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Few tournament anglers can say with conviction that they are trophy bass experts. Conversely, not many trophy bass anglers can say they are successful tournament anglers. The general train of thought is trophy bass hunters are park, sit and wait fishermen, while tournament anglers are more run and gun, find enough fish for a limit, type of anglers. So what if a trophy hunter decided to fish tournaments? Would their paradigm hinder them or help them? Or, would they be able to think outside the box and put together a winning pattern? The article that follows will hopefully shed some light on this topic.

Although Mike Long and Bill Siemantel are all noted trophy bass experts, their names are also synonymous with tournament angling. Long and his partner John Kerr have been team tournament partners for 4-years and have amassed 15 wins, 3 WON Bass AOY titles and 1 ABA AOY title during that time. John Kerr is also the winner of the WON Bass U.S. Open in 2003.

Bill Siemantel, on the other hand, started fishing tournaments in 1990 and fishes both team events and major draw tournaments throughout the west. His accomplishments are stellar having won the 1997 Bassmaster Invitational at Lake Powell. He also holds a 3rd and 5th in two other Bassmaster events, a 1st-place at the BassCat Invitational on Lake Northfork in Arkansas, over 20 Team event wins and over 30 big fish awards in tournaments over the years. To top this off, he also qualified for the BASS Open Championship in 2003 and 2004. His partner, Mike Hart also has an impressive list of tournament finishes over the years.

What makes these anglers so adaptable, able to go from fishing strictly trophy fish to tournament fish? Or, do they really change gears from their trophy fishing methods when fishing a tournament? You might be surprised with the answers these anglers gave when asked about their successes in competitive fishing.

What Made Them Start

"I never really cared about tournaments," said Siemantel. "All I wanted to do was catch fish. But in my area of the country, if you want to fish weekends, you have to contend with the tournament guys. I found that I was catching more weight than most of the winning teams and decided it might be a good way to make some extra cash on the side."

Long's answer was similar. "I get bored with doing the same thing over and over," he said. "John and I were weighing more fish than other boats and figured we might as well fish the tournaments since we were on the water anyway."

How Tournaments Differ

When asked how tournament fishing differs from trophy angling, they each had their own thoughts. "Trophy angling is a lot like hunting," said Long. "When I'm going out for a big fish, I'm prepared to sit on one piece of structure for hours knowing I may only get one bite. Tournaments are not that way. You're fishing against the clock and have to make the best use of your time.

Siemantel had a different thought. "Catching big fish takes a different train of thought," he said. "I don’t care if it's in a tournament or when I'm trophy hunting. Practice makes all the difference in the world but if you practice wrong, your results will be bad. You have to be able to keep an open mind and approach a tournament with a different mindset if you intend on weighing bigger than average fish."

Their Approach

"I pretty much know what kind of weight it is going to take on any given tournament to win," said Siemantel. "If I'm fishing Castaic in the winter, for example, I know it's going to take maybe 12-pounds or less if it's been tough. To me, I feel the odds are favored in my hand if I go out and throw the big bait right off the bat and try to get a 7- and 8-pound fish. But if I have no follows or commitments from the fish first thing, I'll change up and then go for a limit."

Long's approach differs quite a bit. "When I'm fishing a tournament, I'm not looking for one or two bites," he said. "I'm looking for a limit of better quality fish than the rest of the boats. I pretty much know what type of fish guys have been catching in prefish and try to find different fish. Fish that no one else are concentrating on. Once I put a good limit in the boat, then I may go fish for a kicker depending on how much weight I have in the well and what the other boats are doing."

"Another problem anglers have is once they get a limit in the boat. At this point, many of them go looking for a kicker," Siemantel said. "What do most anglers do though? Well, instead of throwing the 3/8-ounce spinner bait or 6-inch worm they had caught their limit on, they start throwing a bigger spinnerbait or jig. To me that's not targeting a kicker fish. When I say I'm going to target a big fish, I'm throwing a swimbait, Rago Rat, or a big Tiger Tube. I really want to increase my odds of catching a kicker or at least draw one out so I can mark the spot and go back with another technique. Most anglers don’t realize how well the big baits work at locating these big fish."

Adjusting on the water is another key factor in their success. "You really have to listen to the conditions and the fish," Siemantel said. "I look at everything when I am on the water and try to keep an open mind. One thing is for certain, conditions are going to change when you're on the water and you must be able to adjust quickly in order to be consistent."

"I pay attention to every little detail when I am on the water," Long said. "I'm constantly watching for blue herons, diving birds, the wind direction, mudlines, etc. Each one of those can give signs as to where the fish are, what they are eating and what depth of water they are concentrated in. Most anglers don't pay that much attention to this detail and that's where they have trouble. You must understand all of these details and how they affect the fish.

Regarding whether or not big fish can be patterned, each angler agrees the answer is yes. "At times, big fish become really stupid," Siemantel said. "When I see this happen, I don’t waste any time and I will do what I call the 'One Cast' approach at that time. For example, if I find big fish are actively feeding on points, I will run to every point I know and take the time to set up on it correctly. Most anglers, at this time, will haphazardly run onto a point and make a cast. I make sure to put my boat in the right position the first time and make one cast. People would be surprised how aggressively a big fish eat a bait on the first cast of they just take the time to set up correctly before they make a cast."

"My one cast approach involves more than one cast. It actually involves three casts with different baits that cover different parts of the water column. I also call it my Top-Middle-Bottom approach and more of this can be read at www.BassFan.com in the coming months."

Long also feels big fish are easily patterned but does not rely on patterning them for tournaments. "Big bass are simple," he said. "The problem is that in a tournament you're fishing against the clock. I don’t feel that I can be successful in a tournament if I go out with a big fish pattern. In all, when I am fishing a tournament circuit, I am more interested in getting angler or team of the year. So, I opt not to play the percentages. Now, if I have a good bag in the well with 6 hours left in the day, I will go out and target big fish because I know these lakes better than most anglers. It happened a couple times this year but that is not the norm."

“The only time I will go out and target big fish solely in a tournament is when I am fishing by myself,” Long said. “That way I can set up on spots the correct way and make the perfect presentation. Big fish fishing requires different tacks than fishing what most anglers consider tournament fish.”

Siemantel feels much the same. “When I am in a team tournament and we’re targeting big fish, it is only one of us that is actually doing the fishing,” he said. “Making multiple casts at a big fish can only hinder your chances of getting it to commit. One cast placed properly is a must. The angler not doing the casting must not feel like he or vshe is doing nothing. They need to realize it is just as important for them to be ready with the net in order to make that fish count at weigh-in.”

“It’s the smartest fishermen that have the best results,” said Siemantel. “In order to consistently catch big fish, not only in tournaments but when targeting them, you must be able to think outside the box. Don’t be afraid to do something different. Take good notes on what has worked and try to duplicate it. Like I said before, practice makes perfect but lousy practice makes for bad results.”