The Mistake We All Make.

[RipSomeLips]

And right there, is why I have a problem with half the stuff wrb posts. There are a lot of guys and gals on here, and quite a few youngsters, that come here to learn, and  get better, and when a (cough) respected member puts up garbage, sometimes I just can't help myself. And as far as 300 DD bass goes, man, he might just be right, when he says they must have been the "retarded" ones, because anybody fishing big fish waters like in Cali or Texas, should have accidentally caught more than that in 50+ years, heck even if they were fishing for crappie! Big O has over 4500 DD bass  pics just on his laptop, and has probably put the people he fishes with onto more than that.

Ummmm...on a totally unrelated note...after reading this thread since it started I feel like going and watching the movie "GRUMPY OLD MEN". Like I said, totally unrelated

[Brian Needham]

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/fishing-articles/tips-and-techniques/154618/fishing-the-moment/#.UzieuWIo5jo

[WRB]

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/fishing-articles/tips-and-techniques/154618/fishing-the-moment/#.UzieuWIo5jo

Good article that supports this thread , thank you for posting the link.

Tom

[Brian6428]

Back to the original topic, I think people fish the past because they don't know what else to do.

 

Take me for example. I have been fishing 1.5 years with only the BR to help me. This past friday, a friend catches a bass from shore on a spinnerbait. I go out saturday and sunday throwing a spinnerbait and get skunked. Why? I didn't know what else to throw. 

 

I think people rely on specific past results because they don't have the knowledge to adapt to the present, like me this weekend. Now to find those pre-spawn bass and see what they want to eat!

 

So I aree with both sides of the argument. Fishing the moment is crucial to success, but without any past knowledge I have as much chance to catch a fish as when i first picked up a rod.

[J Francho]

You learned something though, I hope. Fish don't always bite a moving bait. Next time, throw your spinnerbait. If you don't get but for a bit, try something slower, like a Texas rigged worm. See what happens.

[IntroC]

_{This is a great thread! Lots of info.}

 

_{I will say this I look forward to reading WRB's and Catts post when ever I'm lucky enough to run across them. Very informational and thought provoking. We are all probably members of more than a couple different outdoor sites, maybe not but I am and when visiting these sites certain members you really listen to what they have to say. For some reason they just speak to you at another level. A couple others are Francho and Dwite Hottle.}

 

_{That being said I think there may be a little jealousy floating around on this thread.}

[Jacob044]

Wow, had a good time reading these post's most of the time until today. What's up with all the animosity? NO, I'm not the professional like most of you guys and I'm relatively new here but what's with all the angry comments and the name calling. Some sound like a bunch of play ground kids. (Your mother wears combat boots---> I know you are but what am I?) ands so on. ON topic. Before I moved to Florida 2 years ago, I fished memories all the time. The lake was Powers lake in Wisconsin. Right near the center of the lake were 2 under water islands next to each other. I fished them week after week and ALWAYS caught bass there. 19 one day 12 another 7 next and 12 the next on a drop shot rig in 12 -18 feet of water with green pumpkin worm. So there. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and has a right to express himself or herself without the fear of angry comments and name calling. I appreciate the ones who supported each other but I'll just throw this out there. NO ONE is always right all the time. Now those who want to rail on me, go ahead. I'm above your nasty comments. I am learning quite a bit on this forum about Florida lakes and how best to fish them as these lakes and the ever changing weather sometimes throws me a curve but I keep on trying to be the best bass angler I can be. Thank you to all those helpful comments and suggestions that I find here. They help a lot.

 

Off topic, the most undesirable basser is the one who shows up at the dock with his load of bass and when you ask for any suggestions or where he found them, or what color, he replies, (out in the lake). I'm sure that my comments will offend the hot shots here. Then so be it. There are more than enough bass in any one lake for every one.

Tight Lines, Jman

[Catt]

Here's a question far y'all!

How do the Pros decide where to start the tournament plans & with which lures?

[Brian Needham]

Here's a question far y'all!

How do the Pros decide where to start the tournament plans & with which lures?

