Playing the Angle Game

[papajoe222]

This experience taught me a lesson I'll likely never forget.  One of the first tournaments I fished out of my own boat, I drew an old fart as a non-boater.  It was a slow day, to say the least, by noon I still hadn't boated a keeper.  The old  codger, on the other hand, had three quality fish in the live well and the kicker was that we were both throwing the same bait. Now before all you grey hairs start getting on me, this was back in the late 70's and I was young and thought I knew most everything there was to know about bassin'.  I started concentrating on what he might be doing that I wasn't. I watched his rod tip angle, how fast he was cranking, how often he paused, or sped up the bait......Nothing, nada.... he was mirroring exactly what I was doing. 

I made a cast to an old dock piling as we approached it with nothing to show for my efforts.  I looked back and that wise old man was waiting until we passed that piling before he cast back at it.  Yep, #4 and his biggest of the day.  WTH I just cast to that dang post with the same friggin lure,  This guy must have some magic up his sleeve, was my conclusion.

At weigh in, I sat there fishless while he had a lock on third place.  He must have seen the big question mark hovering over my head as I sat there licking my wounds. "You're wondering how I caught those fish using the same bait you were, aren't you?  I nodded and  he said two words; different angles and walked past to his car with his winnings.  The thick skull I have kept me from understanding what he meant for the entire two hour trip home.  It was only after I began putting my gear up in the garage when I dropped a couple of rods on the floor.  There they sat, in almost a perfect X pattern when the light finally came on.  Not only will I never forget that lesson, I realized then that my knowledge of bassin' barely scratched the surface.   I'm 74 and still learning.  

[Bird]

Nice write up.

Keeping a mindset that's willing to learn is paramount.

You'll likely be that guy one day that makes someone go, hmmm.

[Catt]

Yes sir it's that simple sometimes 

[Susky River Rat]

I had something similar happen to me just recently. I took a guy from work out. I’d consider him a non fishermen. It was still morning with 15-20mph winds.  My boat was positioned stern towards a rock ledge.  Bow into the wind.  He could pretty much run his bait  parallel to the ledge. He kept nailing them. I had zero. Which I did not care when I take people my goal is to get them to catch. It took me about 30 minutes and ur dawned on me. The fish are up high taking in the morning sun against this wind blown ledge. He could  stay in the strike zone his whole cast. I couldn’t. I made some minor adjustments and got some fish. 

[Fishin Dad]

Great write up Papa!!!

 

I am still trying to figure this one out.  I will often go back over a good looking area from a different direction.  I still haven’t really consistently figured out the puzzle.  I also try to go from deep to shallow and shallow to deep.  I know current will really position fish and determine your angle of attack.  But I mostly fish small natural lakes without much current.  

 

I always tell people who fish with me, I will learn from everyone in my boat.  I take out beginners and they will accidentally teach some thing at times.  I think that is why this fishing thing is so addicting.   You can never stop learning.  
 

[Swamp Girl]

Great anecdote and lesson. Thank you.

[Bdnoble84]

I have found what you describe to be my biggest key to success fish smallmouth in rivers/ current. I dont know how many times i have had to find that one angle on a current seam or around a rock to produce fish. Especially current seams. Its not always necessarily with the current either, although that is part of it the majority of the time.

[1984isNOW]

I have no electronics and fish from a yak up until the last couple years (growing babies and responsibilities), but back in my yak days I would pretty much just fish shore lines cuz that's all I knew how.

 

One tough day I decided just to cast the other direction and see what happened... BOOM! I started fishing parallel out from the shore about 25 ft (no idea how deep I was) and started bagin'em.