It’s not uncommon for several fishermen to find a bunch of fish in practice and then wind up beating them up during a tournament. After a couple of days, the fish that aren’t already caught are feeling the pressure and not as eager to bite. If you’re fairly confident there are still a few fish to be caught, go after them. You know what you’ve been using and pretty well know what the other guys have been throwing, so switch up and fish something different.

If the fish have been seeing mostly shad-colored round-bill crankbaits, show them a bone-colored square-bill. Also, slow way down because pressured fish aren’t going to be very active. It’s hard to beat a shaky head for this. Barely crawl it or just leave it sitting there for a while every now and then. Nine times out of 10 you can go behind people and use something different or fish slightly different and catch fish.

—- Walmart pro Wesley Strader, Spring City, Tenn.