Unconventional Wisdom

Smart anglers base decisions on proven principles, relying on conventional wisdom, hoping to hedge the bet in their favor. On average, this basic strategy works much better than making random decisions. Elite anglers recognize the need to play the percentages most of the time, but they also understand when to scrap conventional strategies and methods in favor of things which superficially seem counterproductive.

Most of the time, some subtle shift in the prevailing conditions creates the need for relying on unconventional wisdom. Elements which can negatively affect the bite-rate include changes in the strength and direction of tidal movements, wind shifts, and other sudden changes in the weather. In many cases, one of these elements spurs an abrupt downturn in the bite-rate and signals a need to change some aspect of the method, in order to keep the bites coming. In other instances, morphing weather and celestial elements generate higher potential, which anglers can maximize by deploying strategies which might appear counter intuitive.

Altering strategies and methods in any way requires anglers to fight against the tendency to resist change and embrace the need for change. Recognizing a need to change also requires anglers to accurately assess the potential bite-rate in a given situation. Making good predictions about the willingness of fish to feed from moment to moment plays a huge role in consistent productivity. Knowledge of how various stimuli affect the fish and their activity levels provides the foundation for this skill set.

For instance, all savvy anglers know cold weather affects cold-blooded creatures negatively. When the icy fist of winter punches hardest in the dead of winter, enticing fish to strike sometimes means slowing presentations down to a crawl. Especially when fish sit on the bottom and stop actively searching for food, making them strike at lures becomes quite difficult, and in worst-case scenarios, nearly impossible.

A basic truth applies then, presenting lures supremely slowly, so they pass close in front of the fish and stay there for a measurable amount of time becomes the only way to urge reaction strikes. This conventional wisdom relies on sound logic applied to a truth related to how cold water temperatures affect fish: cold-stunned fish sitting on the bottom will not readily rise to chase after something passing quickly over their heads.

Perhaps because of the simplicity and clarity of the logic inherent to such a situation, some anglers come to believe slow presentations ALWAYS enhance the potential for enticing negative fish to strike reflexively. Take fish found in extremely hot water, for instance. I hear anglers, even really accomplished ones, say slow presentations work best to encourage negative fish to strike in this situation too. "The fish are like us. They're sluggish and sick of the heat. The only way to make 'em bite is to give 'em an easy target."

While this mantra does make sense superficially, it sometimes runs counter to the realities associated with urging negative fish to strike in hot water. In hot water, also often in water of moderate temperatures, fish strike out of reflex much better when something zips quickly through their cone of influence. Presenting lures quickly and erratically, using speed bursts and pauses, often produces strikes at a much higher rate than working them slowly, with steady rhythm, when the fish become inactive in warm water. I've found this truth particularly applicable in spring and summer, while moderate winds chop up the water's surface.

Accordingly, I almost always experiment by changing the speed, cadence and rhythm of my presentations while a fast bite starts to wane when I'm fishing in water of moderate to hot temperatures, say above 65°F or so. Especially in summer, after an easy bite on topwaters early in the morning becomes more difficult, I'm often able to continue earning blow ups by using speed in the presentations with small plugs like Spook Juniors. This scenario reinforces the main point of this piece; seemingly unconventional tactics often turn things around for anglers who stand in the midst of plenty of suddenly negative fish.

This sometimes involves another strategy which goes against the grain for most people. We all know casting downwind usually makes more sense than casting into the wind. Lures cast downwind land farther away from anglers than lures cast into the wind. Longer casts generate more bites; in some cases, like on flats covered by clear, shallow water, sneaking close to the fish proves difficult, necessitating long casts to reach any fish.

So, when wading, most anglers consciously set up their efforts to allow for making casts with the wind to work perceived productive parts of the area. Obviously, anglers drifting to cover water benefit from casting ahead of the moving platform and working parts of the area before the boat passes over them. But, in some situations, the conventional wisdom which supports the idea of casting downwind gets turned upside down.

I recall a scenario which developed for me and two clients in the Port O'Connor area many years ago to support the truth of the previous statement. While wading one of the main mid-bay chains of reefs, we struggled to get any bites for several minutes, until I realized the tide had begun moving from north to south across the oyster-studded humps. I knew my sinking Paul Brown Lure wouldn't work well if I cast it downwind, using the light north wind on my back. Pulling some lures into a current proves ineffective, especially slow-sinking twitch-baits. Knowing this, I turned and made a relatively short cast into the wind, so I could work my Fat Boy in with the current.

On the first cast made upwind, I caught a trout, then another on the second. I explained what I'd learned to the men standing with me, noting the likelihood most of the fish finning in the depths of the gut in front of us had their eyes trained northward, into the moving water. To their credit, my customers did attempt to follow my lead, but they had difficulty executing upwind casts. Scoffing at the lack of distance they earned with their efforts; they almost immediately began allowing the breeze to spin their faces back around to the south. Within no more than three or four casts, they had their backs to the wind, casting far downwind then retrieving their lures against the current and catching nothing.

Essentially, they chose comfort over catching, because they failed to accept the ephemeral yet significant value of casting into the wind. Several environmental factors can enhance the value of casting upwind over casting downwind. Most often, diminishing winds and shifts in wind direction play a role in these scenarios. People who always cast with the wind on their backs sometimes exit a potentially productive scene because they wrongly assume no fish swim within their reach.

Of course, moving to a new spot can certainly be appropriate when the catch-rate is slow enough in a place. Conventional wisdom correctly indicates the insanity of remaining in a place when the bite-rate falls to zero. For this legitimate reason, many anglers look for a better place to fish if and when they find copious amounts of floating grass in a place. Certainly, floating vegetation profoundly hinders the efforts of anglers, once it covers enough of the water's surface.

I recall another day many moons ago, when I and my old buddy Jesse Arsola waded together on the flats adjacent to Baldy, in Yarbrough Flats. I'd been catching some pretty big trout in the area in the days prior to our trip down that way, but when we arrived, we found gnarly rafts of grass obscuring the prime potholes where most of the action had taken place. Undaunted, we began trying to work our topwaters and Paul Brown Lures through the sweet spots anyway.

I quickly became frustrated, making long casts and watching my lures almost instantly rake up wads of grass, then wasting lots of time and energy reeling in to remove the strands. My wise friend taught me something then. "Don't cast so far. Find a hole close to you in the raft of grass, then make a short cast to the far side and work your lure through it. You won't be able to work it all the way in, but you won't waste so much time reeling in to get grass off it."

Both of us caught several solid trout using the tactic, one I've successfully deployed many times in the years since then. Sometimes, making shorter, targeted casts produces much better results than making longer, less focused ones. This is true when numerous structure and/or cover elements lie within reach of a wading angler.

Repeatedly and rapidly firing lures at nearby sweet spots often produces more strikes than mindlessly flinging them as far as possible downwind and working them all the way in. Kevin Van Dam effectively utilizes this strategy from the deck of his bass boat, quickly executing many short casts and fast retrieves to cover all the sweet spots in an area, using his trolling motor to move among them. Wading coastal anglers can do something similar, making short, intelligently placed casts at nearby structures and using their feet to slowly cover water.

Many other examples verify the value of unconventional wisdom deployed in clever ways. In order to take advantage of seemingly backwards ideas, anglers must remain alert to how ever-changing conditions create an almost constant need for adjustments. Sometimes, a tiny change pays giant dividends. Just as one letter changes exiting into exciting, a singular choice can transform the fishing into catching.