Whaddya Have To Do To Catch More Fish?

In a nutshell, the answer to that question is to "eliminate mistakes and bad habits"...or so I read the other day in an article from the Ultimate Bass website.

The writer went so far as to say "these two factors, above all others, will separate the bad angler from the good angler, and the good angler from those who have been fortunate enough to figure out how to fish for a living. These two elements are so important to your bass-fishing success that every angler should take time to analyze each day you spend on the water.

"Look at all the factors, the water conditions, the weather, your actions, your successes, your failures, and so on. Analyze your tactics, your habits, your planning, your equipment, and your skill sets, and then make a determination on how to improve that particular aspect of your fishing. And keep in mind that even the things you do well can and likely need to be improved upon. If you determine that a particular aspect of your fishing involves bad habits or mistakes, develop an exercise that will help you fix the problem the next time you go to a lake or other body of water."

The writer then delved into what would be considered a mistake, citing that forgetting to check your knot or not retying often enough as a couple of examples.

"Failure to make sure your hooks are sharp (one of my tourney partner's pet peeves) also might cause you to lose fish," he noted, adding that "setting the hook too hard or too soft" could be culprits, as well.

"Other possible mistakes could include not using the proper line size, the wrong amount of flex in your rod, horsing a fish to the boat instead of playing it, handling fish improperly while landing them, and poor netting skills. Ask yourself these questions: Did you choose the wrong bait for the fishing conditions? Did you spend enough time studying the map? Another mistake could be leaving biting fish to go to another spot.

"The best part about making mistakes is that you don't have to make them the next time you go to the lake," the writer continued. "Concentration will take care of most of them. The biggest problem with mistakes is that very few anglers take the time to figure out if they actually have made one. And granted, there are many bass anglers who may not be serious enough to care whether a mistake has been made or not. But what if you could have caught one more fish, or landed that huge greenback that had to be at least six pounds?"

Smart pro anglers make very detailed notes about everything. They keep huge logbooks on each different lake, tournament, or simple fishing trip for every day, month and year they have been fishing. Some even have been known to carry mini-tape recorders in their pockets to keep track of everything that happens, everything they see, or even the things they feel. It doesn't take much time before you can find simple ways to make fewer mistakes and catch more fish.

And then there are the bad habits, which are more about methods, tactics, skills, and planning. Obviously, they are harder to break and may require repetition of exercises and practice to do so.

The writer started the list of bad habits with setting the hook too hard.

In some cases, though, he said, "Anglers try to lead a fish all the way to the boat without ever setting the hook. That, too, is a problem. When a bass takes a soft-plastic bait, it's normally done out of hunger or a feeding action but normally not a reaction. That means the fish wants a meal and really doesn't intend on letting the bait go. Letting a fish have a bait too long generally happens when you haven't fully developed your ability to feel a bite. If you wait until the fish moves enough to confirm a bump was actually a fish, you often will lose it.

"To feel the bite better," he continued, "make sure you move the bait with the rod tip. When you move the bait, picture in your mind what your bait is contacting as it moves and tell yourself what's underwater as your bait makes contact. Tell yourself that your bait is bumping a stump, tugging through grass, popping across a gravel bed, pulling over a rock, or being whacked by a fish. You'll learn the difference, and when you set the hook, remember three things: quick, precise and steady pressure. Never confuse quick with hard. Replace hard with steady pressure, and a quick, smooth, precise stroke."

Continuing, the writer said, "The shoreline is probably the most widely implemented bad habit. When you go to the lake, where are most of the boats? If you said 'slamming the bank', you're right. The bank is the easiest place to find fish. The bank has the most visible cover. The fish there are the easiest to locate, but they also receive the most fishing pressure. While using the bank to get a feel for what the fishing conditions will be like for the day, don't let it become too habitual. There are plenty of targets offshore...hidden structure, like ledges and break lines; or edges of cover, like submerged timber, beds of vegetation, or stump fields. Expand your horizons for a ditch, ridge or underwater hump, or maybe a hidden rock pile in a structurally vacant cove, which leads us to yet another bad habit: spending too much time at your honey hole.

"Too many anglers go to the same spot on the same lake, time after time, because they had a few good days on that spot during a previous trip. Or similarly, they bank on an area where they had success in a tournament they fished on a less familiar lake. Remember, however, that fish don't always locate in the same areas all the time, because different factors are at play. Maybe the baitfish no longer are at the same depth, maybe the water quality has changed, or maybe the lake level has changed since your last visit. It's perfectly natural to go with what you know, but plan on fishing where the fish should be, based on the current conditions, not those that existed way back when. You'll have far greater successes. Spend a day on your home water, exploring the bottom and contours, instead of fishing. You may be surprised what you'll learn."

Getting wrapped up in dock talk is another bad habit.

"It's true nobody should know a spot better than the local anglers, but take their advice at face value," said the writer. "For example, they may tell you about a person who had a great day two days ago...but then got skunked for the next two days. And in tournaments, anglers more often than not will tell you anything but the truth about what they've been doing, so be confident in your own abilities, do your homework, fish hard and constant, and find your own fish. Few things equal the satisfaction that comes from proving to yourself that you can have success all by yourself, and the more you do it, the more it will happen."

Another bad habit is wasting time on the water, especially when fishing a tournament.