 

map study and seasonal patterns......... even the one guy in the link said he dedicates a day of practice to "off-the-wall" stuff, something totally different than the pack.

 

I know you are wanting someone to say history, but the link I posted states a different story.  

 

If Brent Ehrler says he don't go back to old winning spots, I'll take his word for it.......along with everyone else that said the same.

 

when Mark Rose says he always fishes a new spot on the TN River every time out, I'll listen.

 

I have actually read interview after interview and article after article today about this topic....... and every Pro, expert, writer has all said...... If you aint fishing new water you are fishing dead water.

 

Catt, I more than listen when you speak here at Bass Resource. You are with out doubt top 5 in knowledge around here. I just think both sides, for and against are drawing hard lines that don't need drawn.

 

Remembering depth, weather, season, wind, ect, ect is more important than spot, IMO...... but I am not near the fisherman you are.

 

a friend and I were in a discussion the other day about "when do you know, you know the lake. When do you know you have it clocked"

the mutual answer we came up with was when you have at least 6 "spots" per season and have 3-4 back ups to go with those to catch em in any weather, any current, pre and post front.......... and you cant come up with those fishing the same place everytime out.

 

for a guy like you, Catt, you obviously catch fish anytime you want, and it works for you....... but I don't necessarily think you are camping on the same point/ledge everytime out for the last 50 years either.  

[plumworm]

The question I have after spending a half an hour of my life reading this post: ( and I don't remember the names) Is person "A" questioning person "B" about catching 300+ DD bass? or did I spend the whole time " missing the point" I did get that it was about not going out with pre conceived ideas about where the fish are or how they could be caught. The mantra of the whole conversation vacillated to a big question mark by the time I was done reading . I do agree, that sometimes they are where they were, and other times they are not. And sometimes they bite like they did and sometimes they don't. But, 100 plus posts about something so obvious is ?  300+ DD bass, Your the Man.

[Catt]

[quote name="Brian Needham" post="1492692" timestamp="13962392

a friend and I were in a discussion the other day about "when do you know, you know the lake. When do you know you have it clocked"

the mutual answer we came up with was when you have at least 6 "spots" per season and have 3-4 back ups to go with those to catch em in any weather, any current, pre and post front

[Brian Needham]

I figured you has that many spots, since you have TB clocked.

 

I suppose my point is, its all new water if a person hasn't fished it yet........... my "home" lake is 40k+ acres, so I got a while, LOL.

 

TO answer the guide fishing question I say, then why don't the guides win all the tournaments?

 

IMO, it is because there is always a better way to fish it, somewhere or something that can be changed or refined with the "current pattern"

Guides do have 100s if not a 1000 spots, but they didn't find them not fishing new stuff each time out.

 

I don't want you to think I am trying to argue, I am not.

my thoughts are this thread or the message contained, was not intended for people like you, people that already have their lake clocked..... but more for people like me, that have a long journey ahead, fishing a bigger lake and that need to hear, don't be afraid to try somewhere new.

Even still, I bet even you have a few spots you might not have fished in a few years.

 

many times we hear a pro say on sunday afternoon........ " my fish quit and I pulled into a place I never fished before yesterday and that's how I won."

That is the beauty of fishing(to me).... trying to solve a jgsaw puzzle where the pieces are always changing their shape! Thank goodness we have a lifetime to try!

[Lund Explorer]

Fishing History -vs- Memories

 

Many years ago I was entered into a draw tournament on Hamlin Lake here in Michigan.  The tournament was held during the middle of August.  Back in those days, the nonboater was given control of the front for half the fishing day.  The boaters always had the choice of which part of the day they wanted to control the boat and his nonboater got the other half.  The nonboater I drew that day was one of those guys that fished based on memories!

 

Prior to blast off, we had discussed our plans and this guy said that all he wanted was to fish the North Bayou.  If you look at a lake map, you'd see that this bayou was 3' - 5' deep, muddy bottom, and with no real fish holding cover.  I decided at that point that I would take the prime time slot of the first four hours of the day.  We fished deep weed lines and a few select docks during my time period, and as he wished, we headed for his choice as soon as his time arrived.  For the next four hours, we plodded along on dead water. All the while this guy is confused and whines about where all of these great smallies he'd been catching had gone to.  I finally couldn't resist, so I asked him when he had been there catching all of these fish.  His answer?  In April!

