Ha Ha thats funny! But true

My fishing years ago really became better when I went from thinking about a limit and especially a limit with a projected weight to just starting out the day thinking about getting ONE bite. From the start of the tournament I looked for just that first bite. This kept my concentration up even if it went for hours before it came. Then once I got that first fish my only thought was to look for another ONE bite and concentrated on nothing but what I could do to get that next bite. It really helped me especially the longer the day went on and got the thought out of my head of, it is after 12:00 noon and I only have a fish or a couple of fish, I am way behind, need to speed up. It has been a lot better for me to always be thinking about what decisions I need to make to get that ONE bite instead of thinking, what do I need to do to get that limit of 16 lbs. My last club tournament on Toledo Bend I had one fish in the boat and pulled up to a small clump of tree's with less than 30 minuites to go. Even though we had fished those tree's twice earlier in the day I just thought that fish should be moving up on them on this point heading into spawning pockets. For the third time that day without a bite previously I ended up catching 3 fish on 3 consecutive casts. The whole day changed bringing in 4 fish to weigh in instead of 1 and it was all because I was staying with my same mindset that I started out the day with to just get a bite.

yeah, good question. On Fork, I'm fishing for just one bite and often don't get that.

Me too...but last year I went for broke in my first big tourney. Finished 111th. Next two, I went with the mindset that I HAVE to catch a limit first...then cull. I finished 18th and 4th. All the tourneys had well over 240 boats.

I fish for 5 bites. I have won tournaments with only 3 fish. Use big fish Baits. Jig, Deep Diving Crankbaits, big worms swimbait ect.

Every one must choose to either get 5 and look for a big one or get a big one and look for 5. I believe that there is something to be said for "fishing for 5 bites". I am never opposed to fishing for a limit, but sometimes you have to know that you need bigger fish. I fished TTT on Sam Rayburn this year and caught 5 limits worth of fish.....but even after culling numerous times I only had 12.5 pounds. This is an example of when you need to make adjustments to how you are fishing. I did not do this and it put me way outside the check line. I think one of the best things you can do is look at recent tournaments and get an idea of what the lake produces. Going to Ray Roberts and fishing for 2 pounders is a sure way to donate. You need to understand that big fish usually travel with other big fish. To me fishing for 5 bites means that I find an area where I get quality bites and commit to it. Areas like this can be frustrating mentally because they make you second guess what you are doing. However, If I am catching 5 pounders and you are catching 2 pounders, I wont need a limit to beat you. Again, if you fish lakes where 15 pounds will win then this is not always a good strategy. I recently fished Ray Hubbard and had 1, 3 pound fish at 9 oclock. Between 9 and 10 that went to 5 fish for 22 pounds. Nothing changed except dialing in what the fish were holding on and the temp of the water. Only caught 8 keepers that day, but they paid off. Fishing for 5 bites requires confidence that can only be gained by experimenting and spending time on the water. Good luck and I hope this helps answer your question.

I read Jimmy Houston's book. He said after all those years of tournament fishing he still didn't understand how to go out and target just big fish. He said he just went fishing and let size take care of itself.

But, he only won two BASS AOY titles so what does he know?

I firmly believe that each fisherman has strengths and weaknesses depending on season, geographical location, tackle, conditions, likes & dislikes.. Edwin Evers fished 13 previous classics before he got his title if I'm not mistaken. It doesn't mean he sucks or is not doing his homework. It just means on that particular day the tournament matched up to his strengths as a fisherman. Imagine how many would have given up after the 13th only to never get to the dream on number 14. Practice makes perfection as even greats like Michael Jordan didn't come out the womb dunking on everyone.