Advised the writer, "Learn the lake and how to run it. You're wasting time if your boat is at idle speed. Rig all your gear before you get on the water. Keep your line wet, and a hook in the water. Make sure your boat is organized so that you don't have to stop fishing to look for anything. Eat your lunch while casting, or when running to your next area. Any time wasted could mean not catching one or more keeper fish."

In conclusion, the writer noted that "mistakes and bad habits are controllable factors, meaning that these things happen because you let them happen. While the fish is an uncontrollable factor, the wise angler offers the fish what they want, not what he/she wants. Do what you know how to do, not what everyone else is doing. You will have greater success in locating and catching bass if you set your mind to controlling all the factors you can control, and then concentrate on them relentlessly. We will always learn from our mistakes, because we always will make them. We also always will develop bad habits, but we can break them."

More times than not, however, we'll remember the bubblegum worms for fishing but then forget something we promised to do around the house before going fishing." Bet we all know why that happens, huh?

Little Things Mean a Lot...

That's the title of a popular song from 1953, but more importantly, it's a reminder to anglers everywhere that, on many occasions, it's not the things we can see in any given body of water that dictates whether we're successful, but rather it's those little things that we can't see....unless, of course, you have forward-facing sonar. That newfangled technology, however, appears to be a sore subject with a lot of anglers, especially seasoned veterans of the sport, and it appears the jury is still out on just how much, if any, role it's going to play in the future of bass fishing.

Back to the subject at hand, though, a body of water may have an abundance of visual cover, such as cypress trees, boat docks, grass lines, and other bank-related features. These are a fisherman's eye candy. Everyone sees them, and that usually means everyone also fishes them.

While it's agreed these examples of bass habitat are prime features on any body of water, it's often what is underneath the surface that makes such areas even better than they actually are. As bass pro Kenny Covington pointed out, "It can be a small creek channel, curving its way through a cypress-tree flat. It might be an old log road that cuts through the middle of a cove. Or, it may be something as simple as a subtle depth change, or even a change in bottom contour. In bass fishing, little things truly can mean a lot."

As he went on to explain, "Once while fishing a team tour, my partner and I won the event fishing an area crowded with other tournament anglers. We didn't have a secret lure, nor were we able to get away from the other fishermen. We figured out the fish were not relating to the cypress trees but more to the root systems out away from the actual trees. We caught fish all day, fishing behind the other boats. They were so busy focusing on fishing the actual trees they never discovered what was going on around them."

Covington continued, "Areas that have grass can be similar. Always look for isolated clumps of grass separate from the main grass area. Often, these small grass clumps also will grow around a large stump or pieces of wood, making it an even better bass magnet. When trying to fish a 500-yard stretch of milfoil or coontail, the possibilities of where the fish might be can get overwhelming. By identifying smaller areas, you have made your search just that much easier.

"Grass lines usually will identify a depth change or bottom-contour change, so use this to your advantage. Fish the contour lines of the grass, just as you would fishing a land point. This type of area easily stands out. While it may not seem to be that significant, it means a lot to the fish. Work the deeper outer edges, just as you would a creek channel. Allow the grass to show you what is underneath the water, and fish it accordingly. The possibilities are endless, as long as you allow yourself to see beyond what your eyes take in."

You've probably heard stories about people who simply make a long cast out in the middle of nowhere to stretch their line and end up catching a lunker bass. While a casual observer may just consider that toss a lucky cast, there's a reason that fish, especially a larger one, was out there. Large bass, like large deer, rarely are somewhere out of coincidence.

Urged Covington, "Take a minute to fish the area more thoroughly. Watch your depthfinder as you move around. Maybe there was a cluster of stumps on a high spot. Maybe there was a small sandbar. These types of places hide in plain sight. It's simply a case of where the unobvious escape us.

"Become open-minded about the bodies of water you fish, and you will find more fish-catching opportunities," he continued. "The most unforgettable fishing days you'll ever have will happen when you find a school of bass that no one else has located or fished. That's bass fishing at its finest. Just remember there's always more than meets the eye."

Doing Something Bass Ackward Doesn't Always Spell Doom

Read here just recently about a guy who used monofilament for his main line and braid for his leader on a Carolina rig. Unless I'm mistaken, I think that pretty much runs contrary to probably everything any of us likely have ever read or heard before, right? Nevertheless, it worked.

As the guy explained to his tournament partner at weigh-in that day, "I wanted my lizard to float up off the bottom. Braided line floats, whereas mono sinks."

The partner always remembered what he had seen and the success that guy had with this bass-ackward rig but never got around to trying it for himself. As a result, he ended up in a rut with his fishing...one that just kept getting deeper...and he eventually gave up bass-tournament fishing.

As this situation demonstrates, finding an oddball bite can make a big difference in your fishing success...or lack thereof. One person who understands the importance of finding that little something different that will give you an edge is Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jeff Connella (right).

"The changes you make don't have to be really big," he said. "It can be something as simple as throwing a bait (one that most people would fish slow) extremely fast, right under the surface of the water, or maybe fishing a topwater when it's cold during the winter. There really aren't any limits to what you can do, other than your imagination."

Following are some other unconventional things Connella and fellow pro Homer Humphreys (left) have done over the years to catch fish when others around them just keep on digging deeper ruts for themselves.

Lopped-Off Lizard. Before baits like the brush hog came along, Humphreys used to tear off the body of a 9-inch lizard, so that all was left was the head and front legs. He tried this whenever he was pitching and flipping, but the fish weren't biting typical baits like jigs or lizards. Humphreys conceded that most flipping bites used to be pretty much the same once the bait entered the water, as the bass were biting out of pure reaction. That argument could be made today, but with increasing pressure, flipping a piece of plastic that the fish aren't used to seeing could result in a few more bites.

