Totally Confused... NEED HELP!
Fishing Nut
through, and the day of the tournament, the water level was up and the lake
temp was up to about 77 degrees, air temp was in the mid 80's. In all of my
pre-fishing, the bass were shallow, under docks and lily pads. I was
catching fair amounts and thought I knew where they were. The day of the
tournament, the fish had gone deep. I only caught 3 small bass where I had
caught most of the bigger ones before, and the people that fished the
outside weed lines did pretty well.
For my tournament yesterday, on a different lake, the conditions were the
same as the last tournament. Storms had just gone through within 2 days of
the tournament. Water temp around 77-78. Air temp around the mid 80's.
Tried fishing the outside weed line, and couldn't come up with a fish.
Moved in shallow, around the docks and lily pads and shallower weeds closer
to shore and got 6 fish, one of which was 2-3/4 pounds.
Am I missing something? Am I losing my mind? No really, am I?? In almost
identical situations, the bass were in completely different locations. What
gives? The 2nd lake in question is a little bigger, and has a lot more
structure, ranging from shallow to deep (lots of ups and downs). Is that
making the difference? How do I know where to fish for my next tournament
on a completely different lake if the conditions remain constant? Shallow?
Deep? Dynamite?!?!?!?
Any help would be much appreciated....
--
Todd
><((((o> The Fishing Nut <o))))><
Dan
time they do not. (They never read the book)
The one thing that is constant is change. The other thing you can count on
is that bass respond to conditions different in every body of water. There
are a ton of reasons for it. Some would be different forage bases, different
types of cover, different fishing pressure, different water chemistry,
different angle to the prevailing winds, different water color, you name it.
On one of the lakes I fish a lot, Lake Castaic, (yes that Castaic for some
of you older types). On lake Castaic, the bass do the exact opposite of any
bass anywhere else. Nice cloudy day, bite stinks. Clear calm, not a cloud in
the sky... They rip the rod from your hands. Don't know why it is, only know
that it is. the real question is how do we combat these problems and get on
fish. Try this.
1. Get a lot more efficient and systematic with your searching for fish. If
you are not getting bit, change something. Location, presentation, depth or
speed. Think in terms of trying a horizontal presentation and a verticle
presentation. If they don't work, move. Don't get fixated on what color to
throw or the fact that you killed them here last week on such and such bait.
If it aint working, stop trying to make it work and look for somethng
different.
2. Know something about bass behavior in general terms to help localize the
fish. Summer and winter, they should be on main lake stuff. Spring and
summer, back in the coves. Fish the general areas they should be in at the
time of year you are fishing.
3. Throw to the cover. Bass will relate to cover whenever they can.
Particularly grass. Get into the cover and fish it. In general, bass will
pull tight to cover after a front and hang loose to it before it passes.
Best to work tight to it at all times and cover your bases. An active fish
will go into cover to grab your bait but an inactive one will usually not
come out to get it. The pros will shred a piece of cover while an amature wo
n't even bother to make a cast to it. (Wouldn't want to lose a bait or catch
a fish or something bad like that). Best to get in there at all times. Then
if they are jumpng into the boat, you can put your casts a little wide of
the mark and still catch them.
--
Dan W.
host, Bazz Clazz Videos
To reply remove spamnot from the address
"Fishing Nut" <fishi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:SaFQa.54317$3o3.3...@bgtnsc05-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
alwaysfishking
snip< Don't get fixated on what color to
throw or the fact that you killed them here last week on such and such bait.
If it aint working, stop trying to make it work and look for somethng
different.
Good advice, our last club tourney was won by a guy using 1.99 walmart
riverside blue worms, he also took lunker.. The only rules are "The bass
make the rules"
Fishing Nut
the guys at my tourneys are ALWAYS near the top. If the bass make the rules
from lake to lake, from day to day, everyone should have off/bad days, and
be racing around the lake to find the fish. There have to be some
"generalizations", don't there? I understand about fish the conditions for
the season you're in, but that didn't hold true for these 2 lakes in the
same season, under the same conditions. How long do you wait in an area, or
throwing a certain lure/presentation, before you fire up the big engine and
cruise somewhere else?
As my tournament director said, it's never a good sign when you see someone
racing back and forth. So, how do you consistently place well if the fish
make up the rules from day to day, lake to lake, etc.?