 

At least he got a month that started with the same letter.

[Lund Explorer]

Fishing History -vs- Memories

 

My best friend and long time tournament partner had his own problems too.  One of his sisters had married a guy who moved her to Michigan's UP and as luck would have it, right next to Little Bay DeNoc.  That place was a smallmouth dream factory.  The first time he made a spring trip to visit and get in a little fishing, Mike whacked a boatload of fish on what became his favorite spinnerbait.  And every year after that, the second weekend in June became the time to head north to relive that day.

 

When I made the pilgrimage the first time, all I heard for the six hour drive was that the only lure I needed was this one spinnerbait.  Well the drive home was a little different.  We'd caught a bunch of smallies that weekend, but it wasn't what Mike had planned on enjoying.  The vast majority came on suspending jerkbaits.  It took almost the whole first day for him to change to the lure that was working, because he just knew that they were going to turn on to that spinnerbait.

 

The next year when we headed out for our trip north, Mike had the plan all figured out.  Can you guess what his lure of choice was?

 

If not, you need to reread the post!

[Catt]

TO answer the guide fishing question I say, then why don't the guides win all the tournaments?

Just because you're catching does not mean you're catching enough to win.

Bassmaster Elite St.Johns River 2014: Edwin Evers 51st, Michael Iaconelli 64 th, Tommy Biffle 67 th, Kevin VanDam 70 th, Skeet Reese 81 st, & Boyd Duckett 91 st.

Guess they were fishing "Memories"!

[Nitrofreak]

If there is one thing I have learned here , it is to find new water , fish where the fish are , not where they have been , I have fished my favorite lake for over twenty years now with only a handful of those years seriously fishing this body of water , that marks the day I have joined this site , I have learned that not all fishing requires a rod and reel , nor bait of any kind , I have found that applying theory to your own situation from books and teachings from this site have by far made me and my family better anglers , I have learned that your mind is one of the most , if not the most , important tools you have as an angler , also one of the most corrupt if you allow it to be .

[Brian Needham]

Bassmaster Elite St.Johns River 2014: Edwin Evers 51st, Michael Iaconelli 64 th, Tommy Biffle 67 th, Kevin VanDam 70 th, Skeet Reese 81 st, & Boyd Duckett 91 st.

Guess they were fishing "Memories"!

 

that list of names is not surprising at their finish....... now look at the top 10, none of those guys are suprising either.... thats a "style" deal, not memory/new water deal.

 

and you know that Catt.

[RoLo]

Catt & Brian Needham,

From my viewpoint, you fellows are both in agreement, but are each supporting different aspects of the same platform.

 

Just like Catt, I run a paper route of waypoints founded squarely on 'history'. Why? Because history tends to repeat itself

and trends tend to persist. On the other hand, I don't like the word "memories", because it connotes nostalgia and fixation.

 

This is where Brian came in, who wanted to interject flexibility & versatility into the mix, and I couldn't agree more.

Lund Explorer reinforced this notion by offering examples of the damage caused by anglers who are paralyzed by memories.

Brian specified 'seasonal pattern' and 'map study', Right On!  Throw in 'field study' (cover survey) on top of that, and we're home safe.

 

With respect to flexibility, ask Catt how many time he re-adjusted his waypoint coordinates,

and you can rest assured the number is closer to 1000 than 100.

In short, we can use the word "clock" if we like, as long as we understand that the clock never stops.

This is what I meant earlier in this same thread, when I referred to 'tweaking the nuclei'.

 

Roger

[Brian Needham]

Great Summary RoLo!!!! thats about as good as it gets, combining all of our thoughts on the topic.

 

short story.......  I went for 2 days and had about 15 or so spots mark on my map, I ran most of them not getting bit, or seeing fish.... so I backed up and punted.... went to a few spots I have fished before caught a few, then scanned the map and ran new water silmilar to my old spots and caught fish the rest of the day.

