there was a laydown tree plainly visible in
the water willow, extending slightly out of
it at the tip.
As he worked towards the current
area, I prepared my camera thinking
there would be a picture perfect
moment. However, as he got about
10-yds from the tree, he lifted his head,
looked around, stowed his trolling
motor on the deck of his boat, laid
down his rod, and ran out of the area. I sat there for a minute wondering what had just happened. It was late in the event, and the angler was in contention, so I can only assume the pressure was fairly high, and that it had somehow affected him.
I write all the preceding to say this. We as bass anglers tend to do two things; we become creatures of habit, and we tend to overlook things that are obvious, and not so obvious. Winning anglers are the ones who find a pattern within a pattern, and that either happens by being very observant or trusting in one’s instincts.
I am often amazed at the things that anglers tell me thattheyfiguredwhiletheywerefishing,andespecially howmuchtheyareabletofigureoutwhattheyoverlooked oncethepressureofcompetitionisbehindthem.
Thetrickforusasanglerswhowishtoproceedin theirprocessofbecomingwinninganglersistodoa fewthings. First, wereally needtolearnto utilizethe obviousto helpusidentifythenotsoobvious. BythatI meanthatwecanutilizeanobviouspieceofstructureor cover,oracommunityholetoidentify key components necessary tobegintodevelopourplan,butifwewant toseparateourselvesfromthecrowds, weneedtouse thosethingsasastepping stone, andnotthewholeplan.
Secondly we need to learn to pay attention to our intuition, especially when the pressure of competition is building. We can truthfully only do that by competing in tournaments, so the trick is to fish as many events as possible that force us to see the whole picture under the pressure of competition. Those that are able to do these things more consistently, are the ones who collect the most trophies most of the time.
New Sizes.
New Colors.
3.25” rock vibe shad
3.5” Bubbling Shaker
Mueller’s Madness Spring 2016
http://optimumbaits.com/