in the army we trained like we intended to fight, so it is no surprise my favorite pre-fish strategy is to hunt for big bass. Use big bass techniques and lures that won’t interest bank runners. dig out the Snagproof Frogs, 6-inch Senkos, swimbaits, Sammys and Gunfish, swimming jigs or any other lure that will interest Mama Pesce.
WHEn FAILInG IS WInnInG
Probably the most satisfying win i ever experienced was after my worst pre-fish and it taught me an important lesson. For two prior weekends, despite covering all the strategies discussed, my tournament partner and i had little to show for our effort. nothing was working, which made no sense since the Columbia river has large populations of bass and they have to eat to survive. HunT FOR LImIT FISH i came to the conclusion that maybe the problem it is always important to find a spot that holds wasn’t where i was fishing, but rather how i was easy fish to catch. every lake or river has a few spots fishing. Finesse tactics were necessary, but the that dependably hold smaller bass that eagerly bite. problem was how lightly the bass were taking the lure. They weren’t actively feeding during the daylight While you hope to never need such a spot, a backup hours, but could be made to bite if you put a dropshot plan can be a lifesaver when you are running out of worm in front of their mouths. time and need one more fish to fill your limit. This rather than swimming away with your lure, most often happens during a tournament in which they would merely open their mouth and stop its you gambled by fishing solely for big bites all day, and movement, and spit it out before you knew they were came up a little short. leave some pre-fish time to there. i started using the dropSwimming technique locate concentrations of easy fish. try dropshotting a with a 3/8-ounce Quickdrop sinker. By swimming the Yamamoto Shad Shape worm on a ¼-oz Quickdrop rig across the bottom like you would a Carolina-rig, around bridge pilings, pump houses, channel markers when a bass clamped down on my bait, my line would and waterfalls. be tight and my lamiglas spinning rod tip would load up since i was continually reeling. Those who fished DEFEnSIvE STRATEGIES dropshots without moving them horizontally, would never feel the bite. Fishing is competitive and you should expect the after two days with limits averaging four-pounds competition will be paying attention to you. When per bass, my partner and i won the boat, cash, and pre-fishing, always be aware of prying eyes. Pay big bass prizes along with the championship. it never attention to other boats in the area so you can avoid would have happened if we hadn’t had such a lousy allowing them to see you catch bass. Use different boat ramps than the masses, and limit your exposure practice that made me think of a way to use the as much as possible. information i had learned. Covering water - a numb ers strategy.
SummARY OF A SuccESSFuL PRE-FISH
Your pre-fish strategy may take several days, or only several hours; but to be successful you will have found big bass that are active, you will have found a large concentration of bass, you will have determined the best presentation, and you will have identified one or more backup plans.
Issue 6
December 2012
Marc Marcantonio is sponsored by Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Yakima Bait Co., QuickDrops, Lowrance, Lamiglas, Yamamoto, Lucky Craft, Gamakatsu, Snag Proof, Transducer Shield and Saver, Taysys, Stealth 1, McCoy, Solar Bat, Pacific Boatland, and Basstrix. You can find the Plastimo Underwater Viewer that he discussed in the article here: www.defender.com/ product.jsp?path=- 1|74081|801874&id=1778875
51