post fishing AHH HAH moment

[jbmaine]

I'm trying to break my self of this bad habit, but it still happens. You fish a body of water and something's changed. A few days ago you fished it and could do no wrong. You fish it again and the temp, weather, whatever is different. The fish have moved, aren't hitting the same bait, short strikes , things are just not the same. This is normal, it happens. You change baits, fishing style, location, whatever it takes. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

 

 At the end of the day, your driving home, eating supper, etc. , but your mind is still replaying the day over and over. And then it all comes together, The AHH HAH moment when all the pieces fit into place, and you know why you didn't catch more fish. Things like, I should have been fishing this type of water, not that type, Why didn't I throw this bait, I certainly bought enough of them. And the list goes on.

 

 I keep telling my self I need to be quicker to analyze, adapt to changes, try different things, but for the life of me I don't seem to be getting any better at it.

 Anyone have any ideas on what I could do to improve in this area.

                                                                         Thanks

                                                                                   Jim

[Choporoz]

Sounds like me.  I've only been fishing for bass for about nine years, so I still have lots to learn.  Even the good days result in some Monday morning quarterbacking and I inevitably think of something that I should have done different. 

   I have considered making myself a checklist.  I do tend to get into a bit of a rut on the water and stay with something too long.  If I had a checklist and remember to look at it, I wonder if I wouldn't be better about changing things up on the water.    Some lures or techniques just don't rise to the top of my consciousness when they should at times.

[Troy85]

10 minutes ago, jbmaine said:

I'm trying to break my self of this bad habit, but it still happens. You fish a body of water and something's changed. A few days ago you fished it and could do no wrong. You fish it again and the temp, weather, whatever is different. The fish have moved, aren't hitting the same bait, short strikes , things are just not the same. This is normal, it happens. You change baits, fishing style, location, whatever it takes. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much.

 

 At the end of the day, your driving home, eating supper, etc. , but your mind is still replaying the day over and over. And then it all comes together, The AHH HAH moment when all the pieces fit into place, and you know why you didn't catch more fish. Things like, I should have been fishing this type of water, not that type, Why didn't I throw this bait, I certainly bought enough of them. And the list goes on.

 

 I keep telling my self I need to be quicker to analyze, adapt to changes, try different things, but for the life of me I don't seem to be getting any better at it.

 Anyone have any ideas on what I could do to improve in this area.

                                                                         Thanks

                                                                                   Jim

Thought I was the only one who did this.  You are not alone Jim! 

[scaleface]

Bass can change moods and locations abruptly , in  matter of minutes . So even though I have those Aha! moments too , theres a good chance it wouldnt have worked either . ?  Sometimes we are doing the correct things but the timing or location are slightly off . I remember   getting skunked in a tourney then at the weigh-in , finding out that the first place team was did exactly the same thing I tried only in a different creek.

[Ratherbfishing]

Sometimes those "ah hah!" moments (aka "epiphany's") work and sometimes they don't.  But yes, there are PLENTY of times where later I'll think "I should have tried X, Y, or Z"  It's all part of trying to unravel the puzzle.

[Bluebasser86]

I did it bad a few weeks ago. My son and I had fished the lake a week before and smashed them on small plastics fished on riprap banks. Fishing a tournament a week later, we catch 2 good ones messing around a shallow grass line and then pack it in to go fish what I had planned on doing. Halfway through the day, we have 2 more small fish and nothing else. At the end of one of the riprap banks is a shallow corner with some grass clumps, it'll take 5 minutes to fish, so we fish it. My partner catches our big fish of the night and tournament big bass on a bladed jig. I catch our second biggest and cull one of the small ones on a bladed jig on the next clumps of grass. So we went back to the riprap to really try to upgrade! After about 10 minutes I said what are we doing!? We ran to another shallow stretch with grass and although we didn't catch them, we both had a shot a very solid fish that would have been significant upgrades before the end of the tournament. We still ended up winning and getting big bass, but we should have done so much better than we did if we'd just seen what was right in front of us. 

[BassNJake]

Second guessing is a part of learning for me.

I've kinda developed a system that works for me most days and utilizes how I like to fish.

 

I try to break it down by water column: shallow, mid depth and deep.

Next is if they want it moving or something slow.

 

I always try to get the buzz toad bite going as I go early mornings to about noon.

As I'm running down the shoreline I can usually tell if there is bait shallow.

Little flicks of baitfish, ripples near cover, bluegills in and around their beds, swirls in the water as I pass by... ...

If I see this action shallow I will probably stay in the skinny water as i will run into some feeding fish

I'll run a section of shore with the toad, turn around come back thru flipping targets and if needed I'll toss a wacky rig.

