How do you decide?

[Juan Grande]

So I'm sitting there reading the latest issue of Bassmaster and browsing the new Bass Pro Shops catalog and I start thinking about all the techniques and presentations I've read about on this site.

I typically fish 1-2 times per week for a total of about 10-12 hours in the summer. When I fish new lakes (or old ones for that matter) I'm constantly torn between exploring new water and trying new techniques and sticking with what I've had success with in the past. Seems like whenever I try something that "should" work it doesn't. Almost without fail I end up throwing senkos or shallow cranks in 8' of water or less because that's worked for me before. I usually have someone fishing and worry about them not catching anything.

I know a lot of you guys fish tournaments and I guess my question is how to do you know what to throw, where, and for how long to stick with it? Do you have 10 rods on the deck pre-rigged with different presentations and just try them all to narrow down what the fish want?

If you had a limited amount of time to fish (do to two young kids) would you spend it trying to learn new techniques or using old techniques that you're confident will catch fish?

[Deitz Dittrich]

Great question Juan..

I can answer it from my perspective, but hope that others will chime in as well..

The best answer I can give you is.. Time on the water. The more time out there, the more you learn what seems to work best in each situation. You have fave presentations for each situation, being that it be weather, or lake conditions. I often times will prefish alone, and its because I am a mess out there, 10 rods would be on the light side at times, maybe 15? And probably that many under the deck ready to go. Thats if I do not know the lake, and I am trying to learn it better.. And much those days I do very little fishing but more exploring.

However, if fishing with kids, its all about giving them a good time.. not about learning new stuff.. Go to what is tried and true.

[Ray Esboldt]

I almost always do my experimental fishing alone. Whether that is trying a new technique or pre-fishing an event. No one to argue with but yourself. I also do lots of idling and looking. I am pretty confident in what my electronics tell me, so I can pick some things out for future use.

I will say the best way to gain confidence in a new technique is to use it where you have caught fish in the past, if possible.

[Superduty]

Knowing what to throw and where to throw it is the question we all would love to answer easily. Sometimes it's trial and error. More often it is determined by looking at conditions and comparing it to past experience. Take a look at the conditions and use what you see to make some informed decisions. Start with time of year(seasonal pattern) and water clarity. One Example: Clear water usually means deeper growing vegetation. The food chain often follows the vegetation and you might have a deep weedline bite. If you have dirty water, start shallow. That would cover the "where" part. As far as "what" to throw, might as well start off covering water with a faster (horizontal) bait that gets into the depth of water you are targeting. If that doesn't produce and you are convinced fish are present, make a pass through the same area with a slow (vertical)presentation.

[TonkaBass]

I have to agree with dietz with the time on the water... You wouldn't go play golf with a bunch of PGA tour pro and expect to do well without a ton of practice... the same goes for fishing.

As far as knowing what to do to catch fish, that is the #1 question to all fishermen. I'm sure even KVD asks himself this same question from time to time. I personally think that a lot of it is a natural gut instinct that people develop over time.

Juan, you should try taking a whole day this summer to just fish... Time on the water is key... 10-12 hours per summer just isn't enough time to get it done. Maybe even consider hiring a good guide, or just fish with someone who you know does it a lot. Like anything, it's not gonna come overnight.

[Timmy D]

For me, to get out and explore it took a total attitude change.

I was in the same boat, limited time to fish so when I did get a chance to go I for sure wanted to catch fish. I would do the same thing as you, fall back to the same proven technique in the same proven area, time after time.

I had to change my thinking. I had to feel ok about going out and not catching. Going out searching for new areas, with new techniques and possibly getting skunked. Once I made that change in attitude, I was able to get out and explore without the pressure of not catching.

This has made me a much better angler. To be successful, you must have confidence. Once you give yourself a chance to learn and be successful with other techniques, you will then have the confidence to add this to your bag of tricks.

Then, when you are fishing, you have your old stand-by stuff that you already like plus you have your new technique that you feel confident with. All of a sudden you have options.