--
Todd
><((((o> The Fishing Nut <o))))><
"alwaysfishking" <alwaysf...@epix.net> wrote in message
news:AvTQa.9430$EZ5.3...@news1.epix.net...
Ed Hughes
often they change baits and presentations to get results ... they might only
throw a bait or throw into a certain area a couple of times before making a
change.
Ed
"Fishing Nut" <fishi...@worldnet.att.net> wrote in message
news:4oUQa.55562$0v4.3...@bgtnsc04-news.ops.worldnet.att.net...
Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers
> So, why is it that there are always guys who finish "in the money"? Some
of
> the guys at my tourneys are ALWAYS near the top.
***These are the guys that are able to recognize when a pattern isn't
working and realize that continuing isn't going to change results. You have
to develope the experience and confidence to try different things and
recognize a pattern (no matter how different from "yesterday") and go with
it.
> If the bass make the rules
> from lake to lake, from day to day, everyone should have off/bad days, and
> be racing around the lake to find the fish.
***They do, you just aren't there to see it. Plus, these days aren't
publicized like the good ones are.
> There have to be some
> "generalizations", don't there?
***No. That's one of the things I like about fishing, just about the time
you have things figured out, they go and change the rules. Try this one on
for size. A friend went fishing (in this case for muskies, off topic I
know, but bear with me) and went fishless for an entire week, not having a
strike, not seeing a following fish, NOTHING! On the last day (November,
northern Wisconsin, snowing, high winds, whitecapped lake, deep water), out
of desperation, he threw a topwater lure that was the only thing in the box
he hadn't tried. This particular lure, is primarily used in shallow, VERY
calm water, during peak summer conditions. On the second cast, a 42 pound
muskie blasted it in 35 feet of water. His largest fish to date.
> I understand about fish the conditions for
> the season you're in, but that didn't hold true for these 2 lakes in the
> same season, under the same conditions.
***Yep, but that's only a starting off point. I can't tell you how many
times I've done poorly on one lake, yet tore them up on another, just down
the road. Same day, dame conditions.
> How long do you wait in an area, or
> throwing a certain lure/presentation, before you fire up the big engine
and
> cruise somewhere else?
***I don't have any set time. I go on my experience and "gut instincts".
So far, so good. :)
>
> As my tournament director said, it's never a good sign when you see
someone
> racing back and forth. So, how do you consistently place well if the fish
> make up the rules from day to day, lake to lake, etc.?
***I agree with your tournament director, there goes a guy without a clue.
How do you place consistently under changing "rules"? By being the better
detective and reading the clues presented you. Be observant, notice what
you were doing when you did catch one. What did it strike? What color?
What size? How did it strike? Was it agressive or tentative? How were you
working the bait? Fast? Slow? Did it hit when falling? Did it hit when
picking it up? Was it on rocks, stumps, weeds? If it was on weeds, what
kind were they? Look for that same kind. It's answering these questions
(and more) that will put fish in the livewell...... OR NOT!
--
Steve
OutdoorFrontiers
http://www.outdoorfrontiers.com
G & S Guide Service and Custom Rods
http://www.herefishyfishy.com
RichZ
fishing trip is an exploration -- even those to places you think you know
insdie and out. Every cast should be thought out as an information
gathering probe, and you are CONSTANTLY adjusting, based on the information
garnered by a succession of probes.
Talek to Harry about the day we spent on Mudge recently.
I hit a high percentage spot for the dawn bite, and got low percentage
results, giving it my best shot. Not too m uch time to experiment there,
other than with presentation. Relocating would have taken too much time
when I was looking for a bite that typically has a life span of a half-hour
of less. but once that period had passed, it became a matter of trying to
figure out what was going on on THAT lake, THAT day, under THOSE
conditions. My heart was on the deep weed edges. But the weed growth is
different this year, because of weather patterns 2 months ago, and the fish
in this lake seem to not be positioned along the outside edges as much this
year as in typical years. So I kept moving toward and into the pads, still
bouncing out to hit key drop-offs and weed edge spots as I circumnavigated
the lake.
I experimented with presentation only enough to choose among a handful of
favorites. On the weed edges, did I want something high and drifting, or
something diving to the bottom with more apparent purpose? Large or small,
dark or light? Similarly, in the pads, I have 4 or 5 options. Something
that sinks into the holes (spoon or weighted worm), something that drifts
ever so slightly down into the holes (Fin-S fish) and something that trucks
along making a ruckus. In thie case, the subdued ruckus of a salad spoon.
