Spring 2024
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WB: If a cold front comes through during the week and the water temperature drops four-degrees, what adjustments would you make to relocate the spring bass?
GARCIA: If a cold front comes through, I still go and check the area where I had found fish the week before. Most anglers think that the bass will move back out of a spawning area when the water temperature changes drastically, but the bass are creatures of habit. The fish are still there. They have just moved a little. I have found that the fish are still in these same areas, so checking the area is important before going to plan B. If I can’t get a bite, I’ll start to move out a little deeper instead of beating the bank. I’ll check high percentage structure in the same area, but deeper and even out further towards the main lake in the
same cove. It’s springtime, so the bass want to spawn, as the day warms up the fish will show back up in the same areas that they were last week before the cold front.
WB: At what point do you completely punt on your game plan during a tournament and start searching for a new pattern?
GARCIA: This is a tough one to answer. I normally stay to my game plans, a hero or zero type of moment. You have to do your online homework beforehand to know when you need to change your game plan. It comes down to time on the water to make the right adjustments during tournaments. To have the A, B, C, game plan helps, but you need to know which adjustment is going to save your day, again. It is time spent on that body of water, plus your homework before the tournament. I always have a pre-plan before each tournament if things change during the tournament.
WB: What information would you
recommend to a new kayak angler to be
productive while practicing and during a
tournament?
GARCIA: My main advice is:
1
Fish what you have confidence in. Don’t change up because you hear dock talk about someone else catching fish on something you don’t have confidence in.
2
Don’t beat up the fish before a tournament, because this will affect how well you do during the tournament. Move to areas that may have similar structure a few miles away, so you have a backup
plan, find several areas that have fishing.
3
Also, after a tournament or when chilling with friends, listen to experienced anglers, you’ll learn more from them by just listening compared to time on the water. •
Follow Anthony Garcia on his YouTube channel:
GTeam Outdoors
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