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| Look close and you can see the gold colored Cordell Red Fin still attached to its big mug. The lure became one of my favorites after I finally learned how to use it. |
Are You Controlling What You Can?
Part 4
By Stan Fagerstrom
In my last column I stressed the third point in this series of columns on the importance of anglers controlling the variables.
There are few variables associated with fishing we actually can control. It pays big dividends to get a handle on those we can do something about.
If you read my previous column you know it detailed how important it is to know exactly how to manipulate certain lures to get the best results. I mentioned how the bass had grabbed a spinnerbait fished fast in one Mexican lake I fished, but how they wanted but wanted just the opposite retrieve in another.
This sort of thing doesn’t just apply to spinnerbaits or for bass fishing. The same problem applies where other lures and other species are concerned. I know a walleye pro who loves a certain trolling lure. The lure is equipped with a spinner blade ahead of a buoyant body and a double hook set up for the worms used with it. Ninety per cent of the time this pro fishes it just as it comes out of the package. But he’s been around long enough to know it’s wise to always stays flexible in your approach.
I recall what he told me about an occasion when he was fishing clear, shallow water. The fish weren’t at all aggressive and he couldn’t buy a strike. So what did he do? He switched to a lighter sinker and a longer leader. He also removed the spinner blade that is a part of this lure and just hooked his nightcrawler to the buoyant body of the lure. When he slowed his boat his revised lure slowly floated his bait up higher from the bottom. It turned out that’s what those finicky walleyes wanted.
Presented in this fashion his nightcrawler must have looked like a steak on a platter. The fish began chomping down on it. Where he’d had no action before, the pro now managed to boat some nice fish.
The wondrous Zara Spook is another lure that brings to mind the need for proper lure manipulation. Unless you learn how to manipulate this old beauty properly you’ll never get a clear picture of its potential. The same thing can be said of the Cordell Red Fin. Though I had carried it for years, I never did squat with this terrific bass lure. Then I met a fellow who was an artist with the darn thing. He showed me exactly what was required to get consistent results with it. I’ve been catching fish on it ever since.
Fish as much for as long as I have and you eventually learn that you’re better off eliminating the word “always” from your piscatorial vocabulary. Perhaps I keep harping about this too much in my writing but it’s so darn important. I keep talking about it because most freshwater game fish don’t “always” react in the same fashion. You need to match your lures and the method of their presentation to suit whatever mood the fish happen to be in.
Gaining mastery of your equipment and then matching it to the problems you’re up against---the first two variables I covered in this series--- are indeed important keys to consistent fishing success. So is knowing how to get the most out of the lures you’re throwing.
You’re never going to join the 10 per cent of anglers who catch 90 per cent of the fish until you blend these ingredients into your own recipe for consistent fishing success.
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| The Zara Spook is capable of producing some of your most treasured memories, but that applies only if you learn how to handle it. |
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