| |
The thing the vast majority of fishermen forget is, this isn't
how the pros do it! They don't fish a tournament
based on what is working for someone else. A pro relies on his own
knowledge and intuition, and you only
see the results of who guessed right this week. Sure, information
is shared among the pros, and the wise
professional would never overlook an approach that is beating his
own. But for the most part, they fish to their
own personal strengths using what they think will work and relying
on their own experience. And perhaps the
most overlooked factor in our follow-the-leader world is, unless
you are a touring pro, you will probably have
better success doing something different that a pro.
It's a different world the pros live in. They are experts in the
craft, for sure, but have substantially different
problems to worry about than you do. It's a new and strange lake
every week. Different conditions, different
water, different pattern. And you never read about 10th place, so
you're always fishing for the win, a big gamble
you normally loose in any sport. They also simply have a lot more
time over a very short period to work out a
pattern on a particular lake. If you took a week of vacation and
fished every day, would you fish it the exact
same way every time out?
And perhaps the thing we forget the most is, they don't always catch
fish. In fact, I dare say the average
stringer for the average pro on the average day is less than your
average club fisherman. I remember the rather
confused look on one of my hero's faces a few years ago. Rick Clunn,
one of the best fishermen ever to climb
in a boat, was a favorite to win the Bass Masters Classic since
they were hitting crank baits that year, one of
Rick's true strengths. The tournament was indeed won with near record
weights coming on crank baits. Rick?
Two fish for just over 3 pounds in 4 days of fishing. But would
you want to put your money in against him for a
tournament held this weekend on your home lake? And, of course,
perhaps the biggest difference between a
pro and a weekend fisherman, the pro is there is make a living,
not necessarily to have fun.
So, if we're not suppose to do what the pros do, what are we suppose
to do different? Maybe nothing
radically different, but we need to take advantage of the opportunities
that a pro can't.
First is our approach to our home waters. Jimmy Houston wrote in
his recent book that, "I never fish over
10' deep. The 10% of the lake that's shallow has half of the fish
and I don't have time to learn the whole lake."
What's wrong with that statement? Basically, the last part. You
do have time to learn the whole lake, and it's
well worth your time to do it.
From knowledge of seasonal patterns, we know the fish don't always
prefer the shallows, moving deep in
summer and winter. The fish that do stay shallow get a lot of pressure
from other fishermen and are either
caught and kept when they reach 3 or 4 pounds, or they grow wise
and wary of any bait we throw at them.
So, if you want to target the fish that has less pressure, tend
to be bigger fish, and are less affected by
weather or temporary conditions, it pays off to learn those deep
haunts where the big fish live. You don't have
to do so all of the time, or every time out. But on those days when
the shallow fish don't cooperate, why not
burn a little gas, move way off shore, and see if you can find something
interesting. A lot of great deep
structure or cover is marked on maps. There are old road beds, farm
ponds, bridges, even entire towns
flooded by the reservoir in deep water just waiting for you to explore
them. If the wind or waves means it's not
a good day, try next week or next month. It may take years to really
get to know a lake and explore her
secrets. A pro has only a few days to learn a lake. You live there,
take advantage of the fact.
Along the same lines, pros tend to cover large areas of water and
cherry pick the fish. The pro doesn't have
the time to locate those honey holes that normally have at least
a few fish. The pro has to keep moving and
searching, try 40 or 50 spots in some cases in a single day, (you
haven't lived until you spent the day in the
back of the boat with a pro fishing a run and gun dock pattern.)
Do the math. With running time, you're talking
around 3 - 5 minutes per hole. The fish had better bite quick to
catch up with these guys. This may be great,
(unless you're buying the gas), as long as the fish are predictable
and cooperate when you get there.
But you've got the time to find those reliable spots over time and
concentrate on those. There may 50
similar points on your lake, but you have time to cull down to the
5 or 6 best ones that normally hold fish
without hitting every point every day. This lets you stay in productive
water longer, giving you a much better
chance at boating fish. Any you can keep in mind the Fisherman's
Mantra, "Never Leave Biting Fish Looking
for Other Fish." To a run and gun pro, 2 or 3 minutes without
a bite means move. If you know you're in a good
spot, then keep in mind that if you catch 1 legal fish every hour,
you'll be culling and have a good limit by the
end of the day.
Following that train of thought, you'll notice that other than Larry
Nixon, (another of my heroes), the Texas
Rig plastic worm is an obsolete antique among the pros. The pros
are fishing for big fish and need to cover
water, so a Carolina Lizard is the preferred tool of the trade.