Swimming Toad. Connella adds a little weight in front of a V&M Bayou Bullfrog (right) and swims it right under the surface, rather than buzzing it on top. It doesn't always work, but when the bass want it, "they just can't turn away," he said. "The key to fishing this bait is to make sure it's rigged perfectly straight. "Rig it on a round-bend offset hook to keep the head up a little bit. That's what keeps it from turning." Connella urges anglers to try swimming topwater frogs in places where you would typically throw a spinnerbait, shallow-diving crankbait, or soft jerkbait. He concluded by saying that swimming topwater frogs is especially effective around shallow wood and grass cover.

Carolina-Rigged Hardbaits. One day, Humphreys could see suspended fish on his graph but couldn't get them to bite until he cut the lizard off his Carolina rig and tied on a floating Rat-L-Trap. He used a 1-ounce lead, with a 2-to-3-foot leader. "What happens with this setup is that when you sweep your rod, the bait is pulled to the bottom, then floats back up when you stop," he said. He went on to explain that many people think they get the same action from a Carolina-rigged soft plastic, but that isn't the case. Instead, the plastic pulls along the bottom...it doesn't get up to where suspended fish may be lurking. "You also can do the same thing with a Rogue or square-billed crankbait like a Divin' Ace," added Humphreys. "What this does is put your bait in an entirely new realm where bass aren't used to seeing these kinds of lures."

Jig-and-Lizard. While conventional wisdom says to fish a lizard on a Texas or Carolina rig and to fish a jig with a pork trailer or a plastic craw or chunk, Humphreys urges you to add a lizard to a jig for more and bigger bass. He said this combination will catch fish just about anywhere in the country. While not radically different from the normal, "this illustrates how even just little changes can make a big difference when fishing around other anglers," noted Humphreys.

Speedy Trick Worm. Anglers typically work a 7-inch floating worm just deep enough to be barely visible. And they think a slow and steady sashay is how they're supposed to be worked. Sometimes, though, that isn't the case. As Connella learned during a trip to Florida, bass occasionally will eat this worm when twitched really fast across the surface...in the middle of summer. The water temp was in the 90s, according to Connella. "My best retrieve," he said, "was one where the worm was just barely on the surface. Sometimes it even would flip out of the water. I guess the lesson here is don't be afraid to go super shallow (12 inches to 2 feet) in hot water, and don't think that you have to force-feed fish by fishing slowly all the time."

Cold-Water Buzzing. Buzzbaits primarily are thought of as warm-water surface lures. However, there are times when some anglers make it a point to throw one in cold, shallow water. While there are various floating styles of buzzbaits on the market, Humphreys favors his own Sputter Ace (left), which is a wooden plug with a buzzer in front of it. No matter which kind you choose, the key to a cold-water buzzbait bite, according to Humphreys, "is being able to fish it slow and even pause it at times." He went on to explain that he once got on a bite like that at Lake Norman in North Carolina, when the fish were up shallow and the water temperature was only 60 degrees. "After everything else had failed," he said, "I tied on a Sputter Ace, and it was like flipping on a switch." As Humphreys pointed out, "Bass that first move in to spawn are especially vulnerable to buzzing lures if the water is above normal-pool level. The high water will make them push back into the newly flooded areas, where they will stay until the water starts pulling out. Sometimes, this water is so thick with cover that the only clean area to fish is on the surface. That's the place to try the slow buzzers."

Schooling Tricks. When Humphreys finds himself in a schooling situation, he often rigs up a tandem Rat-L-Trap rig, which features a 1/4-ounce Trap with a 1/8-ounce Trap tied on a dropper line behind it. "What happens when bass are schooling," he said, "is that the fish will get so excited and gorge so much that they go to throwing up some of the shad they have been eating. I would say that about nine out of ten times, I wind up catching the bigger fish on that little trailing Trap." Another thing he tries on schooling bass is a smoke-colored spade-tail grub rigged on a big gold crappie hook and a small willow blade that he slips on the hook after bringing it through the head of the lure. "Schooling bass typically will eat just about anything," he added, "but they can be so focused on what they're eating that they pass up typical schooling baits. You can throw this little rig out there and skip it across the surface, and the fish will smash it."

Knocking Heads. Sight fishing for bedding bass is typically the realm of finesse presentations that are intended to aggravate the fish enough to make them bite. Anglers usually try to get the fish's attention by dying a tail or adding a rattle. Connella, however, gets their attention another way. "A lot of anglers bed fish with light line and small lures," he said. "If the fish don't respond to that, one thing you can do is go to big baits with heavy weights up to 1 ounce and braided line. If you're looking to make them angry enough to bite, all you have to do is pitch that bait in there and try to hit the fish on the head." He said another way to get the bass angry enough to bite is to toss a marker buoy in the bed, so that the weight is sitting right in the middle of it. "Leave it for a while, then come back to it, and you're likely to find the fish ready to bite."

As these suggestions outline, going against the grain is simply a matter of applying one's imagination to figure out how to throw the fish a change-up with the lures you already have in your box. If Humphreys' and Connella's ideas don't work, you might try a Zara Spook rigged backwards or a plastic crawfish rigged through the head, rather than the tail.

There's no guarantee that any of these ideas will work, but as these two anglers have proven, sometimes all it takes to catch bass are some crazy ideas that go against the grain.

