Articles : Tournament Winning Strategies

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Tournament Winning Strategies For the Muskie Professionals:
The Five Keys to Success
By: Steven James Rusteberg

For over nineteen years I have been writing about the outdoors, and muskie fishing alike. This sport is my true passion. I began my early years of education in Northern Wisconsin’s Villas County area where my relatives have a beautiful cabin overlooking the famed Flambeau Chain of Lakes. This was the germination ground, of sort, for some of the most famed muskie guides of our era. Fisherman like Jim Saric, Joe Bucher, Steven James Rusteberg Herbek, Dallas Helm, Gene Curtis, and Buba Smith all sprung form here. Many of these names became my personal hero’s. All made a living at the sport they truly love. Many of the above had a personal technique and pattern that put more fish in their boat. All of them knew how to put all the odds in their favor.

Times have changed and a guide’s life has become more difficult. Not that it was easy to begin with… but it seems as if one can no longer make a steady living upon guide fame alone. Today you must supplement your income by becoming a lecturer, writer, lure manufacture, magazine owner, tournament winner, or a combination of the entire list above.

Specifically, tournament fishing has become the easy way to achieve quick name recognition. The sport is growing in popularity and in prize money. Consistency is the key here, not a sole win and a short moment of fame. Names like Tony Grant, Gregg Thomas, Chris Summers, and Duane Landmeier are newer names entering the muskie fishing circles. There is something to be said about an angler who is consistently successful despite fishing pressure, weather changes, and lakes idiosyncrasies. These individuals have truly achieved “muskie excellence”.

I have been fishing muskie tournaments for a long time. I have fished famous tournaments like Paul’s Pro Am, The Great Escape, The Midwest Classic, The Pewaukee Muskie Classic, D-Bar-D Muskie Rodeo, the PMTT (Professional Muskie Tournament Trail) and many others over the years. I have become smarter in my approach and performance. You win some, and you loose some, but learning from your losses is what makes you the best you can be. Again, consistency is the key. I have constructed this article for fist time muskie tournament fisherman. This is what I have learned over the years. This is what has increased my success. These are just some ways you become consistent in a competitive situation. This article references tournament muskie fishing, but contains a lot of the overall concepts that can be used in your private and professional life too. Use these suggestions to become more successful on every outing. It is what has worked for me.

Key One
“Homework …Becoming in the Know”

The first key to a tournament win is “homework”. You must become a muskie professional that knows your lake, presentations, time of year, and locations. Consider yourself a “Muskies Private Investigator.” Preparing for a tournament begins months ahead of time, not days or even hours before the event. As a “Muskie P.I.” you must becoming familiar with who (specifically who) is the best fisherman on the lake. This is of extreme importance. This individual (or individuals) likely knows more muskie patterns on a month to month basis than any other person on the lake. He (or they) know baits, locations, water conditions and usually is consistent throughout the muskie season. He is the expert on his lake. More times than not he will average a seventy-five fish season or more. Asking this individual about his success is important before tournament time… well before tournament time!

This individual is much more likely to share information with you if he has not made a commitment to the tournament himself. In fact, you should not even mention the reason for your inquiry due to a competitive situation arising. Muskie success often times comes with an ego. Avoid ego and ask specific questions as to when, why, and how. Become interested in his tools. His lures, boat, landing techniques, and specifically why he fishes an area at a particular time of year. These subjects are all very important to your winning strategies. The more you confide in his success stories the more you will learn. Keep your mouth shut, and listen. I mention this, because this is the biggest obstacle for me when I am conducting an “investigation”. Share your experience later, listen first. Also, remember you are investigating not interrogating. Be cordial offer dinner or drinks, perhaps an even exchange. If he helps you out with this lake you can (and will) take him to “Lake X” that you know a lot about. Repay your debt to this individual.

You can use tools such as the internet, local bait shop, or word of mouth to find this individual. Keep your ear to the ground and your opinions to yourself… you are there to learn. Have this guy take you fishing and show you his success. Even if he requires a fee, pay it, it will come back to you several times over in years (and tournaments) to come. Know his baits, his colors, his locations, his technique, and as much as you can possibly learn. If you don’t know his credit card number, his social security number, the color of his boxer shorts by the end of your conversations, you haven’t done your job! Alright, I am exaggerating… but get to know him! Take notes during a phone conversation if you have a short memory such as mine.

Key Two
Pre-fish Alone

I watch many of the “Bass Guys” and “Walleye Pros” making this mistake. If you enter a tournament with a partner (like most) why do you pre-fish in the same boat? Covering the lake and eliminating unproductive water is the second key to a win. Why would you even consider fishing with your partner in the same boat when you can cover twice as much water fishing separate?

When I pre-fish a tournament I will select an adequate partner to fish beside for the allotted time before an event. My partner will also do the same. Therefore, we have a total of twice the pre-fishing effort of anyone else in the field. Pre-fish with a close friend or relative, not an opponent.

Watch your competition. Often times your competitor can tell you even more about an area than a lake map alone. If you are seeing or catching more fish than a competitor recognize what not to be doing. Check out his lure and presentation, and file it in your head. Don’t use his bad choice of lure selection or color during the competition. Make good decisions biased upon what you observe. Watching your counterparts can be a very important part of doing your homework.

