THE BENEFIT OF TOURNAMENTS

By James K. Pressley jameskpressley@gmail.com

I’ve been thinking lately about the pros and cons of tournament angling. No matter what we discuss there is a positive and negative side to it. For instance, chili dogs are AWESOME! But they give me heartburn. Carrot cake tastes amazing, yet I seem to gain 5lbs with one slice. See where I am going with this?

Tournaments are no different. However, it is time to discuss the positive sides of them. The SBA Striper Tournament will be on Lake Oconee this Saturday. Now, my fishing partner (Kevin Wahl of Wildside Fishing) and I will be fishing the event together. We fish most of our club tournaments together these days. It’s sure to be an enjoyable day full of cooking, fishing, and having fun on the water in any situation. But this tournament is bringing in a crew of anglers from Lanier, Hartwell, and other major striper fisheries around the state. Now how could that possibly be a good thing for Oconee and its anglers? Well, first and foremost, we will get to see other tactics and ideas at work here. I’ve said before one of the things an angler SHOULD do is to fish with or against a visiting angler on their home lake. It brings a new perspective. Someone may just show up and show out with a tactic none of us have thought to try.

Back in the dark ages before the internet, live scope, and even cell phones, BASS started and immediately changed the world of fishing. Or at least it seemed like it. We went from seeing coolers full of bass at every single marina booth at the Fisharama or the Atlanta Boat Show to everyone throwing fish back. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to eat fish, but the great thing about fishing, unlike hunting, is