Thought I would take a moment to put pen to paper as I reflect on this past season of bass fishing. Been a pretty tough one this year in my area of the country not only for myself but for the majority of those I come in contact with either in the bass club, the circuits I fished, the store with customers coming in, or out in the fishing forums. We will be scratching our heads over this season for quite awhile.
Like most tournament anglers, I look to expand my arsenal of tools each season. For me it was getting myself much more comfortable with plastic presentations along with exploring different plastic lures and manufacturers. Without even taking into account the new designs that came out this year I was looking at a daunting task with this expansion into the “worming” community. I looked at it this way due to the fact that I already have been utilizing trailers, tubes and some creature baits. Having heard so much from so many about the great results of worm fishing, I had to take on the responsibility to myself to explore the infinite possibilities.
Now, after a season using plastics at least 80% of the time, I feel I have increased my knowledge base exponentially. Not only did I use new plastic lures in every condition that I normally would fish what I like to call “action” lures, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, buzzbaits, etc., I delved into new patterns where I could slow down and take my time picking apart structure and cover like I had never done before.
I won’t even go into the experimentation and changes in terminal tackle, lines, and rods that I made throughout this year. Leave it to say that I believe that this was one exceptional year in my own personal growth in bass fishing knowledge. Take it to heart that whenever you are running into the proverbial “skunk” while out on the water, realize that if you only had one more trick up your sleeve you just might be able to turn on the bite and leave the water with the satisfaction of having caught fish when just last year you would have been holding hands with Pepe Lapew. Do what you can to keep from hitting the wall and not having any fish to weigh in at the end of the day. My recommendation to everyone is to never let yourself become stagnant in your fishing knowledge. Do yourself a favor and learn a new technique or two every year. If you feel that you are proficient in every technique, try a new lure or at least try one of your current tried and true lures under different conditions. As long as you keep expanding your knowledge through experimentation you should never blank on a fishing outing and you will also never get bored with this great sport.
Blaise Johnston
aka “OHbassaholic”
ohbassaholic@ultimatebass.com