I Asked Wayne About Putting a Casting Platform Like This on My Boat...

And he still hasn't stopped laughing his butt off.

All kidding aside, the fella in this photo is Cory Johnston, who is using this perch to sight fish for bedding bass. As posted in the latest issue of BassBlaster, this photo was accompanied by the question: Reckon he's got some kind of sticky stuff on his flipflops? Call me a wuss or whatever, but there's no way anyone ever could convince me to try this maneuver...even if I thought

there might be a 10-pounder in it for me.

Bothered by the Wind and Game Wardens, Bewildered by the Bass, We Still Rose to the Challenge and Caught Limits Today

Good on everyone! is how I would characterize today's tournament, given the fact that all anglers who fished the full day weighed limits of fish, with nary a single dead specimen to be found among the 50 bass brought to the weigh-in scales. And just for the record, those 50 bass, caught by 17 anglers in 10 boats, had an accumulative total weight of 121.27 pounds, with an average weight per fish of 2.42 pounds.

Leading the way today was the team of (from left) Don Carter and Rob Peppers, who captured 1st place (and the bigger of two side pots) with a total of 15.99 pounds. Their big fish tipped the scales at 4.81 pounds.

Claiming 2nd place (and the smaller of two side pots) was Mark Ingram (right), who finished the day with a total of 14.76 pounds. Incidentally, he also walked away with the tournament's big-fish pot for his 6.86-pounder.

Finishing in 3rd place today was the team of (from left) Richard Hall and Dave Dozier, who brought 14.54 pounds to the scales. They didn't weigh a big fish.

Here is how the rest of the field lined up after all the fish had been weighed and released alive:

     * The team of Jim Sumrell and Gabe Himmelwright had 13.77 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 5.76 pounds.

     * The team of Wayne Hayes and Ken Testorff had 13.12 pounds. They didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * The husband-wife team of Andy and Diana Morath had 10.98 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 4.66 pounds.

     * The team of Gary Coderre and Dave Anderson had 10.29 pounds. They didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * The team of Ken Matthias and Jim Leavis had 10.17 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 3.40 pounds.

     * Chris Fretard had 9.23 pounds, with a kicker fish weighing 2.46 pounds.

     * Ryan Land had 8.42 pounds. He didn't weigh a kicker fish.

     * Bob Clarkson wrapped up his gear early and called it a day.

Congrats to all of today's winners, and thanks to all those who came out for the competition. For planning purposes, our next scheduled Dewey's tournament is Saturday, June 8th. Watch your email and this blog for times and other details to be published at a later date.

Incidentally, please let me clarify that I didn't really mean to imply that the two game wardens really "bothered" any of us today. They were friendly, professional and expeditious in every way as they went about doing their jobs. In truthfulness, they deserve our sincere appreciation for keeping the waterways safe for everyone. Our hats are off to you.

(Click anywhere on this chart for an enlarged version.)

"Wasted Days and Wasted Nights"...

That title of an old Freddy Fender tune from 1974 is what I was reminded of yesterday. I spent about five hours chasing those little green fish around the river but only boated one, followed by another three hours last evening, trying to get my tired brain to work long enough to do a blog post but was unsuccessful at that, too...hence, the title I chose.

Talked to a fella yesterday afternoon after we both had called it a day, and he said the time he had spent in West Neck Creek that morning had been every bit as wasted as mine...with not even a sniff. He, too, made a decision to run elsewhere, but unlike me, his decision actually paid dividends. He found the topwater bite I, too, was after and put about 12 fish in the boat...his biggest around 2 pounds. He echoed my sentiments to a T when he said, "I'm OK as long as I just feel a tug on the line, and that's what I got today." Before we went our separate ways, I learned that this fella is a devoted follower of my blog, which is always nice to hear, especially after the kind of day I had.

Day before yesterday, I received an email from my friend DMac, who was sharing details of his fishing exploits over the last 11 days, seven of which he was on the water, catching what he described as "a half-ton of bass" from various stretches. Following are his results from five of those trips (see random sampling of photos right):

His first trip on May 3rd yielded a total of six bass before he had to skedaddle from the first spot at noon as the result of "a wind thing." He subsequently stopped at another spot that offered some protection and boated another seven fish there on a topwater bait.

On May 6th, DMac visited a private lake, where he caught 20-plus on a topwater bait and plastic worm.

That was followed on May 7th by a trip he referred to as "epic," which given the fact he caught 27, I would have to agree was one to write home about.

On May 9th, he put 11 bass in the boat, again using topwater baits and plastic worms.

And on May 11th, he fished two different areas, collecting a total of 14 fish, once again on topwater baits and plastic worms.

After hearing about all this success of others in recent days, I was looking for something last night to soothe my bruised ego a little bit before going to bed. Fortunately, I found it in some words from a magazine article I stumbled across online. It began as follows:

"Fishing is a complicated sport. The weather, choice of lures, areas, water clarity, seasonal habits and movements of the fish are but a few of the things that make this sport so challenging. There's no such thing as overnight success, just as there is no guarantee you'll catch them every time you hit the water. This sport is ever changing and evolving, and with the advancements in technology, it's even more so.

"The one aspect about bass fishing that hasn't changed is the mental aspect. The human mind is a complex unit, and everyone is programmed differently," explained the writer. He went on to say, "I have seen times when great fishermen are beat mentally before they ever put their boats in the water and make their first cast in tournament competition. On the other hand, I've seen average fishermen get on a roll and win back-to-back tournaments, where they seem to do no wrong, simply because they believed strongly in the technique they were using and/or the lure they were throwing. In the end, it's all about the mindset.

