Entry 107-5

How To Win Bass Tournaments With Denny Brauer

Dealing With Spectators

Editor's Note: To win bass tournaments, you have to prevent yourself from losing. You can have the best equipment, be fishing at the best places and have everything you can possibly need to win a tournament, but if your attitude isn't right, there's a good chance you'll lose. There have been some anglers who've won the Bassmaster Classic and never again have returned to that winning form. Bass fishing consists of more losing than winning. How do you recover from a bad day of fishing or from a bad tournament? How do you mentally prepare yourself, not only to fish the next tournament well, but to win the next tournament.

One of the most-consistent winners on the BASS circuit is Strike King Pro Denny Brauer of Camdenton, Missouri. Brauer not only has won all the major bass-fishing events, he came back from what could have been a career-ending back injury, and returned to his winning form and the top level of competition. Brauer's attitude is responsible for his wins just as much as his fishing skills. This week, we've asked Brauer to tell us how to overcome difficulties and get your fishing back on the winning track.

Brauer: Weekend fishermen rarely have to deal with spectator pressure. However, in most of the national tournaments I fish, the spectator pressure often is a determining factor as to whether you have a good day or a bad day of fishing. Spectator pressure will be a critical element to whether you win or lose, especially in the last two days of a national bass-fishing tournament. I know one day this past season, I completely forgot about the spectators, and I'm confident that oversight on my part directly related to my fishing poorly that day. For instance, if you know of a bank that holds bass, and you're so excited about catching the bass off of it that the blastoff you run straight to that bank, and you're not conscious about the spectators following you, you'll be in trouble. If you go straight to that bank and you have from five to 20 spectators behind you, when you shut down your big motor and start putting down your trolling motor all the waves from all those spectators will hit the bank at once, muddy up the water and spook your fish.

I try to stop my big engine and put my trolling motor down well away from the area I want to fish. Then, by the time I get to the spot where I want to fish, the water is calm and the fish haven't been spooked. I also try to fish in areas where most spectators won't go, because if you can get away from the spectators, you drastically increase your chances of winning. However, you can't be rude to the spectators because they are the people who buy your sponsor's products. They're your fan club, and they are there to cheer for you and learn from you and even in most cases, when they interfere with your fishing, they haven't done it to be hurtful. They just didn't realize what they were doing. So, if you're fishing a big tournament where there will be many spectators, determine how you'll deal with them and how they figure into your fishing plan. If you don't, the spectators can create a mental problem for you for two reasons. Not only can their waves spook your fish, but if you begin to think about the spectators instead of your bass fishing, you may miss strikes, break off fish and/or not concentrate the way you should in order to win.

If you boil bass fishing down to its essential elements, it consists of problem solving, decision making, dealing with the unexpected and keeping the proper attitude throughout the process. Knowledge, experience, lure selection, weather and luck all play important roles, but your ability to handle failure often will determine how many fish you'll find, how successful you'll be at catching them and whether or not you win tournaments.
 

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