 

when you boild it all down, I really think it has to be a mix of both.

 

Catt understands the "why" better than most folks, especially on his home lakes, as he has fished it for a while..... someone like me, I am still looking for the why, and the spots that make it the why.... hopefully in 40 years I'll have it all clocked and have the 100 waypoint milkrun too.

[WRB]

Nothing in bass fishing is absolute or black and white. Fishing memories isn't always a mistake but it can be and that was my intent.

Several years ago I was thinking about where to start my morning out based on all my past experiences when a thought came to me; fish the opposite side of the lake, the steep side. The time period was pre spawn, the weather was forecast for light wind and rain, wind out of the S-W. Our normal wind is N-E and usually fish the sloping side of this lake during pre spawn. Tucked the thought away and started out fishing my usual spots on the N-E bank, no wind and overcast, the rain hadn't started yet. Catching a few bass, not what I am looking for, the thought nagging me to move to the oppose side and different arm to where my premonition was the night before. Classic fishing memory scenario; I knew exactly where to go based on prior success. The rain and wind had picked up everything was right and 3 cast later a 17.4 lb bass was the result.

Success like this supports the habit of fishing spots that we have success with, because it works sometimes.

When it works it's not a mistake, when you stay and force feed bass that won't bite, then it's a mistake.

I am not advocating not using your experience or following your instincts, do both but be open minded when it doesn't work.

Tom

[bigbill]

Fishing from shore at the smaller places can vary between lures and presentations. What was a hot lure last year won't be hot this year. I firmly believe in fishing the smaller places the fish learn our lures. I also think they learn my scent that I'm using too. I go through my ritual of lures but then start throwing some different colors inbetween too. One slow day I changed from a shad scent to a garlic scent and the bite was on when I thought things were dead. Suttle changes can make your day. To me even the different sounds of the rattle can make a difference. The bomber cranks have that little low toned multiple ball rattle were another lure may have that one large ball knocker. Either one can make a difference.

 

So I say,

 

Change crankbait lure colors, sizes and rattle.

Go topwater, shallow, mid, and deep try them all.

Spinnerbaits, go smaller 1/8oz, 3/16oz, 1/4oz, white or chartruese Colorado blade a plus, two Colorado blades a given in stained/muddy water,  go heavier in muddy water.

Don't forget the plastics.

 

Shore fishermen don't give up hammer it. The tougher it is the more I kick it up a notch. Watch all the videos here if your a beginner or just want to refresh after a long winters nap. We do forget.

 

Do not keep casting out what isn't working. You will be more tired sooner.

I go into a practice mode when it's slow. I take each lure and practice different presentations with it. Different speeds can be the key to success. A short pause, a long pause, no pause a slow continuous movement. It can change at anytime. The fish are there it's up to us to catch them.

 

If your an average shore fisherman go out there and have fun. Increase your knowledge and develop your skills. The better your skills develop the more fish you will catch. Nothing feels better than our success as it increases. If it doesn't we must figure out why it's not. Are we casting too hard slamming the water? Make softer gentle casts.  Our lure is like a high diver in a pool we want a very small foot print and splash as our lure enters the water. The quieter we are the better no talking, no music.

 

Bill

[roadwarrior]

I prefer a big splash, loud music and good conversation.

Maybe it attracts the big mommas and scares the little bucks

away?

 

Don't forget, "Girls just want to have fun!"

 

 

 

 

[WRB]

I prefer a big splash, loud music and good conversation.

Maybe it attracts the big mommas and scares the little bucks

away?

 

Don't forget, "Girls just want to have fun!"

 

 

 

 

So your the one in that Jon boat with the dam boom box!

[Catt]

Sorry I've been busy making memories by fishing memories!

It's 5:30 am, 68°, overcast, south winds 5-10, prefrontal!

Y'all keep talking about how it don't work, I'll keep proving it does!

[Nitrofreak]

Have a great day on the water !!!

 

Good luck and be safe !!!