Tried white, tried black. Black got hit, white didn't. Color experiment
over. Then it was a matter of finding the places within the pad beds that
seemed to be active. First we learned that the fish seemed to definitely be
relating more to areas of white water lilies than yellow lilies. May not
sound like much, but it is. The former grow shallower and on softer bottoms
than the latter. But we were further able to isolate the pattern to areas
where the pads were wide, and you had to get back through an area of yellow
lilies to get to a patch or two of white lilies closer to shore. Some of
the specific places that this pattern led us to, I haven't fished more than
a dozen times, and I've been fishing this place for 35 years. And most of
that dozen times, they've proven fishless. But they weren't fishless that
day. It's all about information gathering, not just randomly trying
anything that might work.
RichZ©
www.richz.com/fishing
Dan
> As my tournament director said, it's never a good sign when you see
someone
> racing back and forth.
Good general rule but not always true. Have been on killer patterns where
you pull up on a spot, 3-4 casts. If no bites, your gone to the next one.
>So, how do you consistently place well if the fish
>make up the rules from day to day, lake to lake, etc.?
The best answer I can give is that the best fishermen have systems that work
for them. They have winning attitudes, behaviors, and habits. Examples:
1. During a summer trip, you haven't been bite on yesterdays hot bait all
morning....
a good angler would have recognized it was not happening and started looking
for a better presentation well before the morning got away from him. He did
not waste time on something that wasn't working.
2. During a winter trip, You are only getting a fish every couple of hours.
You are very frustrated and keep changing colors to find the one that will
fill the boat. An experienced angler will know that usually a winter bite is
a slower bite. (Again, not always) He will stick with the same bait that has
been catching fish, but keep it on and keep it in the water. Changing baits
and colors is just a great way to keep your lure out of the water and out of
a fishes mouth. He is playing the law of averages. More time in the water =
better chance to catch fish.
3. You heard they filled the boat yesterday in that rain storm on crank
baits. You want to go out and do the same on this beautiful bright clear
day. You beat the water to a froth with every crank you own and 3 more that
you found that day. A good angler will realize that the big bite is over for
awhile and the fish are post frontal right now. Tough bite. That means
smaller baits, tighter to cover, oftentimes slower presentation. You are
gonna have to tease or irritate them into eatting.
A lot of this is from experience. Alot of it I think comes from a bit of
dumb luck. By that I mean I know fishermen who have "fished" all their
lives, yet when you watch them they cast the lure out and leave so much
slack in the line they will never feel the strike. That is the habit they
have imprinted themselves with. Bad habits are hard to break. But take a
newbie. He casts out, reels down to the bait so there is no slack, pulls it
over a couple of rocks and bam, fish on. Now he is pulling that bait over
rocks and feeling it every time. He is in touch with the bait and feels the
strikes he gets. Just a bit of luck and he is shown a good way of doing
somethng and it becomes a habit. He does things right and catches fish.
The more things you do right, the more successful you will be. Learn to do
things right at the start if you can. Learn to recognize bad habits you
already have and work to change them. Whether they are poor mechanics in a
technique, poor choices being made, or poor equipment. All can be improved
and corrected. One of the biggies for nearly all angler's is being satisfied
with or making excuses for bad days on the water. If the bite is slow but
you are catching a fish or two, don't be satisfied with the slow fishing.
Work to improve it. The biggest mistake an angler can make is to catch a
fish on a bait and then assume he has worked out the puzzle. How many would
catch a bass on a crank and then immediately change to a different color
bait? Most wouldn't but if that fish was caught by just the slightest bit,
you better. He is telling you that something is not right with the bait. a
good angler wants to see that crank all they way in his mouth. Then he knows
he has a good pattern working. Try changing color, speed, or depth until you
get good solid hookups.
There isn't one angler in 100 that would cut off the bait that just caught a
fish. But its the 1 guy in a 100 who is the tournament winner. Don't be
satisfied with few bites or no bites. The fish may not be tearing them up
but there are still fish to be caught. Its up to you to figure out how to
catch them. Sitting back and giving up or making excuses won't do it. Start
thinking, start trying different things. Do it systematically and
intellegently but do it. When all the stuff that should be working isn't try
what shouldn't work, or where they shouldn't be. Examine, Experiment,
Explore. You'll start being one of the successful guys too.