Denny Brauer.....

Versatility
By Denny Brauer

If you're a successful tournament fisherman, you probably already know that there are only a few techniques that can win an event. Of course these techniques change depending on factors like the time of year, the weather, the type of lake or river you're fishing and the elements that the lake or river offers you as an angler.

When I find myself under a set of circumstances that are conducive to my doing well, my confidence absolutely soars, and I feel like I'm the guy to beat out there. Unfortunately, we don't get to pick those circumstances and conditions, and sometimes we have to fish when things are really going against our preferred individual fishing styles.

That's where versatility comes in!

If there's likely to be a strong flipping or pitching bite during the tournament, my confidence will be sky high. I feel like that tournament won't be over until I weigh my last fish because I'm going to be a factor there. But if things aren't playing out my way, I want to be versatile enough that I can still give myself a chance to win.

The very best anglers I know are versatile — able to catch bass under any circumstances, 12 months out of the year — but they're also the very best at something. When things play to their strengths, they're going to be beat, but they're going to catch them no matter what.

If you're going to take the next step as a tournament angler, you need to have the ability to determine just what it's going to take to win a tournament and the discipline to get out there and do it. Not everyone can do this.

Generally, you're not going to win a tournament doing the same thing the majority of the field is doing unless you've simply found the very best spot on the lake. Instead, you need to find something that everyone else is overlooking. This isn't always easy at the club level, and it's extremely difficult at the highest levels of professional fishing.

Similarly, you want to find water that the majority of anglers are overlooking. I like to find fresh, new water even if it means I have to make a really long run or squeeze my way up a creek where other anglers aren't willing to go.

Finally, it's always a good idea to give the fish a fresh look. If everybody's throwing white spinnerbaits, I might try a black one or even a shallow running crankbait or watermelon jig. There's always more than one way to catch bass, and the angler who wins the tournament is usually the guy who gives the fish a different look.