 

If I'm not seeing the bait shallow, I'll turn around and come back down the shore fishing the 7-12 foot range with crank, spinner or chatterbaits and/or a jig, texas rig. I'll either try to get a reaction bite out of a moving lure or slow down.

 

When I fish deeper than 12 feet I'm using my sonar to try and find the fish.

then I'll start with deep diving crankbaits, swimbaits and will slow down with a drop shot, shakey head , jig or carolina rig.

[Preytorien]

I got so tired of second guessing myself on the way home based on prior assumptions that I just started viewing every single outing as a fresh take on things. Most of the time if I get to the water, take a mental step back, and reassess my lure, color, depth, etc from the start like I've never fished it before, I find myself pulling out something I would've never expected. 

 

Sometimes it's successful, but more often than not the fish get the better of me. 

[Catt]

The bite moves...the fish don't! 

 

 

[jbmaine]

Thanks for all the replies everyone. Glad I'm not alone in doing this.

[A-Jay]

First, I'll say that something that makes a difference to me, is what I'm targeting, green or brown bass, and what time of year I'm doing it.

 Either way, I  am of the believe that although there are situations where neutral fish may be susceptible to a "reaction strike' there are times, when they Are Not.  And while not all the fish on a body of water may not all be doing the same thing at the same time, relocation can help. (as noted here in previous responses).

 I have been guilty of fishing 'wrong' many, many times; too - deep, shallow, fast, slow and with baits that were too big, too small, too bright, too dark & probably even too old ~    I know because once a change was made - the net was used. 

 I also believe in 'Timing' - seen it too many times where 'sitting' on or returning to a spot and waiting for the fish to either show up or 'turn on' ( or both) has worked well.

Ten years fishing from a canoe with only a trolling motor forced me into it.  Can't really rocket all over the lake - so once I thought I was in the 'right spot' - I'd wait them out.  Many times it paid off.  (ref - Bill Murphy)  Clearly not a tournament friendly option / technique and heaven forbid is this fast paced new style of bass fishing someone actually 'wait' for something to happen, but there you go.   If anyone actually knew how long I camped on/ repeatedly returned to a spot, to catch some of the better fish I've posted here (even in the Lund) I think they'd be surprised.

 Of course, The 200 HP offers the advantage of bouncing around but then there's the danger of being on spot A when Spot B is hot.     Timing. 

 Helps to know your lake, know the bait, know how the wind & weather affects both and then which areas will offer the best opportunity to get bite.  Each body of water can be different and time on the water is the good teacher.

Going fishless & eliminating water are part of the 'ahh-hah moments I guess; just not the most fun part. 

 

 All of that said - what the "Elite" anglers do - all over the country, is Not doubt - Super Impressive.

A-Jay

 

[Rahlow]

3 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

 I also believe in 'Timing' - seen it too many times where 'sitting' on or returning to a spot and waiting for the fish to either show up or 'turn on' ( or both) has worked well.

 

 Helps to know your lake, know the bait, know how the wind & weather affects both and then which areas will offer the best opportunity to get bite.  Each body of water can be different and time on the water is the good teacher.

Going fishless & eliminating water are part of the 'ahh-hah moments I guess; just not the most fun part. 

 

 All of that said - what the "Elite" anglers do - all over the country, is Not doubt - Super Impressive.

A-Jay

I believe this approach is spot on, my personal best for numbers and size have come from spots that I fish in a pattern, spots I have confidence in because I have found fish there at some point in time of the day over and over again. All spots have cover or structure the fish relate to. Most of my fishing trips are sometimes nothing more that eliminating water,,,, hunting more spots to improve what I already use.

 

[Kjruiz]

14 hours ago, A-Jay said:

First, I'll say that something that makes a difference to me, is what I'm targeting, green or brown bass, and what time of year I'm doing it.

@A-Jay could you elaborate more on brown vs green bass? What separates them, and how does that change how you target them?

[A-Jay]

34 minutes ago, Kjruiz said:

@A-Jay could you elaborate more on brown vs green bass? What separates them, and how does that change how you target them?

It's been my experience that smallies are seriously mobile and are very willing to move ,often quite a ways, for a good food source. This includes, week to week, day to day & even hour to hour.  Here today gone tomorrow.

 Largemouth don't seem to be anywhere near as nomadic.  They may 'homestead' an area or even a stumps and often don't move around much unless threatened.  Water level change, big cold front and if their food for some reason departs.  But for the most part, after the spawn, they'll be in the same area until fall.  Their usual food source does the same.   

 Clearly there are different deals and each environment is different, but the basic premise is there for me. 

Brown bass's 'home range' is a whole lot bigger than a green bass - big time.

So this means I'm often moving more to find them - especially active fish. 

