Adapt and Overcome

I would like to believe that I am a good fisherman, with well-rounded skills in both fresh and salt waters.  I also view myself as a minimalist in the aspect that I paddle a lightweight kayak that does not suit itself well to having all the bells and whistles that larger kayaks have.  I don't take 10 rods on the water with me or enough tackle to open up my own shop.  I have to ensure that I have the gear I need to effectively target what I may encounter and nothing more.  Here I will outline some of the lessons that I have learned, or ones that I have re-learned over the past few months, with the hope that it may help others out along the way.  Here we go!

1. Know the water you are fishing, and the gear you are using - This may seem like a no brainer, but if you follow these rules your trips will be much more enjoyable and you will be nicely rewarded.  On a recent trip to one of my favorite bass spots, my buddy Ted and I were fishing an area right before, during, and after a cold front.  Prior to the front, we knew the areas that the bass were feeding on and what baits best mimicked the forage of the lake.  We were able to bust out some quality fish in the morning and the day was a success.  As the front passed, the fishing grinded to a halt.  This is where we decided to go fish some deeper water with the hope of finding fish stacked up.  We changed up our presentations to take advantage of the conditions and we were pleasantly rewarded.  Point being, be versatile and understand that just because a pattern worked during one part of the day, it will not always continue to produce throughout the remainder of the day.



A nice pre-spawn bass caught using a Chatterbait in deeper water right after a strong cold front passed through







Ted Crumb with a beastly sow after observing and establishing a pattern for post frontal fish.

 

2. Don't be afraid to depart from the norm in order to catch fish - On another day when Square Bills and Jerkbaits would be the normal presentation for the given conditions, mix things up. We decided that with the jerkbait bite in deeper water being nonexistent, we would fish trees and vegetation with spinnerbaits. We knew our tactics were a departure from what we had established but decided to go with them anyways. This paid off with some quality Bass and a would be VA weight citation Bowfin.  When I asked the science behind spinnerbait fishing in these conditions, we could not come up with any other answer than "it has worked in the past". 

   

   Tommy establishing a spinnerbait pattern on a jerkbait day

   

   An angry Bowfin that slammed a Spinnerbait
    

3. Realize that in order to catch fish, you may need to adjust your target, and techniques - There will be days when the conditions, the fish, or both will not allow you to chase after your target species, or you might not be able to get the exact presentation needed conventionally, and may need to switch to other methods. This occurred on more than one occasion where I wanted to chase bass, but knowing where they were located, the conditions would not allow me to get there. This is when I changed my target, and focused on catching citation pickerel. Another time, I wanted to chase pickerel, but the conditions were brutally cold and I realized that a very slow presentation was the best way to fool them into biting, so instead of fishing with gear, I decided to take the fly rod out and I was pleasantly rewarded. As long as there is open water, there will be something waiting to be caught. Tunnel vision can be the worst enemy an angler who just wants to get out and fish.

   

   Crappy conditions for a Crappie Day
   
   
   

   

   A Pickerel on the fly to pop the cherry on the 2015 kayak fishing season
    

   
   
   

   

   A VA release citation Chain Pickerel caught when the bass were unaccessable

    

4. Be ready for what the conditions may throw at you - Sometimes you are just stuck fishing certain conditions. This may be low, dirty, grassy water, or quite the opposite. Have enough gear to tackle multiple presentations for your conditions, but still keep some that may be just the opposite. Recently, I encountered low and dirty water conditions. While I like to throw pinks and yellows in these conditions, I could visibly watch fish turn away and pay my baits no mind. It wasn’t until I switched up to the darkest colors that I had that I found the fish on the end of my line. Sometimes rules are just meant to be broken.

A nice redfish caught after switching color schemes

The most important thing to remember though is to go out and ENJOY yourself.  Take advantage to the vestle you are on and look around.  Enjoy the sights, and sounds.  Emerse yourself in not just the fishing, but also your environment!

