Spring 2022
Y
es, there
are some
similarities in conditions and patterns.
However, things can
change in moments,
leaving us scratching our
heads. Wondering, what
changed, where did they
go and why are they not
biting the same as they
did yesterday, a week ago,
or last year?
As long as you fish
or have fished you will
surely encounter these
perplexing questions.
There is an endless
number of possibilities,
and your next move will
determine your outcome
for the day.
When faced with
these (what should I do
next?) questions, it really
comes down to two
options.
The first would be to
try mixing things up and
rotate through as many
presentations as possible. And the next would be to choose
a technique you are confident in and grind it out. Both are
perfectly logical options, but if you choose the wrong one
your day might not go as planned.
When rotating through lures, colors, and actions, the
idea is to find something that is the golden ticket and stick
with it. Or at least get closer to settling on something.
When grinding it out with one specific technique, you
want to go with a tried-and-true method. This is not the
time to experiment. However, the most important thing to
remember is with either option “don’t force feed the fish”.
It’s just like the great card game of Poker, “know when
to hold ’em and know when to fold ’em”. But also know
when to go “all in”.
WHAT DO I MEAN BY FORCE FEEDING?
FOLD ‘EM: Let the fish tell you what to use. It might not be your comfort zone or favorite fishing style, but if it’s working best, go with it. If after taking a good sample with your chosen technique the fish are saying “no, nope, no thanks and probably not” – it’s time to rethink the strategy (fold ’em).
HOLD ‘EM: If they are
saying “yes please, and I’ll
have more of that”. Then
by all means don’t switch
(hold ’em). There are so
many times when they
will be biting a specific
presentation and we
as anglers want to fish
another (more exciting)
offering. I’m all for trying
something different, but if it’s not broken, don’t try to fix it. Remember our goal is to catch as many as possible. And when you are getting bites the likelihood of getting a bigger fish is always there.
Here are a few scenarios in which we need to decide if we should “hold or fold”.
SCENARIO #1
On a cloudy day in the spring, the wind is blowing along a rocky-point, leading into a spawning cove. The fish are stacked and chewing a ripbait or a spinnerbait. It is cast after cast nonstop action.
We revisited the same spot a few days later in hopes to duplicate success. However, it’s a bluebird day with flat calm
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