If someone told me to name just one constant about our Dewey Mullins Memorial Bass Tourneys, I would have no problem giving you a quick answer. It would be this: No matter how many people find few, if any, fish on tournament day, there's always some who find nice, and in some cases, big limits.
Here are some examples from our 2015 series:
* On April 11th, while 9 of 15 competitors had a total weight of 10 lbs. or less, the 1st-place team (from left, Allen and Al Napier) had 17.71 lbs., followed by the 2nd-place team at 12.42 lbs., and the 3rd-place team at 12.38 lbs.
* On July 25th, while 26 of 30 competitors had a total weight of 10 lbs. or less, the 1st-place team (from left, Rob Peppers and Don Carter) had 16.82 lbs., followed by the 2nd-place team at 12.23 lbs.
* On Aug. 8th, while 11 of 15 competitors had a total weight of 10 lbs. or less, the 1st-place team (from left, Don Carter and Rob Peppers) had 15.74 lbs., followed by the 2nd-place team at 13.74 lbs.
I also read online about a fella who owned a small, private lake loaded with bass in the pound-and-a-half to 2-pound range. This lake also had been known to give up a few 4- and 5-pounders, as well as some that occasionally weighed in at the 8-to-10-pound mark.
A friend of this fella had fished this small lake a few times. On his first trip, he caught 57 fish in four hours. The next time, he tallied 38 in three hours.
All the fish in this lake were well-fed and healthy, and they were not pressured in the least. After having gone to this lake and caught fish on virtually anything he threw, you can imagine his excitement when the owner invited him back for another visit. He was so filled with anticipation of what was about to happen he had trouble just getting his rod rigged. Little did he know what was about to happen, though.
He made cast after uneventful cast before finally feeling his first thump. The fish immediately dropped it, though. Then he had another thump, but the results were the same. This frustrating and disappointing pattern continued for several hours. At day's end, the friend had managed to catch only a dozen or so fish--all on the soft-plastic stickworm, which had proven so deadly during earlier visits. He tried several other lures, too, but with no response whatever.
So, how do you account for incidents like these? Is it a matter of differences in fishermen's luck? A funky bite? Some people being in the right place at the right time... others in the wrong place at the wrong time? Some anglers just being better "stickmen"? Maybe a combination of factors? Or perhaps none of the above.
Instead, it might have something to do with what I was reading in another item a day or two ago. These two anglers, whom I'm going to call Gary and Dave, were talking about some conversations they recently had had with anglers in a bad mood after lackluster days on the water.
Said Gary to Dave, "You have to remember something; somewhere on the lake, someone is catching fish. Your job as a fisherman is to figure out what the bass want that day, what color bait they are hitting, and what presentation they want. If you do this, you'll be able to catch fish when others can't.
"If you work approximately a city block of shoreline without getting bit," continued Gary, "change colors. Don't be like those guys we were talking about and say the fish just aren't biting. The real truth is they're not biting that color, that bait, or that presentation. You have to find the color they want today, not what they were hitting yesterday or the last time you were out. Keep changing colors until you get bit.
"Switch techniques, and if that fails, try drop shotting. Maybe the fish don't want to see a bait on the bottom. Maybe a drop shot will change their behavior, and you'll start catching fish. That's why you need to learn different techniques and then work those techniques until you master them. Build confidence in each one, because doing so will make you a better angler and turn what otherwise would have been a bad day on the lake into a good or great one," Gary concluded.
All this pontificating on bass behavior may be fun, but it adds to the complexity factor of our sport. As one angler offered, "Sometimes the best answer for many things is: 'It is what it is.' Time is better spent accepting and dealing with the issue under these terms, rather than trying in vain to explain it. Under those directives, the convolution of thought is controlled, and confidence is more easily maintained."
In other words, rather than wasting time and energy trying to understand the inexplicable, just do as Steve Winwood recorded and released June 21, 1988, and "Roll With It."
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