This can open your eyes to all the possibilities and now, you will have confidence that you can learn a new technique and you continue to learn and learn and learn.

[olski]

I think everybody is kind of on the same page.

Like Tonka said if yo are going to fish 10 - 12 hours a summer stick with what you know.

If I am trying to learn something new I will probably burn that time in 1 day. The big question for me is do you want to catch fish or learn something new? I can idle around for hours just looking at spots without even making a cast when trying a new technique. If I do that and catch 1 or 2 SUCESS!

As for taking the kids, hit those high % spots and don't be afraid to pack a slip bobber and worms because then it's all about catching.

One more funny thing about fishing alone. I thinks it's great when trying something new if for no other reason I can have 8-10 rods on the deck and I have room for 5 more on passenger side. LOL.

[st.crioxfishin]

I also agree that time on the water is crucial in gaining experience. I've received many comments on how nuts people think I am for being gone fishing all the time; its what we love to do and thats the best way to get better! If you look at the guys on tour who are consistently near the top year after year, they are usually older in age and have a lot of experience, not always, but most of the time.

In regard to Tonka's comment on natural gut instinct; I couldn't agree more. I read something about David Dudely last year that really helped me in following my gut more this past year. Basically what Dudely said is that you have to go with your gut instincts more often than not. When you go with your gut, AND your right, thats how you build the confidence to trust it more often (hope that made sense). He proclaimed that anglers are hesitant to trust their gut and sometimes that whats holds an angler back. Moral: trust your gut to gain confidence in it!

One more thing on when to stay or go. I like to play the half hour to one hour rule depending on the situation. If I'm in an area for 30-60 minutes with no productivity, I'm usually on to a different spot. Especially on bigger lakes I think this is key, smaller lakes it isn't such a big deal.

These are just some things I've learned from my experience, by no means are they right for everyone.

Also, I may be reading it wrong, but I think Juan meant to say that he is on the water 10-12 hours a week. If thats the case, your doing pretty well at gaining experience!

[Larson15]

Most of the time I let the time of year (spawn, post spawn), weather, wind, vegetation, water color and structure tell me how I am going to fish. When I fish a lake that I have never fished I try to break it down into segments. Sometimes I will even use my lakemap chip and mark spots to help me break it down before I go on the lake. This has been a great way to find inside turns, pockets, ledges, and attractive depths.

Like everything else that has been stated, Go with your gut when it counts! When you are fishing to learn keep an open mind and try some things that you hear other people having success with. If you ever have the opportunity to fish with someone that really knows what they are doing this can really help build confidence in something you have never tried before. For example, I never had a lot of confidence in deep weedline fishing till I started fishing with people in my club. Guess what, I fish the deep weedline really good now.

Great posts guys.....keep it up

[Comit 2]

The best way I know to try new ways to catch fish on new water or with new lures is to take someone new fishing with you. Make a contest of it, first fish, most fish, biggest or point for all three. Loser buys lunch. If you end up buying lunch you have found a new way to catch Bass. Just let the other person have a fair shot at the fish and let them learn from you too.

So how would you fish this lake?

Or take a frend. If he is using a worm. Throw a swimbait. If he is using the old tried and true, throw something new. He'll let you know if the fish are there and biting and that will let you dial in with something else. It's not who catches the most in these sessions it's who learns the most. The lake is your class room and your tackle box is your book. TURN THE PAGES.

[Cecil]

I mix it up. There are days when I will mostly fish techniques and spots that I know just to gain a little confidence and rip some lips. Then there are days where I wont go to spots that I know. You will be surprised how many good spots you don't know!

But I agree, time on the water has no equal

[RickyBobby]

I think having a general game plan for each outing helps alot, and for each outing, make it part of your game plan to set aside a portion of your time to doing something unfamilar, either fishing a unfamilar area or cover type, or else using an unfamilar technique. Even if its just an hour per day, it's a good way to keep the learning curve and the trial-and-error process alive. Keeping a journal of your outings of where and how you fished and the results helps put a little structure to the trial-and-error process and helps with the game planning too.