"As the legendary Bill Dance once said, 'Confidence, without a doubt, is the most important lure in your tacklebox.'

"Keep your mind in the game," continued the writer, who believes most tournaments are won or lost in the final two hours of the event. "It's during this time, regardless of the time of year or weather conditions, when your mental focus tends to lack the most. You haven't had a bite in a while; your back is hurting from standing up all day; you're hot, tired, hungry or whatever else may be going through your mind. And now is when you'll get the one bite that can make or break your tournament day.

"Mind games--fishermen are good at playing them. Anything that is within the rules to gain a competitive advantage is fair game, so why not try to psych out your competition? Usually, the older the fishermen, the harder it is to get under their skin. Once an angler sees he can get under your skin, the mind games will continue...and not just from other fishermen. You'll do it to yourself, too."

As Gomer Pyle Used To Say: "Surprise! Surprise! Surprise!"

A couple weeks ago, I hit the water one day to try out some new plastics I just had purchased online. I was intent on giving them a fair trial, so had left all but my worm rods at home.

The day started abysmally slow...had nary a sniff after more than two hours on the water and decided it was past time to change locations. It was on my second stop in the new location that I finally found success.

I tossed one of the new-to-me soft-plastic baits up next to the base of a cypress tree, where I couldn't help chuckling to myself, knowing that cast would have been one time Wayne wouldn't have been chiding me in a friendly way about my well-established bad aim. Couldn't languish in that thought, however, because, as soon as the plastic hit the water, I felt a fish pick it up, then start moving right with the bait. After a short ways, he stopped, turned and started moving left, gathering more speed as he went. Once I felt certain he had the whole thing in his mouth, I swung and immediately felt a bigger fish than I had had hold of in a fair spell.

I gotta admit here that I was both a bit mesmerized and anxious, too, about maybe losing the fish in the next few seconds, as he was hellbent on making multiple leaps clear of the water. Fortunately, though, he stayed buttoned, and I soon was able to slide my net under him. Hand-held scales put his weight at 4-7, which admittedly was enough to have my adrenaline pumping in overdrive.

Moments later, as I was releasing that fish back into the area where I had found it, I suddenly was struck with the thought a fish that size probably means little, if anything, to a pro angler. As luck would have it, however, I was reading an account online earlier this morning when I was surprised to learn that's not necessarily the case...not all the time, at least.

This article described a Beaver Lake tournament that veteran bass pro Randy Blaukat (left) had fished some years ago, in which he caught a 5-pound hawg during the afternoon of day two.

Said Randy, "The fish bit on light line and immediately wrapped me up in a cedar tree. All I could do was keep tension on the line as I buzzed to it with my trolling motor. When I got there, she was hung up about 3 feet underwater on a limb. Fortunately, I was able to get her in the net while she still was underwater.

"The moment she came in the boat, the endorphins that all tournament anglers live for kicked in. As I took her out of the net, my heart was pounding, my awareness was at peak levels, and I knew that fish locked me into the top 20. It's the best feeling in the world.

"When you reach that point of success during a tournament day, there is an emotional, mental and spiritual shift in your consciousness. Some anglers are fortunate to get to experience it more than others. It's powerful...almost addictive. It's the same feeling you get when you win an event, only the circumstances are different.

"It's this thrill of a victory or momentary success that drives every tournament angler. Fishing is an art form--no different than singing, painting or acting. You seek perfection in your art form, whatever it may be, and when you experience it to whatever level, it makes you feel alive.

"This is a state I wish we could all live in all the time, but for whatever reason, it is elusive.

"After a tournament like I had at Beaver Lake, coming home with a great check and good points creates a thrill that all who have experienced it can relate to. Food tastes better, your moods are better, grass is greener, and life is good."

As Randy went on to explain, though, you also always have to be prepared for the flip side of success like he had at Beaver Lake. That reality came to him during a subsequent FLW Tour event on the Mississippi River.

He had a very strong practice, locating an area in Pool 9 that he had to himself. It was full of good fish. He ran down there on day one and caught a limit weighing 12 pounds , 11 ounces in 30 minutes. Super heavy barge traffic was on the river, and he was in the first flight, so after fishing only two hours, he elected to lock back into Pool 8 to play it safe and not get locked out, thinking 12-11 would be a good weight.

As it turned out, though, he locked back through way too early and never could upgrade. He found himself mired in 70th place after the first day...far removed from the top 30 he thought he would be in.

"On day two," said Randy, "I arrived at the lock in the morning to find a barge in it. After waiting almost an hour, we locked through, and I ran to my best water, only to find it the color of chocolate milk.

"I scrambled and finally, about 1:30, found an area with cleaner water and began to catch them. I had four good fish and one barely 14-incher that I knew I had to get rid of to have any chance of getting a top-50 check. I was totally confident I could cull up several times in the next hour and possibly even make the top 20.

"About that time, I saw a double-stacked barge heading upriver. I calculated its arrival time at the lock and figured if I didn't leave right then, and the barge made its approach before I got there, I would be locked out."

Randy elected to play it safe and locked up ahead of the barge. Once in the lock, he heard the lockmaster say the barge had decided to anchor and would not be locking through. Had he known, he could have stayed and fished another two hours in his key area where the fish were biting.