You can see this trend in the local tackle stores.
Where once half of the store was filled with plastic worms, now
spinner baits, crank baits, and such have
pushed them into one or two small aisles mixed in with just as many
lizards, soft jerk baits, and craws. Yet,
at one time, the estimates were as high as 90% of all fish were
caught on plastic worms. What Happened?
Well, even though there are a 1000 ways to effectively fish a plastic
worm, they are all pretty slow
presentations, extremely unsuited to run and gun styles. So, if
the pros gave up on them, most of the locals
did as well. But I'm here to tell you worms still work as well as
ever and I can't think of anything as reliable as
the plastic worm under all conditions in all seasons. Again we've
let our thoughts on what works for a pro on
a strange lake overrule our own experience in well know waters.
The same can be said for any of the slow presentations. If you know
you're in a good spot, slow down and
work it thoroughly with a known good bait instead of chasing fish
that may or may not be there in less
productive water. Think of how much fun catching fish on a slow
top water can be. Why do we all think we're
Zell Roland and skitter a Pop-R or maybe a buzz bait across the
top, and if that doesn't work, give up on one
of our favorite, and most productive baits?
Even slow rolling a spinner bait in deep water is being forgotten
when it was all the rage only 5 years ago. I
recently saw an article in a local paper giving advice from one
of the touring pros. This pro said the only
productive way of fishing a spinner bait was right under the surface
and you had to be able to see the bait at
all times to know when to set the hook. Bull Hockey! Over
the last 10 years, many more fish have been
caught on spinner baits by working them in 10' -15' of water over
heavy cover right down on the bottom by pros
and weekend fishermen alike.
Perhaps America's Favorite Fisherman, Bill Dance, (Number One
on my list of heroes), has tried to teach
us for years that spinner baits put more vibration and are easier
to work with a single blade than with a
tandem. Another World Class spinner bait fisherman, Hank Parker,
rarely uses anything under a ½ ounce bait
in water over 3' deep. But head to the tackle store and try
to find a single blade bait or one ½ oz or better.
Slow rolling baits take valuable tournament time and is unsuited
for covering vast amounts of water quickly,
(I say that because that's what's preached, actually I cover
the water pretty good with a ½ oz single willow
leaf.) The poor weekend fisherman reads all of this stuff in
the magazines and believes it, passing up what his
own experience and the advice of other excellent fishermen tell
him.
Now for a few dirty words, things that illegal to do in a tournament,
but are perfectly legal ways to fish that
we now thumb our noses at just because they are against tournament
rules.
Try Trolling. Yeah, idling around with the big motor and with a
bait trailing out behind. Before the advent of
tournaments and trolling motors, (note the name), this was
the way to catch numbers and big bass. Entire
classes of baits were made just for trolling applications, (now
mostly in the hands of collectors or prized
possessions of the few that still practice the technique.) Trolling
is not illegal in walleye tournaments, and is
standard tournament practice for locating fish. It still works big
time for locating bass as well. If you're out
pre-fishing or searching for new off shore structure, chances are
pretty good you're spending a lot of the day
idling around with the big motor anyway. Why not set a deep running
crank bait behind the boat just to see
what you missed? Mark a school of something suspended in 15' off
the edge of a ledge? Don't know if it's
crappie, bass, bait or trash? Troll through the middle of them and
if it's bass, you're sure to find out! One of the
pros dirty little secrets is that they also spend pre-fishing time
trolling. Head for the lake on a Tuesday
practice day and watch how they map out likely looking points or
weed beds. Why do it? It's effective! If it's
not against the rules or laws, then it's foolish to pass it up if
you're out to find concentrations of fish.
Another variation is now called "strolling". This is simply
using a trolling motor for it's original intent. Take
a big heavy Carolina rig, spinner bait, or similar, set it out behind
the boat, put the trolling motor on medium
speed, and go run the edges of your favorite structure. Works like
a champ! This is an old guiding trick that's
one of the easiest ways to locate fish and have a new fisherman
catch a few. Again it's great for mapping new
structure while checking for fish at the same time. And you may
find more than fish as well. I've stumbled
across a number of dynamite brush piles located on ideal structure
using this technique. I also use it routinely
when moving between two primary areas close to each other on some
larger structure. More than once I've
found the fish feeding well off of where I expected them to be on
a shallower or deeper pattern. And like
guiding, this is a great way to introduce kids, wives, or other
new fishermen to the sport without slinging a
spinner bait into the weeds all day without a bite.
