When the Water Is Slicker Than a Baby's Behind, Fishin' Can Be Tough

I'm not the only one who has that opinion, either. I've heard many anglers say the same thing. And just this morning, I read the accounts of three experts who shared that opinion as well. However, these latter folks went a step farther and shared some ideas for making those glassy-calm days on the water a bit more palatable. Best of all, they generally agreed on the "how-tos."

For openers, it's necessary to answer this question: Why does it get so tough when it's calm out? The answer is because the bass get wary.

In muddy or stained water, the calm isn't as bad. In clear water, though, it gets downright difficult. They can see everything, including you. Let's face it: More often than not, when the wind dies, the bite shuts down, too. Without that ripple on the surface to break it up, the bass are afraid to do much of anything but sit still.

However, it's generally agreed among the experts that glassy-calm conditions don't necessarily mean all hope is lost for a productive day. They've developed a four-pronged approach for fishing under these conditions and have used it to record some big finishes while fellow competitors were left scrambling.

Here are their four prongs, along with some background info on each.

Keep your distance. The primary impact of glass-calm is that it heightens bass' senses. They can see farther and become much more susceptible to being spooked. To compensate for that, it's hugely important that anglers try to stay as far back as possible when targeting bass in calm water.

Casting distance and accuracy becomes even more of a top priority when it slicks off. That's because you need to stay as far back as possible in order to get bites. If flipping laydowns, get back as far as you can and still flip accurately. The same thing applies for casting. If fishing a grassline under calm conditions, try getting way back and just bomb your casts in there.

Aside from the bass not seeing you, staying back also keeps your shadow from falling over the bass, which is something else you want to avoid any time but particularly when the bite is tough.

Go natural. Calm, clear water leads many anglers to assume finesse tactics should be the order of the day, but in reality, it's more important to present natural-looking baits.

Instead of grabbing finesse baits...something like a shaky head, maybe...burn a white spinnerbait. If that doesn't work, switch to a green pumpkin chatterbait, which will look a lot more like a bluegill. In other situations, it may be as simple as switching from a white fluke to a watermelon one.

Speed up. This idea probably sounds counterproductive to many anglers, but it's the right thing to do. Speed up to 10 on everything you're doing, say the experts. When you're winding, do it as fast as possible. If flipping, go with a heavier weight and keep it moving the whole time. The idea is that you don't want to give the fish too good a look at your bait. In short, you have to manufacture an obstructed view by fishing fast.

A perfect example of high-speed success occurred on day three of the 2015 Elite Series event held on Alabama's Lake Guntersville. Gerald Swindle caught almost 20 pounds that day and jumped from 47th to 26th place, ensuring that he would fish the final day, which turned out to be dead-calm. He pulled into a bay that was gin clear and had to share it with 15 other boats, none of which were catching any fish to speak of. He immediately started burning a green pumpkin swim jig on a 7.3:1 Quantum reel, and in about 20 minutes had boated 20 pounds, including a 7-pounder. Said Swindle, "You can't swim a bait too fast for a bass, especially when it's calm."

Quiet down. Vision isn't the only bass sense that is heightened when it's calm. They also can hear much better. Without any wind, the background noise is dramatically decreased. Because of that, it's important to pay attention to how much noise you're making in the boat and try to minimize it.

Blend in with what Mother Nature's doing. When it's really quiet, you might even consider turning off your locators, turning down the trolling motor, and doing everything you can to make as little noise as possible. One of the biggest mistakes anglers make when it's calm is not thinking about how their entire presence blends in with the current conditions.

A lot of anglers have commented that they believe that's the most effective use of a device like a Hydrowave. They mimic forage really well, but they mask your noises with noises the fish are used to hearing and avoiding, putting them on the defensive when you move into the area to fish.

Whether you're running impoundments, river systems, or natural lakes, being stealthy; fishing your lures fast; making long, precise, quiet casts; and using more natural colors will all help your success in bass fishing and other species, as well, on those clear, calm days that other anglers find very difficult.