What Stops You From Winning Bass Tournaments? Bad News: It’s You. Good News: You Can Fix It.

Learning how to focus on your gear, knowledge, and mindset can lead to consistent success on the water and off.

Struggling to win bass tournaments? Discover the mindset shifts, gear prep, and knowledge that separate consistent winners from frustrated anglers. | Kurt Mazurek

The Real Reason You're Still Losing Bass Tournaments

The difference between winning and losing is almost always the result of where you put your focus and attention. Think about how you’d react to the following common bass tournament fishing scenarios.

Why Trying to Control the Weather, Fish, Technology or Other Anglers is a Losing Game

Consider the thoughts your mind is working on as you wait for the tournament to launch. Where is your focus? More negative or more positive? | Kurt Mazurek

It’s tournament morning. As you walk down the dock you notice boat after boat equipped with huge forward-facing sonar display screens. Even though you know you’ve had a great practice, catching tons of fish without scoping them, your confidence is shaken. You tell yourself, that ain’t fishing. I like the way I learned to fish and I hope they outlaw those things soon.

You head to the spot where you plan to start your day—a very small spot where water is flowing out of a culvert connected to a small backwater pond—but, there are already two boats there. Oh, great, says the voice in your head. There was never anybody here in practice.

As you head to your next spot, it starts to rain and a cold wind starts blowing. What!? The prediction was for cloudy, warm and calm. Nice work, weatherman!

When you finally make your first cast, your lure (the one-of-a-kind lure you caught all your fish on in practice) gets snagged in some deep rocks and breaks off. That’s just my luck—all bad!

The weather is always out of your control. Yes, it's frustrating when the forecast is completely wrong, but feeling as though it'as a personal attack will never make the fishing better. | Kurt Mazurek

For some, they might as well put the boat back on the trailer and head home—game over. But the best way to get better at bass tournament fishing, or anything in your whole life, is to focus on the things you can control, and let go of the rest. Trying to control everything is a losing battle, but diligently taking care of what you can control, leads to some pretty “magical” results.

The Simple Solution: Can't Control Vs. Can Control

Recognizing the difference between what you can and cannot control is the foundation. Since this article is on a fishing site, the specific examples I’m going to talk about will be fishing related, but you can easily see how this simple strategy could benefit almost every aspect of your life.

Things You CAN’T Control

1. Change

Bass fishing happens in nature. Nature is alive and always changing—the seasons, the weather, the water, the fish. Stained water, can become clearer. Shad were the primary forage here, but now it’s crawfish.

Technology will continue to move forward. You can argue whether that’s good or bad, but that won’t change it. One day we’re rowing to our spot, the next we’re traveling for three hours at 70-plus MPH to fish one brush pile. To find that brush pile we used to triangulate our position by looking at that telephone pole, the chimney on the red cabin and that big rock. Now GPS puts us within inches every time. We used to see fish under us on a flasher…no a paper graph…no digitally…and out to the sides of the boat…and now in real time in front of us.

Change is inevitable. It can be challenging to let go, but embracing the fact that things change will serve you.

2. The Past

What has happened, has happened. You can’t undo the decisions you made and the actions you took yesterday. But you have the power to decide what to do going forward. The dock where you caught a bunch of fish last summer has been removed. You’ve competed on this lake five times and never won. You’ve fished your whole life and never caught a bass just swimming around in the middle of the lake. The past can inform your future, but don’t let it define it.

3. Everyone Else

Individuals are the way they are as a result of their unique beliefs, experiences and perspectives. Sure, when that guy pulls up and starts fishing right in front of you on the bank you’re clearly fishing down, it can be really tempting to chew him out. In fact, depending on the situation, I’m not going to tell you not to. I get it. But the fact is, putting all of your focus on the negative just creates more negative for you. And, do you think the story ever ends, “and that was the last time that guy ever did that?” Probably not.

If you can keep your thoughts positive, it's amazing how many positive things will happen to you. | Shane Beisner

Things You CAN Control

1. Equipment

Take the time when you’re off the water, to make sure your equipment works as well as possible when you’re on the water. Be diligent about gear maintenance. Clean and lube your reels (or have a professional do it) at least once a year. Check your line and replace it as needed. Sharpen your hooks. Double check that you’ve packed everything you need for a day on the water including pliers, sunscreen, bug repellent, sunglasses, etc. Make sure your phone is fully charged. If you are operating a boat, make sure everything is properly maintained and in perfect working order—plenty of fuel, batteries fully charged, trailer lights and wiring working, wheel hubs greased, etc.

2. Knowledge and Skills

You control how much effort you put into studying and learning about bass behavior and the techniques and presentations required to catch them. This can come from outside sources like the teachings of reputable, accomplished anglers or from your own experiences, experimentation and analysis of your time on the water.

3. Mindset

Dedicate yourself to leading a positive, happy, healthy life and taking full accountability for your actions and everything you can control. Keep an open mind and look for positive ways to grow. Practice focusing on the present moment and be grateful for the things you do have. Respond to situations rather than reacting to them.

Where you keep your focus is the key to consistent bass tournament fishing success. | Kurt Mazurek

Control What You Can, Let Go of the Rest, Catch More Fish

Sometimes we create problems and other times they just find us through no fault of our own. It’s what we do about the problems that makes all the difference. Focus on what you can control and put the rest behind you. You can take control of your success, in bass fishing and everywhere in life.