| FISH THE CONDITIONS � At first, this might not make much sense. Or maybe it�s too obvious. I�m referring to choosing the bait you throw based on the weather and water conditions you are faced with. It is usually best to not randomly select baits. Base your lure choice on weather conditions first, water (lake) conditions second and always keeping seasonal patterns in mind. For example, if you are getting ready to head out and you�re dealing with a sunny, frontal day, choose baits like jigs, worms, tubes, or single spins. On the other hand, if you have cloudy and windy conditions, maybe pack spinnerbaits, swimming grubs, shallow crankbaits, buzz baits, etc. Once you get to the lake, or if you already know what conditions to expect (water and cover), then use those to fine-tune your selections. Things like brighter colors, larger baits, or noisemakers in stained water and thinner, natural colored baits in clearer water. Likewise, if you are fishing open water conditions use grubs, crankbaits, top waters and such versus baits like jigs, worms, Senkos, single spins and so forth for heavy cover situations. TIME YOUR FISHING � This is another one that may slip by most people. The best time to go fishing is whenever you can, no doubt about that. But whenever possible, choose the days and times you get to fish based on conditions. This little tip will truly maximize the number of bites you�ll get in a day. For example, everyone knows that bass generally seem to bite best first thing in the morning or right before dark, typical low light conditions. But they also bite extremely well on a good cloudy day with an approaching storm. Days with a dropping barometer come to mind, as do windy days. Try and avoid those nice, sunny, post frontal days if you can. This tactic also increases the odds of having more room for you to fish, as most bank fishermen don�t like to put up with inclement weather. Another example of this tactic relates to time of year. Those extremely tough clear water lakes and ponds will give up some surprisingly good fish in the cold-water period or at night through the summer. Vice-versa, inherently murky water lakes usually aren�t all that great real early and late in the year, but can be great with the warmer weather and water conditions. If you have your choice of a couple different types of water to fish, choose according to which fits the given conditions and seasonal patterns best. Finally, those odd times that create short windows of opportunity. The perfect example of this is a couple of the small ponds I fish. Almost without fail, one of the most consistent patterns is fishing the incoming flats or drains after a good rain. While you can always seem to count on one or two from these areas, these areas become incredible spots when you are able to coincide your trip with fresh, incoming water. Spots that only give up a fish or two now may give up 5 or 10 fish without moving, sometimes more. The bass realize this is a temporary feeding opportunity and act accordingly. You should too. FISH SPOTS (the exception) � Earlier I said covering water is the preferred tactic. This is true, especially when fishing a new body of water that is not familiar to you. However, with enough time on a given lake or pond, certain spots will seem to consistently give up a fish or two most every trip. These areas or spots are worth taking a little extra time on before moving on. As I mentioned, small drains on my ponds always seem to hold bass consistently and I will frequently spend up to 20 minutes or more fishing these areas. The general rule of thumb is if you catch a bass on a spot, it is worth taking a few extra minutes to thoroughly scout the area. Sometimes the reason is obvious such as the drain example. Many times though you won�t be able to identify what it is about the particular location or bank. Some just seem to hold fish better than others. Your job is to be aware of these areas as they unfold to you and fish them appropriately. Then feel free to keep scooting along the bank between these hotspots. These tips have proven themselves to be pretty consistent over many of the waters I bank fished through the years. Try utilizing some of these suggestions the next time you head out from the bank and see if they don�t increase the number of fish that you catch. |
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