It’s cold. I don’t have any tournaments scheduled. And I’m totally OK with that for right now!
I’ve been switching it up and just fishing for fun. Sometimes I just take an ultralight and go for panfish. I’ve even just tossed a Carolina rig with a hot dog on it to try to catch some catfish.
That doesn’t mean that I’m not thinking about next year and tournament fishing. I’m planning, researching, and day-dreaming. Once schedules are solid, I’m going to make sure I block off those weekends and plan for some pre-fishing a few weeks before the tournaments, something I didn’t do at all this past year.
I’m also focusing on the in-person events and less on the monthly online tournaments. While the monthlies are great because I can fish when I want, they are also pressure all month long and then I take every spare moment to fish. That makes other parts of life a struggle.
I’m also mulling over my setup in a few key ways:
- Do I add a trolling motor? If so, bow mount or go cheap and transom mount just for making long runs?
- Electronics, what do I really want and/or need. I have yet to catch a fish directly because of electronics, but I see the value in them.
- Tackle changes? I want to carry more rods, or more specialized rods … except when I don’t. I typically take two medium heavy baitcasters (one for moving baits and one for jig/Texas rig) and a medium-light spinning rod that is 90% ned rig. Do I want to carry more specialized rods and have the hassle of that?
- Maybe a pedal kayak? The motor is an advantage, but the pedal might cut right in the middle.
There’s a log going on in my head, for sure!
I’m also going to be switching gears as the local ponds get trout stocked soon so I’m going to bust out the fly rod and the ultra-light gear soon!