Probably with worst dirty word to tournament types, "live bait."
In Florida, just about every guide uses live
shiners when they take out their customers. It's more than just
a tough day on the water if you can't get bit
using shiners around weed beds. So, if you're dead set about wanting
to catch big fish, you'll never beat live
bait. Artificials normally catch more fish, but don't come close
to the average size. For the trophy hunters, live
bait is the way to go. If you're out running a weed bed or shore
edge, why not set a shiner out behind the
boat? Even you're pre-fishing for a tournament where live bait won't
be an option, wouldn't be nice to know the
fish are there but just not hitting what you're throwing? If you've
got a 12-year old in the back of the boat
holding his first 8 pound fish, it really won't matter if he caught
it on a shiner or a plastic worm, the smile is
just as big. I've heard all the arguments about the "sporting
chance", about hurting the fish when they swallow
a hook, and it depletes the big fish population. I don't buy into
any of it. Research and studies have long since
shown there is no impact on numbers or average size of the bass
population on lakes where live bait is used
regularly or on artificials only. It may hurt your feelings if you're
in a tournament not getting a bite while you
watch a shiner or crawfish fisherman boat fish after fish, but it's
sure not the other guy's fault.
What to talk about extremes in spot fishing? Try Stitching! If you're
unfamiliar with the term, this technique
requires that you double anchor the boat to keep it from moving.
Then use a natural weight bait, (like a
crawfish for live bait or a Slug-O for artificials), throw it out
there and let it settle to the bottom, (a process that
can take a minute or two all by itself.) The point the rod towards
the bait and use your left hand to gently and
every so slowly take up the line alternately holding it with your
index finger or pinkie and draping it across your
hand. The bait will crawl across the bottom and about a foot a minute.
Make sure you use plenty of pauses
between stitches, (also make sure to let go of the line if you
get bit.) This technique can easily take 15 to 20
minutes a cast. Does it work? You Bet! If you're in spot with even
a few fish hanging out, chances are you'll
catch a fish on every cast, including the biggest one down there.
Or take it even one step further, Dead Worming. Take your worm,
throw it out there, then don't move it. This
is one technique that any tournament angler should get good at.
Takes infinite patience and a lot of confidence
in your spot, but given that, it's deadly on the most sluggish fish.
Perhaps the most famous example of dead worming was Larry Nixon
a couple of years ago in Arizona. In
pre-fishing, he had located a big bed some 60 miles up river from
the launch point. He had seen a big female
in the area, but every time a boat came anywhere near the ledge
where the bed was, she'd take off to deep
water. The last day of the tournament, Larry was way behind in weight,
and after catching a small limit,
decided to gamble on getting a big fish. He took the one hour run
up river, and sure enough the big fish took
off to deep water as soon as the boat approached. Larry took a little
craw and dropped a few feet in front of the
bed. He then fed out line while the boat drifted down river several
yards until he past the next bend, and then
just sat, (can you imagine being his draw partner during all
of this?) Sure enough, about a half hour later, Larry
felt a little tick and set the hook. Larry's bass went over 12 lb.
which earned him Big Bass, won the
Tournament, and was responsible for a number of new sponsors and
bonuses for breaking the Arizona state
record during competition.
Not enough patience for hawg hunting? Rather catch a bunch and have
steady action? Try Micro-Light
fishing. I've got a little rod I keep in the truck for fishing emergencies,
(like passing a borrow pit on the way
home from work.) This rod is 5' long, rated for 1/32 oz to 1/8
oz lures and 4 lb. line maximum. I use 3"
Slug-Os, 2" Shad Assassins, 4" hand poured worms, 2"
Gitz-Its, and 2" craws along with the standard
ultralight hard bait fair. It will be a sad day when I can't boat
50 fish with this little rig. Now admittedly, 40 of
them will be well below the legal limit, and I might only land a
single two pound fish in a day, but it's serious
fun and extremely reliable in the shallows. Again, if you're taking
a new fisherman with you, remember to have
fun, and this defines the term.
Follow-the-leader is not limited to articles in magazines. Any given
tournament day will prove the old saying,
"boats breed." Woe to he who catches a nice chunk in plain
view on a slow day. You can get surrounded by
boats faster than Custer was surrounded by Indians. There are just
a ton of guys out there who pre-fish with
binoculars. I'll be the first to admit I've taken a close look at
where or what someone is throwing if they are
catching fishing and I'm shooting blanks, it's part of the game.
