The sun is beginning to get high in the sky and casts an afternoon light onto the water. Your hours on the water today were beyond tough and unsuccessful. No matter what you’re doing you can’t seem to find fish and trigger the strike. Your body is showing signs of fatigue setting in and your casting arm is feeling like you pitched a game at Fenway Park.
You watched other anglers motor into the marina and begin to load up at the ramp. It was a thought that went through your mind as you watched two kayak anglers paddle past you and make their way to the ramp. Perhaps you asked the anglers as they passed within shouting distance if they had any luck today, hoping they might offer a clue.
The generic “They weren’t biting today” reply bounces off the water. You sit alone in your kayak, tired, soar and mentally defeated by the fish you are pursuing but you’re not ready to accept defeat. You know that the clock is ticking and if this was football you would have your two minute warning and put together a game plan to get some numbers on the board. Your paddle slides into the water and you push off, you’re not following in everyone’s who’s leaving wake. You came here to catch fish and that’s what you’re going to do.
Richie Moschella – New Jersey
When the bite becomes tough and hard to find I make a decision. I have already used the techniques of combining power and finesse tactics and turned up empty handed. The mental aspect of fishing becomes the bigger component in this phase of the trip. Keeping yourself mentally sharp is critical in these situations.
If you mentally check out of the trip you might as well leave with everyone else at the boat ramp. Keep positive and stay in the game you never know when a strike can occur. Scott Martin professional BASS angler on the FLW Tour summed it up best when he said that he fished in 170 tournaments in the past 15 years and only won six FLW events. Fishing is simply about failure and how we react to the situation. As anglers our competition is not the other anglers on the water with us but more with the fish we are pursuing. The fish in all honesty had the advantage over us.
My approach to a tough day of fishing is sometimes to downsize my baits to 3 or 2 ½ inch plastics. It’s sometimes that smaller micro profile that gets fish to strike. I’ve seen many anglers slay some big bass using tubes that were designed to catch Crappie and Perch. The Ned rig or wacky rigged plastic stickbait works well fished slow. It’s all about keeping your momentum going but just slowing you’re fishing down.
Now if vegetation is present I would focus on working the surface weeds and slop. Thoroughly dissect each section of vegetation, I prefer a Bully Wa 55 weedless frog from River2Sea. It also has a smaller profile and just like fishing smaller plastics can trigger a strike when times get tough. When I encounter holes in the surface vegetation I will drop a Z-Man Palmetto Bug rigged on a Rugby VMC hook.
Overall you want to thoroughly work the surface and with your weedless plastic get under the vegetation. If you manage to catch a bass in the weeds, he’ll make you forget about all those hours of inactivity on the water. I always say “the quality fish like to chill in the thick stuff”. By breaking down each section your fishing in 10 feet increments you will effetely work an area and try and end on a positive note.
Keep in mind that some of the best fishing come backs happened at the end of a tournament. An angler could have been not even in contention and then all of a sudden BAM he catches his limit and goes on to win the tournament. You will be surprised at by keeping a positive attitude and not giving up you can make your come back on the water.
Joey Monteleone: Tennessee
Superstitious tournament bass competitors recoil about the mere mention of having a banana in their boat; they believe its bad luck. I’d much rather keep the “skunk” out of my kayak. The skunk is the term for zeroing out, not catching any fish, no slime, that sound like bad luck to me! As the conditions change our approach and consequently the lures and associated relevant factors change. Relevant factors include but are not limited to, type of cast, retrieve speed, specific equipment like reels, line, its size and more.
Tough conditions can be countered in many ways. My initial thought has been the same for decades, smaller lures and slower retrieves are often the simplistic approach and solution. You may still toss the same category of bait but downsize it. A smaller crankbait will still catch fish but is not as like to fool a mega largemouth looking for a substantial meal.
If you are “hog huntin’ ” you may want to opt for the supersized version with the thought in mind you may only get a half dozen bites all day.. Neutral or natural colors are also a great idea for stubborn fish, especially in clear water. In muddy water avoid the temptation of going, big, bright and noisy. This is what you might do to target trophy fish but to boat a few fish for sure following the rule is more like to get you bit.
In windy weather, thank you Mother Nature, the formula is simple. Visit the windy side of the water and throw a spinnerbait. A spinner in the 3/8’s to ¾ ounce category can be cast in the breeze and makes it easy to also maintain contact with the bait. The wind starts the feeding cycle by churning the bank and stratifying small food particles which draws baitfish, crawfish and other forage and thereby sends the bass into a feeding mode.
Consider camouflaged line which can be purchased or produced. Take a permanent marker, brown or green and mark three inches of line, leave three inches, mark three inches and so on and you will break up the look of the line and disguise it from the bass’ eye sight and the other clear water fish.
There is the tendency to go for broke and use what you always throw but again you run the risk of being empty handed for the day. Learn to work with nature, take what is offered. Try to be versatile in bait choice, checking new areas working different depths, try new or least new to you, techniques as well as approaches. You too can avoid having zeroing out or having the dreaded “skunk” in your yak.
