This is a strange phenomenon I’ve observed, especially in certain types of anglers. This one friend of mine thinks there are all of these hard and fast rules with zero exceptions, some science based or at least logical sounding and some just nonsensical. I should mention this is regarding river smallmouth, I’m sure he has an entirely separate playbook for their lake dwelling cousins.
Some examples, ranging from sensible to just plain moronic:
- Never retrieve upstream, baitfish only swim downstream
- Never throw moving baits after spawn until the fall bite
- Never use snaps or snap swivels, fish can see these and you’ll lose bites
- Absolutely NO mono except for topwater, bass are incredibly line shy and you must use fluorocarbon which is invisible
- Smallmouth prefer sun and will bite better when it is sunny. The only reason bluebird negatively impacts fishing is due to barometric pressure, absolutely nothing to do with being ambush predators who prefer shade and cover.
- ALWAYS match the hatch, especially when it comes to size and color. This would suggest that every strike is an actively feeding fish rather than reactionary, which we all know the inverse is usually true.
There are several others that aren’t coming to mind but you get the idea. Do you think there is much if any legitimacy to any of these ideas? I can get behind bits and pieces of them but as a whole I think smallmouth are reactionary and nomadic (within the section of river they live) enough that timing and luck play as pivotal a role as anything.
You can study and learn their behavior and habits obsessively and enjoy great success from the advantages this gives you, but at the end of the day I don’t believe bass are quite as predictable as some think.