But what do you do when the invasion starts
on the few fish you've got located? Just continue to fish! I can't
count the times that I've sat in the middle of a
pack of boats, caught a nice limit, cashed a check, and none of
the 20 boats around me could catch cold.
The reasons are simple. First, I'm fishing my water, so chances
are pretty good I've setting on the best spot
in the area, know exactly what structure/cover I'm throwing to,
having worked it out in prefishing. Second, I'm
fishing my bait, which is what I've decided will give me
the best chance to catch fish under those exact
conditions. Third, if I'm catching fish, then I've already found
the right presentation, speed, color, etc. to fish
my bait, in my water, and everyone else has to guess.
Most of the time I can't even keep up with someone
else in my own boat throwing the same lure if he's on a roll, with
him trying to help! How is someone suppose
to do it from a hundred yards away?
If you're on fish, don't worry a second about another boat moving
in on you. Chances are good that even if
that boat starts catching fish, it's fish that would not have fallen
prey to what you're throwing, else they'd
already be in your livewell. And if you're stuck being a follower
rather than a leader on a given day, be smart
about that too! Check the bait and presentation as best you can,
matching it to sometime similar but that is
also one of your strengths and that you have confidence in. And
don't try to out compete someone on their
own water, find something similar. It's a very rare situation indeed
when the fish are only feeding in one single
spot on the whole lake. Rather than jump in there with all of the
rest, check your known spots or a map for
something that's the same pattern, but isn't getting the pressure.
Even if the spot that the other boat is fishing
is one of your own best spots, go to a back up. You're best days
will normally come when you have a
population of fish all to yourself and you can experiment with them
to your leisure. Just don't get run off a
good spot because another boat shows up.
Maybe the biggest difference between what the pros do and what you
should do in a club tournament
concerns what fish you target. In a big tournament, you've got over
500 other pros to beat out and a nice limit
doesn't get you even an at-a-boy, much less a new sponsor. So you're
always looking almost exclusively for
that big bite. You figure you need a 3 to 4 pound average on any
given day to even come close. Come club
tournament time with 40 - 50 other people and a point championship
to worry about, it's a whole different
game. In club competition, it's getting that limit every time out
that's important, and the size will take care of
itself. If you weigh in a limit every tournament over the year,
you're almost sure to cash a check or two on the
way and be in the running for your championship.
It's tough to do if that's your goal, and almost impossible if you're
hunting for big fish all the time. And this
is a decision you have to make before you go out, not after you're
on the water. A pattern most club fishermen
will notice is that the day's big fish came early, but only on the
good days will it be the anchor for a limit. More
times than not, the big fish will have one or two other fish with
it, but the tournament will be won with a stringer
of chunks, most of which were also caught early. You can't do both.
You either have to target the chunks and
throw the baits that get you the limit, or you have to dig in for
that hawg and hope you can find something to
go with him.
Fishing for big fish is done with big fish baits in heavy cover
working slow and thorough. Fishing for limits
is done in an area or pattern with smaller and/or faster baits covering
water and taking the fish that are active
and feeding. Prime time for either case is first thing in the morning
on your best spot and you can't be in two
places, throwing two different things at once. Make the call of
which way to go before launch, and make it
clear to the day's partner before you start, (saves valuable
fishing time otherwise wasted on arguing on the
type of water you need to be fishing.) My personal choice is
I always go for the limit then take what I can get
flipping or working deep offshore structure later in the day. Then
again, I've never won a B.A.S.S. national
tournament either.
So, all of this said, what does it mean? In a phase, "Trust
yourself." Everyone who is successful is learning
all of the time, weekend sport fishermen through the tournament
professional. You can't just close your eyes
and ignore what the professionals say, but you can't depend on it
either. To be successful and enjoy what can
be a frustrating sport, you must learn to think things through for
yourself, apply what you have learned, and
learn from the experience you have on the water, good, bad, or indifferent.
There is always something new to
learn, the trick is to not forget what you know already. When the
chips are down, it's just you and the fish in
an uneven battle where the fish has all of the advantages.
The pride in catching a trophy or winning a tournament is not that
you were lucky on that day, it was that
you applied what you knew and used your skill to execute a plan
that worked that day. When necessary,
trust your own judgment, ignore the pros, and reap the benefits
of doing it your own way.
|
