Fishing With A Pro

[pbrussell]

My adventures in the writing realm have allowed me to make friendships and acquaintances I never dreamed of having. Prior to writing in the fishing industry, I thought it was a pretty neat deal to just shake a pro's hand and ask him questions about his favorite crankbait. I never dreamed I'd get to call some of these guys friends.

 

Elite series angler Casey Scanlon is one of my friends, and it started through doing a variety of writing assignments for and with him. In November he and I got to go fishing together on a local power plant reservoir. Obviously all of my fishing buddies wanted me to take notes about what he did differently. I didn't ask too many questions, and I didn't pay too close attention to what he did or didn't do differently. We just fished. I did notice a few things however,

and I think it solidified my opinion on what makes pros better than the joe's. 

 

Time on the water is everything. Granted, I think to be a pro, you have to have some form of God given talent. Many of these guys have something most of us will never have, and that's natural ability. But another part of it is simply time on the water. On several occasions, Scanlon would point to an area saying there was gonna be a fish there. He could roll cast his crankbait to the exact spot he pointed to. He didn't catch a fish every time he called the shot, but there were several times he did. Would he have caught the fish without making the cast? I doubt it. Would he have been able to call the shot without spending so much time on the water? Maybe.

 

Time on the water translates to everything we do on the water. Scanlon was able to call those shots, and make those cast, because of past experiences which translated to the present time. It was also amazing how quickly he could piece together a pattern. Eliminating water was a big part of what we did. If we fished an area for 10 minutes and didn't get bit, he could with confidence say it's time to move. If he knew fish were there, but wasn't getting bit, he could with confidence change his approach, presentation, etc to make them bite. This all comes with time on the water.

 

So what did I learn? Nothing really; he honestly didn't do too many things differently that I do. If anything I think I learned how important it is to eliminate ineffective water and not stay on a single spot too long. But I mainly saw that nothing can replace time on the water. I might also add that it's not a wise idea to throw the same style of lure behind a pro. He ended up throwing a squarebill for most of the day. I didn't catch much when I was throwing one (Gee I wonder why). I switched to a lipless crankbait and ended up catching more fish. 

 

I just wanted to share my experience with you all. If you ever have the opportunity to go with a pro, jump at it. Remember, they're just dudes who like to fish. Casey's a great guy and I look forward to fishing with him some more.

Here are some pictures. I did not take them- my buddy Travis Perret did.

 

[senile1]

That's an interesting post.  When he was calling his shots and nailed them did you ask him what tipped him off?  Was he seeing or sensing something that you were missing?

[pbrussell]

That's an interesting post.  When he was calling his shots and nailed them did you ask him what tipped him off?  Was he seeing or sensing something that you were missing?

 

That's just it. These guys (casey in particular since that's who I fished with) are able to see underwater. They instinctively know why bass relate to where, and when they're going to do it. Obviously, most fisherman after a while can do the same thing, but these guys do it better. I believe they do it better because A, God given talent, and B, lots of time on the water. This time on the water coupled with their God given talent translates to future fishing journeys. 

 

This obviously applies to cover elements you can see too. Take for example a laydown. We might make repeated casts at the laydown until we find the sweetspot and later apply that knowledge. Casey was able to point at a spot on the laydown, make one cast, and catch a fish. I believe this comes through experience. This is obviously a difference maker in tournament formats. If you're able to catch a fish with two-three casts off a laydown instead of 20, it saves you time and catches you more fish. 

[fisherrw]

Good post!! I Have a friend who is a semi pro too and he has done that a few times too. I really enjoy fishing with him because I always learn new things.

[cyclops2]

I am a pro at 3 pieces of abandoned pipes in 3 different locations.  Also at islands..

 

I go in before or after other boats fishing them & catch the same unfortunate huge smallies. Yes. I do smile as I crank up the 9.9 hp & move off.  If they followl ? I take them to a catfish spot.  Then they think I am the luckiest ass fishing.

 

Your observations of the pro are spot on. 

[CDMeyer]

I really like that I think it is cool how he can confidently change spots if they are not producing I would like to have the confidence to be able to do that effectively

[cyclops2]

CD

 

Years ago I would take small neighbor hood kids to a creek in my town. The mothers had chairs & chatted.

The Sunfish at the holding spots would allow 2 to 4 guys to get hooked & lifted out. ON CUT UP WORMS. Then they would not approach bait.  Moved to next spot. Almost same thing would happen. At every spot. The no bite could be for hours or until that evening.

 

I laugh my butt off when the guys "  Practice "  before a tournament.

[Brnnoser6983]

I would love to get pointers and just spend a day on the water with a pro.

Too understand just a portion of everything that goes into what basically is ethology. Understanding and tricking an animal in the presentation of a lure. And the fact that these pros do it so naturally and with such ease.

On top of that, you have access to this priceless treasure trove.

[Vrybusy]

Great post and great observations. Fishing with a pro would certainly be awesome!

