Monday, January 30, 2023

KVD Frustrated? Never for Long

Read recently where he was frustrated on the first day of the 2019 Bassmaster Classic. He thought he knew where and how he could catch enough bass to perform well, but he didn't catch a single bass from any of the first places he stopped on day 1, and things didn't really get much better the rest of the day, either.

The first few fish he managed to catch were all too small to weigh in. Despite being really frustrated, he kept moving and grinding, 'cause he felt certain he could get a couple of really good bites on the upper reaches of the Tennessee River.

One of the problems that first day was the water had come up quite a bit from what it had been in practice. When that happened, the bass moved to another location.

"When you're river fishing," said KVD, you usually can pinpoint where the bass should be. If they're not exactly where you think they are, though, you can miss them altogether.

"After a tough day of fishing, I try to recover by replaying the day in my mind and looking at what lures and locations have produced bass, even if the bass are small. I look for positive areas where I think bass may be holding."

Although he didn't catch the bass he expected on the first day of the 2019 Classic, KVD pinpointed several regions with a lot of shad holding in them...areas that looked like they should produce fish. He then searched for more of those same types of pockets with shad in them, noting, however, that "I'm not going to get locked in on any one tactic.

"The only thing that's certain about river fishing," he added, "is every day will be different. We'll have various weather and water conditions and temperatures...from one day to the next and sometimes the same day. For that reason, you have to remain open-minded to change your strategy.

"I've always tried not being hard-headed and willing to change the very moment I see water, weather, and/or fishing conditions change," he concluded. "You would be smart to do likewise."

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