YMMV

A-Jay

[soflabasser]

It's always nice when you finally figure out what the bass want in a area you are fishing in. Makes fishing much more enjoyable!

[scaleface]

I had an experience earlier this year "Pre spawn" when the largemouths moved during the course of hours . The first day was overcast with water temps in the mid 60's and I caught a limit of 15 inch bass in the first half of the creeks  . Nothing   in the shallow spawning coves or rear of the creeks . I returned the next day and it was sunny and warmer . The day started out the same but after a couple of hours with the sun beating down , the bite slowed considerably  and I only had two keepers . I noticed the surface temp was now in the mid 70's , a ten degree rise . I started fishing the pockets and rear of the creeks and promptly finished my limit . That was a major fish   relocation in a matter of hours . Every fish those two days were caught on the same spinnerbait . 

[NHBull]

Earlier this year, I found myself fishing memory in regard to spots and baits.  After a couple off days, I decided not to duplicate a spot for a week.  This has paid off in spades, as it made me realize how mobile SM really are, and LM less so.  This tactic has greatly improved my numbers and forced me to use techniques that are week.  Yesterday was popper or drop shot only ......in shallows or on cover within structure I have never fished.  We had a great morning in 15 mph winds.  I am thankful the experienced guys on the board who helped move me in this direction 

[Kjruiz]

12 hours ago, A-Jay said:

It's been my experience that smallies are seriously mobile and are very willing to move ,often quite a ways, for a good food source. This includes, week to week, day to day & even hour to hour.  Here today gone tomorrow.

 Largemouth don't seem to be anywhere near as nomadic.  They may 'homestead' an area or even a stumps and often don't move around much unless threatened.  Water level change, big cold front and if their food for some reason departs.  But for the most part, after the spawn, they'll be in the same area until fall.  Their usual food source does the same.   

 Clearly there are different deals and each environment is different, but the basic premise is there for me. 

Brown bass's 'home range' is a whole lot bigger than a green bass - big time.

So this means I'm often moving more to find them - especially active fish. 

YMMV

A-Jay

@A-Jay Knowing that I might sound like an idiot, I thought color was a environmental affect and not indicative of largemouth vs smallmouth, but you seem to use them as indicative of species. Am I wrong? 

[813basstard]

The first time I first time I fished a brown/green jig with GY paddle tail trailer...”oh so this is why they fish these things.” Now, I can’t get one untied from at least one of my rods

[jbmaine]

On ‎6‎/‎15‎/‎2018 at 7:42 PM, Kjruiz said:

@A-Jay Knowing that I might sound like an idiot, I thought color was a environmental affect and not indicative of largemouth vs smallmouth, but you seem to use them as indicative of species. Am I wrong? 

The environment might dictate how dark or lite the green or brown color. but LM are greenish in color and SM are brown in color.

[Kjruiz]

3 hours ago, jbmaine said:

The environment might dictate how dark or lite the green or brown color. but LM are greenish in color and SM are brown in color.

Wow, didn’t know that. Thanks!

[ww2farmer]

Almost every time I go fishing I have that "moment"  where I stumble my way on to figuring out how to put fish in the boat. A lot of it's trial and error, a lot of it's exp. and time on the water, and sometimes it's plain dumb luck.

 

Recent examples of each.....

 

Trail and error: Just yesterday, I fished the first hour of the day, deep, on the bottom, with a big heavy wobble head based on what the graph was telling me....which was in low light/early/late in the day conditions the fish were hugging the bottom, and when the sun got high they rose up and started suspended. Well I hauled water fishing the bottom, so I went after the suspending fish for another hour with a slow falling weightless soft plastic, and still hauled water. So I fell back on plan C, which was fishing for post spawn smallmouth with tiny baits in 8-12 feet of water. That worked. Plan D was fishing super shallow for largemouth, but I was getting bit often enough, with decent enough fish to keep doing what I was doing. Hindsight being 20/20...I probably should have tried shallow largemouth for a kicker, as I was oz's away from finishing in the money.

 

Exp. and time on the water: Last month, I had a day the day of my life. 2 fish over 6lbs, 11 total over 5lbs, a 100 bass in the boat. And each and every one of them were in places I knew they would be given the conditions/time of year, and bit on the stuff I always rely on. This plays into AJ's timing....I was in the right places, at the right times, but I also had the knowledge/exp. to be doing stuff that maximized my results.

 

Dumb luck: Last fall I stumbled into pattern on another lake that proved to be the winning pattern by seeing a fresh struggling bluegill floating on the surface getting engulfed by a bass. I picked up a frog, and made a cast to the area, and the bite was on. For the next 6 hours I caught dozens of bass, and I might never have picked up that frog or won that tournament had I not seen that bluegill get chomped.