Learn This Concept And Catch More Fish

Concepts are an effective way to undertake what seem to be overwhelming and larger than life endeavors. These concepts can be anything from understanding fish habitat and ecology to having a basic idea of how different rods and reels are more effective for throwing different kinds of baits and lures. If you understand a concept, you have the ability to apply that knowledge to unknown situations. I put this process into action recently on a kayaking trip I took with some friends.

I was dumped into unfamiliar waters and all I had was vague hearsay that “there are big smallmouth in those waters.” The entirety of my understanding of smallmouth at the time was that they could generally be caught on similar baits to largemouth. Working off this knowledge base, I threw a rod, a box of assorted crankbaits, and a whole lot of hope into my kayak and hit the open water.

After an hour or so of paddling, the group I was with wanted to pull off on an island and take a rest. I opted to hang in the water and use this short window of time to see what was lurking beneath the waves. I grabbed the rod, tied on a deep diving crankbait and started fan casting around the boat. I was working off the assumption that there would be some form of submerged structure surrounding the wave beaten sides of the island and that if there were smallmouth they would be hanging around that structure. 

After 10 casts or so my crankbait got absolutely hammered and I knew instantly that I was in for a ride. My heart rate shot through the roof, I started playing the swimming ball of muscle and after an intense battle, pulled a nice smallmouth up to the side of the kayak. I don’t know if you’ve ever fished in a kayak before but, it is no surprise that there is not a ton of room to work with. As I attempted to swing the fish into the boat, one of the back treble hooks lodged into the sleeve of my shirt and there I was, hung up and practically unable to move. As I turned slightly to open the bail of the rod and to attempt to rip the hook out of my clothing, the smallmouth shook violently, threw the hook and was gone. 

I went immediately from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. Not only would that have been my first smallmouth, but it was a good size and I knew that without proof of a fish in hand, nobody was going to believe me, so I quickly untangled myself and hurriedly started throwing the crankbait again and again. I felt as if I was being chased because I knew that soon the crew on shore was going to start packing up and would want to continue on our trip, so if I was going to get a fish in the boat I needed to do it now. 

At this point I knew that the assumptions I had been working off of previously (there are smallmouth in these waters, there is structure around this island and you can catch smallmouth on similar baits to bass) were roughly accurate so I maintained hope that I would catch another. After what seemed like an hour of nonstop casting, I started to lose that hope as I heard commotion from shore and saw bodies start piling into kayaks. I made a few more frantic casts, and as I retrieved the crankbait, my heart slowly sinking, whack, another fish on. 

This time I knew I needed to control myself and not panic when the fish got to the boat. As I saw the fish come to the surface I knew it was a smallmouth and my heart started racing all over again. I immediately horsed it into the cockpit of the kayak, deciding that I was willing to get hooked all over the place myself to make sure I got this one onboard, and hook myself I did. I had treble hooks in my gloves, in my fingers and the fish’s spines stabbing my legs as it thrashed around, but I had caught it. 

I grabbed my pliers, removed all the hooks, snapped a quick photo and let the fish go. I was finally happy knowing that if all else failed I had set out for the day with a base knowledge of how to catch a bass, what habitat bass like and the ability to use that information to be successful. To me I don’t think there is any better feeling than setting out and accomplishing what I intend to do. It doesn’t always work out that way, but when it all comes together, I can’t think of anything more fulfilling.  

The thing that I learned is that it is really valuable to have a well rounded understanding of fish that you can apply for those times when you are out on unfamiliar waters. In this day and age we are all incredibly busy and the moments we can get a line in the water are fewer and further between. That’s why it’s not only important to fish when you can, but also to do your best to read, watch videos or talk to the pros to learn everything possible about how to target fish when you don’t have time to be on the water yourself, because when the time comes, you will have all the tools, knowledge and skills at your disposal to be able to bring in the fish (and brag to your friends)

Paul Fuzinski (Aptitude Outdoors)