"My heart sank," he said, "as I knew I could have caught several more good ones in two hours. Because of this, I never upgraded and missed making the top 50 by just 5 ounces. This resulted in my painful reality of driving home with zero money, instead of $10,000."

The lesson Randy has for everyone after more than 30 years of tournaments and experiencing much success and failure is two-fold:

     1. You can't sweep your pain of failure under the rug. Feel it...get mad...get upset...vent to your friends and family. After a couple days, it becomes easy to let it go and gain wisdom from the experience. When you have decompressed, reflect and learn from your experiences and those of the other anglers in the event. If you do this, you can turn a negative into a positive, which leads to more positives.

     2. On the other hand, when you have success, take time and file away how it feels. Remember it well. Remembering the feeling of success breeds more success.

"Just as success or victory will make you feel alive, failure or defeat will make you feel alive in a different way," said Randy. "As humans, we have a need to feel, whether the feelings are good or bad. Finally, stay positive. It's a choice you have, and there is always something you can gain as a positive out of each event. Savor the good moments, and learn from the bad ones. Stay in the moment. These are the keys to surviving what I see as the most difficult sport in the world."

Celebration of Life Set for Jane Mullins on May 11th

I was saddened to find an obituary for Jane Mullins, wife of the late Dewey Mullins, in this morning's newspaper. The beloved mother, grandmother and great-grandmother passed away peacefully May 5, 2024, at the age of 87, in her Virginia Beach home. Jane was born in Rhode Island but spent a majority of her life in Virginia Beach with Dewey.

Jane is survived by her devoted children, Donna Gregory (Robert), Cindy Gilbert (Randy), and Brian Mullins (Shaunna), as well as 12 grandchildren, numerous great-grandchildren, and a large extended family. She is predeceased by sons Curtiss Wayne (Dorothy) and David Mullins.

Jane had a passion for animals and fishing, which she often enjoyed with Dewey, whom she playfully referred to as "my old man." Her playful and silly nature brought light and joy to all those around her. She especially loved family gatherings, which always were filled with games, playing cards, laughter, competition, and the warmth of her personality.

A celebration of Jane's life will be held at Creeds Church of Christ, 5500 Morris Neck Road, Virginia Beach, at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, May 11, 2024, where family and friends will come together to honor her memory.

It Can Spell the Difference Between Jubilation and Frustration...

I'm talking about how well you navigate the fine line in fishing.

As explained by Wired2Fish official and angler Jason Sealock, "You can know the bite, the winning bait, presentation, cover, and pattern, but that doesn't mean it's going to work for you everywhere or every day. What the deal was a week or two before can evaporate overnight...or, for that matter, in only an hour or two. Why? Because conditions can change just that fast.

"We all know we have to adapt and fish the current conditions," said Sealock. "But even then, how do you quickly assess those on the fly and know when to stay and when to go, or when to stick with a presentation and when to abandon it?

"On one side of that line is the joy of having a memorable day of fishing, catching a big bass, winning a tournament, and all the adrenaline, relief and sense of achievement that come with those accomplishments," continued Sealock. "On the other side is...well, it's when some anglers consider selling all their fishing gear and taking up golf. It can be maddening."

Let's face it: You really don't learn much if you're not getting bites.

"Sure, you can rule out water and narrow down your search for more and better bass," said Sealock. "But you can't truly learn about bass until they bite.

"There always are things I wish I had done differently when I fail at something. But as Thomas Edison once pointed out, after 10,000 unsuccessful attempts to make a light bulb, 'I haven't failed; I've found 10,000 ways that won't work.' He went on to say, after succeeding to invent the light bulb, 'Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'

Sealock then went on to note what he's reminded of when falling on the wrong side of the line in fishing.

"Many anglers will tell you they don't like to hook fish in practice," he said, "but I think laying off fish in practice can be just as counterproductive." 

He cited the example of a team tournament he once fished with well-known angler Terry Bolton on Kentucky Lake. They found fish in practice and assumed those fish still would be available a week later.

"We laid off them because we didn't want to chance catching a fish we needed on an off day," said Sealock. "But they didn't remain in those areas, and we didn't know that because we had laid off.

"We felt pretty good about fishing this event, even though we knew it would be tough. Long story short, though, at the end of the day, we threw back our one keeper, put the boat on the trailer, and went home with out tails between our legs. Fishing was tough for a lot of folks. When 8 pounds gets a check in a team tournament  there, fishing isn't exactly swell. But 23 pounds won, which didn't spin me out nearly as much as finding out that the winning team fished the same pattern we did, albeit in completely different water. We got our teeth kicked in basically doing the same thing they did."

As Sealock noted, he and Bolton got a few early bites on one pattern, and then went to what had worked for them in practice.

"In hindsight," he said, "we should have bounced back and forth between what worked that morning and what we thought should be the pattern, given our practice fishing. As you bounce back and forth between types of areas and presentations, one usually will present itself as the way to catch better quality fish or generate more strikes, and then you can refine. Bouncing back and forth helps you not to get set in preconceived notions."

Likewise, one needs to keep in mind that fish change. In other words, one bait might catch them better today in the same area where another bait worked well yesterday.

"Their mood, the conditions, the bait can all affect how fish react from one day to the next," said Sealock. "Knowing the general places that have been holding fish is just part of it. Knowing that there might be a better way to catch them today than yesterday can yield big catches. The biggest thing is not to assume that because one bite has been on, it's going to remain on."

