JT Kenney tries to track down at least 20 keepers on beds to make sure he has enough to catch five in a tournament.
STRATEGIES FOR HANDLING PRESSURE
When spawning bass are obvious to anyone who looks, you can bet that fishing pressure will be high. Here are some
suggestions for how to deal with pressure.
1.
Target the most
obvious fish first:
This is a common
strategy among pros.
An obvious kicker
that has selected a
nesting place in clear
view has been seen
by just about every-
one in practice.
Target those fish
first, and save fish
that are better hid-
den for later.
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2.
Be willing to run:
Better fill up your
fuel tank, advises
Adams. “I’d rather
have them in one
area, but if you’ve got
a couple good ones,
and one’s up the
river and the other’s
down by the dam,
you’ve got to go get
them. You can’t leave
them on the table.
You can’t go 80 miles
for one, but within
reason.”
3.
Consider your limits:
How much time
you spend trying to
catch each fish
depends on what’s in
the livewell, how
much time you have
left before check-in
and how each bass is
acting. Still, some pros
assign limits – 20 min-
utes per bass, for
example. Others will
spend as much time
as it takes as long as
the bass looks like it
might bite. Just
remember that the
more time you burn
on each fish, the more
likely it is that other
anglers will pick off
the easy bass nearby.
4.
Be prepared for new
fish:
It’s a classic sce-
nario: A spring day
dawns cool and crisp,
and activity on the
banks is at a mini-
mum. By noon, how-
ever, a bright sun
high in the sky
warms the shallows,
and big femal e bass
start sliding in to
spawning waters. A
smart angler is pre-
pared and heads to
his prime spawning
areas throughout the
day to keep tabs on
their progression.
5.
Find 20 to catch five:
A tournament
limit might be five
bass, but Kenney
says you need to find
far more than that if
you want a shot at
winning. “In a Tour
event, you have to
have 20 to have five
because some of
them are going to
move, and other
guys are going to
pick them off,”
Kenney says. If he
can’t find enough in
practice, Kenney
makes sure to have a
back-up plan.
FLWFISHING.COM I APRIL 2017