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| It's in the bag! But that nice smallmouth wouldn't be in the next if these anglers had created ruckus and banged around in the boat. |
Fishing With Care, Part 2
By Stan Fagerstrom
The only way you'll ever get your share of fish is by making darn sure you control those things associated with the sport that you can actually do something about.
As I discussed in my last column, being quiet and careful in your approach is one of those variables you can control. It's something you'll need to build into your approach to angling if you hope to be consistently successful.
Being quiet and careful doesn't apply solely while you are wading. So often on lakes I've listened to boat fishermen drop anchor and make almost as much noise as it takes to dock the Queen Mary. Put yourself in the place of the fish you are after. What would your reaction be if suddenly a big shadow appeared on the ceiling right over your head? Then, seconds later, here comes a strange looking hunk of iron crashing down into your living room.
What would you do under similar circumstances? You'd probably get the hell out! That's exactly what fish do. Sometimes you'll alarm fish even if you're quiet. Too many times I've watched bass go flitting away like so many darting shadows as I attempted to sneak into the shallows.
The need for using caution and care also applies to how you actually handle you lure once the fishing starts. There's a certain clump of brush nestled up against the shoreline on one of my favorite lakes. It doesn't look like much and gets little attention from most fishermen. It gets plenty from me. Why? Because, in the spring, that one little bit of cover is always home to some of the best crappie the lake holds.
I learned something about that cover early on. I found I could catch fish around it every time out in the spring. Provided, that is, I didn't hang up and start yanking around to free my lure.
I tried to explain that to my fishing partner one morning. He had never fished the spot I'm talking about. "If you hang up," I said, "please don't jerk hard enough to disturb the cover. Tighten up slow and easy. That hook I gave you is light enough to straighten out if you just use a steady pull. Once it straightens it will come loose. Take it easy and you won't spook the fish."
That advice promptly went in one of my friend's ears and made an immediate exit out the other. I had taken three fat crappies off the brush clump when my companion let his jig drop too deep. He hung up. Instead of doing what I had asked, he yanked and jerked the cover with his rod. In the process he pulled the top part of the brush clear out of the water.
We didn't catch any more crappie in that spot. We were probably lucky to get the three I did. But I've been back there by myself several times since and each time caught all I wanted to clean. I did it by practicing what I'm preaching; being quiet and careful in everything related to catching fish.
Most anglers want to join that elite 10 percent of consistently successful fishermen. Most won't. Be assured those who do will follow the guidelines I've been talking about in these past two columns. |
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| I'd never have taken this dandy trout from the gin clear waters of the New Zealand lake I was on without a quiet and careful approach. |
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