JACK WOLLITZ It pays to be an observant angler

Certain signs out on the water lift my spirits when I'm fishing.
It's not that I'm ever discouraged while fishing. After all, a bad day fishing is better than a good day of yard work.
But sometimes while fishing, an angler will see or notice something that immediately sends a signal that things are about to change for the better. Those signs aren't always obvious at first, but when you think back over a day, they make sense.
Heron catches attention
One thing that always catches my attention is a great blue heron. It's the best fisher on the water, and if one is in an area with me, I feel a sense that I'm around fish.
That's because the bird doesn't survive if it isn't successful in fishing, so it stalks only those shorelines where little fish are swimming. And when the little fish are in an area, big fish aren't far away.
Nature operates that way. It's really pretty simple.
Weather signs
Another signal is the weather. I watch the forecasts not so much to decide what to wear out on the lake, but more for planning my approach to the fishing day.
The best days will be those when the weather will change at some point. If it's been hot and sticky for a few days, I'll be interested to know that a front is approaching, signifying changes in sky conditions and wind.
Such changes can trigger a general improvement in the "bite" out on the lake. But they also can turn the fish off, thus sending notice that slow-down tactics will be necessary.
The wind is a great indicator, too. Calm days may be great from a comfort standpoint, but real anglers know if the air is moving the fish will be, too.
When I feel the breeze picking up, I move to locations where I can take advantage of the situation. That means finding places where I can work a lure that flashes like a baitfish buffeted around cover like weeds, rocks or wood.
Cover itself can be a signal.
Anglers often rejoice when they happen into an area that is laden with brush piles, stumps, weeds and other fish-holding objects. Sometimes such locations are filled with fish. More often, however, the abundant cover is a bewildering puzzle.
But a solitary laydown on an otherwise featureless bank or jutting off a point is a "fish here" beacon. Many anglers pass such spots because they figure it's not worth the time to pause over a place with just one piece of cover.
Specific place
We happened on just such a place Sunday at Mosquito Creek Reservoir. I made two flips into the spot with my lure and produced a 2-pound largemouth bass.
I also get pumped up when I notice changes in water color. Fish can become conditioned to use mud lines, especially on busy lakes like Berlin, West Branch and Shenango. Game species will "hide" in murky water and dart out for shad that had no idea a predator was within striking distance.
A mud line, in fact, can be just as productive as the edge of a weed bed. When I notice a distinct line between clear and murky water, I'll burn a Rat-L-Trap or other fast-moving bait and often catch walleyes, bass and even crappies.
It also pays, of course, to watch for signs of baitfish activity. The best anglers understand that if shad and other forage fish are evident, the likelihood is that the neighborhood harbors fish that will prey on them.
Last Saturday on the Ohio River, for instance, I noticed we caught more smallmouth bass around places where little shad skittered when our crankbaits splashed down.
The lesson is that it pays to watch for signs - big and little - that indicate something different is happening in the fishes' environment.
Learn how to take advantage of those differences and you'll improve your ratio of time spent fishing versus catching.
jwwollitz@aol.com