confirmation, and now you have a
pattern. Check the pattern on a simi-
lar spot or structure, and if it repeats,
you’re set. If you’re happy with the
size of bass, the mystery is gone, and
you can enjoy a pleasant day of
catching fish. If the bass are too
small, start over again in search of a
new pattern. It really is that easy.
3. Recognize the bass on the lakes you
dream about are no different than the
bass at home.
The bass on a new lake might be
bigger than where you live. Perhaps
they target different species of bait-
fish, too. But they are inherently the
same fish. They will use similar spots
and, most importantly, will eat the
same lures.
If you want to travel, your confi-
dence baits at home should remain
your confidence baits on the road. If
we had left our rods rigged from our
last day at home in California, we
could have made it all the way to the
Great Lakes before we needed to tie
on something new. There are no
secret mystery lures. You should fish
with confidence when your opportu-
nity presents itself.
Conversely, the lures you read
about in magazines and see in videos
will produce on your lake, too. When
you read about Western anglers
throwing swimbaits, Southern anglers
fishing giant worms, or Northern
anglers fishing tiny finesse baits, rec-
ognize that all of those baits and
techniques will work on your home
waters. We proved it on our trip.
4. Quality maps are critical.
If we had attempted our trip with-
out our LakeMaster map cards it
would have been a disaster. The
advantages of quality maps are
WINTER 2020 I FLWFISHING.COM
many: safely navigating underwater
hazards, finding our way to and from
the ramp at low light, locating key off-
shore structures with ease.
If you’re operating basic electron-
ics or shore angling, the same infor-
mation can be gleaned from a paper
map with minimal effort. Your goal
with mapping should be to effectively
shrink the size of the lake. Identify
high-percentage areas, and ignore
the rest of the lake. Focus your time
around narrow pinch points, offshore
humps, ledges that provide current
breaks and long tapering points with
access to deep water. As spring
approaches, focus on the same
areas, but eliminate any that don’t
have quick access to shallow flats or
the backs of shallow coves.
5. Fish shallower or deeper based on
fishing pressure.
We found fishing pressure dictat-
ed two distinct patterns across the
country. From California to
Tennessee and from Texas to
Michigan, if the bass were relatively
unpressured by anglers, they were
much more likely to be in shallow
cover. Docks, standing timber and
shallow debris were virtually guaran-
teed to hold fish in unpressured
lakes. On the Tennessee River lakes
and anywhere else we encountered
with heavy pressure, bass were much
more likely to be offshore on deep
structure.
6. Fish the extremes for bigger fish.
If your goal is to catch big fish,
don’t waste time in the middle.
Whatever pattern you develop,
push it to its limits. If you want to
throw a swimbait in search of a big
bass, jump in with both feet. Don’t
waste time with 5- to 6-inch baits
when you could be throwing an 8-
to 10-inch bait with exponentially
more drawing power. While you
might get fewer bites overall, the
largest fish you’re ultimately look-
ing for are far more likely to strike
the larger offering.
Testing the waters will do nothing
but slow your journey to success.
Conversely, if the fishing dictates a
finesse approach, waste no time in
the middle. Don’t drop down to 8- or
10-pound-test line with a 6-inch
worm in clear water and hope the
bass cooperate. If you’re faced with
crystal-clear water on the Great Lakes
or any other clear-water fishery, take
it to the extreme. Drop down to 4- to
6-pound-test line and a 3- to 4-inch
bait on a tiny hook, and find out if
the fish are willing to cooperate. You
might risk breaking off, but you will
discover what is working, and the
odds of a giant fish being willing to
bite rise exponentially.
This was our strategy around the
country, as we realized that spending
time cautiously fishing the comfort-
able baits in the middle rarely pro-
duced extraordinary results.
Even if you can’t head out on the
road like we did, the lessons we
learned can help you still. Drive to
that lake you rarely visit. Fish that
tournament that’s a few hours away.
Tackle your home fishery through a
fresh set of eyes. Ignore past experi-
ence, start fresh, build patterns and –
most importantly – don’t settle until
you’ve met your goals.
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