From 2/1/01</font id=blue>
Boat shows, fishing seminars, and longer days all get anglers excited about the spring fishing season. For some anglers this means lazy days on the water with a rod in hand (or more likely in a rod holder), feet up, and a hat pulled down over their eyes, waiting for the sweet sound of their drag. For those of you obsessed with fishing, it is time to start thinking about a season full of tournaments and competition. Growing up fishing in this area I think I fall somewhere in between these two groups. I’ve always been an active fisherman, rarely putting my fishing rod down, even when surf fishing, but I stayed away from tournaments because of my competitive nature. I felt like fishing tournaments and competing would take the relaxation out of my favorite thing to do when relaxing. Over the past several years I have actually grown to enjoy the whole tournament experience and each year find myself fishing a few more than the year before. Here are a few words of advice that may help those of you thinking about fishing a tournament for the first time.
Tournaments cost money. Do not start out by entering tournaments you cannot easily afford. Putting a second mortgage on your home so you can afford to fish the SKA circuit is probably not a good idea. If you are putting your money down expecting to get a return on your investment you are probably going to end up aggravated and stressed. You must look at your entry fee as the price you pay for the whole tournament experience. If you feel like the price of the tournament is higher than your comfort level, see about teaming up with a few of your buddies and splitting up the cost (tournament entry, gas, food, etc.). By reducing the monetary risk involved in participating you will be more relaxed and able to enjoy yourself.
Start out fishing tournaments that target fish you are familiar with. If you are a die hard flounder fisherman you probably don’t want to enter the Bohicket Marina Marlin Tournament unless of course spend