Regional bass size

As a kayak tournament angler, I’ve had the opportunity to travel, and fish all over the eastern half of the United states.  In doing so, I’ve realized, not all fisheries share the same quality of bass.  What I mean by that is, the average sized tournament fish varies from state to state.  Knowing if a limit of 15″-16″ bass is good to be competitive, or if you need a limit of 19″-20″ bass to stand a chance at a top 10, or better yet a win.  

 This is where a little bit of homework can go a long way, and everybody seems to go about it a little differently.  For instance, I’ll join Facebook group pages in the states, and organizations I’ll be fishing in, and start looking back through post’s.  I’ll also look back at past tournament results to get an idea of what it will take to finish towards the top.  But, I’ll also take into consideration the conditions during the past tournaments,  and adjust my game plan accordingly. 

 Pre fishing has its place too, I don’t like to sore lip, or educate potential fish I could catch on tournament day.  What I’ll do is fish for a handful of bites, to confirm, or deny the quality I’m catching.  I’ll also take into account the type of cover I’m catching them on, and make sure the river, or lake I’m fishing has plenty of similar areas to work over.  Also, don’t let a hot bite during pre fishing fool you, its usually a good bet to subtract your biggest, and smallest fish caught during pre fishing to determine an accurate average size.  

 Thanks for taking your time to read my little write up on regional bass size.  If you have any questions, or comments feel free to contact me.

– Clayton Haske