WesternBass Magazine December 2011, Page 14

WesternBass Magazine December 2011, Page 14

ot T h B e S oe r rV y Av ts I . o N

heory talks big. it has answers, directives

and rationale for every weather change or

water level drop or any other phenomenon

that would alter bass behavior. Theory feeds the off-season by encouraging new gear purchases, navigation chips or even foul weather gear, or possibly, inviting a harder look at the past year’s trip logs.

Theory, thought to shorten the search or convince us of a better method, was devised to give us confidence by sorting through decades of bass

what we see in addition to what we know or how we reconcile observation and theory, is a good measure of where we are in our progression as a bass angler.

Common ExamplEs

in my mind, a great day on the water or an exceptional catch is not sure evidence that we know what we are doing. Sure, the tournament winner often looks a lot smarter than the rest of the field, but when you hear—if you hear—the explanation isn’t always so convincing. of course, to make the catch

fishing experience and spitting out truth. Yet anyone

some key elements must be in play. The angler had to

who has ever over-committed to the theoretical

be where the fish were located and he had to have a

approach has likely found himself scratching his head, lure and an approach that the fish responded to.

watching others roll in with the big sacks.

Yet, after many, many interviews after many,

on the other hand, observation is real, tangible

many tournaments, i’ve found the better questions

and even scientific. You can see the marks gather on

than “What’d you get ‘em on?” are those that reveal

sonar, the birds standing in the lunch line, the baitfish

scattering or a stick-up trembling in the shallows. Yet

how many biases do we carry over water clarity or how

dearly do we cling to the readings on our surface temp?

it all tells me, bass fishing is a lot more cognitive

than we give it credit, and that how we process

by GeorGe Kramer

can we make it work?

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