After what I went through last weekend, I thought a great follow-up story would be what happened to me when I worked my game plan as hard as I could and still came up short. One thing I know is that conditions can definitely affect your game plan, and when those situations arise, you need to be able to adapt and make the necessary changes if you want to put fish in the boat.

Everyone wants to do well in the first tournament of the year. A poor showing can put you so far behind that it’s nearly impossible to catch up. After weeks of practice, I had put together a great plan to not only catch a five-bass limit, but to ensure those fish had some quality weight as well. The kicker trails were holding a bunch of male bass that were still in a pre-spawn mode, and every time I came across something that was a little different in that kicker trail, I would catch a fish. I would throw a white fluke out and pop it near any open hole in the vegetation, or near the lily pads, and would immediately get a strike.