In almost all tournaments, conditions are constantly changing as time progresses. That makes prefishing important as a way to evaluate different areas. Prefishing provides a basis for predicting the potential to catch fish in either numbers or size come tournament day.
On an average day of prefishing, depending on the amount of time I have to search, I will look for target areas that hold active fish. More often than not, I do not fish the spots that I intend to fish on tournament day. Also, I often look for areas to catch bait at the same time.
One of the greatest factors to consider when prefishing is the time allotted in the tournament to actually fish. If the tournament is eight hours, and it takes an hour one way to reach the area in which you would like to fish, then realistically you only have 6 hours to fish after you run to your first spot. Therefore, my tip for prefishing would be to find an area containing enough spots that you can keep lines in the water as long as possible instead of running and spot hopping all day.
Editor’s Note: Nineteen-year-old Chris Grose is a frequent tournament angler with his dad Mike. He graced the cover of Catfish Now in March of 2017 holding a nice Santee Cooper flathead. He is shown here with his dad, Mike, at the 2018 Monsters on the Ohio Captains Meeting.