[RK]

Hiya -

Lots of great info here. I'd add two things...

As far as deciding where to fish and with what, for me it always starts with the In-Fisherman Formula - F + L + P.

F is fish - what are the generally doing this time of year (seasonal tendencies), what do I think they'll be doing based on weather, available forage and water conditions, what do I think their mood will be (positive, neutral, negative), etc.

L is location - based on what I know or think I know about F, what locations are available that give the fish what they need in terms of cover, forage, security, etc.

P is presentation - based on what I think about F and L, what presentation options are logical choices - what runs at the right depth and speed, what has the right triggering vs. attraction balance given what I think the fish's mood is, what can handle the cover conditions, and of the available options, which one's likely to be the best hooking and most efficient... I think a lot of guys start with P first, and hope F and L happen to match what their favorite tactics are. That's usually a mistake.

I know a lot of guys will scoff at using a formula, but if you read some of the posts above it's exactly what guys are suggesting. And yeah, gut instinct and time on the water really help you solve the puzzle faster. The key, to me, is taking a rational approach, and F+L+P helps you do that. I grew up teaching it at Camp Fish, and now I don't even consciously think about the formula itself - it's just how my head works when I pick up a rod.

The second thing I'd say is to work very hard at getting out of the rut of using the same lures and tactics. There's a famous piece of advice about writing - "murder your darlings." Basically, it means your favorites inhibit your growth in the long run, so get rid of them. If you find yourself falling into the same rut of favorite lures, remove the option by leaving them at home. Force yourself to learn something new by only bringing the stuff to fish that way. I learned to fish jigs for muskies by not bringing anything with me but a box of jigs. When your options become fish a new way, or don't fish...you'll figure something out...

Hope this helps...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[Deitz Dittrich]

ROCK ON RK.. very well written!

[JConrad]

Terrific Rob.. You are right on.

There is both an art and a science to fishing. You need to figure out the science first and then the art of lure selection and presentation comes next.

Best, Joel

[Juan Grande]

Great info, thanks everyone.

I guess I should have clarified, I probably fish 10-12 hours per week in the summer which isn't enough, but I have two young daughters so it's tough to get away.

Most of my fishing partners have the same or less fishing knowledge than I do so it feels like we're constantly guessing at what to do next when on the water. For example, I work in Anoka and we like to fish Crooked Lake from time to time after work. There's a good bass population as it's been C&R only on bass for a while. Anyway, we've done well in the past on certain shorelines throwing senkos and other plastics. We always try that first, but after that doesn't work we're stuck scratching our heads. We'll try to fish the deeper milfoil edges or a nice dropoff just adjacent to a point, but don't catch anything.

I agree that more time on the water is key. I also think fishing with people that have a lot of experience is very helpful. I fished a couple times last year with a tournament bass fisherman and I was asking him questions non-stop. Great learning experience...

I also went out with a guide on Mille Lacs last summer to get better at smallie fishing. The biggest thing I learned was that I didn't need a guide to catch smallies on Mille Lacs, at least not one that specializes in walleye fishing

It would also help if I learned how to use my electronics. I have a LMS332c and either it doesn't work or I don't know how to read it. Can't honestly say that I've ever "marked" a fish on it. I can use it for finding weedlines and bottom transitions, but that's about it.

[Dourque]

I would just like to start by saying the guys on this forum are unreal with their knowledge of fishing and have been a great asset to me. Juan listen to what that have to say and maybe start by taking bits and pieces( thats what I did) and applying to your fishing habits. I have learned more about bass fishing in the last few months just reading topics that these gentlemen post. I had never tried the drop shot method, I think it was Deitz(correct me if I'm wrong) who has a great article on this, I caught more fish than any summer in the past. So in closing don't be afraid to try new things you may not know what you are missing!

[Dourque]

Juan, sorry I didn't look before I posted you have been a member on here alot longer than I, your question was probably meant more in general terms. I thought without looking that you may be knew to the board and you have probably read many of the same things that I have.