While the sting of not figuring out the fish on any given day may be painful at first, "the pain dulls, and the lessons learned seem to fuel my fire to get back out there and better figure out the fishing for next time," said Sealock.

So, You Lose a Big 'Un Today...

There's always tomorrow...or is there?

"Losing big fish seems to be something bass anglers are forever fascinated with," said bass pro Gerald Swindle (left). "That's just part of the drama of this sport.

"Missing a huge bite or losing a giant at the boat during the heat of battle, with several hundred thousand dollars--or possibly a career--on the line makes for dramatic storylines in tournament fishing.

"As pros, we try to put the missed opportunities behind us and move forward. But once we get back to weigh-in, people always want to know: 'Did ya miss any?'"

That's how Swindle introduced some "big ones" that he has missed over the years, which still haunt him to this day. It started with missing his granddaughter's 4th birthday, noting that "she reminds me of it frequently."

And several years ago, he was at Smith Mountain Lake, competing in a derby while his daughter was getting ready for her prom.

Said Swindle, "I drove like hell to get back home so I could stand next to my wife, and we both could see her off to the prom, but I didn't make it in time for that once-in-a-lifetime moment."

Then there was a very special Father's Day celebration the family put together for his dad.

"I heard over the phone it was spectacular, and the only thing that would have made it absolutely perfect was if I had been there," Swindle explained. "But I was at Kentucky Lake, trying to crank up a check.

"And, yes, I've missed Mother's Days, too. One in particular, I was at Lake Havasu. I tried to send my love to my mom through the mail, but the candy melted on the front porch--along with my heart because I couldn't be there.

"Speaking of my mom," he continued, "she was in a hospital having heart-bypass surgery, while I was driving to Oneida for a tournament. I really shouldn't have missed that one, but I did."

The biggest one Swindle missed, however, happened on March 14, 2008. That's the day he was stuck in a lock on Lake Toho, desperately trying to get back to weigh-in, and then get back home to see his brother, Tony, one more time.

"As I sat in that lock," he explained, "the phone rang with the news I couldn't bear to hear: My brother had passed away that morning after a brutal battle with pancreatic cancer. Yeah, that one was a giant.

"When I started pursuing my pro fishing dream 20 years ago, the only big ones I missed were fish. But with fishing, you can look forward to getting another bite to make up for a missed opportunity. In life, however, there are some missed opportunities that you never will get a chance to do over. Those are the real big ones I've missed that I truly never will forget."

I can relate to how Swindle felt...no, not because I was off fishing somewhere, but because I was serving in the U.S. Navy or fulfilling my duties as a member of the Civil Service. While I did make trips home during all those 48 working years, I also missed a number of big events, including my folks' 50th wedding-anniversary party and both daughters' marriage ceremonies...to name only a few. I've also only seen each of my daughters once face-to-face in all the years since they were married. I receive occasional emails and phone calls from each, but that's the extent of our relationship.

Reckon there's more truth than fiction in that saying, "You reap what you sow."

A Fishin' Day That Put a Smile on His Face

After all, isn't that what every angler wants...in addition, of course, to enough of those little green fish to make you wanna puff out your chest just a little bit to all your friends? If that be the case, then Skip got exactly what he was looking for yesterday, when he joined Wayne and yours truly for a few hours on the water.

The accompanying photos are livin' proof that Skip found what he wanted in the way of "happy pills." The only disappointment of his day was that he had hold of a bigger fish than any of the ones you see here but wasn't able to get it in the boat for a photo op. But then, who among all of us bass fishermen don't occasionally experience one of those kinds of setbacks? That's just an inherent part of fishin', as I see it.

The main thing is that Skip appears to be recovering well from the hernia surgery he had recently and is getting back into the swing of things that put a smile on the faces of fishermen everywhere. I, for one, extend him a hearty "Welcome Back!"

It's a Good Thing We Aren't Quitters

That's what I said to my Dewey's tournament partner along about 12:30 yesterday, as we were getting ready to call a halt to our five-hour fishing trip. This was our second such trip in a week, with basically the same results each time. We caught the vast majority of all our fish both times in the last hour or so of the day. In one short stretch of time (less than five minutes) just before we headed in yesterday, I watched Wayne boat three nice keepers to round out a double-digit limit.

Let's face it: We all have days like this. Just recently read about a guy who had hit a local lake one morning when the surface looked like a mirror. He was really pumped as he headed to a spot where he had had great success with largemouth bass on many a summer day. This time, though, was destined to be different.

For openers, topwater baits failed to yield a bite, which was puzzling.

"I made every cast and retrieve with great anticipation," he said, "but the bass were not impressed. So I pulled out a rod rigged with a lipless crankbait to rip through the sprigs of coontail scattered across the 4-to-5-foot-deep flat. When 10 minutes of flailing failed to produce even a bump, I tried blitzing a bladed jig over the next 100 yards of weeds."

Those efforts, too, however, were futile, so he resorted to dragging a Culprit ribbontail worm, but it didn't even generate a tap.

"I yanked up the trolling motor and fired up the outboard to check out other spots," he continued. "The gorgeous morning made for some beautiful scenery, but it sure as heck wasn't lighting up the bass. After six stops at a variety of hot spots, I began to suspect this might be a rare day when I would put the boat on the trailer and limp home fishless."

But hold your horses! This gent wasn't ready to throw in the towel, even though it would have been very easy to have fallen victim to the lack of action that Thursday morning.