If you do well, don’t brag about it. Keep your success a secret until after the tournament. Often times I hear competitors talking about their pre-fishing. Why, I ask? Do you want the undue pressure you are creating? Unless you like boats following you around, don’t talk about your success. You don’t have to lie if someone asks you how your day was. My simple response is a polite, “It was a tough day.” This usually satisfies, and often leads you to the question “how was yours?” Now, show me the lie in that statement. Every muskie fishing day I have ever had, weather it be a fifteen fish day or a zero fish day, has been in general, “a tough day”.

Communicate with your partner while you pre-fish. Do this via cell phone or private line. Do not use a ship-to-shore radio. It may sound like a simple suggestion, but I have competed with some individuals who decided to use their ship-to-shore radio to communicate. I knew how these competitors did for the day’s effort without even speaking with them. Communicate with your partner after leaving each spot, and draw out a “milk-run” of sort so you do not duplicate each others effort.

If you, or your partner, think that you have developed a pattern… I define this as a two or more fish on an individual spot… both of you should “quietly” dominate the area to find a third or fourth fish. I am a strong believer that you can’t clean out a muskie spot pre-fishing if it truly is a strong winning pattern. If you find two fish, and that is all, look for similar locations, with similar structure that might be holding more fish. Again, reference your expert on the lake and the information he was able to provide. Otherwise, repeat this procedure from the beginning.

Key 3
Don’t Leave Hot Fish

This may sound like a ridiculous suggestion, but I can’t tell you how many losses I have chalked up leaving a productive spot. The water is not always bluer on the other side of the lake. If you are seeing or catching fish, and you have followed the above suggestions, then you have put the odds in your favor. Do not change your game plan in the middle of the tournament! If you are on active fish, stay on active fish.

Stick to a small area you have nailed down pre-fishing. A tournament is no time to explore. Use your “expert sources suggestions” and make a “happy cast”. One of my good friends told me one time that, “a happy cast, is a successful cast” and she was right! You must have faith that your game plan will work, and that every cast you make is one step closer to the win. Don’t show frustration around your partner or your competition. This will only make your team weaker and another team stronger. I wish someone would write an article on the “mental part of muskie fishing” because I think it is crucially important. Do not surround yourself with a partner that is an eternal pessimist. Your goal is to believe you have the advantage with all of the knowledge you gained before the event. The knowledge, positive attitude, and competitive thinking will pull you ahead.

Key 4
Keep You Bait in the Water

As simple as this sounds I must constantly remind myself to make as many casts in a day of competitive fishing as possible. Usually this means no lunch break, no time for sharpening hooks, and little time for tackle failure. All of my terminal tackle such as line, leaders, rods, reels, lures, and hooks should have been attended to long before the starting gun goes off.

I tend to spend very little time moving around, or “running and gunning”, as it is called. My strategy, my lures, and my approach is already set up and is not negotiable. If your boat is under power, and you are not trolling, your lure is not in the water. Without your lure in the water, you have no chance of winning the tournament. Limit your runs, and make wise choices when you decide to change locations.

I can remember vividly a PMTT (Professional Muskie Tournament Trail) Tournament last year that was won in the last half hour of fishing. Had I, or my partner, given up, or let our guard down, we would have not placed 1st. We simply continued “casting happy” and caught the winning fish. We had casted this particular area all day and probably accumulated more “time in the water” than our opponents. This simple tip is something we all forget. Our lures were in productive water, longer. Hence a win!

Just think about. If you can make one cast every minute of competition. How much time does your average “runner and gunner” spend with his lure out of the water? How many cast could have been made with better choices? If you’re going long distances or spending a lot of time moving around, you better have a very good excuse for it.

Key 5
Learning From Your Mistakes

Remember, even the best tournament fisherman will accumulate more losses than wins. Capitalizing on the knowledge gained by your losses move you into the elite category of “the best of the best”. Just because you didn’t finish first, you may not have failed.
Did you catch smaller fish? This may have been beyond your control. In tournament fishing we must keep in mind that more fish is usually better that bigger fish. Yes, there are big fish patterns, as well as small fish patterns. Your goal usually is to catch as many fish as possible, but remember someone is always more lucky that you are. If you were beaten by one big fish, it is sometimes beyond your control and this falls into the “luck category”. Score little fish in order to win big! Let the “luck factor” fall where it may. Usually, you won’t leave you beaten. Numbers of fish more often than bigger fish will win a tournament. Fish for numbers, not for monsters.

When you do loose, learn from your mistakes. Did you do enough homework? Did you effectively eliminate water pre-fishing? Did you leave hot fish on a poor hunch and spent less time with your bait in the water? Evaluate yourself, and your partner’s performance. Use this information to do better next time. Good fisherman, know that good patterns, will be consistent from year to year. If you think you will forget from year to year, write it down. I have a calendar just devoted to fishing patterns and tournament schedules. The more time you spend on the water, the more consistent patterns will be puzzle pieced together. You will find little change from year to year on a “true pattern”.

Conclusion

Winning tournaments consistently is a skill. Much as a good gambler knows the odds of the drawing the winning card to complete his hand, the muskie angler must anticipate how the cards will fall on tournament day. Know your opponents, and stick to your plan. The more information you have gathered pre-tournament will help you become a success.

Tournament fishing has become increasingly popular and the competition is becoming increasingly harder to beat. I can remember a time when catching one fish in a tournament would likely put you in first place. As muskie fishing and muskie fisherman get better, the shaper the preverbal knife edge becomes to walk away with a win. Days ago, one fish wins were common. Now multi-fish tournaments are the rule. Take these keys to muskie fishing tournament success and become better. If you don’t use these simple tips you can be sure of one thing… your competitors will.