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Largemouth, Fishing or Catching By Captain Larry R. King
After four hours of nearly fruitless casting, my partner in the boat was beginning to lose confidence in our ability to catch fish that day. We had managed to catch only three small bass so far, one for him and two for me. The pattern I had discovered a few days before was not working. And the one-day tournament we were fishing was now half over. As we were preparing to crank the outboard and try another spot, my partner said, “It looks like we’re both going to bomb out in this tournament.” Without answering, I determined to fish that much harder till weigh-in time. Fishing for largemouth bass or any other species means exactly that, fishing. Catching fish usually doesn’t happen before a considerable amount of time and experimentation on the water. After fishing methods or patterns are established, they may last for only a short period of time before fishing changes again. In short, catching bass consistently requires a never-ending process of fishing new locations and experimenting with different baits. Nothing can take the place of time on the water. Accomplished anglers have learned to deal with tough fishing. They believe it’s only a matter of time before figuring out the fish. This confidence is the driving force helping them to hang in there and keep plugging away. Many of these anglers also say that figuring out the fish is just as rewarding as catching them. They enjoy being on the water and the challenge of finding fish. Two more hours had now passed with two more to go and we still had only three small bass in the live wells. We were nearing crunch time and it was imperative we change tactics. My fishing partner, a relative newcomer to the sport, was allowing me to make the decisions. I had spent the entire day fishing slow to medium tapering clay points along the main lake. Crawfish colored crank baits had been producing quality-sized bass from these points for several days. But today it wasn’t working. Neither were any of the other baits we tried. What decision should I make? Where should I try next and with what bait? Let me slow down for a moment and try to think. OK, it’s early March with a water temperature in the mid fifties. The air temperature is in the high sixties now during the warmest part of the day. We’ve got a five to ten mile per hour southerly wind. While pondering these thoughts I remember that yesterday’s high was about sixty degrees and the day before it only reached the low fifties. OK, we’re in the middle of a warming trend. A few clouds are beginning to develop, indicating the high-pressure system is about over. And I notice the water temperature is a couple degrees warmer than it was two days earlier at about the same time. Again, what decision should I make? If I make the wrong decision, we may indeed bomb out as my partner stated earlier. I can’t stand the thought of showing up at weigh-in with only two small fish. I can hear my fishing buddies (competitors) ragging me now. I know some of them will have good sacks of fish. Several possible fishing patterns and locations are racing around in my brain. None seem to stand out as the clear choice. I’m beginning to doubt my own ability to figure it out. But I also know a decision must be made very soon. But where should I go and what bait should I try? Come on man, think! No! I can’t think clearly because I’m putting pressure on myself. I’m no longer enjoying the hunt. I’m trying to catch rather than fish. The tournament pressure and desire to succeed have confused my thinking. That’s right, I’m no longer just enjoying the blessing of being on the water and hunting fish. My practice time and the pattern I had found are no longer any good. So what? We’ve still got nearly two hours to figure it out. It’s time to smile and be happy. Bass are somewhere out there and waiting on my bait. Let’s see, now: Warming trend, warm southerly breeze, early March. Good fish have been on main river clay points. But where would they go. They should still be willing to bite if I can find them. They shouldn’t have gone far. I look in both directions from the clay point we just fished. To the right is a long straight bank that connects to a rounded point at the mouth of a large cove. To the left is a short sandy pocket with little cover. And the warm wind is blowing straight into it. I remember catching fish on several occasions from short pockets in March during a warming trend. My partner catches his second fish from the pocket with a small crank bait in a shad pattern. After a few minutes, we crank up and go to the next short pocket. It has a clay bottom with scattered rocks. My partner catches another keeper and I catch a four-pounder on shad pattern crank baits. The next pocket produces another four-pounder for me. We caught one or two fish from about half the pockets we fished before weigh-in. And my partner caught a seven-pounder on the next to last stop. He finished with a little over twelve pounds worth a top ten finish and big fish of the tournament. I weighed in fourteen pounds and finished in the top five. What a great day considering we had only a couple pounds each with less than two hours to go. I just had to ask my partner if he still thought it was a “bomb out” day. “I learned today that you should never give up,” he responded. But I never told him how lost I had felt just a couple hours earlier, and how part of me wanted to give up. Hopefully I’ll always remember the lesson and “never give up.” These events took place during a draw tournament in 1984. I had been bass fishing since 1970 and began club fishing in 1974. My first money tournament was in 1982. I fished twenty to thirty tournaments a year from 1983 through 1990. From then till now I’ve averaged fishing only about three tournaments per year. My concentration now is on guiding anglers to successful fishing and catching days. Not all days will be successful catching days, but we should try to make them all “a good day fishing.” If the fish never got the best of me and other anglers, there might not be any fish. I firmly believe if an angler can enjoy the slow fishing days, the good catching days will be GREAT!!!
Larry R. King is a full-time fishing guide on Lakes Oconee, Sinclair, and Juliette. Larry fishes for bass, hybrids, crappie, and stripers. Give him a call at 478-986-7395 or visit his web site at: fishmacon.com
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