What's Luck Got To Do With It?

Apparently not much if we're talking about bass fishing, and the person doing the talking is Rick Clunn, who ranks at the top of the ladder in the minds of many professionals and recreational anglers. He sees bass fishing as a learning process that simply "never ends."

"If you are ever going to get into bass fishing seriously, you've got to forget one thing: Luck has little or nothing to do with it," he said. "Fishing is an art and a science. It can be learned. The level you achieve in it is up to you."

There's nothing new about Clunn's stance. He always has said he doesn't believe luck plays any part in fishing.

As he explained, "You hear people say they blew their engine and that it was bad luck, but blowing an engine also could be attributed to negligence of maintenance."

Clunn always has said the key to his success is not necessarily his ability to catch fish. Rather, it's his ability to find them. Before he ever leaves home, he has put together a method to locate the fish once he arrives at the lake.

"You get a map," he said, "and think about the water you must contend with. Fish aren't everywhere."

He also says that confidence and concentration have played a large part in his success. He remembers even the tiny details, like how he retrieves his lures, especially if he's going to try something different.

"Small bass often are stragglers, and a school may not be far away," he continued. "Herons and egrets concentrated in an area may mean baitfish, which means bass in the area."

It's things like Clunn's offbeat tactics with plastic worms that sometimes can fool the bass. He'll change it up by retrieving it like a topwater lure. He also thinks positively and always pays attention to details. He's one of the first to become known for his success in fishing seasonal patterns, then developing general patterns from those. He stresses the importance of finding fish...a lesson many fishermen now realize the importance of.

A favorite old saying with Clunn is this one: "Show me where to find bass, and I'll show you 20 fishermen who can catch them."

He wholeheartedly believes that finding bass or any fish species is the hardest part of fishing.