“ If guiding has taught
me anything to make
me a better fisherman,
it’s you have to have
multiple game plans.
Because sometimes
plans A, B and C don’t
work, but D does.
”
— Alex Davis
Alex Davis’ experience has taught him how
to put clients like Kenji Yoshida, pictured
above, on some truly giant fish.
TRY NEW THINGS
Davis is a power fisherman who
guides on a lake ideally suited for
power fishing, but he pushes himself
to try new techniques and lures
whenever and wherever he can.
“If my clients are happy catching
fish, I’ll start experimenting,” he says.
“Hands down, the best thing to come
of that has been the drop-shot. I
don’t like spinning rods or finesse,
but I forced myself to try and learn it.
“The thing is, I had to learn it fishing
whatever my clients were fishing.
So, I threw it in grass, out deep, on
riprap, on bluffs – places most people
would never think to try it.
Because of that, I learned how deadly
it can be – and not just on small
fish. I’ve had a lot of guide trips that
ended with big smiles because of
that technique.”
THE TAKEAWAY: Never be afraid to
try something new, even if it takes
you off the beaten path.
FISH MOVE A LOT,
AND IT CAN HAPPEN
FAST
If there’s one thing Davis and
Douglas agree on most when it
comes to spending more time on the
water, it’s that experience can teach
a lot about fish movements.
“You get a feel for them,” says
Douglas. “I realize even a couple
days off or a week, you get out of
rhythm and get rusty. It really is a
rhythm you get into to think like a
fish and move with them.
“Wolves and coyotes get good at
tracking their prey because they do it
every day. Same thing with fishermen
and bass.”
Those movements can happen
much faster than most anglers think.
Time and again, Davis has found
areas where “it’s like every fish in the
lake has swam right there.”
Two days later, they’re all gone.
“So many times, I’ll fish a pocket
and catch four one day,” Davis
explains. “The next day, I’ll catch 10,
and immediately I know they’re coming.
For the next few days, that pocket
is phenomenal. But five days later,
they’re gone. And sometimes it’s not
that long. Sometimes it’s two days
and they’re all gone. You wouldn’t
believe it unless you saw it.”
Davis got a reminder of that fact
at the Chickamauga Super
Tournament. He located a massive
school at 1 p.m. the final day of practice.
He checked them at 10 a.m. the
very next day in the tournament.
“They were gone,” he says. “Like,
not moved a little or anything. I
searched all over. I never found them.”
THE TAKEAWAY: Always be moving
and anticipate where fish might go.
Anglers get into habits of hitting the
same spots at the same times of year
on their favorite fisheries. Just
because we think the fish should be
somewhere doesn’t mean the fish
think they should be there, too.
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2020 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING.COM | FLWFISHING.COM 41