(That is, the night before a tournament.) Also, that presumes you do sleep. What do you do to keep from "overthinking" the entire location/presentation process, rather than getting the rest you need for a fresh start in the pre-dawn?
JoeM

That is a good one. Confidence would have to be the biggest help in getting a good nights rest. The tournaments that I have done well in the night before I slept like a baby. I had confidence in the pattern and were I was fishing. The nights that I lay there and talk myself out of what was planned I do not do well the next day. Have confidence in what you plan to do the next day fishing. Relax and imagine yourself walking on stage and getting a check. If you believe in yourself you have 80% of the problems that you face taken care of. If you believe in yourself it will reflect in you fishing. Confidece, Confidence, Confidence. Remember only you can beat yourself.

Mo

Good point, the part about walking on stage to get a check. Just don't think about cashing that check. It could start a whole new set of problems.
I'm really surprised this post didn't get more action. Oh well, it's only Monday.
Insomniacs, here's your chance to at least walk on stage.
Good Fishing. JoeM

Joe, when I first began Tournament fishing I would over think and stay up all night before, I would not be able to sleep and would have nervous stomach, that was along time ago. I never ever put all that effort into it a week before, it is useless!! I watch the weather patterns and apply seasonal patterns and past expierence based on bass behavior. I have learned that if you spend all week thinking about the tournament before you even arrive there you are to "shot" to succeed It is like any athlete you must prepare mentally and physically but your mental clock has to go off at the the time your live well is being checked and you pull your kill switch. I have had guys in my boat who had fished all week at work and worked at work one hour into the day because they had gotten themselves into a frenzy over "false confidence"! I have learned that we must think about Five quality bites every day, I do the math that is one quality bite every 1.6 hours and even on a tough day when we do the math that means if I even go three hours with out a quality bite I only need two fish and I am back even!! Study nature and stop worrying how your goin to do or how the field is doing, use your gifts and pay attention to every detail of nature!! Success will be shown to those that do not seek for their own benefit,, we are all part of a big picture and worrying over outcome insures failure, unless you have mastered the power of creating destiny, I agree with Tom Brown Jr. and Rick Clunn that most days we only operate at about 10 to 20% of our potential and we do not tap our full potential. My advice to those who can't sleep is if you are excited to be out fishing thats a good thing, if you are worried about winning more times than not you will be disappointed and it will crush your confidence. Good Bassin Dan Bass

Dan- When I looked at the screen to read your post, the name Tom Brown, Jr. jumped out at me. I realized my copy of The Vision was sitting about 5 books over from In Pursuit of Giant Bass. I left it up here when I went to FL in January and wanted to finish it when I got back. Thanks for reminding me.
As you know I'm a Clunn groupie. When I met him he was not a happy camper. No one can win them all. Did he qualify for the Classic this year?

I know we are supposed to recomend reading of this sight, but let me tell about something that I read just a few day ago. Go to www.bassdigest.com look at The Articals Page and click on 10 Hours to Excellence. Man is an EYE opener. Hope this helps. I would post it here but I dont know if it would be the right thing to do.

Conley

mofish, excellant artical!! Must reading he does hit on a lot of subjects that are true. I agree with his beliefs, in the one artical he said "block out any distractions", I know what he means and he do not mean endure being uncomfortable and tough the day out. What I try to do is control what I can control, if any thing is hampering my concentration and that means from bodily functions to being hot cold or lack of confidence in the bait I am throwing, I never wait I change what I am doing and make myself comfortable. I only complain about the weather when I want to take confidence away from a competitor and never tell the fish what the book says they should be doing every day is anew experiance and we gain knowlege from it. In order to be successful we must define what success is!!Good Bassin Dan Bass ps-read 100 years on Bass by Dave Hawk and Them old brown fish by Billy Westmorland, if you have not already

Dan- I wonder how much more Dave Hawk learned in the 20 years following my copy of
80 Years on Bass (which has disappeared from my bookcase strangely) Heck, I don't want to be at a disadvantage because those 20 years weren't included.
Those 10 Steps will get you to thinking smart, exercising your thought process and building confidence. By the way, I have all three articles.
PS- Mofish, I think you are right not to post it on this board. Many thanks for the info.