Stay Warm……& Stay Put!!!!!

    Here in the Midwest Spring time fishing can be grueling………70 degree days can be quickly followed up with wind chills in the upper 30's and howling winds blowing cold rain into the best of rain gear. Weather fronts such as these can take a fishing hot spot and turn into the dead see in as little as a few hours.

      This has been a particular struggle of mine during Springtime tournaments. Though it seems I have most always been fortunate enough to scratch out limits, these brutal weather conditions have sent me into panic attacks many times. Sending me on wild goose chases from area to area looking for a few active fish.

    So during a recent tournament I opted for a different approach to my fishing strategy. I had found a number of fish bunched up in a ditch off of one of our lakes here on the Winnebago System. On Friday and Saturday of practice I caught and shook off so many fish I already started to spend the check I was confident my partner and I would cash.

      Sunday ,however, brought lightning, thunder and torrential downpours accompanied by an East wind that made the lake the most dangerous I had personally ever seen. I knew what Mother Nature had in store for us and I was prepared. My partner and I spent 8 hours in a 100 yard stretch of a ditch pitching and flippin' to every hole in the vegetation we could. And despite pressure from two other competitor boats(who both vacated the area after a pass or two) and a guy just out bass fishing, we still managed to catch our lockjawed fish from the same area as practice.

      Now even though we were one fish shy of a limit and a check(Thanks to Randy's loss of a three pounder in the last ten minutes..JJ buddy) I still felt as if we had won the tournament. On a day when even the best and most consistent anglers on this tour struggled we managed to put fish in the boat. I am 100 percent convinced this was done by our patience and perseverance. We fished hard for 8 hours and never left an area that would have seemed void of fish with just a couple of passes.

 So the next time  you think about calling it an early day during post frontal conditions, bundle up and spend some quality time in the area's that were producing 24 hours ago.  Slow down and cover every inch of water……multiple times if you must. Remember these fish are not going to expend the energy to get back to the lake, just to turn around and end up where they were a couple of days ago. Most all of them will hunker down and wait out the front……but a bass is an opportunists and will eat anything put directly in front of them……you just have to be a little more thorough and a lot more patient than the day before.

I learned a ton about fish behavior and position in the 8 hours Randy and I spent together last Sunday. And I can assure you this will not be forgotten anytime soon. I will use this to my advantage at every turn. This is why I continue to pursue fishing as a career. I love the knowledge gained and challenges faced in adverse situations and conditions. Every time I get out on the water it seems as if I discover a little niche here and there that improves my ability to catch fish, all in all I am not so sure that the fish are the ones that are hooked.J   God Bless and Tight Lines!!!!!!