REMEMBERING THE FUNDAMENTALS

[Bud Kennedy]

Have you ever noticed that no mater what task you are performing there are key things that must be considered in order to be successful?  I like to think of those key things as basic fundamentals.  Without these fundamentals, the task you are performing might not be as efficient as it should or could be. I am here to claim that bass fishing is no different.

In today's world, technology plays an ever-expanding role in overall development to become a successful angler.  Marketing forces coupled with an angler's quest to put more and bigger fish in the boat makes the application of available technology at the top of many folks' priority list when it comes to bass fishing.  I often wonder if technology is actually dumbing down our overall knowledge of the basic fundamentals of our sport.  A recent post by Dale got me to think about this once again.  His post was in essence a discussion about varying your retrieve to achieve improved results. 

Technology provides some amazing tools that an angler may use to locate and even observe actual fish actions that help them determine the most optimum way of trying to actually catch them.  I do know folks who have acquired sonar products but still are unable to actually catch them.  They spend considerable time with their head down observing the fish.  This to me is actually very sad since the tool is not designed to catch fish it is only a representation of habitat and environment.  If the angler has a solid set of fundamental basic skills the number of ways to catch these fish increases significantly. 

Through the years we have all seen posts from our more accomplished anglers that always seem to get to the same point.  You must engage all of your senses and mental acuity to apply all of the basic methods to actually achieve a bite.  Just being close to the fish is not enough if you are unable to emulate a correct presentation that entices the fish to actually bite your offering.  Wiggles, bumps, hops and drags are all important at the right time.  An experienced angler may also understand that imparting such action to your bait does not have to be large changes.  Many movements are quite subtle and not large erratic gestures.  Once again to Dale's point, you don't see bait swimming distances in a straight line.  I have found myself too many times being lazy and falling for the common sling and wind when I should have been working the bait in a manner that emulates food or an injured prey.  Most certainly, sometimes our mind wanders and we forget to execute the basic fundamentals.  I know we have all been encouraged to keep your mind in the game and more and bigger fish may come your way.

I am not downplaying the use of technology I am simply reminding all of us that performing the basics while using these fantastic support tools will likely make us much more efficient during our time on the water.  If you have decided not to make the technology investment, be sure to at least embrace the fundamentals of the sport and your success on the water will likely improve.  Aside from lure movement we can always improve our boat positioning practices and employ proven methods for exploring a brush pile or other cover locations.  This too is not a factor of your electronics but is a factor of your mental application.  Perhaps at another time we should also discuss why we seem to want to make such long casts. We do it because we can?

[Wizard]

Sometimes you only need to say "yes" to a write-up because there is nothing you can add to it.

                                                                    YES

Wizard

[D.W. Verts]

X 2.

Dale

[Oldfart9999]

Xs3
Rodney

[coldfront]

time and place for everything.
can I catch fish roaming the edges of my lake, pitching/casting to observed objects?  yes.can I find fish by dragging a c-rig around and noting where the 'rough' spots are on the points?  yes.

now, how do I efficiently screen out miles and miles of off-shore ledges with nomadic schools?  there are tools for that.