O
ne of the huge
advantages of being
an outdoor writer, and
having the contact
information for the
world’s best anglers
in my Rolodex, is
that if I have a problem
on the water I can call up an
expert to help resolve it.
Losing a lot of fish flipping? Call Denny
Brauer. Need some help with your square bill game?
VanDam is only a ring away.
Those conversations do not immediately confer
expert status upon me, but they definitely shorten the
learning curve.
When I decided to get into the glide bait game, my
goal was to learn as much as I could through trial and
error, but in the early stages it’s been mostly error. On
one torturous day on a nearby crystal-clear lake, I caught
a total of three fish on the gliders despite watching close
to 50 mesmerized followers swim away without striking.
I called up Carl Jocumsen, who brought his glide bait
game from Australia, and has unleashed it on America’s
bass.
Not surprisingly, he told me that much of what I was doing was wrong. I wasn’t close to turning those followers into biters, he said, but I might be close to having a nervous breakdown.
“I don’t want to be getting too many followers,” he said. “I want some, but not a lot. In cleaner water, you’ll get some follows with less commitment. What changed for me was when I realized that I wanted dirtier water. The second it gets clear; I lose all confidence. I want the perfect amount of stain. That leads to no follows, just bites.”
®
Shimano Tranx 400 in 5:8.1 Jocumsen’s
must-have.
page
41