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Jack Wollitz: Fish will often provide signals
Anglers who don’t look for clues during their days on the water are going home with fewer fish to show for the time they have invested.
Those who pay attention to the signals in their surroundings and who understand the information that their senses process will fish smarter and catch more than those who miss the clues or fail to comprehend their significance.
Make no mistake. Virtually every cast, bite and catch has the potential to reveal what’s happening in the watery world. If we are to succeed in the fishes’ environment, we need to pile up the clues and understand how to adjust our tactical approach.
The fish themselves let us know in fairly obvious fashion whether our lures and techniques are the right stuff. All we have to do is pay attention.
A recent fishing trip underscored the value of staying alert for the clues.
Conditions were perfect for topwater lures. The water had just enough ripple to stir up the ecosystem and agitate the local bass population. The fish were hunting and topwater presentations would get their attention.
Anglers know, however, that the selection of surface lures is expansive. We can pick from poppers, buzzers, chuggers, walkers and more. We have hard baits, soft plastics and hollow bodies all available with or without tails, teasers, tinsels and feathers.
And even when we’ve settled in on the style of lure we’ll be casting, we still have to decide on the color.
We must begin somewhere. So a choice is made, the knot is tied and the casts are lobbed. That’s when the real fishing begins. Real anglers look for the clues that can turn the tide in their favor.
I selected the topwater I thought would generate positive reactions from the bass. It’s a step I’ve taken hundreds of times, always followed by the kind of hopeful optimism only an angler can appreciate.
Sometimes the lures fail to convince the bass. Sometimes a simple change of color turns the day into a success story.
During my recent fishing trip, I quickly learned the hollow-body frog was the right choice. The clues were obvious. The fish were hitting my frog with enough frequency to make it apparent I didn’t need to rummage through the box for another lure.
The best clue that my frog was right arrived on the second strike. A two-pound largemouth attacked the lure and fought vigorously. As I lifted the fish from the water, the degree to which the bass had committed to the lure was obvious, as the entire lure was deep in the fish’s mouth.
You know your search for the best lure is over when the fish take the bait aggressively. It’s the clue that reinforces you’re on the right track.
Anglers sometimes declare the fish aren’t biting when the real problem is they aren’t fishing with the bait that the fish want.
If your lure is producing tentative strikes or resulting in only one hook pinning the fish, it’s a clue you need to change the style, color or perhaps the speed of the retrieve.
The fish are sending clues. We can catch more and have more fun — by staying alert, catching the clues and decoding what they mean relative to the way we are fishing.