Planning a Sucessful Trip

I have been finding myself traveling more and more in order to chase tail (fish tails that is).  Many of these areas I fish have equated to great success due to a number of factors.  Of the two major factors (Luck and Planning), there is only one within my control.  Growing up, I used to fish a lake rain or shine without regard to all of the other factors that can equate to a successful day on the water.  While I caught fish, and some good ones at that, I never had consistent success, and rarely had success while fishing new water.  Now that I have grown up, I still fish whenever the bug hits.  The difference is how I approach these trips.  A little bit of planning utilizing some free (or low cost) resources can turn a normal fishing trip into a fishing trip that will stick with you your entire life!

Planning a trip utilizing the USMC 5-Paragraph Order

My time in the Corps taught me a number of different techniques to cope with challenges that may come my way.  When it comes to planning SMEAC is the way for me.  It is simple and helps me identify all of the different things that I need to consider when planning a trip.  SMEAC is the same technique that is used to attack the enemy with shock and awe, so it would reason that it would work just fine on the finned friends.SMEAC is: Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin & Logistics, and Command & Control.  Let’s look at this process for a recent trip.

Situation- A weekend where 3 of my fishing buddies got their kitchen pass.  The fishing in the salt has been slow, and the bug to chase smallies on a river growing each day.  River conditions were not great, but considering wind, temperature, tides, flows, distance, and availability of time and resources to fish together, we had a common location in mind.

Mission - To meet up and catch Smallmouth Bass on a section of river that was new to us.

Execution - Planned meeting time, location, and tackle needed to accomplish the mission.  Adherence to these factors is key to success.

Admin & Logistics - This includes listing the items needed, verifying their availability, and packing nothing more, nothing less.  Identifying how you are going to get where you need to go, and how you are going to get there (in this case, Alex and Seth carpooled, as well as Tommy and myself).

Command & Control - In a group, this means having a central decision maker.  The decision maker identifies the location, collects intel, conducts recon, and managing the flow of information to others.

On our smallie trip, we all had input and decision influence, but there was one person who made the decision.  For us, on a new body of water, we all caught nice fish, and worked together to make it happen.

Looking further, to identify the specific mission, the gathering of information was paramount in the success of the trip.  In order to protect the location and not hotspot, I will not go into specifics, but give you an idea of what I look at.

1. FInd a reliable weather source.  I utilize a combination of FishWeather, Intellicast, and while I am on the water, I monitor the weather through my WeatherUnderground app.
2. Use online forums.  If I can, I review any information posted on a body of water I want to fish.  I dont necessarily take the information I read as truthful if I only see one report, but I am focused on pictures or condition reports to help me learn about the spot.  If I see multiple reports, I try to make a pattern for success.  I look for fishing forums that cover the area I plan on fishing.  I feel that if I cant pre-fish, I can take advantage of the trends I see to help guide me to spots (i.e. oyster beds, drop offs, etc...) and determine the baits I want to start with.
3. Do location recon.  Search the net for launch spots to determine security, fees, effects of tides and weather conditions, etc.  Google Earth helps me identify landmarks, and determine those areas I want to travel to.  One thing to remember is not to limit yourself to this information.  If you find something on the water you didn't see from the imagery, stay flexible.  Another tool I use is my Navionics Apps for my iPad and iPhone.  This gives me tide information and a map of the underwater layout.  For $15, it not only helps me plan trips and identify fishing sports to further recon, but it helps me identify those locations while im on the water.
4. Collect human intelligence.  Befriend those who you admire.   Be honest and truthful in your interactions.  Know when someone dosent want you to fish a spot and respect that.  If you want to fish such a spot, dont be sneaky, but ask them for information.  Who knows, they might pass on intel they receive, or invite you to fish with them.

All of this helps me determine where im going to fish, and greatly enhances my chances for success.  Just look at the results of our most recent trip.  Without planning, we still may have caught fish, but not of this caliber.

One of three fish between 17.25" and 19"
Photo by William Ragulsky

Alex's smallie just under 20"
Photo by Tommy Dewitt

Seth's fish @ 18.25"
Photo By Tommy Dewitt

Tommy's VA Citation Smallmouth at 21"
Photo by Seth Goodrich

For a solid trip report, go over to Bent Rod Chronicles, and check out Seth's report for the day.

Good luck, and we'll see you on the water!