend on a local tackle store to buy it. I’ve learned that if I make sure I take care of the little things and am very detailed on the way I pack my boat and my truck, then during a tournament I shouldn’t have to go away from the tournament site for any reason to get tackle.
Next: Take It All
Contents:
- Part 1: Pack Right
- Part 2: Take It All
- Part 3: To Spool or Not to Spool
- Part 4: Know When to Hold Them and Know When to Fold Them
- Part 5: To Let Live or Die