[Choporoz]

Thanks for the great report.  I really appreciate it.   I second most of the comments above. 

 

 

I sure would love to hone that sense of when to move on and when to change it up.  I think that would (will?) make all the difference.

 

Great pics, also!

[ColdSVT]

I was lucky enough to fish with a two time classic qualifier several times and his ability to see things in, onand around the water and structure amazed me. He would pic apart the structure to find smaller or more key features...it was nuts lol

Also his casting accuracy and abilty to put the bait in the water with very little splash was amazing! I might miss a target by 6 or 10 inches...he missed by millimeters

[Fishing Cowgirl]

Casey Scanlon was the first pro I was a Marshall for. A great guy. It was his rookie year in the Elites and I knew right off, he definitely deserved to be there. 

[roadwarrior]

I have had the privilege of fishing with a dozen or more BR members, which has been a thrill for me!

On three occasions I have been with Big O. I also fish a charity tournament once a year (my one and

only tournament fishing) with a young man, David Allen, who is a FLW Division "Angler Of The Year".

http://www.flwoutdoors.com/bassfishing/bfl/choo-choo/boater-standings/2014/

[gardnerjigman]

I fished with Aaron Hastings at Beaver Lake when I was 16. We actually became pretty decent friends and did some deer hunting as well.

[mjseverson24]

CD

 

Years ago I would take small neighbor hood kids to a creek in my town. The mothers had chairs & chatted.

The Sunfish at the holding spots would allow 2 to 4 guys to get hooked & lifted out. ON CUT UP WORMS. Then they would not approach bait.  Moved to next spot. Almost same thing would happen. At every spot. The no bite could be for hours or until that evening.

 

I laugh my butt off when the guys "  Practice "  before a tournament.

Why would you laugh at prefishing a tournament??? Have you ever fished a tournament on a lake you were not very familiar with??? 

 

Mitch

[Pete-K]

CD

 

Years ago I would take small neighbor hood kids to a creek in my town. The mothers had chairs & chatted.

The Sunfish at the holding spots would allow 2 to 4 guys to get hooked & lifted out. ON CUT UP WORMS. Then they would not approach bait.  Moved to next spot. Almost same thing would happen. At every spot. The no bite could be for hours or until that evening.

 

I laugh my butt off when the guys "  Practice "  before a tournament.

Why laugh at someone that is doing the best to  find fish? I for one have went out and found fish, that were caught the next day. You do not have to hook a fish to find them. I used crank baits with the treble hooks bent down where  the fish would grab them. But could not get hooked or close the gap on a hook and fish worms. Fish did not get stuck and the next day I was able to hit these spots and know fish were there..

 

I agree with your thinking though. Rich guy that fished in our bass club, he would fish 7 days per week. And could not figure out why the fish he had caught the day before a Tournament was not biting that day? 

 

I did catch a 5 lb 8 oz largemouth one time. That had been weighed 2 hours before we weighed in. Guy that weighed him, was there at ours. And was laughing he had caught that fish at 5 pm. I caught it at 11:45 Pm and buddy in the back of the boat asked me if I needed  the dipnet. Told him no it was a dink. swung the fish into the boat and almost scared me to see how big it was. Fish was tired and could not fight when I caught him on a spinnerbait.

[stfreed]

If you want to spend a day with some pro's look into the BASS Marshal program.  It is the best $125 you will ever spend.  You get to spend two or three days riding along and watching the pro's every move.  I have done it on Onieda in 2012, Lake St. Clair in 2013 and am doing Guntersville this April.  It is amazing what you can learn and most of the guys are great fun.  I rode with Paul Elias, Scott Rook, Kevin Short, Takohiro, Dean Rojas, and Kevin Hawk. 

[gulfcaptain]

Time on the water lets you learn to read subtleties that some or most miss.  You pick apart the cover, look at all the variables and make educated guesses on what you have experienced in the past as well as observations.  If you try and look at the whole picture, you miss the little things.  Pro's and successful anglers learn to see the little things that might be missed and then piece them together with what the conditons are as well as seasonal behavior.  You have to be able to dissect and analyze each bite and fish you catch and understand why that fish was where he was.  

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

"Calling the shot" reminds me of what we call "reading the water" in trout fishing. It's a skill developed partly through research and study but largely through observation and experience. Some thing I noticed watching the MLF shows, the Pros get just as excited over 3lb fish as the rest of us. And some big name guys get skunked sometimes. 

[gulfcaptain]

"Calling the shot" reminds me of what we call "reading the water" in trout fishing. It's a skill developed partly through research and study but largely through observation and experience. Some thing I noticed watching the MLF shows, the Pros get just as excited over 3lb fish as the rest of us. And some big name guys get skunked sometimes. 

 

Makes us all realize that even they can't catch them everyday and have their struggles.  Think the MLF forum is a great equalizer when everyone has no idea about where they are fishing.