"I still was paying attention," the fella said, "and recognized the jiggle that signals a bass bite. I jerked and wrestled a 3-pound largemouth from the thickest of grass. Five hours of fishing under a cloudless sky on water as smooth as a baby's cheek finally paid off. I wasn't going home after all with a goose egg on my scorecard."

Fifteen minutes later, another bass bit--icing on the cake, a well-deserved treat for the angler who had persevered, even when the fish were saying "go home."

Some days are easy; some are difficult, but the tough ones force anglers to learn and adjust. Anyone can catch them when it's easy. Success on a difficult day distinguishes the angler from people who just go fishing.

Also read what Bassmaster writer Steve Wright said about the late Aaron Martens back on June 23, 2018, after following Martens' boat for three hours that morning, struggling to put a fifth keeper in the boat.

Noted Wright, "I thought he might be ready to bail out of the Black River area where he'd been the past two days. He'd caught 17 pounds in the first two hours there Friday.

A brief conversation with Martens revealed that he saw the situation as a timing deal.

"They're going to bite, probably about 1:00 or 1:30," said the pro.

It should not come as a surprise then that Martens subsequently caught a 4-pounder at 1:48.

"I had four like this yesterday," he said, as he put a new worm on his shaky head and cast back to the area where there had been a deep school of bass."

And finally, former touring pro angler Sammy Lee once described the acid test for a person's attitude as being how they react after a difficult day on the water.

"An angler who can hold his head high and show emotional maturity after a bad day--or better yet, a bad week--is well on his/her way to being a professional," said Lee. "There's an old saying in sports that goes like this: 'Winners never quit, and quitters never win.' Nothing could be truer in professional bass fishing.

"There are going to be a lot of tough days on the water," he continued, "but the true character of a person will show through when they do not do well. How a person handles himself/herself after a tough day on the water says a lot more to me than how a person acts after a great day on the water."

Can't argue with that kind of thinking.

May 2024 Bass Fishing Forecast

(Click anywhere on this chart for a slightly enlarged version.)

"Can't Take My Eyes Off of You"...

When Frankie Valli started crooning those lyrics in 1967, I can assure you he wasn't talking about modern-day cellphones or forward-facing sonar (FFS) units.

However, that phrase has become synonymous with people who go about their daily chores seemingly in a fog, as they stare down at the screens on their cellphones. The same thing can be said about anglers who seemingly can't get out of the trance they appear to be in as they stare at that monitor on the bow of their high-priced bass rigs far more of the time than they spend actually fishing.

The way I see it, these "gadgets," as I like to collectively refer to them, have made "fools," or worse, "idiots" of otherwise intelligent human beings. They take their cellphones everywhere...including behind the wheel of a car in motion. These drivers generally are easy enough to spot. If a car keeps crossing the centerline and/or backing up other traffic, it's a pretty safe bet the driver is concentrating more on holding a phone conversation or texting session than maintaining the speed limit and arriving safely at his/her destination.

Anglers with FFS also are always looking down. As one pro admitted, "I've caught myself staring at the screen while following a fish, only to see another one and start following that one. The next thing I know, I'm 50 yards off the spot I intended to fish and have nothing to show for the 15 to 30 minutes I spent wandering around.

"I'm concerned about the younger generation of anglers who are coming into the sport. I've watched them. They don't cast until they see a fish on the screen. Are they learning basic fish-finding skills and using natural instincts that are so critical to becoming a great angler?

"My point isn't to ridicule FFS. It's an incredible tool that can make you better in some situations. But, when over-utilized, it can be a time-waster and detract you from employing your brain or using instincts that are the keys to consistent bass-fishing success."

And finally, bass pro Brad Whatley was recently asked the following question: Do you think FFS should be banned for at least some tournaments, or do you not care? Here's his response.

"I don't think it should be allowed in professional fishing. That's my opinion, from the Opens on up. I don't think it's good for the industry from a financial standpoint. I also believe (that) with generational change in anything, a lot of things get lost. And technology generally is a good thing but is not always the best.

"I think a lot of the traditional ways of bass fishing and actually understanding bass is gonna be lost 10 years down the road. Because this is such a dominant technique, you have to have it...don't care how you feel about it.

"So, if your hand is forced to do it in 75 to 80 percent of events, (young anglers) would be crazy not to use it. Why would they spend any time learning skills, trying to find fish with seasonal patterns, all that...without FFS? If I was (young), I wouldn't spend any time without it, either. I would just strictly Scope.

"I think people will grow tired of it...I think people watch this sport to learn, and obviously it's fun. Who doesn't like fish blowing up on a Spook, a frog, a swim-jig, or whatever? If you're catching 10-lbers Scoping, I don't think it's what the fans want. I just think they'll grow tired of it, and we need the fans.

"Obviously, this is just my opinion. I know a lot of people are gonna disagree with me. I don't have anything against anybody who uses the Scope. I just don't think it's great for this sport.

"In most sports, different technology has come along that could change those activities drastically, and those sports have drawn the line. They have not allowed certain things...at the professional level."

These fellas aren't alone, either. I recently read where retired pro angler Hank Parker shares similar sentiments on this subject.

Admittedly, there always will be folks who believe that anything new is always better, but I, for one, take exception to that philosophy.

By and large, people from my era are looked upon as relics of a bygone society when, in my estimation, life was a whole lot simpler and far more enjoyable than it is today, since all these modern gadgets came on the scene.