If you fish tournaments, chances are there's at least one lake that you just don't get along with. You've been there two times or more, and just can't seem to crack it. It could be even worse: the people who win the tournaments on that lake might be fishing within sight of you.

The pros also have that problem from time to time. To find out how to overcome it, BassFan.com sat down with Kelly Jordon.

Research First

The first thing Jordon does when he has that problem is what he does before he goes to any lake: research. "Do a lot of research," he says. "Look back as far as you can in tournament archives and find out what it takes to do well there. You have to have a (weight) target to do well. You have to know the kind of fishing you're looking for."

Through that research you'll also "usually find some pretty strong patterns for that time of year, if you have enough tournament results under different conditions. And it also will teach you the historically good areas of the lake. It can be many areas, but you can eliminate a lot of water that way. That's not to say you can't win a tournament someplace that's never been fished before, but that (research) is a good start."

Cold Start

Having done his research, Jordon then makes what he calls a "cold start."

"If I haven't done well there before, what I do is X off the places I've fished before," he says. "The reason I do that is that there's this pull. It's like the local curse. You might not be a local at that lake, but you've been there before and have areas you like to fish. And even though you haven't done well there, you're constantly drawn back to try to refine (those areas).

"If you can just cut your ties to that, it allows you to use your natural abilities to find fish, get on a pattern and use your fishing skills. That's the best way to fish purely. You can go free and have a totally clear mind -- it frees your mind from a lot of thoughts and helps you be more tuned in to the fish.

"That lake has plenty more water that's productive," he adds. "You just have to decide that you're not going back, and if someone wins the tournament there, so be it."

Examples

Jordon gave a few examples of how this has worked for him and others.

At the April 2001 B.A.S.S. Central Invitational on Table Rock Reservoir, Jordon considered fishing a few areas he'd fished before. He'd done okay there during different times of the year, but only during practice. In the tournaments, the areas didn't produce.

"I Xd (those areas) totally off and found new areas and new fish," he says. He finished 6th.

Likewise, at the February 2002 Central Invitational on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Jordon and fellow Yamaha pro Takahiro Omori did the same thing. Both knew Rayburn well, and Jordon had never missed a check there in a spring tournament.

Omori finished 2nd "and he scrambled the whole tournament," Jordon says. "He has his areas he likes to fish, and (because those areas weren't on) he just went fishing. He was able to be mentally disciplined enough not to keep trying to make fish bite that he couldn't get to bite in practice."

Jordon spent 2 1/2 practice days looking for new areas, and then checked his go- to spots. The upshot: "I fished all new water and finished in 9th place (and had big bass the second day)," he says. "All the spots I loved I couldn't catch anything from. I just kept an open mind."

Do You Want To Win Or Not?

If you really want to win the tournament at that lake, you already know you can't fish the same old areas anyway, he notes.

"If you're really going to try to win the tournament, you know you won't win on the stuff you already know, especially if you haven't done well there," he says. "But a lot of people aren't willing to fish to win.

"A lot of it is a confidence deal. If you spend 1 1/2 days in practice and have nothing, you have to remember that you still have the same amount of time left (before the tournament starts). If you give up then, you're doomed.

"If you consistently haven't done well (at that lake), just go for it. Practice hard for 3 days. Then, if you don't find anything, scramble and try to bang out small limit or something."

Do You Have What It Takes?

"At the tour level, the physical ability of all the fishermen is just about the same," Jordon says. "All the guys can do just about everything. So it really does boil down to mental discipline. It takes a lot of mental discipline to cut your ties with areas where you haven't done well.

"And if you can't cut your ties, that's a hole you can fall into mentally. It's the rut deal. I say, 'I'm not even going to that creek.' That's how I achieve that newness and get out of that rut.

"When you fish new water, you don't know what's there," he notes. "And if you can allow your whole mind to work without thinking, 'Oh man, I hate this (lake or area),' you'll be better off." On the other hand, "if you're defeated before you ever get there, you won't practice hard and you'll just bomb. That's been proven over and over."